Notes on Dumbo
Post on 18-Jan-2016
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Notes on Dumbo (1941)
Marc Hendry July 2014marchendry91@gmail.com
Notes on the story-
•Thestoryistoldinverydistinctlittlesections,sometimeswithatransitionalscene,sometimes
justwithacutorfade.Ithinkthepointistogetstraighttotheimportantstuff.Righttothe
emotionalstatementwithoutanyfiller
•Dumboisineverysceneofthemovie.There’snoB-plot,nounnecessarycharacters,nothing
thatisn’tpurelywhatthemovieisabout.Thewholethingisverysmartlyeconomised
•WeprojectourselvesintothemuteDumboandwithgreatsympathy,wegowithhimthrough
thestory.
•Youwouldexpecta64-minutemovietofeelasthoughyouhadbeencheatedoutofhalfand
hour,butthestoryistoldsowellthatit’scompletelysatisfying
•BabyMineissoeffectivebecauseofthepreceedingscenesbeforeit.Establishingandspending
timeonDumboandmother’srelationshippaysoff.
•TimothyMouseisthevoiceoftheaudience.Whichhelpstogetus,theaudience,involved.
Thisisatimelineofthecoloursofthemovie(afilteredimagefrommoviebarcode.tumblr.com)
Youcanseeveryclearlytheemotionalarcofthemovie,justrepresentedincolours.Theemotional
high-pointsofthemoviearebrighter,andthelowpointsaredarker.WhenDumbo(andtheaudi-
ence)isfeelinganintenseemotion-joywhenhe’sflyingorfearwhenhe’sforcedtoperform-the
coloursaremoresaturated.Whenhe’sdepressedandput-upon,thecoloursdrainout.
Story
1. Intro and the Stork fails to deliverThisisapleasantandslowscenewhichtakesafewminutestodrawtheaudienceintothefilm.Ithinkthisisabetterapproachthangrabbingtheaudience’sattentionwithaction
2. “Casey Junior” and the baby is deliveredThissceneestablishesawholebunchofthings. Firstoff,thecolourfulandtunefulsceneofthetrainbouncingalongletsyouknowthatthefilmisgoingtobealotoffun. Andlaterinthescene,Dumboiscompletelyestablished.Hisinnocenceandhelplessness,theotherelephants’prejudiceandhismother’sdefenseofhim.Dumboismutewhichletsusprojectourselvesintohimveryheavily
3. Setting up the circusThisiskindofatransitionalscene,butfleshedoutalittletoshowacoupleofthings.Itshowsthattheanimalsareaworkingpartofthetravellingcircus. Thehumancharactersarekeptalmostinsillhouettetodistancethem-lettingyouknowthatthehumancharactersaren’tamajorpartofthestoryandthey’rereallyjustincidentalwithoutanypersonalities.Thefilmisgoingtobeallabouttheanimalcharacters
4. Parade and Dumbo plays with motherAveryfun,cuteandlightsequencewhichsetsupagreatcontrastforthefollowingscene.EstablishessettingandstrengthensourunderstandingofthebondbetweenDumboandmother.
Strengtheningthebondsothattheycanreallybreakourheartslater
5. the kids make fun of Dumbo, Mother defends him and is restrainedThisscenewiththecrackingwhipandthestompingmotherelephantfeelsveryharshandshockingincomparisontothepreceedingscene.
6. Gossiping elephants and Timothy Mouse is introducedDespitebeingseperated,Dumboandmotherareconnectedvisually-bothswayinginthesameway,motherwithshadowstripesacrossherfromtheprisonbars,Dumboagainstthestripesonthetent.Asanonlooker,Timothyisspeakingfortheaudience.Weimmediatelylikehimbecauseheisspeakingaloudhowwefeelabouttheotherelephants.
7. Mouse tells the Ringleader about Dumbo in his sleepSomevisual“cartoony”fun.ClownsintroducedassilhouettesandtheRingleaderisalsojustincidental.Acompletelytypicalcircusringleader.
AgainthiskeepstheinterestonDumboandMouse
8. Elephants perform and Dumbo knocks them all downSomephysicalfunandphysicalaction,somefunnypersonalitystuffwiththeelephantsclimbingononeanother.
