Category: Design for Animation

“Auteur theory is a theoretical approach that says the director is the major creative force behind a movie. “Auteurs” infuse films with their singular perspectives and trademark visual styles when translating them from screenplays to the screen. Critics use auteur theory to explore the ways these directors act as authors of their films.” (Hellerman, J. 2024)

The theory of Auteurism was an offshoot of the idea that directors leave their signature on the films they make through their use of lighting, staging, editing and casting. It also gave way to the idea that stories from more diverse backgrounds were worth telling, rather than just those with the socioeconomic means to make films. To be described as an Auteur according to the original definition, a director must be instantly recognisable through their work, consistent in their creative voice and style, and transparent in their point of view as a storyteller. They must leave their mark on the films the direct with, or in spite of studio approval.

The notion of Auteurism applies to animation in a way that can be troublesome to analyse: animation production echoes and imitates the conditions of industrial film production, but it also offers the possibility for a film-maker to operate almost entirely alone. It could be argued that animation is the most auteurist film discipline as it necessitates a collaborative adherence to a single creative vision and stylistic language for the sake of cohesion. (Wells 2002: 73).

Andrew Sarris posited that the director’s role was to be a technician, a stylist, and an auteur (Sarris, A. 1962). Considering how recognisable the work of certain directors is to familiar audiences based on aesthetics, signature filters, use of sound design, cast, and/or cinematography, I would say this is an accurate summation of the issue of the auteur:

Instantly recognisable: Photo: Searchlight Pictures (2023) [Screenshot: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson]. Available at: https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/wes-anderson-best-shots/bottle-rocket-owen-wilson/ (Accessed: 13/11/2024).

The Electric Gorilla: Sin City Research: Character 1: Marv (2014) [Screenshot: Sin City 2: Rodrigo Rodriguez]. Available at: http://stuartwallacebrown.blogspot.com/2014/03/sin-city-research-charcter-1-marv.html (Accessed: 13/11/2024).

Paule Kael, however, disagrees with Sarris and claims that directors who leave such an indelible mark on their work depend on obvious and repetitive devices as a crutch, “she also considers it to be a complete misunderstanding of the necessarily talents required for the production of art as many great directors violate rules of technical competence.” (Mairs, 2024). While I find this critique interesting and somewhat compelling, specifically claiming that some directors rely on repetition of obvious devices to distinguish their work as their own, I feel as a creative person that after reaching a certain level of technical proficiency we gain a sense of when to bend and break certain rules to make a point. It’s expected that an illustrator, for example, develops their own style of drawing, even if they’re expected to be flexible in their work for specific purposes, e.g. textbooks, publishing, etc.

Looking at film production as a result of many moving parts working in unison, however, could be argued to further muddy the waters surrounding the extent of auteurship as far as directors are concerned: •‘refurbished by the absence of singular and transcendental notions of the artist. For once we let go of such essentialist notions of art-making, a whole host of potential auteurs emerge from the theoretical sidelines: creative personnel, agencies, even corporations whose influence on the art of cinema cannot be recognised by the stifling romanticism of previous conceptions of auteurism’ (Watson, 2012, p. 162).

According to Paul Wells, an auteur is “a person who prompts and execute the core themes, techniques and expressive agendas of a film… around whom the key enunciative techniques and meanings of a film accrue and find implied cohesion… provides the organising principles of textual practices to engage with, and create motivated spectatorial positions.” (Wells, 2002: 73)

In the vein of critiquing animation’s relationship to auteurism and the extent to which individual animators – or even colossal corporate animation houses such as Disney – can be considered auteurs, Hayao Miyazaki makes for an interesting case study. As the animator behind Studio Ghibli’s most globally recognised and beloved characters, Miyazaki is certainly an auteur, and the purpose behind Studio Ghibli’s work may be the best justification for this: “Many of my movies have strong female leads — brave, self-sufficient girls that don’t think twice about fighting for what they believe in with all their heart. They’ll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a savior.” (Basil, M. 2024).

They are Not Damsels in Distress (2024) [Screenshot: Princess Mononoke]. Available at: https://movieweb.com/female-characters-hayao-miyazaki-films/#:~:text=To%20quote%20the%20animator%20in,%2C%20but%20never%20a%20savior.%E2%80%9D (Accessed: 13/11/2024).

