Blog #8: Scene Deconstruction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=zY7Kg6BlNec

The theme of this particular scene is that with experience comes wisdom. In the scene Shu Lien, a legendary swordsman, and Jen, an empress with a lot of potential duke it out to see who’s stronger and in turn will decide who will make the decision about Jen’s life which seems to have taken a turn for the worst. Jen is using the legendary sword the Green Destiny which complements her skills and makes her formidable to Shu Lien but without the sword she is a novice incapable of making sound decisions whereas Shu Lien is much older, has more experience, and has had to make hard decisions her whole life.  

In the scene the uses of shape and movement reiterate the theme. The use of shape is used with the use of different weapons. The use of different weapons in a skillful manner signifies more experience and maturity which signifies wisdom as well because it takes a lot of time, patience, and skill to use multiple weapons. In the scene Shu Lien the older more mature legendary swordsman wields multiple weapons of different sizes and shapes in her fight against Jen while Jen relies heavily on the Green Destiny sword. Not only does Shu Lien wield the weapons but each weapon she uses shows formidability against the Green Destiny,that belongs to the legendary swordsman Li Mu Bai, which proves that it’s not the weapon that makes the swordsman it’s the swordsman that makes the sword. Thus, Jen clear difficulty at competing against each weapon’s signifies two things: one; Shu Lien is more experienced meaning she’s wiser and Jen should listen to her suggestions, two; Jen is very inexperienced meaning little wisdom and should listen to Shu Lien.   Movement also reiterates the theme because the Shu Lien is very powerful, tight, and steady with her movements as she attacks Jen, while Jen is very loose and wobbly with hers. This is easy seen as Shu Lien masterfully handles her multiple weapons with ease and as the Green Destiny shakes back and forth in Jens hand as she battles. The differences in movement signifies that Shu Lien one again is more skillful and experienced and therefore wiser. This is confirmed when Shu Lien wins the fight and spares Jen and as Jen ungratefully cuts Shu Lien with a sneaky and defiant move of the sword Green Destiny.  

Blog #7: Animation Deconstruction

         
 In the photo of Eric Cartman (left) his skin has an orange hue and his cloths exhibit a split- complementary color scheme with the colors red, yellow, and blue almost opposite on the color wheel. The colors of the room are monochromatic showing the same color with different value and saturation of the couch and wall paint. In the photo of Spongebob Squarepants (right) his skin color is a yellow hue and has monochromatic tones from the air holes which have a lower value making them darker. His outfit is analogous exhibiting analogous colors of brown and red which are colors next to each other on the color wheel. The background colors in Spongebob’s scene are split-complementary and also show some monochromatic tones in the green wood on the floor. The combination of both scenes shows parallel action because they are both eating at the same time in the shots but are in different locations. Eric Cartman has overlapping action because it seems like his eyes are fixated on something. So maybe he is watching television or looking at something else in front of him. There is also overlapping action between the chewing of the food and him putting food in his mouth. Whereas in Spongebob’s shot there is overlapping action because his mouth is open and empty to receive the food, his focus is given to the krabby patty in his hand, and his hand is moving the krabby patty in which he is about to consume. Weight in shown in the shot of Eric Cartman because him sitting on the couch, not floating, and there are cheesy poofs crumbs on his clothing. In the Spongebob shot weight is shown because his is standing on the floor and the plates that he has finished pile on the table instead of the air in the Krusty Krab.

Blog #6: Storyboard Imitation

In the “Ratatouille trailer,” Ratatouille is shot running out of a French restaurant toward the back door in the kitchen while escaping deadly chefs who try to kill him to obtain primo cheese and not garbage. The director does follow the 180 degree result by establishing a horizontal line in the kitchen across the counter within the first and second shots of the scene in the kitchen cutting them in half and moving within a 180 degree arc of the line.  A new line is established after the character, Ratatouille, changes this movements from the across the kitchen to the left to towards the camera or front of the kitchen to establish a new line in the 4^th shot, and then establishes another 180 degree line in the 5^th shot when he no longer relies on the kitchen counters for cover and runs in the open.  The 180 degree rule was also used as the camera dollies from right to left in shots 2 and 3 as he running and hiding under the kitchen counters. The Rule of Thirds is also obeyed because Ratatouille is strategically place on the intersections of both the vertical and horizontal lines specifically at the 1^st and 3^rd intersections. The director also addresses the 30 degree rule by panning the camera at least 30 degrees in shots 1 through 3 and increasing the size of Ratatouille by at least 30 percent in shots 3 through 4 going from a wide shot of him running to a medium shot of him running. Lastly he uses the 30 degree rule decreasing the size of Ratatouille by at least 30 percent going from a wide shot to an extreme wide shot in shot 3,4, and 5.  All 5 shots obeyed either the 180 degree rule, Rule of thirds, or 30 degree rule. This allowed for the shots to cut well together in the scene and prevent the director from using a jump cut which would have only necessary if these rules weren’t followed.