Senor Sombra

Most of the animations that I have blogged about in the past have been from the flash2004 website so I wanted to look for something different. After searching on google, I found this Spanish animation, called Senor Sombra- Capitulo 1. Obviously, this is in Spanish, so I thought it would be interesting to see how well the animator conveys the storyline without depending on understanding of the narration. It turns out, in this particular animation, there is only a small segment of narration in the beginning. The story line is quite easy to grasp.

There is one idea in this animation that really fascinates me. When Senor Sombra walks into the little boy’s bedroom and is exposed to all of that color, he is horrified. He sucks all of the color out of the room and then out of the little boy’s body. The way the animator illustrates this is very creative and effective. The color comes off of the boy like a mask, leaving behind very dull yellows. When the color leaves the boy’s body, it is drawn into a colorful stream that is sucked into Senor Sombra’s mouth. It is a very creative idea and well executed.

This animation relies on color palette in order to work. If the colors in the beginning were not all cool colors, then the effect when the door to the boy’s room is opened to reveal all of those bright, warm colors, would not be achieved. This animation is well done and I’m glad I finally branched out to a whole new world of flash other than what is presented on flash2004.

Armageggon

After completing my first flash animation which included sound, I have to believe that the animator who created Armageggon new exactly what the soundtrack was going to be before he or she even began to animate. The sound works so well with this animation. Every action coincides with a part of the music. I can’t imagine the time and effort that must have been required to get everything to synch up so well.

I really like the blues. The color creates a cold, lonely atmosphere that fits the story line. It helps to make the green land in the end more effective. The camera angles are great. They help to create a lot of motion and to give a sense of stillness when appropriate. Again, if I could point to one thing that really makes this animation come together, it is the music and how well it is used.