Yo Gabba Gabba

          This website was very interactive and the interface design stood out a lot. The type of animation used is very suitable for children. It reminded me of other interactive websites such as PBS and Cartoon Network that used similar animation features on the website. The sounds and playful noises make the website even more interactive. It is also very reminiscent of a child's toy-- where when a child hits a button, a certain noise will play. In other words, the website is a virtual children's toy. Not only is it interactive, it is informational. In addition, there seems to be classic animation styles that are more pixelated as well as newer styles in high definition.

Chapman Brothers : Fucken Hell

          This piece of work has a very different approach from traditional definitions of an animation. The whole piece reminded me of dioramas. Although there were no movements and every scene looked like stills from movies, the use of the music brought the figures to life. I attempted to watch the video without sounds and it definitely did not have the same effect. It seemed like every different scene came straight out of a movie at the end of a battle scene or at the conclusion of gruesome war. I guess that's why this piece was titled "Fucken Hell". The approach to capture these figurines and miniature environments by panning and occasional close-ups of the characters worked very well for me. This just added more of a cinematic feel to this piece.

Lotte Reiniger - Jack and the Beanstalk (1955)

          First, this animation reminded me of what the story was actually about. I had forgotten because it's been a long way from elementary school. This animations definitely gave it a different feel and perspective with the style and music in the animation. Just like Hansel and Gretel, Reiniger's style of animation works very well for me. The silhouettes of the characters are 2D and flat, but with the movements and drawn backgrounds, the animation gives viewers a sense of 3-dimension and realistic movements. Although I may not see the outlines between the arms and shoulders of a character or when a characters faces different direction, the outlines of the silhouettes are very refined and detailed that viewers can subconsciously see it.  The quick and "broken", or non-smooth, movements of the characters makes me think of all the joints of the characters were connected with one of those gold pins used to make paper clocks. I forgot the what those were called...

Evan Tapper - Listening Portrait Booth

          I thought this was a very interesting and clever installment. It reminded me of street vendors in New York City who draw caricatures for money. But the special elements in Tappers installment was the hidden identities of the participants and the conversations he had with them. Those elements, in a sense, seem to make his work more meaningful and unique. This installment definitely worked for me. Even if the drawings didn't come out the way the person actually looked, i feel as though even just conversing with the participants, for someone like Tapper, who's had experience drawing people face to face before, that simple gestures can be assumed through language. And ultimately I think that the valuable part of this installment is the spontaneous and element of surprise that makes this impressive.

Cold Hard Flash - Guy Collins

          I really enjoyed Collins' latest animation titled "Rage". I love the whole concept of how someone's reaction to frustration can lead to someone else's misery, which can then lead to another person's reaction to frustration, and then again lead to someone else's misery. In essence, a big domino effect. The ending was definitely my favorite part. Everything in this animation was drawn and the drawing of President Obama was on point. I like the animator's choice of colors by only providing colors to the object(s) that causes havoc and chaos around the city. This highlighted the main focuses of the animation. On the other hand, the characters were simply black and white which i thought worked out fine. Overall, i thought this was a very clever animation that really relates the world at large, particularly, in my opinion, people in New York City.

Mark Fiore's Animated Cartoon

          Fiore's animation is an alternative way to create political satire for all ages. Particularly with cartoons, I would imagine it would be suitable for children, except there are some R-rated content. Yet, its something everyone can watch and easily understand. The style of animations definitely works for his topics of works. And this form of medium should be used more often in raising awareness on current issues. It would probably be more effective in terms of reaching a larger audience. Fiore's style of animation is common and seen in popular cartoon shows. Most of the actions or animations simply come from the eyes, arms and mouth. All which create the gestures or emotions that the creators are trying to tell. Whether there are big eyeballs to show shock or slanted eyebrows to represent anger, a majority of the expressions derive particularly from the eyes.

I Met the Walrus

           The animations in the video was very neat. It reminded me a lot of what you would see in documentaries when they bring up statistics and mention important facts from different studies. The use of those form of animation supports the message in the video with very clear and simple images. It included many drawn figures, actual footage, and possibly images from photographs. The background color definitely went hand-in-hand with the old recording that's being played in the video. Overall, I enjoyed the images and different styles of animation in the video, but other than that I thought it was very dull, probably only due to the poor quality of the recording and the overall sound.