finished work: The Animator's Way of Surviving the Crisis

[Animark]

Hi there,

here is my first TVPaint animated shortfilm. I finished it in february 2009 after 2 and a half month of work. I've done the project at the filmschool where I am teaching. After the story comes to my mind I decided to use TVPaint to learn it and to get a good background for my lectures. I cannot remember what original brush I've used and tweaked to get my final version, maybe it bases on a Photoshop-Brush. However, the hole time of producing this film I was very happy with this software and I think, I will use it again in the future. Thanks for that great tool!

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THE ANIMATOR’S WAY OF SURVIVING THE CRISIS
An animator tries to convince his wife that he has a feasible strategy
to survive the financial crisis.

Animated shortfilm by Markus Wende
2D digital : 5′01” : b/w : 16/9 : Stereo : Germany 2009
german dialogues, english subtitles
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The idea of the film comes last year in november when my wife and me started to discuss what's to do as an creative media worker, when the financial crisis reaches our home. That's where the story begins. At the moment I try to show the film on different festivals all over the world. Most festivals rejected it, but It was screened among others at Anima Mundi (Brasil) and at SICAF (Rep. of. Korea). You can find some more informations on my website: http://www.animationsfilm.de

I know, this forum section is for WIP, but if you have some critics on this finished work I can take it for future projects.
Last week I decided to publish the film at aniboom.com and that's the place where you can watch it now:
http://www.aniboom.com/animation-video/ ... he-Crisis/

Thanks from Markus

[Fabrice]

Are you as optimistic as your character ?

[Paul Fierlinger]

It's a nice chunk of completed work but I can see how festivals can see it as "unfinished". The Ring of Fire of course was also just B&W but in a very well packaged format, including a BIG sound track. Your film looks exactly like the way you describe it -- something to test a new software with and learn how to you use it (the best way to learn, without a doubt). The voices are a bit lame and the woman (is it your wife in real life? ) comes off as very abrasive and a bit of an unpleasant nag (and hag). The humor I found sophomoric in a 1950's way. There was one gag that perked me up though; the one where the animator runs in the same cycle as his animated loop... in a film about an animator I would have expected to see more site gags of that nature. Say something nice? I like your enthusiasm and passion for animating -- it shows that you did this with relative ease... now if you combined that with a clever script .....

[Elodie]

Hahaha, it's really excellent ! I like rythm, animation, ideas, actor voices...

A good way to joke about "the international crisis" =D

Would it be possible to have it (or an extract) for our gallery ?

[slowtiger]

Paul: you missed the credits, the voice actors are listed ...

[Paul Fierlinger]

This is because I was reading the English subtitles. I think the conflict between the optimistic and unflappable husband and cantankerous wife were too jarring and distracting from what seemed to be meant as a lighthearted story. I guess I prefer to hear more subtleties in voice actor's performances -- others might enjoy overdone expressiveness as an integral part of cartooning.

We each have are own preferences and it constantly dismays me on these forums that some of us who show the courtesy of expressing our honest opinions when fellow animators request comments, get blasted out of the sky when we go beyond the two choices of saying either "I like it" or not saying anything at all; this under that inane hominy "When you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Honestly; how helpful to the author are these two non-responses? Are we in Kindergarten?

[Elodie]

Hey Paul, keep cool, nobody has scolded you or criticated you about your comments =) As we say in France, you are "burning out" yourself.

It's true, critics are always good, even the bad ones. But only tell someone "Hey ! that's funny, I like it !" is not useless either. I think you can respect other people's feelings (as they respect what you can think about someone's work).

now if you combined that with a clever script .....

The voices are a bit lame and the woman (is it your wife in real life? ) comes off as very abrasive and a bit of an unpleasant nag (and hag).

Your film looks exactly like the way you describe it -- something to test a new software with and learn how to you use it

By the way, you are quite... "bad", Paul O_o I mean... There is "critic with diplomacy" and... "critic only for "beating" someone" (sorry if I don't use the good terms in english, it's really hard for me to develop what I feel without quite know this idom).

I think you were just too hard with Animark. His animation is just a little story which makes fun about "The-big-crisis-of-the-killing-death-we-are-all-going-to-die-pray-for-your-life". It's refreshing and why always make complicated philosophico-politico-boring subjects ? Yes, it's not transcendent, but Animark made this animation without pretentiousness, just to test the software by creating a little story. I think he didn't want to make the new big blocbuster of the century =)

Nowadays, I find you a little too negative. Maybe you could be more empathetic =)

[Paul Fierlinger]

Paul Fierlinger wrote:Your film looks exactly like the way you describe it -- something to test a new software with and learn how to you use it

Elodie wrote: Animark made this animation without pretentiousness, just to test the software by creating a little story.