References

Basil, M. for MovieWeb (2024) The Importance of Female Characters in Hayao Miyazaki’s Films. Available at: https://movieweb.com/female-characters-hayao-miyazaki-films/#:~:text=To%20quote%20the%20animator%20in,%2C%20but%20never%20a%20savior.%E2%80%9D (Accessed: 13/11/2024). 

Brown, S. for The Electric Gorilla (2014) Sin City Research: Character 1: Marv. Available at: http://stuartwallacebrown.blogspot.com/2014/03/sin-city-research-charcter-1-marv.html (Accessed: 13/11/2024).

Chapman, W. for IndieWire (2023) Wes Anderson’s Best Shots: 32 Perfect Images that Define the ‘Asteroid City’ Director’s Career. Available at: https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/wes-anderson-best-shots/ (Accessed: 13/11/2024).

Sarris, A. (1962) ‘Notes on the Auteur Theory’, Film Culture, 27, 1-18.

Watson, Paul. (2011). Cinematic Authorship and the Film Auteur.

Wells, P. (2002). Animation: Genre and Authorship. London: Wallflower

Wells, P. (2007). Animation: genre and authorship. London: Wallflower. 

To begin this lecture we’re given a definition of abstract as a basis for understanding the media we are to dissect: the most succinct definition of abstract would be that it depicts something that can only be appreciated intellectually, as opposed to a concrete, measurable concept, object or event. My favourite definition given, however, was that “[to abstract is] To develop a line of thought from a concrete reality to a general principle or an intellectual idea” (Mairs, 2024), because I think this process of abstraction and how it is achieved is particularly pertinent to animators and designers, whose purpose professionally is to bring a theoretical world of abstract, distant concepts and happenings unbound by the laws of the universe to life through colour and motion.

Formative abstraction is essentially the process of abstracting existing concepts and bringing abstract concepts into relative being – one in which the artist’s involvement is “essentially investigative and may not have a predetermined outcome but must be grounded in the intellectual pursuit of applying a theory or initial objective… there is an integral link between conceptual application and technical advancement in the innovation of film in particular”. (Mairs, 2024).

This example of a conceptually abstract short film by Max Hattler, Serial Parallels, I initially on watching might be a reference to parallel universe theory, positioning each window and balcony as a door to a universe as defined and organised by the family who resides within. It wasn’t until I realised Hattler was uploading his own work onto Vimeo that I saw the description he wrote himself, proving me completely wrong:

“This experimental animation by Max Hattler approaches Hong Kong’s built environment from the conceptual perspective of celluloid film, by applying the technique of film animation to the photographic image. The city’s signature architecture of horizon-eclipsing housing estates is reimagined as parallel rows of film strips: Serial Parallels.

“This captivating architectural animation draws a dizzying portrait of Hong Kong’s urban environment. Through the lens of the animated film, each floor or window corresponds to a film frame. The colors follow one another in a repetitive and rhythmic movement that plunges us into a meditative state that is both gentle and anxiety-provoking… It is only when the sky appears to us that we can finally breathe the air we desperately miss as we climb the floors of these overcrowded towers.” Jury Statement, Honorary Mention (Computer Animation), Prix Ars Electronica, 2020″. Max Hattler (2019) Serial Parallels (2019, Max Hattler). 19 August. Available at Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/589324922 (Accessed: 11/10/2024). Anxiety-provoking indeed, watching the short film makes me feel trapped in a humid, grey, indifferent cityscape and devoid of any sense of direction with no sky to tell me how far I am from breaking the surface.

The embedded video links to an abstract, conceptual film by Max Hattler titled X, an animated water projection depicting the seemingly random, fluid transformation and division of shapes, the storyline, purpose and patterns behind which are all intangible and ambiguous. This note from the creator provides almost no context: “The unknown X becomes a whole symphony of shapes… In a universe where everything is by itself yet can intersect with each other, cross-action seems the best way to solve an unknown equation.” (Hattler, M. (2012) MaxHattler. Available at: http://www.maxhattler.com/x/ (Accessed: 11/10/2024).) I liked watching this, while it essentially leads nowhere and serves a purpose beyond my immediate comprehension, I found the film futuristic in aesthetic and communication style, and the use of water projection incredibly clever – I’m never comfortable providing a definitive read on media such as this because I’m always convinced the key is in the abstraction, as in there’s almost certainly a point to it that I’m missing, communicated in intentionally obfuscated style to make fools of people like me.

