Spiral

Spiral from Matt Clark on Vimeo.


What drew me to this animation at first, was the fact that I couldn't tell if it was Stop Motion or 3D. When I pressed play, I was instantly intrigued, one moment it looked stop motion with the set design and thumb print texture on the characters face, then next with his movements he looked 3D. I love that crossover of traditional animation and 3D, especially stop-motion and 3D, they go very well together considering they are both 3D techniques of animation.

I love the character design, the droopy eyes and naval wrinkles, he looks so lazy and laid back. Complementing this is the way he is animated, the slow blink and the really slow, lazy walk cycle, which goes perfectly to the bass of the song. With the character design I also like the striking green gillet, half mast trousers and receding hairline, it all ties together to create a really distinguishable and original character.

If you think about it, the character is hardily animated, he walks with his palms flat, straight , with real gentle, slow, hardily distinguishable movements, this again complements his lazy appearance.

Overall, the narrative to this animation is very weird and unique, but I like it. Two people staring at each other, they instantly connect from obvious similarity, both envisaging touching each other and being close... This is personified by their faces projecting out of their heads and twisting and turning and touching together. It is very sexual, but why? They aren't naked or sexually explicit in any way. It is sexual because of their movements, caressing and twisting together in time with the music, in sync with each other, it is romantic. Also the fact that all you see is their flesh because of their projected heads, kind of gives the illusion that they are naked, making it even more sexual.

Another reason why I liked this animation so much is because it rings a signal with the human race, and how we are on public transport. We all sit there on a bus or a train, thinking all these thoughts, never knowing what everyone else is thinking, your so close, yet at the same time your so far removed from everyone. In this animation however, the couple are sat away from each other, yet they feel so close, joined by thoughts of touching each other.