Anitations: Paperman (2012)

Anitation? Annotated Animation, of course! Inspired by lectures of Steve Hickner, I aim to become much more sensitive to the importance of of space and pace in film, as well as become more articulate in sharing what I have learned about it. To achieve this, I want to share studies, notes and observations with the occasional Anitation entry.

With that, I would like to begin with Disney's Paperman (2012).

 If you have not watched Paperman, you can see it on Disney Animation's official Youtube page here.  Stories of two meeting by what almost seems like fate are fairly common and I'm usually critical when it comes to the application of magic as a pivotal story element. But a sense of wonder Disney studios is known for can let an audience suspend disbelief, and I know I'm not the only one who was moved because Paperman was so beautifully done.

To get a better idea what made Paperman work, I had the fortune to squeeze into a panel discussion about this film at Creative Talent Network (CTN) 2012, which included John Kahrs (Director), Jeff Turley (Art Director), Patrick Osborne (Animation Supervisor) and Sarah Airriess (Line Supervisor). I took several notes and have been eager to share them, but waited for an official release of the short because I wanted to pick the best screen stills to supplement this post. I will divide the notes into two parts:

1. Inspiration and development
2. Values and Compositions

Inspiration and Development

Kahrs says his inspiration came from his time living in New York City, where everyone is looking for a connection, and so many opportunities are missed because the daily commute separates people as quickly as it brings them together (fig.1). Kahrs wanted to make a story where magic, if not fate, could bring two strangers together in this setting: 1950's NYC, a familiar place and time not too far away where magic could happen.

fig.1: As two strangers part ways, a connection is made

During early development, Kahrs wanted to find a way to preserve the "raw artistic energy" of the concept art (fig.2 and fig.3). He wanted this short to feel integral to the legacy of traditional drawn animation that was used to create many Disney Classics. While the technology used to achieve the hand-drawn feel was not discussed thoroughly at the panel, there are videos on Youtube describing its application (fig.4).

 Fig.2

Fig.3

 fig.4: Breakdown of the tools used in Paperman

Side note: When I saw George, I felt that I saw that untidy hair and those exaggerated facial features somewhere before...(fig.5). It turns out that Glen Kean was involved in the character design of Paperman. Glen Kean is a master animator known for supervising the animation of Disney characters including Arial (Little Mermaid, 1989), Beast (Beauty and the Beast, 1991) and Aladdin (Aladdin, 1992).

fig.5

Values and Compositions

Given the length of the film, the visual presentation has to be extremely clear. So, when it comes to values and compositions, the design philosophy used in Paperman is pretty simple for the most part by necessity; dynamic camera work and visual stunts would only serve to confuse the audience. Its brilliance lies in how it stays absolutely consistent to these simple rules to the point that the average viewer won't even notice.

fig.6: George's side of the world is gray, punctuated with darkness by his boss who takes up an oppressive presence on the screen

fig.7: Meg's side of the world is noticeably brighter than George's

fig.8: George's emotional downs and black moment are very straightforward as well, with him standing or walking in shadow

However, at the film's climax, an unusual method of cutting and arrangement of composition is used: a "strobe effect", as Jeff Turley calls it. The following is a portion of the series of cuts used in the climax. Note how they invert in value (George's shots show a light figure against a dark background while Meg's shots show a dark figure against a bright background). This contrast in visual flavor between cuts heightens the pace of the cuts without reducing their time.

Another simple method that is done with great execution can be seen in the movement and composition of the film: the movement between left and right. In the opening shot, George is standing alone to the left the foreground. There's an empty space to the right, which Kahrs describes as the void in George's life. Meg comes in to stand in that space for a moment (fig.9). 

 fig.9

As Meg leaves, she travels to the right, away from George, setting this pattern in motion. Up until the climax, Meg will always be oriented to the right while George is oriented on the left. All of George's attempts to get Meg's attention will consistently be cast from left to right, whether it be waving, throwing paper airplanes or running in the false climax. (fig.10). Note that the montage of George's paper-throwing attempts are shot at different dynamic angles, which helps convey frustration and "breaks the rules of the chase to confuse the audience."

fig.10

As George gives up, he begins to move to the left of the screen; away from Meg. As George walks alone in the shadow, fate intervenes and begins moving him to the right, into the light and towards Meg (fig.11). Fate also begins moving Meg to the left, towards George (fig.12)

fig.11

fig.12

fig.13

The closing shot (fig.13) shows the widest range in values. George and Meg are at a composition similar to the opening shot (fig.9), pretty much back to where they started. However, they are standing a little closer and facing each other.

In closing

Animated Film is arguably a pure screen art; moving pictures made from scratch, where every motion, stroke and color is part of the final product for a specific purpose. I want Anitations to be part of a greater dialogue. I humbly welcome your input and (especially) any thoughtful disagreements, so please do share!