Showtime

Showtime by Ryan Jones, recent graduate from the University of Glamorgan

Who?
The film was my third year project at the University of Glamorgan and was designed, written and animated by myself. Original music was then created by Evgeni Atanasov.

What?
Showtime asks the question of what happens when an animator is unsure what to animate? The mind wanders, the imagination flares and before long a whole heap of chaos ensues – at the poor character’s expense! Follow the character of the Circus Master who, with his loyal sidekick is thrown into the world of the free roaming pencil and given everything imaginable thrown at him. The animator is on the rampage and it won’t be too long before the Master has had all he can take…

Why?
I love and always have loved the traditional, hand drawn style of classic animation, and wanted to keep that style and feel going in my work. Looking back with this project particularly at the work of Cartoon Modern and the loony tunes shorts such as ‘Duck Amuck’ with their simplistic yet bold designs, exaggerated and emphasized movements, the classic cartoons evoke laughter and enjoyment and still remain loved today. Their innocent, whimsical and fun style is something I aim to encapsulate and portray in my pieces, giving viewers a flash back to the golden days of animation and the classic era of comedy sketch shows.

How?
The film was created entirely in Adobe Flash, drawn in using a Wacom Cintiq which acted as pencil on paper, keeping the traditional hand drawn feel yet allowing for more style and more freedom, as well as more pace in its creation and bringing it all together. It also meant that quality wasn’t lost through scanning and all drawing and colouring could be done in the same programme with a lot more ease. Adobe Photoshop was used to create the backgrounds and certain stills and frames throughout the film, Adobe Premiere was then used to edit everything together, and After effects used for the rain effect, so a wide variety of software came together to create the final piece.

Next Project?
Since graduating from university I have many ideas brewing from which to choose to go with next, whether they be short films, books, design work or even series ideas. So in order to keep up to date and see what’s going on with my work in the future you can have a look at my blog at http://rjjones815.blogspot.co.uk and on my website at http://mojoanimations.wix.com/rjjones

Which animated film would you like to have made?
The animated film by Sylvain Chomet, ‘The Illusionist’, has just the style and level of detail that I strive for and continue to aim for in my animation and work as a whole. The film encapsulates viewers into its detailed animation, its sketchy style and its flowing story that is all delivered with very little dialogue and all refers back to the classic, old fashioned comedies – a style that today is sadly often lost.

You can also check out Ryan’s second year film “Good Day, Bad Day” below…