I think sometimes we forget that good animation does not have to be flashy or lavish to be considered good. Yes, an objective element of technicality does have a large influence in the value judgement of a piece, but technicality and flashy are not the same thing. Sometimes a more basic approach with respect to the fundamentals goes a long way. Case and point, today’s cut from Masaaki Yuasa‘s Ping Pong.
The most important thing for food to do is to look delicious. But a lot goes into making the image of food invoke the viewer’s sense of taste. First, it must look good to the eye!
One of the first things you’ll notice in this cut is the movement. Fingers slowly kneed and fold the dough, giving way to new colors. What’s key here is the placement of the movement in the frame, especially since this shot pans upwards to another pair of hands performing a similar action.
Our first set of hands occupies a space that divides the frame into an equilateral triangle. Taking up one third of the screen space, the placement of the bowl and dough cloth behind the hands help extend this shape and balance the composition. As the camera pans up, the second pair of hands comes into view, but this time taking up the space in the triangle to the left. To completely balance out the cut, the folded dumplings are placed onto a try on the far right side of the screen, the last unused triangle.
This sequential showcase of movement gently leads the eye around the screen. During the course of this one cut, each sector of the frame is used with a subtle, but well planned efficiency. So even if you weren’t craving dumplings, you enjoy watching them being made.
The second piece of the equation is to make the food look like it’s, well, actually food. Looking closely at the textures in the composition, there’s a very strong relationship between the colors and lines of the objects onscreen.
Lines are used sparingly, giving objects shape, while the color is used to create depth. And since we instinctively look for color in food (veggies should be green, meats should be brown/red, etc.), it’s a much more natural way of depicting food.
So while it may not be the flashiest work of animation, or the most action packed battle scene, it is still an effective piece of cinema that incorporates a style and structure unique to animation! ☕
The most important thing for food to do is to look delicious. But a lot goes into making the image of food invoke the viewer’s sense of taste. First, it must look good to the eye!
One of the first things you’ll notice in this cut is the movement. Fingers slowly kneed and fold the dough, giving way to new colors. What’s key here is the placement of the movement in the frame, especially since this shot pans upwards to another pair of hands performing a similar action.
Our first set of hands occupies a space that divides the frame into an equilateral triangle. Taking up one third of the screen space, the placement of the bowl and dough cloth behind the hands help extend this shape and balance the composition. As the camera pans up, the second pair of hands comes into view, but this time taking up the space in the triangle to the left. To completely balance out the cut, the folded dumplings are placed onto a try on the far right side of the screen, the last unused triangle.
This sequential showcase of movement gently leads the eye around the screen. During the course of this one cut, each sector of the frame is used with a subtle, but well planned efficiency. So even if you weren’t craving dumplings, you enjoy watching them being made.
The second piece of the equation is to make the food look like it’s, well, actually food. Looking closely at the textures in the composition, there’s a very strong relationship between the colors and lines of the objects onscreen.
Lines are used sparingly, giving objects shape, while the color is used to create depth. And since we instinctively look for color in food (veggies should be green, meats should be brown/red, etc.), it’s a much more natural way of depicting food.
So while it may not be the flashiest work of animation, or the most action packed battle scene, it is still an effective piece of cinema that incorporates a style and structure unique to animation! ☕
Recent Comments