Trying to get the mood of the room
I feel like I have to be a bit of a devil's advocate or something here.
I've been getting the sense from class discussions and blog posts that the prevailing mood in this class is that hyperhybrids are less engaging or immersive than hand drawn animation, or that the trend towards them is a negative one. And I do tend to agree that making things for the sake of showing off flashy technology is less interesting than a good, compelling story. But...
Isn't there a fundamental desire at the heart of animation to see things come to life? I feel like in the interest of promoting individual artistry and creativity, we sometimes end up hating on the sort of childish joy that comes from seeing characters in a real, believable environment. Yes, poorly done technology can be distracting. But you can imagine yourself engaging with a hyperhybrid environment so much more easily than a 2D one. I'm never going to be a cartoon character a la Mickey Mouse, but I could possibly be standing on the streets of NYC when one of those alien things in The Avengers flies by, even if its motion is a bit stiff.
I guess I'm just wondering what people think. It's all well and good to support independent artists, and to take a critical lens towards what will help the industry, but do we all really not get at all excited when the live action Aladdin comes out, or the new Black Panther, or whatever? I'm not trying to be skeptical or pretentious - I say critical things about this kind of trend all the time on this blog. I just really want to know... where people's hearts are at, I guess.
I think the heart of the audience is just as important as the mind when it comes to making media and art. Do you agree? No?
I've been getting the sense from class discussions and blog posts that the prevailing mood in this class is that hyperhybrids are less engaging or immersive than hand drawn animation, or that the trend towards them is a negative one. And I do tend to agree that making things for the sake of showing off flashy technology is less interesting than a good, compelling story. But...
Isn't there a fundamental desire at the heart of animation to see things come to life? I feel like in the interest of promoting individual artistry and creativity, we sometimes end up hating on the sort of childish joy that comes from seeing characters in a real, believable environment. Yes, poorly done technology can be distracting. But you can imagine yourself engaging with a hyperhybrid environment so much more easily than a 2D one. I'm never going to be a cartoon character a la Mickey Mouse, but I could possibly be standing on the streets of NYC when one of those alien things in The Avengers flies by, even if its motion is a bit stiff.
I guess I'm just wondering what people think. It's all well and good to support independent artists, and to take a critical lens towards what will help the industry, but do we all really not get at all excited when the live action Aladdin comes out, or the new Black Panther, or whatever? I'm not trying to be skeptical or pretentious - I say critical things about this kind of trend all the time on this blog. I just really want to know... where people's hearts are at, I guess.
I think the heart of the audience is just as important as the mind when it comes to making media and art. Do you agree? No?
I can 100% see what you are saying. One of the things I love about hyperhybrid is the spectacle and the feeling of seeing something that is fantastical looks so "realistic". Obviously a dragon cannot look real because they are not real BUT IT LOOKS REAL!!! That is awesome, it literally INSPIRES AWE! Although on the other have to disagree that hyperhybrids are easier to image yourself in or connect with than say 2D animation. I find it really easy to immerse myself in a world if the filmmaker uses verisimilitude and creates a compelling story. Because if you think about it really: an alien ship is just as unrealistic as a cartoon of a mouse. What allows us to buy it is the story. You said it yourself sometimes even the hybrid animations look stiff or odd, but we buy it because of the reactions of the characters in the story and the context of the story itself.
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