Chrissie Peters CGA&A yr1 Unit 5 Animation Essay

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION KEY TERMS MAIN BODY CONCLUSION 3 4 5 7 9 10 11

KEY INDIVIDUALS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION
This essay explores the animated paper-cut films of Lotte Reiniger. Born in Germany in 1899, Reiniger is best known for her elaborate stop-motion animations using paper cutouts. Her films are interesting not only because of the pioneering techniques she used, but also because of the way she successfully kept political and interracial issues out of her films despite the culture of the country she grew up in. Unusually for her time, her films often featured strong female characters. The essay will define animation and its terms using The Art of Stop Motion Animation (by Ken Priebe (2006) and Animators Unearthed: A Guide to the Best of Contemporary Animation by Amanda and Chris Robinson (2010). Using the essay Shadow and Substance: Reinigers Carmen Cut her own Capers by Harriet Margolis (2005) and Rhiel, OSickey and Majers book Riefenstahl Screened: An Anthology of New Criticism (Rhiel 2008) it will investigate Reinigers cultural background in order to understand what influenced her. It will then identify any areas in contemporary animation that may have been influenced by Reiniger's style, and discuss the reasons for this, referencing The Fundamentals of Animation by Paul Wells (2006) and Film Remakes As Ritual and Disguise: From Carmen to Ripley by Anat Zanger (2006).

Fig 1 Still from The Adventures of Prince Ahmed (1926)

Stop motion Animation

KEY TERMS

Priebe describes Stop Motion as an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. Dolls with movable joints or clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of repositioning (Priebe 2006:12).

Fig 2 3D plasticine Stop Motion

2D Cut-Out Animation 2D cut-out animation has its origins in shadow puppetry. Puppeteers in Asia have been using shadow puppets for thousands of years to act out entertainment and religious instruction (Currell 2007:17). Adapted for animation in the early 1900s, Priebe notes the technique originated largely In France by Emile Cohl with short experimental films such as Le Peintre No- Impressioniste (1910) (Priebe 2006:12). Cut-outs were jointed in a similar way to flat shadow puppets using string or metal fasteners and could then be moved frame by frame, and placed under a rostrum camera could be filmed the same way as a stop-motion animation. Priebe suggests that it never became a widely used medium due to the limited scope of movement but argues that they have an offbeat surreal quality to them, where part of their charm is in the stiff graphic style they exude (Priebe, 2006:12).

Fig 3 2D paper cut stop motion

MAIN BODY
Reiniger was a trailblazer with her animated films, says Rhiel (2008:265), while Starr states Reinigers career in silhouette animation is one of the longest and most productive in animation history(Starr 1976:73). Wells feels the reason for her success is because she combined abstract work with a visual narrative more accessible to wider audiences (Wells 2006:70); Margolis feels she is successful because her films in general are non-threatening and amusing, technically breath-taking and visually charming (Margolis 2005). Reiniger was born in Berlin in 1899 to parents who actively encouraged creativity; she said I could cut silhouettes almost as soon as I could hold a pair of scissorsthey were very much praised and I cut silhouettes for all the birthdays in the family. I was encouraged to continue(Reiniger 1936). Reiniger could paint, read, and recite, and as a child enjoyed showing miniature plays using her cut-out paper figures and theatres. She worked briefly at Reinhards studio, helping to animate stop-motion wooden rats for the film The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1918, dir. Paul Wegener), and was asked to make the films hand cut silhouette titles. This led to Reiniger getting financial backing to make films independently (Starr 1976:74). She went on to make more than fifty silhouette stop-motion animated films.

Fig 4 Reiniger working on an animation

There is some dispute about Reinigers political stance amongst researchers. Margolis says, Reiniger claimed to be apolitical (Margolis 2005); Blattner agrees and suggests that Reiniger chose to move to England in 1933 (Blattner 2008:43). However, Rhiel argues that Reiniger had to leave Germany when the Nazis came to power(Rhiel 2008:268). Whilst not contextually important it is an interesting debate, as the silhouette technique means that all characters in a story have the same colour; Zanger draws particular attention to this, suggesting it is a clever and deliberate strategy, she avoids the representation of inter-racial relationships (Zanger 2006:59).
Fig 5 figures from Carmen (1933)

Reinigers film Carmen (1933) is especially interesting from a cultural point of view. Zanger points out that by using silhouettes she avoids the stereotype or "typical encapsulation" of the gypsies (Zanger 2006:60). Starr argues that although there is no external evidence to suggest that Reiniger considered herself a feminist, her female characters are especially lively and original, displaying wit, sensuousness, and self-awareness(Starr 1999:348). Margolis suggests that Carmen prefigures later cinematic attempts to challenge popular patriarchal narratives by rewriting them in revisionist feminist modes (Margolis 2005). Reiniger was an educated woman living in a era of immense social change, and the Second World War forced traditional womens roles to be redefined. Margolis feels that it is not surprising that Reiniger's Carmen could be resourceful enough to survive, even triumph, physically intact and more than equal to the men around her. Starr writes that Reiniger reinterprets the Carmen narrative so that Carmen herself takes up the position of subject rather than object of her own story (Starr 1999:348).