Nathan Boey (2022) Pass the Ball. 24 January. Available at Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/669475821 (Accessed: 11/10/2024).

The above video is a collaborative project between 40 animators, all responding to the same concept: catch the ball and throw it to someone in another country. I loved this video, I love seeing the sometimes extreme contrast between different people’s work, how they respond to such an open-ended concept, and how they articulate their ideas as creative and independent thinkers. There’s also something especially beautiful about seeing artists in such a competitive field volley between each other and work in a way that supports the previous person’s vision, rather than trying to compete in order to outshine each other. In some cases, the animators chose to respond to the brief in a way that obfuscates and abstracts the original intention, turning the ball into something else entirely for the sake of their creative communication style or treating it in ways that defy the laws of physics (squashing it like an insect, turning it into a planet, plucking it from the sky)

References

Hattler, M. (2012) MaxHattler. Available at: http://www.maxhattler.com/x/ (Accessed: 11/10/2024).

Max Hattler (2012) X (by Max Hattler) KXFS Canal Commission. 10 September. Available at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rSLcNznix4&list=PLEC82AAAA3A1A4567 (Accessed: 11/10/2024).

Max Hattler (2019) Serial Parallels (2019, Max Hattler). 19 August. Available at Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/589324922 (Accessed: 11/10/2024).

Nathan Boey (2022) Pass the Ball. 24 January. Available at Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/669475821 (Accessed: 11/10/2024).

Nigel Mairs (2024) ‘Week 3: The Avant Garde. Experimental, Abstract Constructs and Analysis’ [Lecture]. PU002333: MA 3D Computer Animation: Design for Animation, Narrative Structures and Film Language. London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. 10 October.

Messages can be imbued into moving image media through subliminal or masked content, overt/propagandist intent, persuasive targets such as commercial and advertising media, documentary and investigative content, and through independent, more personal media. Of these potentialities I was most interested in subliminal messaging in media – it can be argued that subliminal messaging needn’t be as pernicious as a single frame displaying the intended message, but also through the power of suggestion harnessed by advertising. This concept is something I’d like to research further, particularly because subliminal messaging has been banned for decades.

Politics shape what gets put into media, critical thinking must be applied to discern whether media outlets are biased politically. Conversely, media can shape politics and shift the narrative on divisive social issues, a somewhat recent example that comes to mind is the Netflix Limited series When They See Us, which drew global attention to an almost forgotten case of miscarriage of justice in the US which saw the lives of five innocent men irreparably altered and shone a spotlight on systemic racism in the United States. Media like this, it could be argued, had an impact on the events which would follow in years to follow where Black Lives Matter protests would reverberate around the world in response to the murder of George Floyd.

I embedded the above videos because they both feature messages about war and colonialism. We were shown each of these films during the lecture, Neighbours by Norman McLaren is a stop motion from 1952 – two men seem to get high from smelling a dandelion in front of their property and then become increasingly defensive over their individual entitlement to it as a resource. The film was banned for its violence. It struck me as analogous for addiction and its effects on human behaviour, or colonialism and division of resources previously understood to be universal/free leading to war and violence. There is a scene (which may have led to the ban) where women and infants are killed as an indirect result of the violence that breaks out, most likely alluding to war and civilian casualties, possibly the intergenerational effects of war on soldiers who return home unable to adjust to normal life. 

Britannia, by Joanna Quinn, featured below Neighbours centres the quintessential British Bulldog literally manually extracting resources from all over the world and using them to fashion and gorge himself. Sexual violence is portrayed explicitly against indigenous populations, the Bulldog strings people across his neck and wears them, he takes tea from Asia and wears a teapot as a crown analogously bastardising a resource from another part of the world in order to make it a part of his identity. The messaging is portrayed through metamorphosis, the messages contained within this short film could not have been portrayed as succinctly through any other medium.

