Only God and the Scrat... or "Why I love commentaries"

"[I kept thinking:] How are we going to get rid of all that water? And the only thing that crossed my mind was: there are only two things in nature that could do this; One is God, and the other is the Scrat." (Carlos Saldanha, commentary Ice Age 2: The Meltdown) 

Acorns .....

I've been watching the Ice Age movies (all four of them) a lot these past days. And I know that pretty soon I'm going to buy the DVDs. Not only for the good quality of the images and the sound, but also for the commentaries. As I only have the second movie available on DVD at the moment, I watched the director's commentary several times (and I love that moment in the commentary (above), I think I'm going to use in daily conversation). It's also partly the reason that I started this blog; the zeal and details that Carlos Saldanha talks about the process and characters gives me an example that I'm not the only one that goes nuts about this stuff. (pun intended)

(plus; he gave me a great idea for a blogging name while he was describing Crash's design (Crash from the possums Crash & Eddie; a fellow crazy blue-eyes), so this is a little thank-you to the director that he in all probability will never see.)

- and yes, that is the reason that my profile picture at the moment is Buckminster (another crazy blue-eye) from the third movie. I'll get to him in a later blog. That character deserves his own entry.)

Back to the subject of this entry, commentaries are great things. Often you only realize the extent of how much work and thought and love was put in a particular movie when you hear the people talking about the process. And especially because you are watching the movie at the same time, the speaker can relate anecdotes and backstage stuff to the scenes the viewer is seeing. It's almost like having talking footnotes; which can be annoying if you don't know the text (movie), it adds depth and understanding to the original source material. That's also why cast interview (can be/)are interesting, especially when the actor or actress has really thought about their voice performance. And example is John Leguizamo (voice of Sid the sloth) who actually looked at documentaries on sloths to come up with the lisping voice that has become iconic of the character of Sid.

Watching footage of them recording their voices is also often entertaining, because if they do their job well, they are acting even while only their voices will be heard (yes, animator often work with that footage, but they don't have too, so the actors/actresses can only be sure that their voice will used).

It is also a testimony to their talent; real actors/actresses are able to act out the correct emotions with nothing to really inspire them (like a set, props, costumes or other actors/actresses) except a script, a microphone and director directions. Yet when you listen to what they manage to emote through just their voices, it's phenomenal. You don't even have to see the expression to know what the character is feeling (if it's done right).

Commentaries also give opportunity for the speaker to display concrete examples of the conscious decisions that influence the intensity of the things happening on screen. For example; in Ice Age 2: the Meltdown; the main (concrete) villains, the water-dinosaurs Cretaceous and Maelstrom used to be talking roles. In the final movie, they aren't. And I can say; the fact that those underwater hunters don't speak at all lifts them up from just creepy to flat out terrifying. The shot (below) of both of them silently looking at the main characters, like crocodiles with their eyes just above the surface of the water, and then slowly diving from view is an absolute Jaws moment. That was a great choice (and that is often the case; if you want to express an emotion, it be love, anger, fear or whatever: text instantly makes it cheesy and it loses intensity). ("Foot note"; I like that they were created to be a symbol of the biggest villain, the melting world, fore as the world becomes more flooded, they (come back to life and) grow in strength as their hunting-ground expands to the whole valley.)

We'll get you next time, Manfred. Next time ....

 (Another little anecdote from the crew commentary on the villains; a child of one of the crew was watching the movie with his mother, and during the fight in the second act, fearful of the main villains, he asked his mother "They're going to stay in the water, right?". And the next shot has one of the creatures jumping out of the water onto the ice and speeding over it like a crocodile on meth. Poor kid was traumatized.)

And I love hearing the why behind certain songs. In Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, the director wanted to show the main characters going through perilous places (adding the urgency of the impending doom) before they got to the 'end' of the journey and the main climax. At first it would be just a montage, but to add the peril and comedy and uniqueness; they added a musical number. Seeing the vultures 'dancing' and singing "Food, Glorious Food" while the main characters are trying to get over ravines and sheer cliffs is absolutely perfect. (and additionally, because the makers had the song in their heads the whole time while working on the scene, they had Sid afterwards singing part of the song as well. Another great moment in the movie.)

I also like hearing about the effects in the movie. The most important effects being not the explosions and such, but the ones that you don't 'see', but would miss if you didn't see it (or if it came out wrong). Like the ripples (and behavior) of water and splashes, the actions of the fur and the expressions of the characters. I like the metaphor used in the movie "Wag the Dog": it's like plumbing; no one notices if it works fine, but if it is done wrong you get shit spewed over you. Often a lot of work goes into it, which 'no one' notices while watching it (unless you're in the field, of course)

Finally, I love hearing the love that the makers express for their creation. Not just in text, but in the reactions to what you see on screen, like a chuckle because one of the characters does something funny or a short "Ow" when a character falls and hits the ground hard. That just warms my heart and makes me hopeful that I'm not the only one that love nit-picking and appreciating the story, the characters and it's elements. Down to the littlest expression and/or gesture. 

That for me is the beauty and power of animation. 

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To be continued ....