I cam across this quote in the book I was reading about Music in Japan, in reference to the 'aesthetic principle of the Japanese no Theatre'. I love it.
Partly because it feels very Japanese. I like the idea of saying as much as possible, with as little as possible. In colour, shape, tone, story, character etc.
I have been exploring this idea in my teaching work. That if in a painting you were to use a limited colour palette, there are ways of applying this principle to animation too. In terms of colours, shape, textures. Character and style of character, or styles of drawing.
And also in the animation palette, in how that exists. A limited number of movements and movement styles that are used repeatedly to build the work and tell the story. The reference clip that I refer to with this is the Thomas Beale Cipher, by Andrew S Allen. There are parts of the story that seem to be created using one expression, or set of keyframes, where the motion moves and loops, without very much happening with the characters. It is a great way of building motion along the timeline. And stylistically it serves to link all the scenes together and create a strong style of motion for the work.
The Thomas Beale Cipher from Andrew S Allen on Vimeo.
Brecht uses this approach too. Particularly in the set design. I have been reading, or have just started reading Mother Courage and Her Children. In part as a way of exploring character. And because of the anti-war themes in the play. I am going to write and post more about this as I read through it.
In his notes on the set design he talks about a few trees representing a forest, pulling back on objects and, or to, include more of the imagination and a response from the audience I suppose.
The quote applies to the trailer posted below too. About the colours. The impact, the use of audio. The storytelling. This is one of the strongest pieces of work I have seen in a long time. The power of it is in the visual language and storytelling. What is absent as well as present. And the simplicity of it.
