Blog assignment 8

The theme of this movie, Trainspotting, is getting by in life, and dealing with the problems in one's life.  This is shown in this scene by the narration, where Mark Renton talks about how you choose your life, and how chose not to live a normal life, but that of a drug addict, which sets the premise for the film.   
   This scene uses rhythm and movement to great effect.  The rhythm is very fast paced, as many things happen quickly in this scene, from running down the street to playing soccer.  It also introduces the main characters, so the quick rhythm is interrupted by the camera stopping and a still image is shown, with the character's name on the screen.  Although this interrupts the quick rhythm of the running and soccer, it still works to introduce the theme, that of a life that is far from the normal one we are used to living, as they are running from the law, but also play soccer.  The rhythm is also slowed down by the cuts to Mark in his room by himself, where he slowly falls to the ground.  This is also a great example of the use of movement by the director.  In one shot Mark is hit in the head by the ball and starts to fall, and it then proceeds to cut back and forth from him falling on the field and him falling in his apartment, until he finally hits the floor inside.  This slow movement created by cuts show the kind of life Mark leads, which is not normal, as is the theme of the film.  The movement in the entire scene is frantic until this point, as his life is unplanned and he does whatever it takes to get by, and then it slows down to show the influence of drugs on him, which is central to the theme, and shown well through rhythm and movement.

Blog assignment 7

   These two images are from different animation genres, as the first one is a shot from the movie Finding Nemo, and the second is from the show The Simpsons.  They both utilize color a great deal, but in different ways.  In the first image, brighter, more stand out hues are used for the main protagonists, as this is how the animator has them stand out.  The shark in the background has much less saturation, as he has more grey in his tone, which makes him not look as bright, which works since he is a villain.  The Simpsons image also uses a bright, eye grabbing hue for the main characters, in this case yellow, which has become the trademark for the show.  The animator uses high saturation and brightness to make the characters really pop out, with their bright colored clothes, and Marge's blue hair, to go along with the yellow skin.  Both animations use color to draw attention to the main characters.  

     Movement is used in the first image, and less so in the second.  Both fish are grabbing at each other at the same time in fear, which is an example of overlapping movement.  Weight is also used in this image, as the fish "squash" together, but they keep the same volume, as is the principle.  These techniques are not seen as much in the second still, as they are mostly stationary, but the bending of limbs, such as Bart's legs, shows the animator using movement, as he manipulates the lines to create the image of his knees bending, which is movement in itself.  

    Both images use color and movement to get the point across, and are good examples of the principles of animation.