A substantial amount of research will need to be done, as animation is very time consuming, especially on the amateurish level with few tools and little experience, the animation will need to be minimalistic. Filmography must be simple to allow for the animation to be synchronized with the live-action elements. In addition, surveys must be conduced to get insight into what the audience for this genre would be interested in seeing. As this is an animated/live action production, it will typically be seen as targeted towards a young audience, so this research will have to be conducted among children mostly age 8 – 11.
This film
is a combination of animation and live action elements, in which mimes and
puppets were used to simulate the presence of animated characters during live
action filming, with the cell animation added later. As this was produced
between 1986 and 1987, there was no CGI easily accessible, so the animation was
tedious cell animation drawn by hand and manipulated to appear as though they
were directly interacting with the live action elements. This meant
synchronizing the lighting with the animation, and using puppets. While it much
easier to achieve this today, the fact that it was done so well with such
difficult and tedious techniques is impressive, and what I believe to be a gap
in the market.
As for the
film itself, merely analyzing the trailer is a field day in itself, as there
are so many elements that are worth commenting on. Such as the cinematographic
language used. All of the shots are dark and stylized, used for but not limited
to showing off the lighting in the animation synchronized with live action
sequences. This goes hand in hand with Levi-Strauss’ binary opposites theory.
The lighting is very harsh with only one subject or character illuminated so
the audience shifts their focus onto it, so they are not distracted by other
elements. It also acts as a visual aid for the audience, what they should be
paying attention to, perhaps to surprise them with an element out of the dark.
As for the speed of the shots, it is not neurotic or quick, as quickly changing
shots, especially with animation would be near impossible to achieve,
especially for the time. The shots are slowed down so the audience focuses on
the animated elements interacting with the live action elements. The dark
film-noir filmography is also reminiscent of dark comic books under the mystery
category. The harsh lighting may also be used to show the audience what genre
the film falls under, and that this is not the kid friendly comedy film
expected based on the first sequence of the trailer.
The audience the film is intended
for is much different from the young child audience that may be expected based
on the nature of the film, although ironically, Looney Tunes were not intended
for children either during the time they were new. The film actually appears to
be for a teenage to adult audience, perhaps between the ages of 16 – 35. The
subject matter used and the language (in the literal sense) indicate that the
film is not exclusively, if not at all for children. The genre itself, which is
a fusion of comedy and murder mystery, also indicates the film’s intended
audience. Such great quotes as – “is that a rabbit in your pants, or are you
just happy to see me?” indicate the audience quite well. Though this sort of
film style is not uncommon for popular cartoons at the time of the late 80s and
early 90s. Another fantastic example is the Warner Bros. cartoon Animaniacs. Some of the themes are child
friendly, and are very humorous themselves, but it is also infused with a lot
of adult humor so that the older, more mature audience does not feel left out
or as catered to as the younger audience.
The film doesn't appear to be for a
particularly young audience, with the subject matter and language used, appears
to be for a teenage to adult audience. With the crime and mystery elements,
aimed more for adults who enjoy animated elements.
From what we can grasp from the
trailer, the film represents popular culture in a satiric and comedic way,
especially Animation Theater. The characters are portrayed in a very
caricaturized and exaggerated way.
Roger Rabbit is portrayed as a
goofy and clumsy character, while his wife Jessica Rabbit is portrayed as an
extremely exaggerated and caricaturized female. The trailer shows the whole
film to be a tongue-in-cheek criticism of popular culture.
Not much is given away in the
trailer, but the film appears to be about an up and coming movie star named
Roger Rabbit, who isn't particularly good at his job. Other elements of the
trailer show that it has heavy elements of crime and mystery, which eliminate
the idea that the movie is strictly for a young audience.
The genre is a comedy fused with a
crime thriller judging from the appearance of the shots and language used.
Subject matter suggested at in the trailer indicates that it is less of a
family film than a crime/mystery for a slightly older audience.