Tower by Keith Maitland, an animated documentary centred around the 1966 mass shooting at the University of Texas perpetrated by Charles Whitman, where Whitman climbed to the top of the campus tower and shot indiscriminately into the crowd below, hitting 49 people and killing 17. The intention of the film was to shift the focus of the atrocity from the perpetrator to the victims, and several survivors were interviewed for the documentary. The violence of the incident could not have been depicted so respectfully through live action, the tone of the film would be changed completely if it was not animated. I understand the point that animated and documentary may strike a person as oxymoronic at first, but this particular film I think had to be animated. The sheer violence and despair of the incident being documented necessitates the separation from reality afforded only to animation.

There is an animated scene in the Netflix series Black Earth Rising which reminds me of this, where the Rwandan genocide is being depicted directly for the first time instead of simply alluded to in dialogue between characters, and the use of animation facilitated a level of honesty that would have been eclipsed totally by the violence if live action had been used instead. A point can be made through animation without alienating the viewer with explicit depictions of violence and suffering, it can also serve as a way around censorship. The heartbreaking animated sequence is attached here:

Jon Mauk (2016) “Abductees” – Animation [HQ] – A Film by Paul Vester (1995). 23 April. Available at: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_UgJFZSRec (Accessed: 25/10/2025).

Paul Vester – Abductees: ‘Liverpool Style’ animated work (no cell animation, directly onto paper, experimental and rough), student work made up of several different animation styles about alien abduction. This film is a collection of animated responses to the interviews with alleged abductees. Bizarrely think I’ve seen this before, it was running at 3am when I couldn’t sleep. My initial response was that the schizophrenic style of the film when viewed as a sum of so many different, seemingly detached styles of animation, in some cases portraying subject matter entirely separate from the interviewee testimonies, seems almost suggestive of the disorganised and distressed mental state of the individuals speaking within. I can’t say whether that was intentional on the part of Vester, but it makes for a somewhat jarring and hypnotic watch.

I intend to do further research into subliminal messaging from before and after the ban as a potential start to my research topic. I also am at the stage of considering research questions to work from.

References

Alaosnus (2012) ‘Neighbours’ (1952) Academy Award-Winning Short film by Norman McLaren. 9 February. Available at: Youtube / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-o9dYwro_Q (Accessed: 25/10/2024).

BerylProductions (2009) ‘Britannia’. 2 November. Available at: Youtube /https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daVMrUhAD3E&t=295s (Accessed: 25/10/2024).

Critics at Large (2016) A Tragedy in Time: Keith Maitland’s Tower. Available at: https://www.criticsatlarge.ca/2016/12/a-tragedy-in-time-keith-maitlands-tower.html (Accessed: 25/10/2024).

Jon Mauk (2016) “Abductees” – Animation [HQ] – A Film by Paul Vester (1995). 23 April. Available at: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_UgJFZSRec (Accessed: 25/10/2025).

Nigel Mairs (2024) ‘Social and Political Comment in Animation’ [Live Lecture]. 

PU002333: Design for Animation, Narrative Structures and Film Language. University of the Arts London, London College of Communication. 24 October.

During the introductory session to the Design for Animation unit, we were tasked with finding an animated film which features the artist’s hand. I learned that one of the the first recorded instances of this trope is from the titular 1906 silent film, where the artist Walter R. Booth draws a couple who come to life and dance a cakewalk. 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rc4ZsV_SYxs%3Fsi%3Davs3R3v55rXtXPkr

I recalled several instances of the hand of the artist being featured in cartoons from my childhood, including this meta reference to the trope in an episode of Spongebob Squarepants titled Welcome to the Chum Bucket/Doodlebob, which aired in 2004. The spin on the original is that rather than featuring a human hand breaking the fourth wall, the characters themselves find a magic pencil and watch as the drawings they make with it come to life. The pencil is ultimately returned to the live action character who accidentally dropped it into the ocean in the first place. 

SpongeBob SquarePants Official (2020)  DOODLE BOB Stars in FrankenDoodle ✏️ in 5 Minutes! | SpongeBob. 20th March. Available at: Youtube: https://youtu.be/oesOm6XDW9w?feature=shared (Accessed: 03/10/2024).

