Thanks for posting this Mark. This film goes straight to my gut. The storyteller's words get an extra boost from these simple dreamlike black and white images. The constantly moving camera helps add to the dreamlike feel of the piece. I love the sound of that man's voice. Great stuff!
at roconnor: "Documentary is a process which attempts to bring the viewer into a reality"
then this animation short is a documentary, because it brings the viewer to the reality of war. another animation feature that is an example of this is Vals con Bashir.
November 29, 2009 3:05 PM
Germans in the Woods from Rauch Brothers on Vimeo.In time for Veterans Day (in Canada, called Remembrance Day), here is a film from the Rauch Brothers. Quoting from an email I received from Mike Rauch: In honor of tomorrow, Veterans Day, Rauch Brothers Animation has posted "Germans in the Woods" to the web. In this animated documentary, 86-year-old World War II veteran Joseph Robertson remembers a German soldier he killed at the Battle of the Bulge. Produced in collaboration with national oral history project StoryCorps. Created with pencil on paper, Photoshop, and AfterEffects.I think one of the more interesting developments in animation has been the creation of animated documentaries. Animators routinely interpret audio tracks, looking to find the emotional core of a person's speech. Shifting that skill from fictional to real dialogue extends what animators do while providing an opportunity to visualize events beyond the reach of a camera.
I'd like to thank Mike and Tim Rauch for the opportunity to share this film.
posted by Mark Mayerson at 7:51 PM on Nov 10, 2009
"Germans in the Woods"
5 Comments -
The term "animated documentary" gets my goat.
And I don't even have a goat.
These are no more documentaries than "Hoosiers" or "Frost/Nixon".
The films may well be non-fiction, and part of a long tradition of non-fiction films but they are not documentaries.
Would someone call "Persepolis" a documentary. Why not "Au Revoir, Les Enfents", then?
Animation is a process which inherently alienates viewers from reality. Documentary is a process which attempts to bring the viewer into a reality.
One can use animation within a documentary effectively, but they can not be one in the same.
It's a marketing ploy and an academic fetish.
(That said, the Rauch Bros. films are lovely.)
November 11, 2009 6:45 PM
Richard, you are quite right.
In the end, I'm not too concerned what you call these films as long as you watch them, so thanks for posting the link, Mark!
November 11, 2009 7:26 PM
Those little stories tell very important things. Thank you for making the film and thank you for posting it Mark.
November 17, 2009 5:17 PM
Thanks for posting this Mark. This film goes straight to my gut. The storyteller's words get an extra boost from these simple dreamlike black and white images. The constantly moving camera helps add to the dreamlike feel of the piece. I love the sound of that man's voice. Great stuff!
Cheers,
~Arna
November 27, 2009 9:20 PM
at roconnor: "Documentary is a process which attempts to bring the viewer into a reality"
then this animation short is a documentary, because it brings the viewer to the reality of war. another animation feature that is an example of this is Vals con Bashir.
November 29, 2009 3:05 PM