The music of this cartoon was composed by musician Wu Yingju
You can go to this website to see the download address and sheet music/dispbbs.asp?boardid= 12amp; ID=173079
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Ink Animation
In 1960, two new forms of art films were born in China: origami films and ink cartoons.
Ink cartoons can be regarded as a major innovation in Chinese animation. It introduces traditional Chinese ink painting into animation production. The artistic conception of virtuality and reality and the light and elegant picture make a major breakthrough in the artistic style of cartoons. Ink cartoons are a new variety of animation art created by Chinese artists. It uses Chinese ink painting techniques as a means of expression for character modeling and environmental space modeling, and uses special processing techniques for animation shooting to shoot the ink painting images and compositions one by one. Through continuous projection, it forms a cartoon of ink painting images with dark and light virtual and real activities.
Ink cartoons were successfully trial-produced by Shanghai Art Film Studio in the early 1960s. Generally, the shapes of animated characters are "single-line flat painting", but ink cartoons have the characteristics of the fine tradition of Chinese national painting, that is, ink painting. The characters have neither edge lines nor are they painted flat, but the film can show the effect of brush painting on rice paper. Ink cartoons have opened up a new path for the nationalization and popularization of Chinese film art.
On January 31, 1960, when Vice Premier Chen Yi visited the "China Art Film Exhibition" held by Shanghai Art Film Studio in Beijing, he said to the art film staff: "Can you make Qi Baishi's The animation will be even better." In February of the same year (March 1960), Shanghai Meiying Factory established a trial team with Ada in charge of character and background design, Lu Jin in charge of animation, and Duan Xiaoxuan in charge of shooting and printing technology. It took three months (March 1960 to June 1960) to make the "Ink Animation Fragments" experiment a success. In July 1961, Meitu successfully produced China's first ink cartoon "Tadpole Looking for Mom", announcing the success of China's first ink cartoon. The production technology won the first prize for scientific and technological achievements of the Ministry of Culture and the National Science and Technology Invention of China. Second Prize.
From 1961 to 1995 (34 years), Shanghai Meiying Studio produced 4 ink cartoons (1. Tadpole Looking for Mom, July 1961; 2. Mudi, December 1963; 3. Luling, December 4, 1982. Landscape, October 1988) (Ink animation has not been a commercial film in the field of Chinese animation from the beginning). Each one has its own characteristics, innovations, and advancements.
The first ink cartoon "Tadpole Looking for Mom", the small animal shapes in it were taken from Qi Baishi's paintings. Different from ordinary cartoons, ink animations have no outlines. The ink is naturally rendered on rice paper and is natural. Each scene is an outstanding ink painting. The characters' movements and expressions are graceful and agile, the splash-ink landscape background is bold and magnificent, and the soft brushwork is full of poetry. It embodies the aesthetics of "similarity and dissimilarity" in Chinese painting, with profound artistic conception. Due to the need for layered rendering and coloring, the production process is very complicated, and the amount of time and manpower consumed for a short film is staggering. Meiying Studio has invested heavily in ink films, and its production team is extremely strong. In addition to older generation animation masters such as Te Wei and Qian Jiajun, and even famous Chinese painting artists Li Keran and Cheng Shifa (ink animations are not only ordinary cartoons, but also better than ordinary animations). Animation is more artistic and the integration between different majors is closer. ) has also participated in art direction. It is precisely because of this artistic pursuit that spares no expense that Chinese ink animation has won praise internationally. No country dares to compete with the patience of the Chinese. The Japanese animation industry even calls it a "miracle".
However, it is precisely because of the separation between artistic value and commercial value that ink animation is facing the embarrassment of being unsustainable.
Ink cartoons of the 1960s
1. "Tadpole Looking for Mom" ??