Amongstthephysicalactionwedon’tfeelbadfortheaccidentitself,butthatweknowDumbo’sself-esteemisbeingcrushedevenfurther
9. Everybody hates DumboThisshortscenejustsaltsthewound.MakesusfeelworseforDumboandhatethemeanelephantsmore.
10. Dumbo as a ClownDumboisputuponeven more. Furtherdegradedanddepressed. Thebouncingclownsreallycontrastitandrubitin
11. Baby MineTheiconicheartbreakerscene.Extremelypowerfulandextremelysensitive.Thesongandthesoftsnoozingoftheanimalsinthemontagecompletelydrawyouinandkeepyoufixedonthescreen.
12. Champage falls in the bucket and Mouse pep-talkAlighter,funnierscene,stillwiththeatmosphereofanemotionallydrainingnight.
Givestheaudiencetimetodrytheireyesandtakeabreathbeforethefollowingscene
13. Pink Elephants on ParadeNotanemotional,storytelling,orevencharacter-drivenscene.
Butitdoesserveapurposeinthestory. WehavealotofsurrealvisualfunwhichrelievesusoftheemotionaltraumafromBabyMine,anditputsDumboandMouseupinthetreewithoutthemknowingwhy.
14. Meeting the Crows and the magic featherThisisabig,longsequenceandalotofthecharacters’storyarcpivotshere.TheCrowscomeoffastroublesomeandrudewhenwefirstmeetthem,buttheyendupbeingkeytoDumbo’ssuccess.
Moodstayslightandjovialwiththesong“WhenIseeandElephantFly”
15. Dumbo FliesTheemotionalhighpointofthemovie. AlthoughwemighthaveseenDumboflyingontheDVDcover,itisstillsurprisingandjoyouswhenweseehimdoit,duetotheeffectivestorytelling. Provingthattheaudience’semotionalinvolvementwiththecharactersismuchmoreimportantthantheplotpointsofthemovie.It’snotaboutwhathappens,it’sabouthowthecharactersreacttoit.
16. Dumbo flies at the circusInthisscenehedefeatsthecircus.Heruinstheclownsact,spitspeanutsattheelephantswhoweremeantohimearlier,andwowsthecircusaudiencewhilehe’satit.Anditfeelsgreat.
great‘sinkorswim’momentwhenhe’splummetinghavingdroppedthe‘magic’feather
17. Paper Montages, Dumbo flies to mother, end.Thespinningnewspapermontagequicklypassestimeandglossesoversomeemotionallyunimportantstuff.AswellasemphasisingDumbo’striumphabit. ToseeDumboreunitewithhismotherisagreatjoyforusanditsendsusoutofthecinemawithagreatfeeling.
TheOverallVisualStyleis-
•NOTexperimental,apartfrom‘PinkElephants’
•Notcomplex.Noneedformultiplaneormanyeffects,BGpaintingsmakegreatuseofwater
colourwashes
•Acontinuationofthe30’sstyle.Roundshapes,fluidinking,animationmuchbroaderthan
Bambi
•Characterdesignsnotterriblyinventive,butthepersonalitiesare.Clearlyexperimentationwas
nottheprimaryaim,butAPPEALwas.Thefilmhasaverywell-informedsimplicity.They
wereeconomisingwithaverystrongideaofwhattokeepandwhattoexcludevisually,aswell
asinthestory.
•Someboldcolourchoices,especiallyinthecircus.
•Stagedwithaverystrongsilhouettesandposesthatreadinasnap
Design
Let’slookathowsomespecificscenesarecomposedandlaidout.InthisoneMrs.Jumboisexpectingoneoftheair-droppedpackagestobeforher.
Beforeitenterstheframe,thecharacterisstagedwithnegativespaceandweexpecttoseesomethinghappeninthispartofthescreen,justlikethecharacterdoes
Whenitdoesentertheframeitistheareaofhighestcontrastintheimagesowefollowitinstinctively.It’scommonpracticeforcartooneyestobequitebrightsothatwecanalwaysseewherethey’relooking,whichimmediatelygivesusagoodinsightintowhatthey’rethinking.
Withthecoloursaveraged-outyoucanseethatthey’vecreateddepthbymakingthecharacterintheforegroundwarmerandthebackgroundcooler.ThiscoupledwithgreatdraughtsmanshipinboththeBGandcharactergreatlyaidbelievability.Weknowthatthisisnotanelephantstandinginfrontofapictureofacircustent.SheisINtheplace
What’sthemostimportantthinginthisscene?-Dumbo’sfear.Howdoyoushowthat?
