Of bunnies, blogs and monsters

Once again, I'll let the tireless John K do my blogging for me:

JohnK Archives

Ran across this in a completely unrelated search looking for facts and info on the Ether Bunny after my buddy Prammaven just posted his newly completed film about him. Seemed like a weird coincidence, and I don't know why all these particular posts are lumped together on one page, but there's a lot of good stuff there, much of it about writing and story for cartoons. And of course, you can find more by clicking on the tags at the bottom of any post.

I feel like my quest for Poetic Form is at an end, at least for the time being. I have a handle on what it is... at least the particular strain of poetic form described in Martin Esslin's book Theatre of the Absurd. And the main point of that whole quest was to free myself from the restrictions of Narrative Form that have been hammered into my head all my life by Hollywood. Until discovering the nature of Poetic Form (as described in the About Me box on the right... convenient place for it right here at the top o the old blog, where I'll see it again and again and try to get it hammered in instead) I couldn't imagine any way to make a short stopmotion film other than by telling a story. The funny thing is, I've seen lots of short films that don't follow Narrative Form at all and that work brilliantly! Many of them don't follow what I understand as Poetic Form either.

Of course you have simple short gag films, where the joke is the thing. But somewhere in that long and rambling list of blog posts I linked to above, John K discusses a different approach. He has always maintained that a cartoon is, first and foremost, funny drawings. And that, essentially, all they really have to do is keep the audience entertained. He did a post on structure that I like, which is pretty freeing. If I can absorb that into my head (it seems to take a while for things to really soak in there, but once they do they're in for good) then I should be able to just start making films without worrying too much about structure and form.

Also, he stresses the importance of learning the basics of animation and drawing before trying to create full films. This confirms my long-held belief that the way to learn stopmotion is by making a couple of puppets, and doing a lot of shots with them. Just little single-take episodes, working out how to make them move in interesting ways, how to use space, and incidentals like lighting, staging etc. I think a lot of these will get you most of your basics, even if you don't know the names of the principles you're learning. Then you start linking a series of shots together creating scenes. After that, it's just a matter of figuring out how to start and finish a film.

This is the approach I was using, until I got caught up in the StopMoShorts thing and the emphasis was on making finished films right from the start. And then I got myself into this Radke project, which is a massively huge undertaking in terms of fabrication before I can even start animating. I'm bogged down on it completely, hit the wall, stuck in a rut, uninspired. Burnt out being the technical term. Tooo many puppets, too many bottles, tiny little labels etc. Makes my brain hurt thinking about it!

And suddenly here's Monster Month upon us!!! Jeffrey is launching himself into it, and Sven might be contributing as well. I think it's time to put this bar flick on hold and do something creative and fun for a little while.

Strange sighting exposed as hoax updated!!!

Click the Pic to see Monster Month Blog

The chill of October is in the air, at last the opressive heat wave is at an end, and crisp orange and brown leaves lay on the ground. And this time of year, strange creatures are sometimes seen. (Isn't it funny though, how nobody ever manages to get a good photograph?!!)

This pug-ugly above was (allegedly) seen by one Professor Ichbonnsen, and the painting done according to his detailed description by my friend Sven from Scarlet Star Studios. I don't know..... kind of crazy if you ask me. Nothing so bizarre could possibly exist..... could it? Something about it though.... can't quite put my finger on it....

If it does exist though, it certainly has my sympathy.... those Noubs sound like a terrible affliction!!!

***
Stop the presses!!!! Accusations of fakery levelled against Professor Ichbonnsen!! Following is a transcription from the comments section of this weblog:

Sven Bonnichsen said...
Looks suspiciously like a Dontiss to me.

Coincidence? Plagiarism? An evolutionary relative?

Hm. Given that were so... If the Dontiss feeds off mental emanations of intelligent host animals, could that perhaps explain the mysterious "forums" of this animal? Telepathic pow-wows?

Stranger and stranger.

9:23 AM
Professor Ichbonnsen said...
Yes! Telepathic communication is a plausible explanation.

