Flash Animation Topic Research

Causes of Homelessness in Australia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Australia#Causes

The leading cause of homelessness in Australia is "domestic and family violence", which is in contradiction to the common belief that it is simply difficulties financially that cause somebody to be homeless.

An extract from "http://www.streetsmartaustralia.org/homelessness"

A common stereotype of homeless people is that they are all old men, however "Close to half the homeless are female — many with young children — and nearly half of all homeless are under the age of 25."

CODEHUNTERS ANALYSIS

#1: Camera Angles

Extreme Close-up:

Extreme Long Shot

Long Shot

Mid Shot

Close Up

P.O.V (Point of View)

#2: Connotations

Crow: Adds a dark, mysterious atmosphere to the film, is a symbol of bleakness

Bubblegum: Because something as basic as a person chewing gum can make them seam tough and disregarding of the law, and helps in telling the audience the type of character he is without even having him speak

Guarded Metal Box: The element of mystery as to whats inside it, makes the audience feel that something is happening behind the main plot that they are unaware of

#3: Symbolic Colour

The washed out and subdued colour gives the film in various scenes a dark feel to it, and in some places where the sand is brown and most colours are a faded brown gives it a very Western and Outback feeling.

#4: Camera Techniques

A very obvious yet effective use of zooming in the film is at the beginning with the man sitting at the back of the bus, and the camera zooms into him from afar. This highlights the fact that he has some sort of rebellious nature to him in that he's sitting on the bus and no other seats are taken. He also in that scene has his hat tilted down so he comes across as mysterious and not a very forthcoming character.

This films use of panning is when the woman is walking out of the bar and a man sticks a bat out to stop her. The camera pans from the woman, across the bat, until it shows the man who is sitting at a table.

#5: Symbolism

One of the most obvious uses of symbolism in the film is the setting: a torn apart city that covered in rubble and is basically destroyed. This could be interpreted as a symbol of a post-apocalyptic world, and as aliens are present in the fight scene at 4:50, an alien invasion is perhaps the reason for the apocalypse. 

#6: Ben Hibon's P.O.V

His version of reality that is expressed in the film is a very bleak world, one that is completely destroyed, corrupted, invaded and in a war. Violence is a prominent theme in the film and is perhaps symbolic of the type of society that we live in today, but set in the future.

Character Designs - Flash

Character Design - Main Character and Mother Face

The kid is the main character in the animation

South Park Animation (Flash)

South Park Animation

Screen from Animation

Eric Cartman Character Analysis

Eric Cartman

Character Analysis

The target audience for Eric Cartman and "South Park" in general is mid-to-late teenagers due to his frequent use of vulgarity, racial and religious stereotyping, his worshiping of infamous people such as Hitler and Mel Gibson, and the way he casts out people who don't look or act like him, such as Ginger's, homeless people, hippies, gays, elders and his friend "Butters".

Disney Animation Era

In the era of Disney animation, they designed their characters in a way that was visually appealing, thus why characters such as Mickey Mouse, Bambi, Mini Mouse etc. have a "baby" like appearance (big eyes, always smiling, usually in the form of mice, deer, rabbits, and not aggressive animals such as tigers or lions). 

Pixar Animation Era

However, characters developed by Pixar have changed their approach to developing appealing characters. Whilst back in the era of Disney animation characters were primarily visually appealing, in modern Pixar movies one of the main focus' of animators is to create appeal through relationships between characters and the way character traits are exaggerated to make the characters appealing to the audience. An example is Woody from Toy Story, cowboys aren't generally appealing to it's target audience of children. However, his friendly nature and frequent antics with the other characters make him appealing to the target audience in a different way to how Disney characters were appealing in the early days of animation.

Film Genre Trailer Analysis - Horror

Trailers analysed: Friday the 13^th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dead Space 2 (video game), Cabin in the Woods, Silent Hill: Downpour (video game), Scream 4, Smiley

Notes: 

 - The lighting is usually dark and at night or in dark rooms.

 - Screen cuts frequently to different scenes to add suspense and tension to the trailer and make it seem scarier.

 - Usually ends with part of a murder scene and cuts before the victim is killed.

 - Flashlights in dark rooms are a frequently occurring object.

 - End on a high suspense scene, such as a murder, a fight scene, death etc.

 - Not only movies use these elements, but video games and TV shows as well.

 - Set in dark forests, haunted houses, storage rooms, coffins etc.

 - The lighting in these trailers rarely brighten up, but when they do it is usually a result of a flashlight being shined into the camera or a light flickering in a dark room.

 - The music that is most frequently used is either high violins playing eerie music, or low cello’s adding suspense to the movie. Sound FX are echoed and edited to sound louder and to help add the element of fear to the trailer.

 - Characters faces are covered in dirt or blood and are wearing torn or muddy clothing.

 - Villains occasionally wear masks to cover their identity, as well as scare the victim.

 - Fire and Torches are a frequently recurring item/theme and again are a rare sight of light