Dan Grigsby - BA Animation 2009/2010

Fraser MacLean, author of an upcoming book on the history of layout in animation, visited Ravensbourne today to present a lecture on colour theory, as well as provide critique on our own projects. He has had many years of experience in the animation industry, working in prestigious companies such as Walt Disney Studios, and among many more. He made a visit to the college last year and I was fortunate to attend his lecture then. I found what knowledge he had to share to be incredibly useful and inspiring, as was the same for this morning. He used example clips from a couple of animation feature films (The Emperor's New Groove and The Incredibles) and then broke these down piece by piece, analysing in detail the meaning or symbolism of the mise-en-scene, colour and composition.

It opened my eyes to just how much attention is paid to every single shot of a movie. No detail is taken for granted, and everything is put there for a reason, however subtle or striking it may be. MacLean's points are not to be ignored, as they are very much relevant to our projects. In previous years, students have made their short films without considering elements such as composition and colour carefully and this has been very noticeable. We don't want to make the same mistake, but for now I think we are going along the right track.

MacLean spoke to our group about our projects and gave some really helpful advice as to where we should develop style and colour - we will take on board what he said, it was only a shame that we didn't have more time to talk to him. He will be returning on Friday to do another lecture on layout - I don't think anyone in the team should miss this.

Apart from MacLean's visit, Monday hasn't been a very productive day for me, but definitely not as bad as last Friday! I hope to get back into the rhythm tomorrow.