Researching and Groupwork:
In our World of Animation class we were assigned to groups of 4 to research and formulate our own presentation slides based off the short film “Savannah Swift” by Savannah Swift team. This small team consisted of Pauline Gregoire, Lucie Bonzom, Theo Pierrel Et and Benoit Parias. It was frustrating to not delve further into the small teams background and personal thought processes behind making the film, the most I could find about the background of the short would be it was produced under Taiko Studios in 2018 and was a French award winning short film.
To gather and simplify my part of the presentation I decided to watch over the short and take down any aspects that personally stood out to me. I found the editing portion to be quite daunting as it was the last thing on my mind when watching the short, camera and mise-en-scene being my most desired areas to analyse. However I collected myself, did research on the main editing techniques most common in film and connected my research to what was shown in the example clips to our animated film.
Based off of the notes I had taken and familiarising myself with the different methods of editing, I formulated my slides.
My intention was to bullet point and condense the information down to present to the class, however due to time constraints I was unable to practise my speech as much as I wanted.
Brainstorming & suggestions:
Adding my own notes/observations for groups slides:
Short Observation/Analysis:
The fist CGI sequence viewers are subjected to is the logo over a rotating sphere that replicates the setting where the short takes place, what I imagine to be the animation studios name placed within it’s core. I wanted to investigate nature documentaries, mainly national geographic, to see if they achieve a similar effect with their openings and this was the first shot:
In comparison to the animation companies logo at the beginning of the short:
The animation logo hints the setting using the same 3D assets that are in the short itself and shows a “mini world” that corresponds to the opening of a national geographic documentary, which views a world globe. This is the first link that the viewer can make regarding what approach the animation wants to take.
They then solidify this with the establishing shot, a slow tracking pan upward shows the vast nature of the Savannah. The scene visually takes on an orange hue to show the viewer the time of day, alongside displays the hot environment that regularly comes with a desert setting. Progressively through the short the hue shifts to a brighter, neutral scene. This could be a visual story telling technique to indicate the passage of time, or the “speed” in which time takes place in contrast to the speed of the animals chase. I also realized the horizon has a blurred filter and the saturation is increased, as the Cheetah’s true intentions are hazy and unclear to begin with, the more time that passes in the short it becomes brighter and overly saturated as the Cheetah’s true aim “comes to light” is the audiences “eureka” moment (lightbulb – realization – the background visual of the sun). Another note: when Cheetah is sheltered from the sun a shadow is casted, making the outside appear uncomfortable and unwelcome due to it’s heated haze, we as a audience also wanting to be shielded from the overwhelming heat.
How the short captures their intention of speed is through not only camera movement but visuals. To begin the camera tracks the animals to indicate speed throughout the chase, much to link back to the concept of formula 1 racing and how they use fast tracking cameras to build up excitement and intensity. The camera isn’t very static, it has life to it by quickly following the movement of the figures, becomes static and still only when the Cheetah has slowed down and bounds back up once the Cheetah has regained speed. We are following the emotional journey of the Cheetah as the camera embodies the figures energy, ramps up emotional intensity and anxiety once we switch over to the Giselle only to realize the Cheetah has now caught up.
The design elements hints to the “swift” section of the title as well as keeping true to the established iconology. For Example, the Cheetah and Giselle are built to fit into the design of a sports car and rust bucket car, the diegetic sound builds to this visual as we hear differently pitched motor sounds that establish a stronger, faster paced vehicle vs a weaker, feeble motor. This is also accompanied by the dust kickback, which is supposed to resemble “exhaust” from behind the figures.
Established characters are seen to have a motion blur effect in multitude of shots, alongside the tree designs taken on a “lightning bolt” design, linking back to the phrase “as fast as lightning”. The clouds also are sharp and resemble “speed lines”, once you move quickly past an object it becomes distorted and follows the directional flow. Also resembles “long exposure” shots, in which movement in capture through photography.
Overall I enjoy exploring film techniques and methods in which are implemented to define and tell a story. Through the lesson content I believe helped in brainstorming and building my knowledge to help me in the presentation and being able to analyse a scene. I can go into film analysis with more confidence and can’t wait to expand on what I learn through my classmates and the lectures to come. The only thing I regret with my presentation is not using bullet points and elaborating on my ideas, I strictly relied on my compiled information on my slides rather than relay my gathered research naturally through bullet points & notes. I was also unable to practise my presentation and nearly didn’t present due to nerves, I was still nervous but I’m glad I got the chance to present.
Bibliography and Resources:
Articles:
Pascual, Ashley (27th April, 2021). What is an iris out? Available at:
https://beverlyboy.com/filmmaking/what-is-an-iris-out/
Kennedy, Kevin (nd), Planning Animation Cinematography and Shot Structure to Communicate Theme and Mood. Available at:
McAfee, Ryan (nd) 15 Creative Editing Techniques Every Video Editor Should Know. Available at:
https://blog.pond5.com/11099-13-creative-editing-techniques-every-video-editor-should-know/
College Film and Media Studies (nd) Editing. Available at:
https://collegefilmandmediastudies.com/editing/
Kench, Sam (July 4th, 2021) What is Motion Blur, Is Motion Blur Good and Why Does it Happen? Available at:
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-motion-blur-definition/
Fusco, Jon (24th June 2016) The Psychology of Colour in Film (with examples). Available at:
https://nofilmschool.com/2016/06/watch-psychology-color-film
Youtube Videos:
RocketJump Film School (3rd March, 2016) Cuts & Transitions. Available at: https://youtu.be/OAH0MoAv2CI
VaRaces Chase Database (19 April, 2013) Jack Reacher Car Chase (2012) HD. Available at: https://youtu.be/yQintjPovHA
Focus Features (17 July 2021) Edgar Wright’s Hyper-Quick Cuts in Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz & Worlds End. Available at: https://youtu.be/ezaw1msr728
Flight, Thomas (25 September 2019) Mindhunter’s Brilliant Editing – A Breakdown. Available at: https://youtu.be/pdku68nL-B4