Ratatouille...

So i decided to watch anothe animated film last night. Ratatouille was my choice, mainly because when i last watched it, i remember seeing some beautiful shots and i loved the appeal of the design throughout the film. This was something that i could use in helping me design the set and plan some of my shots for my own animation. I was particularly interested in how the restaurant looked in Paris, which was where i wanted to base my restaurant, also i wanted to see the layout of the streets and how the film identified the location.





Shots like this were of particularly interest because straight away we get a clear idea of where the story is set and roughly, the era. I particularly like the idea of starting with quite a wide ariel shot like this and slowly panning down, before the camera movements become interrupted by a more fast paced chase scene, which will be the focus of my story.





I was also looking out for the 12 principles of animation again and i find they are so easy to identify now i know and understand each of them. Similar to Who Framed Roger Rabbit we see definite signs of exhagerrated movements, however i find Ratatouille has stuck to more realistic rules and therefore the exhagerration is slightly more minimal than in Roger Rabbit. As you can see from this image, there is definitely a C shape posture. The appeal is also there, something which Pixar seems to get right agai and again, the image below shows how the protagonist, Remi, has a real sense of character and personality, which makes him so likeable, as well as a good use of fur, everone's favourite effect...






It's also worth pointing out the two "villains" in this film, mainly due to there design and how they are made to be unfriendly as soon as we see them....







Here we see Ego, a harsh food critic, and i almost immediately get an unfriendly feeling, this character isn't warm and bright, he's quite dull and distasteful. His gaunt face and dark clothing and two extremes of colour contrast, which along with his long and thin body creates and instant presumptious reaction. This is is why design is so important in the appeal of characters, to allow the audience to identify who's "good" and who's "bad", it's a stereoype that has been passed down from generation to generation, and audiences are able to tell straight away whether they are meant to like a character or not.






Another villainous character is the head chef, who also has an awkward shaped body, and straight away there is something unpleasant when we look at him. I will look into some more characters as well, because i feel the design key to a successful appealing character, along with the motion of the character...