KEY INDIVIDUALS

fig 6 & 7 Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger (1899 1981) was a German silhouette animator and film director.

who used insects and other animals as his protagonists.

fig 8 & 9 Vladislav Starevich (1882 -1965) was a Russian and French stop-motion animator

fig 10 & 11 mile Cohl (1857-1938), born mile Eugne Jean Louis Courtet, was a French

caricaturist of the largely forgotten Incoherent Movement, cartoonist, and animator, called "The Father of the Animated Cartoon" and "The Oldest Parisian".

Reiniger had an educated and cultured upbringing, and her films have the articulation and fluency of theatre and dance productions. Her artwork was influenced by Indonesian shadow puppets, and also by German expressionism. There were also other animators to inspire her: Polish animator Ladislav Scarevich made highly detailed puppet stop-motion - The Cameramans
Above fig 12 Early Indonesian Shadow Puppet

Revenge (1912) used costumed insects

in intricate sets. Eagan notes that his work was shown throughout Europe, and influenced artists like the German-born Lotte Reiniger Eagan (2009:346). Robinson places Reiniger within a group of early independent experimental animators alongside Scarevich, Emile Cohl (Phantasmagoric, 1908), and Winsor McCay (Gertie the Dinosaur, 1914) (Robinson 2010:4) Reinigers work has influenced generations of artists. MacMahon writes film director Henry Selick (The Nightmare before Christmas, 1993) credits Reiniger as a heavy influence (MacMahon 2010:93). Contemporary artist Kara Walker, renowned for her controversial silhouettes, has an interest not just in Reinigers technical work but also in the way she incorporated subtle multi-cultural
fig 13 Kara Walker (2005) 8 Possible Beginnings - a moving picture

values in her work. Award winning artist and animator Helen Hill drew inspiration from the cut-out silhouettes of Lotte Reiniger and went on to incorporate other techniquesstop-motion, puppetry, cycles, drawing on filmin her own animation(Guardian Obituary 2007).

CONCLUSION

Lotte Reiniger was an experimental animator best known for her 2D paper cut-out silhouette films. The films had (and still have) great appeal to people of all ages and cultures due to the lively but sympathetic characters and narratives. The style of animation meant that Reiniger could interpret stories that other directors would have found socially and culturally difficult, especially given the political unrest of her era. She was an early pioneer of strong female protagonists but managed to produce work which was sensitive to both genders needs. Reiniger's work has influenced many animators, partly with her style and technique, and partly with the subtle way she dealt with social and cultural issues. Lotte Reinigers films in general are non-threatening and amusing, technically breath-taking and visually charming (Margolis 2005).

Fig 14 layers of trees From: The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) dir Lotte Reiniger

ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig 1 online at http://modelsown.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/blog-post_27.html [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 2 online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/04/family6 [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 3 online at http://www.thelittlechimpsociety.com/tag/2d/ [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 4 online at http://blog.karadesigns.ca/2011/02/20/lotte-reiniger-animation-innovator/ [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 5 online at http://www.vaganteierhardt.de//Akademie/Artikel/Schattentheater%20in%20Deutschland. htm [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 6 online at http://5election.com/2010/12/30/lotte-reiniger/ [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 7 online at http://5election.com/2010/12/30/lotte-reiniger/ [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 8 online at http://www.takeonecff.com/2012/ladislaw-starewicz-a-retrospective [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 9 online at http://www.takeonecff.com/2012/ladislaw-starewicz-a-retrospective [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 10 online at http://www.lips.org/bio_Cohl.asp [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 11 online at http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/July-August-08/On- this-Day---mile-Cohl-Releases-the-First-Full-Length-Animated-Film---Fantasmagorie-.html [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 12 online at http://ethnicarts.com/puppets-wayang-kulit-shadow-puppet-c-3_39 [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 13 online at http://degenerateartstream.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/kara-walker-post-by- haruko-nishimura.html [accessed on 16/04/2012] Fig 14 online at http://blog.karadesigns.ca/2011/02/20/lotte-reiniger-animation- innovator/ [accessed on 16/04/2012]

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Blattner, E (2008) In Praise of Shadows Milan: Charta, Currell, D (2007) Shadow Puppets & Shadow Play Ramsbury: Crowood Eagan, D (2009) America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry NY: Continuum International Publishing Helen Hill Obituary online at http://www.redcat.org/event/helen-hill-memorial [accessed on 16/04/2012] Margolis, H (2005) Shadow and Substance: Reinigers Carmen Cuts her Own Capers in Perriam, C and Davies, A (2005) Critical Studies Volume 24: Carmen: From Silent Film to MTV Amsterdam: Rodopi McMahan, Alison (2010p93) Films of Tim Burton: Animating Live Action in Contemporary Hollywood London: Continuum International Publishing Priebe, K (2006) Art of Stop-Motion Animation Boston: Course Technology Reiniger, L (1936) Scissors Make Films, cited in Reiniger, L (1970) Shadow Theatres and Shadow Films London: Batsford Rhiel, N., OSickey, M., and Majer, I (2008) Riefenstahl Screened: An Anthology of New Criticism NY: Continuum International Publishing Robinson, A & Robinson, C (2010) Animators Unearthed: A Guide to the Best of Contemporary Animation NY: Continuum International Publishing Starr (1976) in Russett, I and Starr, C (1976) Experimental Animation Origins of a New Art New York: Da Capo Press Wells, P (2006) Fundamentals of Animation London: AVA Zanger, A (2006) Film Remakes As Ritual and Disguise: From Carmen to Ripley Amsterdam: University Press

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