Noubs are known to have a counter-telepathic effect on sensitive individuals. During "forums," the D.S. invariably begin their exchange with a grooming ritual: picking noubs off one another, killing the parasites.

If these animals were attempting to establish mental contact, then most certainly the noubs would have to be removed as a first step.

The facts all fit.

The hypothesis will need to be tested, though. I must contact the Quay sisters immediately. They will have to recapture the specimen that we previously tagged. If we remove its noubs, then a legitimate psychic (not difficult to find in Romania) should be able to make contact...

Mr. Brent: I've noticed that you go by the "screen name" of Dark Strider. Are you perhaps a fellow researcher of this species? If so, let us consider pooling our data. Knowledgeable collaborators are always welcome!

10:00 AM
Shelley Noble said...
fyi; I've made the following brief report of my DS siting at Sven's Scarlet Star site:

"I too have seen the Dark Strider. A magnificent creature able to demonstrate baroque mental agility far exceeding the expectations of its nature. I have heard fabled story too of its gentleness in the face of predatory threat and stupidity of the Booring Neids, a neighboring nocturnal forest dweller.

God's speed DS, we need more monsters like you in the world."

10:17 PM
Darkstrider said...
Ah "professor" (if you are indeed a professor.... )

First let me say that I find it rather inexplicable that, while these "Quay sisters" were able to apply a radio tracking device to one of these alleged creatures, they failed to take any photgraphs or obtain any form of solid physical evidence of their existence. Instead, the only visual representation we have of it is a painting that, as Sven already pointed out, bears a more than passing resemblance to my own (purely imaginary) Donstiss.

"Telepathic comminication is a plausible explanation"??!! "Reputable psychic"??!! I assume you're no stranger to terms like crackpot or faker?

.... In fact, could it have been you I surprised snooping around behind my garage last night? I didn't get a clear view of the lurker, but being nocturnal myself I was awake and around 3:15 heard some furtive noises out in the back yard. When I turned on the lights, there was a flurry of sudden activity, then a burst of running footsteps toward the street followed by the hasty starting and racing away of a van. Then there in a somewhat hidden location behind the garage I found an odd pile of painted canvas and 2x4s with a paper mache mask resembling the head of this "Dark Strider" creature. The 2x4s seem to be made to strap onto arms and legs, and the ends are sharpened to points, which would leave tracks like those of this imaginary (and in fact plagiarized) creature. And furthermore, the whole costume looked like a poor-man's forgery of a creature from the movie Dark Crystal (which I don't really recall, but could it have been called a Land Strider?).

According to your weblog sir, you claim to be galavanting about the world via an unlikely assortment of conveyances (rather like Phinneas Fog from Around the World in 80 Days). But could the truth in fact be a bit more prosaic? Which raises the question..... why the somewhat unnatural attachment to my friend Sven (whose last name is Bonnichsen). I propose sir, that you are a fake! A charlatan! An imposter! And worse, a terrible fake! Your copies of creatures from other sources are pale imitations, and even the names reveal their origins. For some reason you seem to have attached yourself to Sven and his circle of friends in a desparate gambit for attention at all costs. I believe you require professional help sir. Please, I beseech you, halt this travesty and seek the psychological counselling you obviously need! You seem to be fixated on Sven in particular.... perhaps you could approach him. Let him be your link to reality. Sven has a good head on his shoulders..... he could help you see reason, get you the assistance you require.

You know, it's funny. All the accusations I leveled in this post came only after noticing the one unforgivable mistake you made. I would have let it all slide.... the telepathy, the awful forgeries and transparent naming conventions, but you made one mistake that I couldn't ignore....



Everybody knows that it's not possible to conduct a forum without the presence of Noubs!

6:12 PM
Darkstrider said...
Thanks Shelley!!! You demonstrate your Noble nature once again, by both saying such kind things about me, and by playing along with the obviously deluded "professor" rather than chellenging his skewed views.

6:28 PM