More Dada = Less Plot

Well our fourth class has come and gone, and we now find ourselves right back into the depths of animation! It's really surprising to me to see how influential animation is considered in film. I guess I never really thought about it before, but animation seems to be pretty deeply rooted. It's nice to see how other means of using the medium were being developed alongside the traditional way we see it used in movies. And just like film did, animation had made many very significant developments in just a few years. The first animations we watched in class were made in the first few years of the 1900's, and were very basic. Now in just 20 or so years, we are seeing animations that are still considered impressive by today's standards!

We started off with "Rhythmus 21" (1921), which I have to admit I was not a fan of. The film consisted of several squares which just got larger and smaller, and moved around on the screen. Had it been a minute and a half shorter, perhaps I would have enjoyed it more, but at the time I didn't see much in it. However, that doesn't mean I don't recognize it's artistic integrity. At the time, it was probably one of the first animations to give the audience a feeling of depth. The changing sizes of the shapes made them seem to get closer or further away, and the way they moved to the music showed that film had its own rhythm. And what a coincidence...that's what the film is called.

Next we watched "Symphony Diagonale" (1924) which I really enjoyed. The entire style in which it was drawn was interesting to me, and I even almost felt inspired after that, which is a rarity in itself! I think someone in class compared it to a neon sign, and I can't agree more! The entire film gave me the feeling of an old city or something, and I think that any movie that can make that connection in the audience's mind is successful.

From there, we moved onto "Composition in Blue" (1935) which genuinely looked like stop motion. I was very surprised to find out that the effect was achieved by shading. I can't even imagine trying to pull something like that off through drawing out each individual frame of an animation. The entire film was very impressive and continued to get more and more advanced as it went on. Unfortunately towards the end, I was overcome with the feeling I was about to have a seizure, so I couldn't fully appreciate the color-flashing shapes appearing and disappearing all over the screen. Shame.

Then we watched some of Harry Smith's early abstract works. Each of these were interesting, and a nice change of pace from Dada. Unfortunately, the artistic integrity of his works were completely robbed from me because I had to watch it in black and white rather than color! Geez! How lame!

...but seriously folks. Even in black and white, the animation was impressive. It was one of the longest ones we've seen thus far, and I can't even imagine how incredible it would have been in color.

Finally, we ended off the class with what just may be the greatest film I have ever seen in my life. "Ghosts Before Breakfast" (1928). This film used several different tricks and gimmicks that you just have to appreciate! There were quite a few points during the screening where I found myself smiling. It was nothing short of a masterpiece. Take that Citizen Kane!