Computer Animation Arts

As Kong: Skull Island roars onto cinema screens everywhere, a timely reminder of the enduring appeal of a certain over-sized gorilla and his kin... 1933 1949 1961 1962 1967 1976 1986 1998 2005 2017

As suggested by my previous teaser post, I’m starting a spin-off CGAA Cinema series entitled Monsters! Which as you may well of guessed is dedicated to the simple delights of monster movies the world over. Why monster movies? These films are pure cinematic spectacle, so what better choice of genre for a thread dedicated to cinema. More practically as far as character design and animation are concerned, then there’s much to be absorbed from the wealth of cultures who have spawned their very own monsters. I’ve no idea what I’m expecting to discover from these films, as so many of them are just as new to me as they might be to you, but I hope that it can inspire some fun observations from a relatively neutral observer. Once again, this is open for anyone to submit, and it could be interesting to see Monsters! extend into other CG Arts Blog threads such as One-a-day and The Supplement . As a general rule I'm going to ignore  Americanised versions of Japanese films (and ...

Summary Pioneering special effects and production design are used to create the mysterious Skull Island’s lush jungles and vistas reminiscent of the ones described in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World . King Kong astounded a 1930’s audiences with it’s incredibly lifelike animation of the giant ape, Kong, rampaging - with Fay Wray in-hand - through dense jungles pursued by dinosaurs and later smashing apart the streets of Manhattan. The films iconic final encounter atop the Empire State building is one of cinema’s defining moments. Analysis: Note: O’Brien refers to the films Special effects artists Willis O’Brien “King Kong was a milestone in visual effects history. In this amazing film O’Brien established brilliant methods of combining stop motion animation with live photography. O’Brien’s technical achievements laid the groundwork for furthering of the art of stop motion visuals by his protégé Ray Harryhausen” (Sawicki, 2011:78) Sawicki, M. (2011) Filming the fantastic: A Guid...