Tuesday, 14 January 2014

Comparative Analysis


A Twist of Fate - League of Legends Cinematic

Paperman - Disney Short Film


In this comparative analysis I will be comparing two animations that contrast in both function, pace, colour and overall how the audience takes in these differences. The first animation I will look at is a short film by the popular company Disney. Paperman is a film on how two people meet, and then meet again through what seems like fate when the male of the story throws a paper airplane out his works window. What I will compare this too is a trailer for a big online game called League of Legends. This animation, A Twist of Fate, showcases different types of playable characters in the game and their fighting skills within small, individual, dedicated scenes.

Directed by John Kahrs, Paperman is a daydream like story that, just like nearly every animation Disney has produced, is full of emotional and cheesy imaginative moments. This is one of the things that I feel defines Disney within the animation world unlike a lot of other animation studios. Paperman was released to theatres as a short film to accompany the movie Wreck-It Ralph which brings us on to the first difference between the two animations being compared.

Bitz_2008, a user on IMDb reviewing Paperman says “I
t's destined to be remembered for a long, long time.” And I think this sums up the function of Paperman very well, it’s remembered by watching it once. Yes, you can watch it multiple times but the way it is directed is that you get the full story, full emotion from only watching it once. This is very much unlike the next animation I would like to mention.

The second animation I will look at is the game trailer. League of Legends is a huge online, free, fast paced, competitive game with an even bigger fan base. To please all of the fans its not just the game they produce, but an array of different media like trailers, individual character spotlights and a music video, all animated in a realistic 3D digital style. The trailer for A Twist of Fate displays different characters within small fight scenes showing off their indivuality and special attacks. The finally of the trailer is a huge enemy bosses presence, to which, all of the opposing characters come together to begin the final fight.

The trailer is jam-packed with action, colour, characters and bits of rubble flying at the screen as well choreographed fight scenes play out. To finish my earlier point, this trailer was made to watch multiple times. This isn’t a summed up, story like that of Paperman, it is a trailer, its created for a viewer to feel as though they can jump in and complete the story themselves by playing the game.
Brandon Beck, Ceo/Co-Founder, says “We put so many fine details into the CG that, no matter how many times you watch it, you’re going to notice something new every time”
This again, makes it so fans will watch it, time and time again to discover everything there is to this trailer. This gets the video more views, likes and popularity. Which then, on websites such as, YouTube, will make the video more advertised placing it in a spotlight. This, in turn, brings more popularity to the actual game.

Pace is another one of the most notable differences between the two animations. Paperman starts off with a slow pace, gradually getting faster until the two main characters meet. This is usual for a story line as an audience can sit comfortable getting to know their surroundings in the slow place. Then as the story gets faster and things start moving faster the audience’s anticipation heightens and attention increases. Then as the climax is introduced the audience can relax and bask in the feeling that the story had brought out. The film is created in this way so that the audience has time to absorb every part of the movie that it notably important. Thus making it a one time needed viewing, a person will think about and process what they see during the watching of the film. This is made easier by the lack of a vocal script and the lack of colour as there is less to take into consideration.

Now this massively differs from the A Twist of Fate trailer. The trailer starts off fast, continues to be fast and then ends fast. The only time actions are slowed in the animation is when you are introduced to a new character. This excites viewers, as an audience’s attention is trying to keep up with the fast pace so it’s natural to miss a lot of information, this again supports the idea that it has to be watched multiple times. As a person watches this trailer they get caught up with the fast pace, it leaves no time for them to actually think, instead they sit back and let their eyes absorb the colourful, moving world in front of them. This non thinking behaviour allows a person to take in things that they view and see them for what they appear to be, so in this case in the exciting, colourful, fast world of League of Legends an audience member will naturally become excited and you will be left wanting more. After the trailer finishes your mind is then allowed to think back and review what you had just seen, what the world was, how the characters were, how you would fit in to that world and how to get into that world. This is the exact purpose of the trailer.

After looking at all the aspects I noted in my introduction I can conclude that each animation is perfectly created to fit their desired outcomes. They differ to each other dramatically, contradicting each other to what they are and how they are made. But they both relate to each other in fulfilling their purpose. Both do exactly what they say on their tins. For the Paperman movie I was emotional, happy and content with what I had seen. Watching it for the first time in the opening of Wreck-it-Ralph I was easily led into that world of Disney where all your child, cheesy dreams can come true. I was happy with only watching it once, although I did then go watch it a few more times for my own enjoyment. And for the game trailer I was led along, absorbing all these pretty colours, sounds, designs within the action packed realm of League of Legends. After watching I wanted to jump right in, create my own character, fight with others and join together to defeat the end boss that came to bring destruction to this world that I had fell in love with so quickly. In fact the first time I watched this trailer I was so absorbed and easily led that I then went on to view every other media this company had to offer me and if it wasn’t for my work I would have created my game account right there and then.

When creating a piece of animation, or any media for that matter, you have to carefully think about what you want to portray. You need to know what your audience wants and needs from you. After looking at these animations I hope to create a piece of work within my life that can become so personal to others and to perfectly do what I had intended.

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