Philosophy

Incentive

What initially got me hooked on animation was the experience of witnessing something magical. Something inanimate suddenly come to life. At first it may have been enough merely to see the drawings move, but soon I wanted something more.

Over the years , I have tried over and over, to define ever more precisely, just what this magic is all about.

Qualities

Throughout their book," The illusion of life" , Frank and Ollie again and again return to their core message: The illusion of life, the moment of magic, is created when the audience becomes emotionally involved in the characters on the screen . The animator communicates to the audience through the characters and their emotions. That may sound simple and self-evident , but it isn´t . Your character must be alive with thoughts and feelings. These feelings must be expressed through all of his body. He must be vibrantly in his body all the time.

Here is the magic I have been trying to catch: Characters that sparkle with life . Real, living, believeable personalities interacting emotionally. To acheive all of this , is what makes all the labour and struggle worthwile. One more thing, The animation must be the personal expression of the animator - formula treatment kills the spirit of life.

So it is not story, style, design, shading, highlights, special effects,animation principles and formulas,however sophisticated, (so much animation is nothing but that) . It is the personal statement of the animator, communicating emotionally with the audience that matters to me.

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