Yes, that's true. Especially anime where there's like three total animations for speaking.
Movie Reviews 2.0
- Thread starter Dresden
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Sigfried1977
Legend
Wonder whether we'll ever see something as balls-to-the-wall impressive as Akira out of Japan. Is Akira even considered to be an Anime? It employed none of the usual cost-cutting strategies you can even see in the big budget animes of today. Like lower animation framerates and limited facial expressions above all else. Even Ghibli movies or films like Your Name use these short cuts. Seems like the makers of Akira either had limitless funds to pay armies of Disney animators or maybe they just enslaved them.
And it's not just nostalgia speaking here either as I've watched it again just a couple of weeks ago. It holds up.
And it's not just nostalgia speaking here either as I've watched it again just a couple of weeks ago. It holds up.
That’s interesting. Can you elaborate on those shortcuts and how is Akita different? Pretty please?
tongue_of_colicab
Veteran
Don't forget that some of the different frame rate stuff is also done for stylistic reasons, at least in case of a movie like Spirited Away it is. I also wonder how much more expensive more frames would be these days as I presume nobody is creating actual cells anymore and instead do everything digital.
That said I do believe Akira had much higher budget than anything other anime movies created around that time.
Don't see why you wouldn't call it an anime or animation movie as that is exactly what it is. A animated movie.
Sigfried1977
Legend
A great many scenes (not all though) in Akira are actually animated on ones. Meaning one discreet frame of animation for every displayed frame in a 24fps feed. Usually anime tops out at 12 animation frames per second. And that's for the high quality ones. 8 fps is fairly common for cheaper productions. Background objects go as low as 6 fps. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as timing in 2d animation is a lot more important than the sheer number of frames being drawn. It's a lot less work intesive though.
Another thing is the way dialogue between characters is handled. Akira's characters properly move their mouths in sync with the dialogue. They are hardly ever stationary during dialogue sequences either and never have their backs turned to the camera in order to obscure the fact that there's little to no animation happening at all.
Nice video essay detailing the technical underpinnings of Akira.
Really unfortunate that we'll probably never get a second Akira movie. The first one has a nice conclusion, but it only covers the first half of the manga series.
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Wow I had no idea. Really need to put that DVD back in and give it a whirl.
Sigfried1977
Legend
The Blu Ray is great. I never read the manga myself. Not a big comic book reader. Still curious how it all ends.
Kazuhiro Otomo (the creator of Akira) did make another film a decade-or-so later: Steamboy. It's also quite beautiful, but it didn't really work for me.
Kazuhiro Otomo (the creator of Akira) did make another film a decade-or-so later: Steamboy. It's also quite beautiful, but it didn't really work for me.
Heretic ! Blasphemer !
Why do you think it becomes pretty crap ?
It's my favorite manga, and something I recommend to everyone. I just love the second half-part.
About the movie, I watched it again last year, and it's great. I disliked it first, because I thought it was a bad adaption.
But the animation is top notch, many memorable scenes, and the ending is still satisfying considering the run-time.
It really well drawn pointless destruction. Also, nothing about Akira (either manga or anime) feels "real". Compare Akira to Otomo's masterpiece Domu and the differences are startling!
DuckThor Evil
Legend
Thanks to the Oscars, Parasite was re-introduced to movie theaters here in Thailand, so I saw it yesterday. Yeah very good. I went in knowing absolutely nothing about it. No trailers or anything. I was expecting different type of parasites, but this one was a great piece of work on many levels.
hoom
Veteran
Parasite wasn't what I was expecting at all.
I'd had the impression it was a timely pandemic movie.
It actually reminded me a lot of the last Korean movie I saw years ago.
Well shot, interesting perspective but once I realised where it was going it got quite predictable & I found the ending rather disappointing.
Still better than the vast majority of what comes out of Hollywood...
Jojo Rabbit, pretty good but not amazing, Taika Waititi quirky but rather uncomfortable with the tragi-comedy laughing at/along with nazis thing.
Probably an only watch once.
I'd had the impression it was a timely pandemic movie.
