Appraising Aniamtion Task

Factory from citrusink on Vimeo.

2. In the film ‘Factory’ there were a variety of objects and shapes included in the video such as in the starting scene was a large factory with business like people with briefcases walking into the factory with smoke coming out. The scene then moved upwards to the top of the building and towards the sky and we saw more smoke and two blimps with sea ships attached to them. We then get to look at the inside of the factory, and are looking at the inside of an office with a lot of cupboards, files and cluttered objects such as computers, floorboards and a microwave. People are walking past this office and walking into what it would seem to be another office or different section of the factory. These people are still holding briefcases. On the very right hand side is a small closed up office with a lady sitting there working. This space takes up half of the screen area and is mostly black which contrasts against the white. Out of the ordinary is a mechanical hand (which you might find at a toy machine) coming in and grabbing nothing and then dropping it somewhere else at the top of the screen. We then get to look into the little right cornered office where the lady was working before, except this time we are close up, and can now see that the lady is working on multiple computers with different sets of keyboards. We can also see that there is a printer and other electrical equipment. Another person is looking through a window at the woman and what she is doing. She then walks away as another person takes her spot. Could these people be the same people that were walking past the big office before? We are then taken to a rather unusual scene where you can see two men with wrenches playing with some screws on machines. In the top right hand corner, it seems to be either a camera or binoculars. The man on the left is using his whole body to work the wrench and he is going faster and faster as the machine keeps pumping. The other man is merely using his hand. We then come across another man using something that looks like a wrench, but I don’t think it is. He is using that instrument to pump a similar machine as to the other man in the other scene. But in this scene a blender is on and making sound. This whole video was in black and white and had no one talking. However, the meaning was clear as the sounds of machines were clearly heard and recognized. The subject matter of this video is that of a factory with different mechanicals and jobs inside it to keep the factory going and alive. My over all impression of the mood of the work is that the people working in the factory do not like working there. I think this because the video is in black and white which could mean that the people are not happy. If the people were happy they could be shown in a more vibrant and colourful way. I also think that the people are being worked too hard and that everyone is treated the same which means that it is boring because everyone wears the same thing and acts the same way. It makes me feel gloomy, sad and unhappy for the people inside the factory. In the movie, you can straight away tell that the picture of the factory was the background and the smoke and people walking into the building were edited in (in the foreground). You can then hear the sound of a machine going off in the background somewhere. The blimps have also been edited in. You can then see that the hand has been filmed and then edited into a different program. You can also hear the sound of the hand. Next, you can hear the sounds of the key boards typing and buttons beeping in the person’s office. After this you can hear the machines pumping with the men with the wrenches and finally hear the food blender go off in the last scene. All of these things have been edited in with sound cues and visual effects to create this video.

3. Matreyek has used visual literacy such as colour, line, movement, shapes, scale and sound to create his film. His simple black and white tone adds to the mood that it is gloomy and sad, and that no one wants to be there. At the start, the scene is mostly white, until you go inside the building where it becomes darker, and as the film goes on, it gets darker again. This is defining the bad mood again. The movement of the people is very ridged and robot like when they are walking and working. There movements are not natural and are not smooth. Also, the big hand in one of the starting scenes has big movements and very distinctive movements as it works away across the screen. Furthermore, the use of unnatural sized items adds a different meaning and effect to the film. The large wrench compared to the small wrench in one of the scenes is contemplating two different jobs in the factory. In addition, the sound of the film is hard and rough. It reminds me of a hard worker such as a builder at work. These sounds aren’t soothing and peaceful. But apart from that, the sounds are clear and you can tell the different volumes that are used which is good. The closeness of the office scene is showing us that the hard worker in the office is not an easy job. From the scene before that, you just thought that the lady working in the office was a big job. This is how they used different camera shots of the same scene to communicate a different meaning.

4. My interpretation of the work is that the artist is trying to show everyone how much work goes into a factory or really anything in the world. There are little people who work hard for the big people. Sometimes the small people do not get recognized and nobody thinks about them. I think that it also trying to make people understand that it’s not always sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. In this video it is black and white and dull – not very happy in this factory! I think the intended audience for Matreyeks work would be anyone from teens to adults. Matreyek has some odd ideas and they need to be old enough to understand and appreciate Matreyek’s techniques. The visual language such as size, shape, tone and colour help inform my interpretation of a gloomy factory by being black and white, and not being colourful and cheerful at all. Matreyek has used sound with the animation images to create meaning by in the last scene, created the actual sound of the blender. It adds the emphasis that the people are actually doing hard work. This factory is loud, and the people working in there are angry that they don’t get recognized and because this is their job and they are stuck there. With the animation of someone working really hard, and the sounds of machines going off in the background represent the same meaning as a factory.

What Anusuya said: I think it is showing how people’s lives repeat itself everyday. I feel like it is very slow and boring.

What Gabby said: My interpretation is that the artist is trying to say that many workers live boring, repetitive lives and they will stay that way unless they decide to change them. Work is not always fun and life can get repetitive.

What Aakanksha said: I think that it is about people doing work. These people think this is rather boring.

What Mummy said: It is about someone going to work and hating their surroundings, environment and job.