Ed's Newsletter - May 2003

THANKS TO FILMAKADEMIE BADEN-WUERTTEMBERG
I continue to be very impressed with the educational philosophy behind this top-notch film (live action and animation) school that is located is Ludwigsberg, a suburb of Stuttgart. They first are seriously selective about the students they accept from among their many applicants, and then they seriously prepare their students for work in the real world. The school's students are working in major studios internationally and are starting to get Academy Award attention. ("Das Rad" by Chris Stenner and Heidi Witttlinger) It is one of my most satisfying accomplishments that, for the past four years, Filmakademie has brought me over to Germany to teach their second-year students the principles of acting. My sincere thanks to Thomas Haegele, Tina Ohnmacht and my students at Filmakademie for including me once again. I had a wonderful time. Your generosity of spirit and confidence in my abilities is simply touching. Thanks, too, to Alex and Stephan and Sebastian for the marvelous CD-ROM records of the classes! Every time I look at the photos and clips, I smile all over again.<g.

KALAMAZOO ANIMATION FESTIVAL
It's just sort of fun to say the word "Kalamazoo" out loud, know what I mean? Anyway, this small town in Michigan, under the guidance of the Kalamazoo (Heh.) Valley Community College, turned itself over to the animators May 16-18. I participated in the festivities by teaching a couple of Acting for Animators workshops in the downtown Epic Center and watching screenings of student animation at the State Theatre. A good time was had by all, and I made many new friends. I send animated thanks to festival director David Baker and the indefatigable Penny Horne for being such marvelous hosts.

PAUL EKMAN HAS A CD-ROM ABOUT FACIAL EMOTION
Paul Ekman has made available CD-ROM's for those people who want to get really serious about the study of micro-emotion in the human face. Here's the link: http://www.emotionsrevealed.com/

SOME PEOPLE HAVE TOO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS...
Neurosurgeon Noel Dan, as reported in "The Journal of Clinical Neuroscience" (Vision & Art, Sept. 2002) theorizes that the great impressionist painters -- like Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse and Degas -- may have all coincidentally and simultaneously been near-sighted. He says this would explain why they tended to favor the color red over the color blue. I don't think so.

ED HOOKS' S UPCOMING SCHEDULE
June 19 - Graduation speaker, Art Institute of Illinois (Shaumberg)
June or July - Edmonton, Canada (working on it)
July 18 - August 7 -- San Francisco (I'm teaching some stage acting but I'm available to teach Acting for Animators.)
August 13 - Sept. 13 (approx) -- Australia and Malaysia
October 5-11 - Denver, Colorado (public class plus more)
November 6-9 - Cineme, Chicago's first International Animation Film Festival
November 26-29 - South Wales - UK (SAND '03)

CRAFT NOTES
"Spirited Away - random Acting/Story Notes"

Certainly, the following notes are not definitive. I have screened the movie several times but, in the case of Miyazaki, that is not nearly enough. Please, let us for now call these notes just an overview. I'll keep working on it.

1) The difference between a dream and a nightmare is that a nightmare deals with mortality. That's why you wake up from them in a sweat and breathing hard. Miyazaki has a firm understanding of the fears of children. Parental abandonment and the possible loss of personal identity loom large in "Spirited Away", not to mention that most kids would be terrified of steep stairs that do not have a hand railing.

2) The use of atmosphere: Michael Chekhov ("On the Technique of Acting", had a lot to say about the value of atmosphere in acting. Note how Miyazaki uses atmosphere to enhance mood within scenes. When Chihiro's father drives the family car into the woods near the top of the movie, you can almost feel the air chill. Each of the rooms within the bathhouse has a distinct atmosphere.

3) The use of psychological gesture. Again, we must credit Michael Chekhov for the concept. Note how Chihiro crouches and holds herself, arms and hands around knees, when she is scared. She is literally comforting herself, returning to a fetal position.

4) Emotion tends to lead to action. When her parents gorge themselves and become pigs, the little girl is horrified. Her emotional reaction is what leads her to back away from her parents and to run away. There is a negotiation-with-situation involved in that particular scene, too, because they are -- pigs or not -- her parents. Part of her wants to embrace them, but it is impossible. (Again, note the atmosphere as her parents turn into pigs.)

5) Power centers. Note that many of the spirits have very low power centers, causing them to seem to almost hover just above the ground. The Rabbit Spirit moves like a steamroller.

6) Stillness. Miyazaki calls it ma. You could study the entire movie from this perspective alone. There can be potent emotional power in moments of stillness. A character does not need to be in constant motion in order for its feelings and intentions to be clear to the audience. Note how still Chihiro is when Haku tells her about Kamaji.

7) Use of adrenaline moments. There are many adrenaline moments in "Spirited Away". I define an adrenaline moment as one that the character will remember when she turns eighty-five and looks back on her life. The inclusion of adrenaline moments makes for extremely powerful story telling.

8) Empathy. At one point, Kamaji covers Chihiro with a blanket to keep her warm while she sleeps. As I look back on the movie and that character, I realize that my feeling for him advanced strongly at that moment.

9) Blinking. The little girl blinks all the time, just like a little girl would. Most of the other characters blink much more sparingly, if at all. This adds to the sensation that they live in a different world.

10) Emotional trigger. At one point, Chihiro eats a sandwich and begins to cry as she eats. That is an emotional trigger. Eating is one of the most comforting things a child can do. The tears emphasize that she misses her parents.