We were split into groups to analyse short animations then prepare a presentation. I was placed into Group Ten with Katrina, Sweeney and Lee where we had to analyse the short animation “Afternoon Class”. Below are the notes I made along with references I used.
NOTES
Mise-En-Scene
- Props; desk has sketches of mech suits – Oh has said he loves mecha anime; sketchy style implies he’s been drawing loosely to stay awake. Fleshes out character + endears us to him; sense of realism in contemporary pop culture reference and common student activity [ref = (Han, 2019)]
- Eyes are a huge focus (might come more under camera but we’ll put it here for now); more visual metaphor – “eyes are the window to the soul”; glasses act as a shield against teacher’s true emotion (the sleepy)
- Imagery exaggeration; head cracks and nose bleeds after hitting desk barely beneath him; visual markers of mental pain; visual storytelling
- Could the morphing items have meaning? See Korean idioms in future
Colour
- Reds and blues throughout the chase parts of the dream sequence, but settles into a green after the old man (himself) passes away and he chooses to sleep in class; sense of calm after
- Colour Palette consists mainly of the split complementary colours red green and blue
- Classroom uses cool tones with exception of pinks for the students faces, thus allows more focus on characters.
- During the dream sequence the contrast of the red and blue evoke a sense of panic (think emergency lights) as it’s stressful to view. Makes his attempt to wake up feel more urgent and frantic
- The dream sequence settles on a cool green once he confronts his infant and elderly self, green is commonly known to create a sense of calmness in individuals so it is suitable they use green to show he’s accepted his rest.
- Green known for being calm, peaceful colour. dream ends with green, he accepts rest
Narrative
- Dream sequence; fruitless attempts of trying to stay awake, showing he’s not falling asleep just because class is boring but wants to go to extreme (violent) lengths to keep himself awake; depth
- Running and jumping even as he’s stopping his dream selves; even in sleep he gives no time to rest
- Not just “bored”, he’s not Petulant, him and his classmates are overworked (girl with pencil is still writing even in sleep). Endears us to his struggle rather than alienate us. Teacher keeps teaching until last student falls asleep. Overworked culture that doesn’t value sleep
- Heavy focus on the eyes “eyes are window to the soul” perhaps – EG Teacher’s eyes are shielded by glasses for the majority of animation, giving the impression he is awake, only once everyone in class has fallen asleep does he take off his glasses, showing us his tired eyes. His pupils expand and soften before he naps in his chair.
- EG Focus on MC’s eyes drooping and warping out of shape when he tries to stay awake, pupils stretched when falling asleep similar to teacher’s. More emphasise during dream scene, violently sprays/pokes his eyes to stay awake.
Audio
- Likely foley – instruments used as sound effects – sound design that evokes nostalgia
- Instruments include – Triangle, wood guiro, low chimes (followed by a snap transitioning into the rhythmic clock) etc
- Music is energetic and speeds up during run, drumsticks become louder while triangle is less frequent. Speeds up before slowing down and introducing new instruments when encountering hs older and infant self, shows he’s accepting that he needs to slow down, to rest
- Tinnitus- commonly associated with jet lag, emphasises theme of sleep
REFERENCES
https://www.color-meanings.com/split-complementary-colors/