| Our current work involves creating
classification systems for popular narrative material. This material can be found in film,
television, and literature. In some ways, animation is a very condensed form of narrative
language in that each movement, set piece, or camera angle is drawn by the artist –
nothing is accidental or incidental. This form also allows the maximum flexibility for
creating the story’s structure. The animation artist can make a huge narrative leap
or impossible effect within just a few frames. For these reasons, our analysis of the
cartoon format was very different than working with our other projects that examined live
action material. For Every Anvil, we have created a database of extreme or violent
gestures from Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoon classics. The process for the piece
involves the meticulous dissection and analysis of over two thousand shot sequences. These
sequences are then repackaged into categories like "every big hammer" or
"every speed cloud" that the viewer may select and play. In some ways, the
result is scrambled, in other ways it is highly ordered according to the logic of the
database. Like fairy-tales, these cartoons employ formulas or archetypes of human behavior
that make up the vast majority of narrative storytelling: hero vs. villain, intellect vs.
strength, etc. These cartoons and fairytales constitute many of our earliest experiences
with narrative. In Every Anvil we are interested in focusing on these formulas and
on the brilliant animation techniques that bring them to life. A computer database can be presented in many forms. Often, it is
hidden behind an interface from which the user makes choices and conducts searches. For Every
Anvil, we decided to visualize the database. This visualization involves presenting
"kits" which combine the playback mechanism (screen, player, speakers) with the
media database. At a glance, one can see the whole range of categories available. In our
work, these "media objects" represent a hybrid space between television and
computers. They offer some of the interactivity of the computer and use the logic of the
database to examine previous forms of cultural work. |