"Tadpole Looking for Mom" ??is collectively directed and directed by Zheng Shaoru, background designer Fang Pengnian, animation designers: Tang Cheng, Wu Qiang, Dai Tielang, Ada, Lu Jin, Yan Dingxian, Jiao Yesong, etc., art director: Tewei, technical director: Qian Jiajun, photography: Duan Xiaoxuan, You Yong, Wang Shirong, 1961 In July 2016, the filming was completed. The film is adapted from the fairy tale of the same name created by Fang Huizhen and Sheng Lude, and is based on the fish, shrimp and other images created by the painter Qi Baishi. The film begins with a simple and elegant Chinese painting album appearing on the screen. When the cover is opened, there is a quiet scene of a lotus pond. The camera gradually moves towards the picture, and the melodious music of guqin and pipa plays, bringing the audience into a beautiful and lyrical ink painting. world. The tadpoles in the pond slowly squirmed. They didn't know what their mother looked like, so they began to look for her... After mistaking goldfish, crabs, turtles, and catfish for their mothers, they finally found her. My own mother. It tells people a profound truth: Where there is a will, there is a way. In the film, the tadpoles are lively and cute, like a group of innocent children. Cartoonist Fang Cheng said: "This film has a unique artistic style. It can be said that every shot is a moving picture, making the audience feel as if they have entered the palace of art." French "Le Monde" commented on this film When making the film, he praised: "Chinese ink painting, with its soft scenery, meticulous brushwork, and movements expressing worry, hesitation and happiness, gives this film a charm and poetry." In 1962, Mao Dun watched the film and wrote A poem: "White stone is a precious treasure in the world, elegant and fresh. Rongbao is good at copying, and it can often be confused with the real one. How could a film star create something that scares ghosts and gods. Famous paintings can really move, and their potential is lifelike. Willow leaves are falling in the rain, The tadpole is fragrant. The tadpole is busy asking for help. Don't laugh at the tadpoles who are stupid. They don't do bad things with good intentions. There is a philosophy in this story. "Picturesque and poetic, the three beauties are all in one." In 1962, the film won the Best Art Film Award at the first "Popular Film" "Hundred Flowers Award", and in 1961, it won the Silver Sail Award for short films at the 14th Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. , won the Short Film Special Award at the 4th Annecy International Animation Festival in France in 1962 and the Honorary Award at the 4th Cannes International Film Festival in 1964. In 1978, he won the first prize at the 3rd Zagreb International Animation Film Festival in Yugoslavia in 1981. Won the second prize at the 4th International Youth Film Festival of the Pompidou Cultural Center in France. (Since the artistry is higher than that of ordinary commercial animation, the number of awards may be greater than that of ordinary commercial animation. Ink animation has better artistic expression capabilities in form)
2. "Mu Flute"
"Mu Flute" is a fairy-themed film, written by Te Wei, directed by Te Wei and Qian Jiajun, cinematographer Duan Xiaoxuan, background designer Fang Qizhong, animation designer Wu Qiang, Jiao Yesong, Lin Wenxiao, Dai Tielang, painted scenery Fang Pengnian, Qin Yizhen, flute soloist Lu Chunling (for the first time, national music has been added to ink animation). Filming was completed in December 1963. The film uses a lyrical touch to describe such a story: In the early summer morning, in the fields of Jiangnan, an innocent and lively shepherd boy rode a buffalo to herd the cows. He had a dream. The cow suddenly disappeared. It turned out that the cow was flown down a thousand-foot waterfall. attracted. The shepherd boy called it, but it didn't move. The shepherd boy understood the sound made by the wind bamboo, cut the bamboo into a flute, and played melodious and sweet music. The buffalo was attracted to the shepherd boy by the sound of the flute. He rode on the back of the cow, walked on the twilight field, and returned leisurely... The story of the film is simple. Through the plot of the shepherd boy "losing the cow, finding the cow, and gaining the cow", it expresses the close relationship between the shepherd boy and the buffalo. In the end, the shepherd boy uses the bamboo flute to The music defeats the waterfall representing nature and wins the return of the buffalo, thereby completing the theme of the film: "Art is higher than nature." The buffalo in the film is based on the style of the painter Li Keran (the ink animation image was originally extracted from traditional painting , drawn with natural artistry). The buffaloes painted by Li Keran are majestic, simple and unpretentious, with unique grace. For this film, he specially painted fourteen ink paintings of buffaloes and shepherd boys as a reference for the painting team.
The film hired landscape painter Fang Jizhong as background designer. The background of "Mu Flute" adopts the scenery of Jiangnan in China: small bridges and flowing water, rows of willows, deep bamboo forests, and field scenery. He also uses the shepherd boy to look for cows to show the high mountains and rapids flying thousands of feet commonly seen in Chinese landscape paintings, achieving an artistic conception of expressing emotions through scenery and blending scenes. The entire film is full of poetry and painting. It is a clear and elegant picture of grazing, a simple and timeless pastoral poem, and a beautiful symphony. The pictures are beautiful, the artistic conception is profound, and the rhythm is smooth, giving the audience a beautiful enjoyment.