It seems that we are in agreement.

Paul Fierlinger wrote:The voices are a bit lame and the woman (is it your wife in real life? ) comes off as very abrasive and a bit of an unpleasant nag (and hag).

To be fair, I elaborated further in a follow-up.

Nowadays, I find you a little too negative.

Perhaps "in opposition" would be a more positive definition. I'll give it some thought, nevertheless.

[slowtiger]

I just wanted to point out that the voice was not his real wife ...

BTW, I just did some voice acting myself, and I still can't hear it without turning beet red over both ears. My audience didn't mind, so far. Maybe they're just used to my voice.

[Elodie]

Paul Fierlinger wrote:Your film looks exactly like the way you describe it -- something to test a new software with and learn how to you use it

Elodie wrote: Animark made this animation without pretentiousness, just to test the software by creating a little story.

It seems that we are in agreement.

We said the same thing, but used different ways to tell it =)

Nowadays, I find you a little too negative.

Perhaps "in opposition" would be a more positive definition. I'll give it some thought, nevertheless.

So I'm going to call you "Grouchy Smurf"

[Paul Fierlinger]

"Grumpy", to stay close to a Disney mindset.

[Elodie]

If you prefer ^^(I find the term on Wikipedia =p)

[Animark]

Hey, what goes on here?

Ok, its a little bit hard to follow for me (I should use some english more often), but I don't feel punished by Paul. I am about 40 years old, made some more films earlier and feel strong enough to discuss my own films in a controversy way (maybe not in english, but I will try). Thanks for all your feedbacks.

Just to clear:
The voices in my film are not spoken by my wife and me. The Characters are my wife and me - in reality I am a little bit more ugly but that doesn't matter , but my wife is not such a nag like she is in the movie and I am not so naive optimistic like my animated alter ego. But at all I am a very optimistic. However.

My motivation for this film was not, to make a little excercise to learn TVPaint. I had this story-idea and at the same time, we bought TVPaint for the school. So, I wanted to make this film anyway and decided to use TVPaint for that (with side effect to learn it and to teach it better). I see myself as a kind of an animation filmmaker - the goal of my work is to make my own films (mostly with a social or political issue) and to show it on festivals and so on. So, I like to get some helpful critic even when it's sometimes hard to accept.

I am not at all happy with the voices, but about 90%. I tried to clear the conflict between the animator and his wife within the first situations of the story, because their positions change in the end. I thought I have to be very notable with that. I was a little bit afraid of, that the public don't catch that. I told my voice actor to act in that way and she did. I was very happy with that, but Paul was not the first who criticized that. He was the second. On the other hand I heared that the german voice at all sounds very hard for an american. Maybe like the Martians in Mars Attacks

The humor I found sophomoric in a 1950's way

Ahrg, yes, that's a little bit hard, because I don't like the 50ies (I've never been there). I will think about that point.

My biggest selfcritic is, that I decided very early to do this film in 2 month. I used 2 and a half in the end. For me, it was a little, funny and personal idea about an up-to-the-minute issue and I don't wanted to work longer on it. This decision brought me to the situation, not to think about, what I am doing and animating. I just followed my storyboard and prohibited myself from correcting anything. I am not very happy with the acting of the characters while they speaking and thats because I used my own standard body language instead of creating something interesting. That was a point where I needed much more time. On the other hand, I don't like to spend too much time with one project so I decided for the future, to hold my own production speed, but trying to brings more entertainment to the animation.

@Elodie: Thanks for your offer to show my film at your gallery. I think it's possible, but let my think a litte bit about that.
@slowtiger: Where should Paul know the name of my wife to notice in the credits, that she didn't spoke her character?

[slowtiger]

Point taken. Hm, as we talk about it - even I don't know your wife's name, let alone have met her!

[Klaus Hoefs]

Hallo Markus (W.), willkommen hier.

It's always great to see someone being able to finish and to complete an independent project. Having said that I still think that your style in drawing and POV should be more remarkable. Same with the story and music. All neat but I was missing personality.

I don't like to spend too much time with one project so I decided for the future

ouch.Can't agree, I am an alien from the other planet.