Puthimdeadinthecentreofthescreenandshineabigspotlightathim.Thisputsthecontrastrightonthecharacter
Painthisfacewhitesothatwegostraighttohis eyes
Usecolourtemperaturestoputhiminacold,starkspotabovefierce,reddanger.
Tilt the buildingtomakethewholesceneprecarious
HowdoyoumakealittleElephantlookisolatedandlonely?
Movefromacloser,moreintimateshot
lookingupwardswithsomedetail...
Toawide-open,almostemptyscenewherehe’sverysmallonthescreen.Thewholethingiswashedoutincoolcoloursandthehighestpointofcontrastisstillhiseyes,whichkeepsourconcernwithDumbo
StagingIntimacy:
Obviouslythecontactbetweenthe
charactersistheimportantthinghere.
Everythingsupportsthatfocalpointand
thesizecontrastworksgreatbecause
Dumboiscompletelyenveloped
Curvedshapeswrapintothefocalpoint
Alsonotethatthelowangle.We’relookingatthescene
fromroughlyDumbo’sheight,nothismother’sorthe
otherstandingelephants.
Againtheparent’sbodycompletely
wrapsaroundthecubsandwe’reata
lowanglewiththem.
TigerStripesmostlylead
inward,towardstheintimacy
Colourtemperatureused
togreateffecttoo.A
warmcuddleonacool,
calmnight.Allofthe
animalsinthesecut-aways
arecolouredwithwarm
browns
StagingThreat:
Clusteredgangthataremuchmuch
biggerthanDumbo,whoislooking
starkinanareaoflittledetail.
Motherdeliberatelykeptoutofviewto
emphasisethis(untilshepopsintosave
him)
Highhorizonlinesothatwearelookingdownontiny
Dumbo,andtheadultelephantslookcloserandbigger.
Trunkspointingdownathimaddtotheaccusingthreat.
StagingAction:
Minimalbackgroundthatcontraststhe
charactergreatly.Thisallowsposesto
readveryquickly.Iftherewerebranches
andbushesbehindhim,wewouldn’tbe
abletotellwhatheisdoing.
Highcontrastimageshowinghowthesceneisdesignedso
thatyouimmediatelyseethecharacter’sbodyattitudeand
hiseye,whichtellsuswhathe’sthinking,feelinganddoing
inasplitsecond.
Animation
FirstI’llbelookingatthisWardKimballscenewiththesedancingcrows.Youcanseeitat
youtube.com/watch?v=_v2exWrsGOcaround53secondsin.It’sabout7secondsso,about
176framesinlength
BeforeIbreakitdownI’venoticedthefollowingaboutthesceneingeneral-
-It’sonones.‘Cartoony’stufflikethisnormallywouldn’tbeonones,butthebestreasons
IcanthinkofarethatA:It’saDisneyfilm,andB:asshapestheyaremakingquitebroad
movesaroundthescreen,whichmightmaketwosveryobvious
-It’ssettomusic,sothekeyscanbeonbarsandaccents,andbreakdownscanbeonbeats.
-Verylittleoverlapexceptthehatsandtails.Helps
believabilitywhilenotcomplicatingthesimple
movements.Theoverlapalsoworksonbeats-abeat
behindthemainactionunlessit’sinterruptedto
supportanaccentpose
-Lipsyncandfacialexpressionsareprettysimple.
Thebeakswillbendabittosupporttheposebut
willotherwisearejustopenorclosed.Morecomplex
orsubtleexpressionswouldgetlostinthebroad
animationanyway
WhentheCrowsarestruttingintothecentre-
Hatsarepartoftheposes.
Notjustanafterthought
accessory
Coolattitudeshownby
hanngingalltheweight
down.Animationisloose
andbouncy
Thoughhe’dlookdejectedif
theheadwastiltedabitfurther
down.Shouldersanimateona
double-bouncewhichkeepsit
lively
Changesinshapeand“lineof
action”helptohitthebeats.
useofcleverspacinghitsthe
beatsintime.Withtoomuch
easinghewouldappeartojust
bewigglingwithoutrythmand
withtooaggressiveachange,
thecoolattitudewouldn’tcome
acrossanditwouldseemtoo
erratic
Whentheyjointogether-
Biggestsquashinthesceneisthisonewhen
theyfirstslaptogether.
Theysticktheirwingsouttomakeawide
shape,tosetupcontrastforthefollowing
pose-
Astretchupwards.
Theycatchtheirhatsastheyshootuponto
thebeat.Wingsshootdowninadynamic
changeofshape.
