Circus from citrusink on Vimeo.
The name of this animation is, “Circus”, created by Miwa Matreyek in 2009. The viewer is greeted by a black screen accompanied by some sound for the first twenty or so seconds, followed by an opening scene. Throughout the video, subject matter related to the title - Circus, can be seen. This includes; people such as circus performers and ring masters, animals such as cats, lions and elephants, and circus props such as fire rings and hoops. The impression and mood of the work is mysterious and ominous, achieved by sound effects and the black and white scenes, yet, contradicting this are the cheery, up-lifting music and simple dance movements of a girl.
As mentioned before, Matreyek has used black and white for the whole of this particular work. The majority of the film is darker-coloured, causing a mysterious and ominous effect to be created. However, the opening scene is the only exception, where white is dominant. This part consists of line drawings. Thin lines are drawn and connected to another image. The connected images are on top of each other and the background music played all throughout this scene, compliments the title, also line-drawn, which is placed near the top. When zoomed out, the title is darkened which acts as a starting point for the following dark scenes. The black transition where there are white writings in circus handwritings also corroborate with the title and theme, Circus, (Circus Handwriting). The next scene shows a person with a black hat and a moustache who is talking quickly and excitedly. Since the person’s clothes and hat are dark, the audience’s attention is drawn to the person’s face and hand. The hand movements are quick and vigorous, and the mouth is moving rapidly. The quality of movement in the head and hands are poor. It jumps around and does not smoothly flow, adding into the effect of rapid movement. Furthermore, the sound effect of women’s voice singing high contributes to the excited talking of the person. Therefore, the mood here is cheery; however, the person’s appearance and the darkness suggest something ominous. The next scene shows many people dancing in a room. This scene is also darker coloured and shows a variety of rapid movement in the dancers through jerky movements. The constant beat only present in this scene is an addition to the fast movements. The scene of elephantitis supported by the elephant-like sounds and the following scenes are portrayed of similar mood. Overall, the visual language and sounds are consistent.
Matryek’s work, “Circus”, is interpreted to be one point of view of a circus. This short film actually starts from when the circus tent is put up, runs through the show and finally closes to an end. The very start of this animation shows a black screen, but when the viewer listens attentively, one can hear and visualize the rope being hoisted up as the circus tent is put into shape. The opening scene introduces the audience to the circus accompanied by distinct circus music. Following this scene is the ring master who is defined to be the “master of ceremony” in a circus, (Ringmaster), as shown in the film. Visual language and sound is incorporated into this scene to establish the ringmaster’s job. As shown by the ringmaster’s movement and the slightly high-pitched women’s singing- which almost seems like talking, the ringmaster is dutifully doing their job, talking and keeping the show moving. The next three scenes are the acts or performances. There are many dancers dancing at a fast pace, some doing the same choreography, some completely different. This shows the variety of different performances. Elephants are an essential part of a circus, (Should Circuses be Forced to Stop Using Elephants in their Acts), and Matryek does love elephants, (Miwa Matreyek – Featured Artist); however the introducing caption to the scene talks about a “deadly disease called Elephantitis”. Elephantitis is not real and is a word that is misheard from elephantiasis, (What Is Elephantitis?), which are often abnormally enlarged thighs that look a bit elephant-like. This concept is used to portray the human as an elephant in this scene. It also indicates that whether one believes it is a circus or one believes it is a freak show, it is all a matter of one’s point of view. The accompanying sounds seem like sounds made from elephants through their noses creating the elephant in the viewers’ minds. The part in this scene in which there is a pipe that seems like an elephant’s nose sucking a person who seems like they’re about to collapse, corroborate with the caption which states that it is ‘deadly’. The final act is the ‘thumb princess’, which once again show that circuses are judged solely on one’s point of view. The thumb princess is placed in the scene inside a tree which, in comparison, is very large. The music has a mysterious tinge to it and especially with the thumb princess’s actions, it makes her seem mysterious and peculiar. Finally, the circus comes to an end with the words, “until next time”. The various people are forming a pyramid, the final act, while doing simple gestures- touching their glasses and tipping their head slightly, (How to Read Body Language). They are nodding good bye. The eye, near the top of the screen, is darting around, signifying that they are including everyone from the audience in their farewells. The whole animation finishes with the black screen with the sounds of ropes being hoisted- down this time, as the tents are being packed up. When asked, respondent A, replied, “It’s trying to demonstrate the person’s idea of what a circus is. It’s just, well, it’s one of the better words of a demonstration of a person doing freaky things”. While respondent B – a primary school student, commented, “I don't get it. It's really freaky but I liked the thumb princess because it was cute” and respondent C replied, "Although it's titled, "Circus", it seems more like a collection of bizarre but amazing animation clips." The intended audience of this work seems to be anyone who would appreciate another person’s point of view on this matter.
Bibliography
Animation Analysis Task, http://sthildas.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_233_1%26url%3D (22/10/11)
Appraisal Guide – Describe, Analyse, Interpret and Judge, http://sthildas.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/xid-17079_1 (22/10/11)
Circus, http://vimeo.com/6714468 (22/10/11)
How to Read Body Language, www.wikihow.com/Read-Body-Language (22/10/11)
Miwa Matreyek – Featured Artist, http://www.arttherapyblog.com/featured/miwa-matreyek-featured-artist/ (22/10/11)
Ringmaster, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ringmaster (22/10/11)
Should Circuses be Forced to Stop Using Elephants in their Acts, http://world-news.newsvine.com/_news/2009/02/04/2396172-should-circuses-be-forced-to-stop-using-elephants-in-their-acts (22/10/11)
What Is Elephantitis?, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-elephantitis.htm (22/10/11)
