Animation Blog #1

Between Bears from Eran Hilleli on Vimeo.

This animation, while intruiging, did not communicate a complete message to me. It was done using adobe after effects and maya 3d to acheive a 3d cartoon effect. It is hard to understand the story because of the flat characters and very subtle yet abstract imagery. The animator describes it as referring to his childhood hopes and dreams.

To me, it seemed to accomplish a mood of searching through life's mystery for answers. In the beginning there is a bear that is shaving off all his fur, and perhaps that signifies growing up. Although it was very beautiful and inspiring, I got lost as to the meaning of the story. Unlike in Disney Animation, the characters were dull, triangular animations. They hardly gave the illusion of life. This seems very intentional. I think this was to acheive a more dream-like quality. Their life was more-so in the surreal territory the characters inhabited, along with the actions they took.

Over-all, the clip communicated a sort of cut off feeling, and the sense of being isolated from a hidden secret. I came to the conclusion that it was about parallels and hidden meanings. The people were constantly chasing black butterflies, which had floated off the bear when he shaved his fur.  The butterflies then appeared to be related to the people themselves, and it seemed as though they were chasing figments of themselves in a different space.

In the end the bear was attracting the butterflies, when the camera went underwater to a white and black bear. Then when it came back up, the bear was black. This animation was very different from the ones in the book, but in some ways it did have some Disney style elements. The trees, for instance, appeared to be on many planes like the Multiplane Camera. I also thought the technique was innovative, but I found myself wanted more character and plot development.