Sunday 13 November 2011

[Influences] Bradford Animation Festival 2011

Thanks to the University, we were able to get hold of passes for the 18th annual Bradford Animation Festival. This trip turned out to be incredibly useful and inspiring for my own work, as well as a chance to gain some inspiration from a wide variety of animations.
Out of the screenings I attended, two animations piqued my curiosity. The first was a 3D animation named "The Monster of Nix" I was inspired by the dark atmosphere of this animation, as well as the beautiful, dystopian art direction featuring some dark scenery and very distinctive character designs.

The art direction and feel of this animation were very similar to what I hope to achieve in the future with my "Oddball" series. I was also very interested in the dark atmosphere juxtaposed against the almost fairytale like storytelling.

The second animation that stood out to me was The Backwater Gospel. This was, again another animation where I admired the art style. I was also noticing some similarities to my most recent personal animation, Oddball Halloween. The animation included silhouette scenes with white, glowing eyes that I had used in my own work just days before.

As well as the festival, I also looked around the museum itself and paid great attention to the animation floor. I had visited many times when I was younger, but this time I was really able to appreciate the displays and let it really sink in. I was particularly fond of the original cels from animations I've seen. Looking at the frames from Animal Farm on display really make me appreciate the work that went into them, rather than taking them for granted on screen. There was also a Cel from the Discworld animation, Soul Music containting Death and Susan, two characters who actually inspired the creation of my character, Redi Halsey. Being a Terry Pratchett fan, it was a real treat to see this sort of thing.
All in all, I really enjoyed my time at the festival and left with a lot of inspiration and ideas!

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