The
narrative of the trailer is not linear, but rather split into many different
sections meant to illustrate the elements of the film. The audience is shown
clips of the film coupled with a descriptive narrator (something that is
noticeably lacking in today’s film trailers, though normal for the 1980s)
telling the audience the story and its elements, including: compassion, love,
murder etc. It leaves little out so the audience has a clear picture of exactly
what the film is about, while also not giving too much away. The audience knows
that the film is a comedy / murder mystery upon mention of it in the trailer,
as well as the fact that the film is targeted toward an older audience because
of the crass language and dark undertones. Even the harsh lighting represents
the film in this particular genre.
Some
of the immediately recognizable characters include: Roger Rabbit, Eddie
Valiant, Jessica Rabbit, Baby Herman and Judge Doom. These characters are all
portrayed very differently. Roger Rabbit is clumsy and awkward, while is
manager Eddie Valiant is cold, cynical and unconcerned for Roger. Judge Doom is
a very comical and tongue-in-cheek comic book villain that the audience is not
supposed to be frightened of. Baby Herman is an angry and abrasive infant
actor, who against his character design is feared by the majority of the
characters, namely the production crew. Jessica Rabbit, lastly and most
interestingly, is an extremely exaggerated and caricaturized female character,
who constantly speaks in a seductive manner, as well a showing off remarkable
cunning and manipulation skills. As
stated previously, the character archetypes are portrayed in such a way that it
goes against almost every expectation held by the audience upon seeing the
character’s design, with the only notable exception being Roger Rabbit himself.
Furthermore,
these characters also represent the ‘binary opposites’ model by Claude
Levi-Strauss, in which every major element of the film has a binary opposite.
Roger Rabbit and his wife Jessica are remarkable polar opposites, for one
thing. Other examples include Baby Herman and the production crew and Roger
Rabbit and Eddie Valiant. This goes beyond characters as well. The filmography
shows off very harsh lighting techniques, with the set being mostly dark while
one character or subject is harshly illuminated to shift the audience’s focus.
Propp’s narrative and
character functions are demonstrated drastically throughout the trailer, showing
Roger Rabbit as an unlikely hero, or more appropriately the victim, and Judge
Doom being the surreal comic book style villain.
As for narrative functions, the trailer starts
immediately with a struggle, though this represents the equilibrium in the film,
as eventually moving into the complication, Roger Rabbit being accused of
murder. The trailer does not stray far from these two narrative functions, so
as not to reveal too much of the story to the audience, though, as for a lot of
1980s movie trailers, a lot has already been revealed.
The narrative represents a
number of themes and ideologies. The trailer is by enlarge a criticism of
Hollywood pop culture of the 1940s and 50s, representing the people and the
industry itself as one not to be taken too seriously, showing all of the people
working within it to be morons and unable to control the inside elements. This
is all highly concentrated in the portrayal of Roger Rabbit as a ditzy and
imbecilic protagonist – an obvious parody of Bugs Bunny, the wise cracking
comic legend who never failed to outsmart his enemies.
It
also portrays the crime investigation unit as a deeply cynical and lazy entity,
too quick to jump to conclusions as evidenced by the near instant accusation of
Roger Rabbit for murder. This could even represent racism in a way, how one
entity [race] was always portrayed as superior to the other.
The music and sound also help
the audience to identify with the narrative, as the music is all appropriately
varying during each segment of the trailer. For example, upbeat and comically
orchestrated music plays during the cartoon rehearsals and breakdowns,
saxophone sounds during every dialogue scene featuring Jessica Rabbit, and
suspenseful music during the murder accusation scene.
As expected, the trailer is also edited in such a way
that it is consistent with the pace and subject matter of the scenes in the
trailer. Sped up during the comedic parts, slowed down with longer shots during
the murder mystery scenes, and slowed to a crawl during Jessica Rabbit’s
scenes.
No comments:
Post a Comment