It actually reminded me a lot of the last Korean movie I saw years ago.
About a guy who wound up living secretly in an apartment with a girl by standing behind her & mimicking her moves.
Well shot, interesting perspective but once I realised where it was going it got quite predictable & I found the ending rather disappointing.
Still better than the vast majority of what comes out of Hollywood...
Jojo Rabbit, pretty good but not amazing, Taika Waititi quirky but rather uncomfortable with the tragi-comedy laughing at/along with nazis thing.
Probably an only watch once.
1917...a great watching experience.
To me the continous style felt very much like watching a 3rd person adventure/shooter.
Now it could be said that you can analysis a lot of the same genre like that, but the filming style made it very much a twitch-esk experience IMO.
I'm assuming the camera work extensively used drones, give how bad the landscape was in places, and how steady the camera follow, and the way it moved just inches above people and places.
To me the continous style felt very much like watching a 3rd person adventure/shooter.
Build your team
interact with NPC...Colin Firth
Get orders...Get some kit.
Walk a bit, chat to your mate.. dialog gives some backstory.
Interact with an NPC....Andrew Scott
Come across an interesting place (german dorm etc)
Explore
Have an unexpected event...trip wire...go thru a pre-determined sequence...crumbling tunnel, jump a gap, get out
Walk a bit more
Come across another interesting pace (abandoned place)
Explore...gather milk
Have an inexpected event...plane crash...fight...
Have an interaction with an NPC ...Mark strong
Use a vechicle. Notice how there's several large vehicles and dozens of men, but neither "playing char" notices them, they just 'appear'
Come across an interesting place (building after broken bridge)
Have an unexpected event....deal with sniper
Get knocked out (a common 'time-passing' technique in games)
Come across an interesting place
Have an interaction with an NPC...woman with child...use milk gathered earlier...no real addition to the story line except she tells you to follow the river
Have a fight
Get carried down river....nicely in keeping with what the NPC said
In an exhausted state, have a semi halleucinagenic (sP?) experience..merest sound...walk towards it, entire paltoon of soliders listening in complete silence to the dulcent tones of a squaddie singing some somber tune...
etc
interact with NPC...Colin Firth
Get orders...Get some kit.
Walk a bit, chat to your mate.. dialog gives some backstory.
Interact with an NPC....Andrew Scott
Come across an interesting place (german dorm etc)
Explore
Have an unexpected event...trip wire...go thru a pre-determined sequence...crumbling tunnel, jump a gap, get out
Walk a bit more
Come across another interesting pace (abandoned place)
Explore...gather milk
Have an inexpected event...plane crash...fight...
Have an interaction with an NPC ...Mark strong
Use a vechicle. Notice how there's several large vehicles and dozens of men, but neither "playing char" notices them, they just 'appear'
Come across an interesting place (building after broken bridge)
Have an unexpected event....deal with sniper
Get knocked out (a common 'time-passing' technique in games)
Come across an interesting place
Have an interaction with an NPC...woman with child...use milk gathered earlier...no real addition to the story line except she tells you to follow the river
Have a fight
Get carried down river....nicely in keeping with what the NPC said
In an exhausted state, have a semi halleucinagenic (sP?) experience..merest sound...walk towards it, entire paltoon of soliders listening in complete silence to the dulcent tones of a squaddie singing some somber tune...
etc
Now it could be said that you can analysis a lot of the same genre like that, but the filming style made it very much a twitch-esk experience IMO.
I'm assuming the camera work extensively used drones, give how bad the landscape was in places, and how steady the camera follow, and the way it moved just inches above people and places.
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hoom
Veteran
Yes.
I'd love to see like an aerial shot of the area they used for filming.
Its also basically 'Saving Private Ryan but in WWI' & that was the weakness, it just makes no sense to send a brother on a near-suicide mission to try to save their brother like that.
Sigfried1977
Legend
I Am Mother. Really interesting story about girl who's being raised by an A.I. in a bunker in some form of a post apocalyptic future. Great and thoughtful film. Also another showcase for top notch special effects in what was probably a pretty low budget movie.
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