Thewingsareslightlyoutofsynctoavoid
twinning.
Aftertheyspinaroundontheirtoes,theyland
inthisgreatfinalpose.Whichhasalittlebitofa
‘movinghold’.Fantasticlineofactionfromthe
Greycrow’selbowdowntotheirfeet.Slightbulge
athisunderarmhelpsshowthattheothercrowis
leaningonhim.Veryclearsilhouettedespitethe
visualfunwiththetwoofthemstucktogether
dancing,whichyoumightexpectwouldbea
messtolookat
NextI’mlookingthisscenebyArtBabbittorthestorkdeliveringthebabyDumbo.Youcan
seeitherehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI5n5ngaaHcstartingaroundthe48second
mark.
I’venotedthefollowingthingsaboutthesceneoverall-
-It’s368framesinlength,makingabout15andahalfseconds.Afairlylongscene.
-It’salmostallontwos,withtheexceptionofoneortwobroaderactions.Why?Foralarge
partofthescene,he’sjustsittinglookingatthemap.There’snoneedforonesthere.The
characterisalsonotveryhighcontrastagainsttheBG,unlikethecrows,sothere’sless
chanceofvisiblestrobing.
-Onlyalittlesquashandstretchhereandthere.It’smostly“compressionanddistension”,
withthecharacter’sbonesconsidered.
-Thelipsyncisjustopenandclose,likethecrows.Again,itworksfine.It’sclearthatthe
ideaof“phrasing”thatRichardWilliamstalksaboutishowlipsyncSHOULDworkin
animation,andnotwiththosemouthshapechartsyouseeinotheranimationresources.
-Thecharacter’sbodyisacontrastofhardandsoft.Hislegsandbeakagainshisbodyand
wings.
Forthefirst120framesof
thescene,he’ssittinglike
this.Whyisitstagedthis
way?
Sittingthatwayimmediatelyshowsthecharacter’sattitude.Heisconfortablewithhisrou-
tineproceedure.It’smuchmoreeffectivethanitwouldhavebeenifhewaskneelingor
ifhislegsweretogether.Puttinghiminthatplaceonthescreenhasaspecificeffecttoo.
We’relookingdownathim,whichhelpsusseehispose.He’splacedabovethecentreofthe
screenandslightlytoourright.Thismakesusexpectsomethingtohappenintheempty
space.We’reworriedwhilehe’shappilyunaware.
Afterthat,there’sacooltakewhenhenoticesthebagisn’tthere.
hishandgoesdownonframe92 butthethoughtdown’thithimuntilframe
104.Thisissomethingthataddsagreat
dealofbelivabilitytothecharacterwhichI
probablywouldn’thavethoughtof.
Headsquashedonthatframe. Thenshootsuptoastretchedexpression
on106withonlyoneinbetween.Thisisthe
onlyuseofonesinthescene.
Andbacktonormalat110
Thenhejumpsdownanddragsuptheheavybag.
Whenhereachesdown,hemakesasmall,
compressedshape,whichsetsupacontrast
to...
...abigstretchupwards.Theshapechange
emphasisestheforce.
Overlayingtheframestogether,youcankindofseehowthespacingisplotted.Ihadto
scaleandmovetheframestocompensateforacameramove,soit’snottoallyaccurate,but
yougettheidea.
Shapechangesoccurwhenthecharacterchangesthepartofhisbodythat’stakingthe
weight.Soit’sprettyclearhere.There’sashapechangeoncethebaggetsmomentum,and
anotherwhenhecatchesthebagatthetopofthearc,hisbacktakingtheweight.
Spacingisusedtogreateffecthere,whenhe’sdraggingthebagup,thespacingispretty
tightandslow.Oncethebaggainsmomentum,hemovesupfaster,withwiderspacing,and
theniteasesoutagainwhenhestartstosupportthebag.Squashandstretchonthebagalso
emphasisesthis.
Afterthathewalksalongtotheedgeofthecloud,strugglingtocarrytheweight
Thisisshowninthepassingpositionswiththesehugeleansleftandrighteverytimehe
steps,tocompensatefortheweightofthebag.
Thenwhenheleapsofftheedge,expecting
tofly,hedoessoquickly,justafewframesto
gethimintotheair
Hefloatsforagoodhalf-second
Untiltheweightcatchesupwithhimandhe
plummetsdownin4frames.Agreatuseof
easinginandout.
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