Not long after the film was completed, extreme "leftist" trends prevented the film from being seen by the audience, and it was locked up in the film library for more than ten years. After its re-release, it immediately received unanimous praise at home and abroad. In 1979, he won the gold medal at the Third Odense International Fairy Tale Film Festival in Denmark. When Tewei went to the United States to give lectures in 1980, he brought "The Shepherd's Flute" with him. The American audience burst into applause after watching it, saying: "It's so beautiful. ", "It's simply a miracle", "This is really a completely Chinese cartoon." When the Japan Animation Association held the "Chinese Art Film Exhibition" in 1981, the audience was deeply surprised after watching "Mu Flute". A Japanese animator wrote in the guestbook: "When I heard that ink paintings could move, I couldn't believe it. But after seeing it, I was really surprised. It's really hard to imagine what kind of technology was used to create such a work. Being able to make ink animations into cartoons shows that the Chinese people have deep feelings and understanding of their traditional art. Outsiders can only say it is 'amazing'
Ink animations in the new era<. /p>
After the end of the "Cultural Revolution", Meiying vigorously carried out efforts to bring order to the chaos and resumed the production of ink cartoons that had been suspended for 17 years.
1. "Deer Bell"
"The Deer Bell" is written by Sang Hu, directed by Tang Cheng and Wu Qiang, photographed by Duan Xiaoxuan, art designer Cheng Shifa, with backgrounds by Fang Jizhong and Fang Pengnian, and animation designers Chang Guangxi and Lu Qing. The filming was completed in December 1982 by Meiying. This is a fairy-themed film based on an interesting legend from the "White Deer Academy" in Lushan Mountain, and given new content; an old medicine farmer and his little granddaughter rescued an injured animal when they were collecting medicine in the mountains. The little deer took the little deer home, took good care of it, and established a close relationship. When the little granddaughter injured her leg while protecting the little deer, the little deer went to the market to collect medicine on her behalf. Shi Xiaolu suddenly met his separated parents. Xiaolu reluctantly said goodbye to his grandfather and grandson while wearing a bronze bell given by his granddaughter. The production of this ink cartoon was resumed after nearly 20 years, and most of the crew members were there. As a newbie, and with the development of film and printing technology, the technical conditions and data of the past were no longer applicable. All these had to be re-tested and standards determined. After more than a year of hard work, female director Tang Cheng finally completed the film using the art of ink painting. The film's form gave it a delicate, elegant and lyrical character. The film won the Ministry of Culture's Outstanding Film Award and the Third China Film "Golden Rooster Award" for Best Art Film in 1983. In July of the same year, it won the 13th Moscow International Film Festival of the Soviet Union. Film Festival Best Animation Special Award
2. "Landscape"
"Landscape" is written by Wang Shuchen, chief director Te Wei, directors Yan Shanchun and Mark Xuan, and cinematographer Duan Xiaoxuan. , animation designers Sun Zongqing, Yao Yi, Lu Chengfa, Xu Jianguo, and Jin Guozhong were filmed by Meiying in October 1988. The film describes the old violinist looking for a close friend on his way back to his hometown, and he finds a young fisherman and becomes his mentor. Smart and eager to learn, he will eventually become a great instrument. Amidst the mountains and rivers, the old violinist gave his beloved guqin to the young man, and walked alone among the white clouds on the top of the mountain. The young man played the guqin, and the melodious sound of the piano sent the old harpist away who disappeared into the vast mountains... …The film takes characters as the main subject and makes a quite harmonious combination of the relationship between man and nature. It has made breakthroughs and improvements in traditional Chinese ink and freehand landscape painting where characters do not play an important role. The photographer broke the traditional frame-by-frame shooting technique of the first three films. Shooting against the original background, and then combining it with frame-by-frame animation shots, fully utilizes the characteristics of Chinese ink painting.
When dealing with the climax scene of the film about the separation of master and apprentice, the technique of painters painting on site and photographers shooting on site was used, and then combined with animation lenses, so that the film fully displays the sense of layering and rhythm brought by the artists' pen and ink. This 18-minute film has a fresh, free and easy style, ethereal and elegant, integrating the artistic conception and interest of Chinese poetry and painting into every scene. The film expresses emotions through scenery, and the scenes blend together. The cloud-shrouded mountains and the smoky water have reality within the imaginary, and emptiness within the reality, showing the profound tradition of Chinese art. At the same time, various modern animation techniques that are closely integrated with it push the art wonder of Chinese ink animation to a new realm. Domestically, the film won the 9th China Film "Golden Rooster Award" for Best Art Film in 1988, the first National Film and Television Animation Program Showcase Award and the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television Outstanding Film Award, and the first Shanghai Literature and Art Outstanding Achievement Award in 1991; internationally The film won the Grand Prize at the First Shanghai International Animation Film Festival in 1988, the "Bravery and Beauty" Award at the Moscow Youth Film Festival in 1989, and the Outstanding Film Award at the Sixth Varna International Animation Film Festival in Bulgaria in October 1990. In 1992, it won the Best Short Film Award at the 14th Montreal Film Festival in Canada. In 1992, it won the Best Animated Film Certificate Award at the Bombay International Film Festival in India.