I recalled a similar instance in a Looney Tunes cartoon from 1955 featuring Bugs Bunny called Rabbit Rampage, where Bugs argues with the animator over how he should be drawn. The episode also features a series of fourth wall breaking gags where the animator – represented by an independently moving paintbrush – paints picket signs into Bugs’ hands bearing slogans such as “I won’t work” and “I refuse to live up to my contract”, a gag where his head is replaced with a pumpkin in order to silence him, and the background is replaced with an oncoming train when he refuses to move. At the end of the cartoon the animator’s brush is revealed to have been wielded by Elmer Fudd.

Unit Brief

In being briefed for this unit’s assessment aim, we were introduced to a handful of potential research topics. I am including some that stood out to me below because I would like to revisit them in the future.

The Golden Ratio:

“The golden ratio, also known as the golden number, golden proportion or the divine proportion, is a ratio between two numbers that equals approximately 1.618. Usually written as the Greek letter phi, it is strongly associated with the Fibonacci sequence, a series of numbers wherein each number is added to the last. The Fibonacci numbers are 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 and so on, with the ratio of each number and the previous number gradually approaching 1.618 or phi.” (Berndt, S., Obermiller, J. (2024).)

As it was explained to us in our lecture, the golden ratio for visual arts shows us how to make use of the way the human eye is naturally drawn across an image. The ratio serves as a framework for understanding the limits of human attention, work can be arranged in an aesthetically pleasing way that guides the eye without overstimulating the viewer.

There are even golden ratio calipers for traditional artists to adjust according to the scale they prefer to work at. (Hilder, R. for Creative Bloq (2023).)

Useful Resources

We were introduced in this session to several sites we should be reading regularly to better understand animation as we learn and begin researching. I’ve chosen to list them here as a future reference for myself, and will add to them as the unit progresses.

Animation Studies 2.0: https://blog.animationstudies.org/?cat=552&paged=2

Color Matters: https://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory

References

Berndt, S., Obermiller, J. (2024) Adobe: An Introduction to the Golden Ratio. Available at: https://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud/design/discover/golden-ratio.html (Accessed: 03/10.2024).

Films by the Year (2021) The Hand of the Artist (1906) Urban [incomplete]. 8th July. Available at: Youtube: https://youtu.be/Rc4ZsV_SYxs?feature=shared (Accessed: 03/10/2024).

Hilder, R. (2023) Creative Blow: A Designers Guide to the Golden Ratio. Available at: https://www.creativebloq.com/design/designers-guide-golden-ratio-12121546/4 (Accessed: 08/10.2024).

IMDB (2014) The Hand of the Artist. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000552/ (Accessed: 04/10/2024).

IMDB (2021) Welcome to the ChumBucket/Frankendoodle. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0832794/ (Accessed: 04/10/2024).

IMDB (2022) Rabbit Rampage. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048529/ (Accessed: 04/10/2024).

Nigel Mairs (2024) ‘Design for Animation, Narrative Structures & Film Language: Week 2’ [Lecture]. PU002333: Design for Animation, Narrative Structures & Film Language. University of the Arts London, London College of Communication. 3rd October.

SpongeBob SquarePants Official (2020)  DOODLE BOB Stars in FrankenDoodle ✏️ in 5 Minutes! | SpongeBob. Date NA. Available at: Youtube: https://youtu.be/oesOm6XDW9w?feature=shared (Accessed: 03/10/2024).

TMDB (2024) The Hand of the Artist (1906). Available at: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/232723-the-hand-of-the-artist (Accessed: 04/10/2024).

TVDB (2024) Rabbit Rampage. Available at: https://thetvdb.com/series/looney-tunes/episodes/88367 (Accessed: 04/10/2024).

TV Tropes (2024) Western Animation > Rabbit Rampage. Available at: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/RabbitRampage (Accessed: 04/10/2024).

WB Kids (2020) Looney Tunes | Fourth Wall Breaking Bugs | Classic Cartoon | WB Kids. 16th January. Available at: Youtube: https://youtu.be/_Y5jeJqo6VU?feature=shared (Accessed: 03/10/2024).