Film of the Year

Cinema Silhouette #6

Strictly speaking, a silhouette shot is a shot in which the object in the forground is darker than the background. In cinema, skillful manipulation of lighting can greatly vary the brightness between forground and background objects and produce a dynamic range that affects our viewing experience. A semi-silhouette shot is produced when the foreground object isn't completely dark (remember that lighting set up in Stray Dogs (1949) in Cinema Silhouette #5?). A standard technique of dramatic lighting in classic Hollywood, semi-silhouettes can also be found in cinema from all over the world. I'm fond of the look and so I keep my eyes peeled for it. Recently, I noticed variations on semi-silhouette all over Léonce-Henri Burel's frosty cinematography for Robert Bresson's solemn directorial masterpiece, Journal d'un curé de campagne (Diary of a Country Priest 1951)-- particularly in scenes wherein the constancy of the ill, dejected young Priest (Claude Laydu)'s faith is severely tested.

Cartoons on the Blogroll

One of my favorite blog discoveries is all about animation and animators, Cartoon Brew. Everything animated from A (Aardman Animations) to Z (Z Animation) fits the discussions over there. With not one but two "brewmasters"--Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi--and plenty of guests the blog updates multiple times daily, so it's a regular stop when traveling the blogosphere.

What's more, if you enjoyed the unrestrained artwork from UPA's Rooty Toot Toot (1952) that accompanied my recent post wherein I had a little fun imagining I was a court reporter covering the trial in that frantic but clever cartoon (that's another screengrab above) then you'll want to check out Amidi's latest blog titled Cartoon Modern. There, the author of one of the coolest books on 1950s animation style offers up samples of the freewheeling design from that era. Put on some bop, head over, and pin some of the most way out designs ever. Crazy, man!

Question: are there other blogs out there that cover animation from the 1950s?