Ink cartoons can be regarded as a major innovation in Chinese animation. It introduces traditional Chinese ink painting into animation production. The artistic conception of virtuality and reality and the light and elegant picture make a major breakthrough in the artistic style of cartoons. In 1960, Shanghai Meiying Studio produced a short film called "Ink Animation Clip" as an experiment. In the same year, the first ink cartoon "Tadpole Looking for Mom" ??was born, in which the small animal shapes were taken from Qi Baishi's paintings. The film became a sensation all over the world as soon as it came out.
Different from ordinary cartoons, ink animations have no outlines. The ink is naturally rendered on rice paper, and each scene is an outstanding ink painting. The characters' movements and expressions are graceful and agile, the splash-ink landscape background is bold and magnificent, and the soft brushwork is full of poetry. It embodies the aesthetics of "between similarity and dissimilarity" in Chinese painting, with profound artistic conception.
Due to the need for layered rendering and coloring, the production process is very complicated. The amount of time and manpower consumed for a short film is staggering. Meiying Studio has invested heavily in ink films and has an extremely strong production team. In addition to older generation animation masters such as Te Wei and Qian Jiajun, even famous Chinese painting masters Li Keran and Cheng Shifa have participated in art direction. It is precisely because of this artistic pursuit that spares no expense that Chinese ink animation has won praise internationally. No country dares to compete with the patience of the Chinese. The Japanese animation industry even calls it a "miracle". However, it is precisely because of the separation between artistic value and commercial value that ink animation is facing the embarrassment of being unsustainable.
It is worth mentioning that the contribution of the "Wan Brothers" to China's early cartoons and China's first animated feature film "Princess Iron Fan" filmed by Wan Laiming have been specially reported. Here is a brief introduction to Wan Laiming's younger brother Wan Guchan. We have seen many paper-cuts in mainland China from video tapes. Tracing back to the origin, the founder of paper-cuts is Wangu Chan, who is respectfully known as "Er Wan Lao". After many experiments, Wan Gu Chan successfully shot the first color paper-cut cartoon in 1958, which was different from the early paper-cut cartoons in the West that appeared in the form of black silhouettes. In subsequent films such as "The Fisher Boy", "Ji Gong Fights the Cricket", and "The Golden Conch", his skills have become more mature. Wan Guchan and his creative partners drew on the artistic characteristics of Chinese shadow puppetry and folk window grilles to make various types of paper-cut characters or animals convey their own emotions, anger, sorrow, and joy on the screen. Some are antique, and some are elves and lively. At the joints of the paper-cut characters (animals), use thin copper wires or small sticky particles scraped from the glue of the table tennis racket to connect them, and then place them in front of the camera to shoot frame by frame. Of course, there are also individual clips that were shot using cartoon animation methods, such as the swimming of goldfish, the soft spread of fishermen when casting their nets, and the protagonist's shaking of his head.
No wonder the Japanese who have initially mastered the techniques of ink animation shooting do not want to try it easily after returning to China. Western cartoon film workers who pay attention to timeliness will not spend so much time decomposing, tracing, and drawing each picture. Colored in layers and fixed and photographed over and over again on the camera stand. The Chinese are naturally very patient. They can carve Buddha statues on a hair and engrav scriptures on a grain of rice with the same care, coupled with so many female line workers, coloring workers and animation photographers who never complain. The cooperation also made the creation of ink cartoons successful. Mao Dun, the then Minister of Culture, was so moved that he wrote an inscription "Creating Shocking Ghosts and Gods" and sent it to Shanghai. The ink-and-wash cartoons created with that kind of skill and perseverance have indeed aroused admiration from people in the animation industry in Western countries, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The shepherd boy in "The Shepherd's Flute" rides an old water buffalo dripping with ink through the willow trees, walks through the rice fields in the sunset, and heads towards the village. The movements are delicate and the emotions are implicit. It is a completely Chinese-style cartoon, which is completely different from the fun in Disney cartoons.