4mations isn’t just about kittens and love, you know. Today Captain Contentious steps onto the soapbox for a reasonable, balanced discussion about sand animation.
I love animation. At its best, it is magical in a way that live action can never be. DOWN WITH LIVE ACTION!!!!… Not really. In animation you can create crazy characters and a mad universe and describe them however you like. It doesn’t have to look realistic, it doesn’t have to follow the laws of science or logic.
Then there’s sand animation. I HATE SAND ANIMATION. I really hate it. There’s nothing I hate more than sitting in a festival when a sand animation comes on the screen. I let out the long mournful howl of the wolf when I see sand dance. Sand belongs on the beach: whether it’s under foot on a romantic walk, as the primary component in the sand castle or as an unintended ingredient in barbecued food, that is its realm. I get nothing from it on the screen. I loath the way it moves around, you can’t make anything with any detail and there’s no way you can convey emotion or any kind of life with sand. I just don’t understand why anyone would choose to use it. And no I am not throwing down the gauntlet to sand animators everywhere. Don’t send me your sand animation clips. You are sick, SICK, you darn, dirty sandimators! I am not suggesting we throw sand animators in prison. I’m all for freedom of expression. I simply ask animators to think, think really hard before you throw your life away on sandimation.
Join the debate. Does sand have a place in animation?
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