Houck-+Animator+Research

media type="youtube" key="0KTU7-lZXCU" width="560" height="315" This computer animation is from Disney Animation Shorts. I included this animation, because all around I like the feel of it from the animal main character, to it becoming the hero in the end that we all had hoped for. I first found the work when it first came out in front of credits of another Disney movie, but heard about it more when it received the best animated short film at the Oscar in 2015. In general I just liked the tone that the whole animation had, from watching the puppy grow up into a dog, and the use of color from the sad beginnings into the bright additions to the food bowl everyday for the dog. Although this is a short animation, the animators did a good job of pacing the film and creating the direct contrast between life before and after the food was introduced to the dog, and the contrast to before and after the girlfriend was introduced into its life. On the color aspect, the common aspects of the color green and red successfully continued it until the end, and in the end wrapped the whole story up. The use of sound just unified the changing scenes with the plopping of food into the bowl everyday, or the dogs barks to get the attention of its owner into every background before moving onto the next. Without the sounds effects in this clip, the animation would be missing something and the viewers would have to be the ones to guess what the sound of a busy restaurant would be or the yips of a puppy. Even though they are just everyday sounds that everyone has heard before, adding them into this piece created more of a mini movie and overall unified it.

media type="youtube" key="Ijwy8XFC4wg" width="560" height="315" This stop-motion animation was created by Youtuber [|Lulcapped]. I have always had an interest in stop animation, but hadn't ever attempted it myself due to the time consuming process of the work and the probability of me messing it up along the way. I choose to include this work specifically, because I liked the contrast and story behind the computer animation making its way into the real world, and having the stick figure try and figure out its way around its creators house. The whole piece is just a visual contrast between the clean lines of the stick figure compared to the more textured real world of carpets, dogs and high tops. As a whole the animation relied on the idea of perspective, and how the world may appear different to an outsider or to someone much smaller. The background music is upbeat and fits the adventure story line of the stick figure making its way around its creators home. However the background sound wasn't as necessary to the clip as it would be in others, because there were no certain sounds the figure would make as it jumped or ran, simply the same background music no matter what motion the character was in.

media type="youtube" key="-lmbKeYnR3c" width="560" height="315" This computer animation was made my Youtuber [|Qinni]. I choose to add this animation, because overall it's adorable and have watched it too many times. I found it months ago and kept it because I loved the softer tones of color and the element of glow around the "night lights" in contrast to the night sky. The animation used a great deal of texture between her main character and the rest of the "night lights" in comparison to her night time background, creating an overall calm tone to her work playing the the lights and darks of her "night lights" and having those lights glow off of the landscape around them. The sweet nature in general between the girl and her creatures working together and relying on each other, reminds me of the love that any pet owner can relate to when it comes to doing anything to help their pet. Additionally just the relaxing tone of this animation kept the viewer intrigued, and let the story play out in front of them instead of having to try and decipher what was going on in the video. The music picks up when the character is on the run to catch up the the one in need (playing with the adventure tone of the piece) and then calms down when the situation isn't as drastic and its just her and her creatures. Without music it'd just be a flatscape of the characters moving along at random times, without a cue to music when the action is about to pick up. If music wasn't involved, it would be a waste of a good animation because the viewer would be able to tell that, although the animations of the characters themselves are great, the animation was lacking something.

media type="youtube" key="D_Rx4qZ8QRc" width="560" height="315" This computer animation was made by [|The CGBros]. Any video in general with animals getting adopted, animation or not, gets me every time so I choose to include this one. This animation played with textures, from between the poodle, the makeshift poodle hair and the girl from the fluffy nature of the hair to the rugged appearance of cage bars. The animation took place from the girls perspective as she walked around the kennel looking for her new companion, and choosing to do this gave the viewer a sense of perspective on how the situation may appear to her, in contrast to how we saw the main dog reaction to her. In addition to this idea, the tone of the colors plays a big part of the scene of the story, because the colors are muted creating the sadder atmosphere that a dog shelter has, and even kept the color palette to a bland spectrum, with the only bright color being the girl (symbolizing that she is the light/future for the dogs). The use of sound in this animation was really to get the desperation of the dog into the main idea and driving force behind why this animation was created. The dogs whimpering showed the main motivation it had in order to get adopted, and you felt sad from having to see this poor dog be looked over and you felt for it. There wasn't immense background music, but it worked for this animation so the focus wouldn't be lost mid way through the story.

media type="youtube" key="h_KOGCCfz9k" width="560" height="315" This animation came from [|Vancouver Film School]. This animation caught my attention due to the funny scenarios, the use of color and the rhythm of the animation as a whole. The whole animation focuses on the movement of each coming storm, like the waves or the snow storm and the contrast between the two characters and what they're wearing each day. Overall the animation is balanced and united from the continuous use of the bus as a transition to the next day giving the whole animation a sense of time as well. In total, the animations rhythm and sense of humor played a big part in creating this, because right before the new weather comes in, there's always a beat of music that makes you wonder if the guy wins that time (spoiler he never really does). Personally I liked the contrast of the two characters, relating to who I am as a person (over plans for everything) and the one who doesn't know anything going on around them. By adding the sound effects of water hitting the ground and the collapse of the snow, it just makes the visual element of both snow and water a bit more emphasize into the scenario. In addition the overall happy background music throughout adds the lighthearted nature of the piece, without it the story line could be preserved in a different way, or as a sort of public safety announcement.

media type="youtube" key="0l940bPkV1o" width="560" height="315" This computer animation came from [|Bleated Media] and was used a a cartoon pilot. The whole story revolved around a girl, with a tragic backstory, growing up in a graveyard and lives with ghosts. By choosing this medium, the animators created an interesting contrast between the opacity of the ghosts to their environment, and the different colors used to reflect the personality of the characters and their respective time periods. Inside of this, the use of color is made to represent each of the characters, the like the main character wearing more dark purple and gray, instead of the bright pink and yellow like the antagonists wear. Overall I just love the concept behind the animation and the insert of different time period personality and costume working together to create an interesting story line. The use of balance of the supernatural and reality combined with an upbeat sound track creates a immersive world inside the screen, that the main characters can explore and grow up from their respective stereotypes. Sound in this animation is everything, from the characters interacting with one another, to the sound track used to unite the story, even to the slight changes in pace due to an unfortunate event just made the story with the addition of sounds, that we couldn't have gotten from a silent animation.