Blog 1

As it says on pg. 15 in The Illusion of Life, "Conveying a certain feeling is the essence of communication in any art form. What this means is that it is most important for the artist to create a feeling in the viewer by using the tools of communication. This doesn't necessarily mean verbal communication because within art, nonverbal communication is a necessity. Communication such as posture, gestures, facial expressions and even music have become essential forms of communication. Since animation was invented, an artists' ability to enable their characters to express themselves have improved rapidly through these forms of communication. The clip I chose is an excellent example of how an artist can help it's viewers understand what it's characters are feeling through non-verbal communication. It is from the Lion King and in this clip the baby lion Simba gets caught in a dangerous stampede. His close-up facial expressions show the fear he is feeling. Once his father, Mufasa learns of his son being in trouble he races to the scene. After saving Simba, Mufasa attempts to save himself by climbing up the rock wall to his brother Scar. Mufasa reaches out for Scar's help but Scar plunges his claws in Mufasa's paws and utters "Long live the King". Another closeup of Mufasa expresses the astonishment he feels to learn that he is being betrayed by his brother. Scar then throws Mufasa to his death into the underlying stampede. This clip does not show Mufasa ultimately trampled to death but through the sight of Mufasa falling and Simba yelling "NO!" as he watches, the artist conveys the feelings of Mufasa and Simba to the audience.