"HE'S DEAD YOU EEDIOT!!!!"-Acting, Composition & Sound effects can really enhance a scene 01: BIG HOUSE BLUES

With the right tools used in your arsenal when it comes to making cartoons, you can take advantage of said tools to not only turn in a well made scene but some scenes which are lacking can actually be enhanced with simple SOUND SOLUTIONS as well as Layout techniques.

A Prime example is in the REN & STIMPY 1990 Pilot BIG HOUSE BLUES.

The animation is Crude and all over the place but with the right set of tools, scenes can be enhanced so that you are really getting into the story and the character's emotions:

Which in this PILOT's case is THE TITULAR DUO needing to be adopted before something bad happens to them in the DOG POUND.

Anyway, here's an example of what additional edits can do to enhance a scene during production.

Here, REN asks a dog named JASPER about what happened to another dog named PHIL..

"Hey Jasper."

"Where's Phil?"

Jasper explains,

"I told ya. They put him...."

"to...."

"SLEEP!!"

Notice the way JASPER emphasizes his mouth movements when he says "TO SLEEP"?

Ren, not getting the context of what Jasper says, responds.....

"So, wake him up then."

But Jasper's unperturbed that Ren doesn't get what's going on.....

So....He leans forward

And says...

"You don't wake up...."

"From the....."

"BIIIIiiiigggg...."

"Sleep...."

Look at how much emphasis was put into JASPER's poses as he explains to REN what has happened to PHIL.

Ren seems content about the idea of "BIG SLEEP"....

But then.....

*Sudden springy sounds of realization*

"THE...."

"B....."

"I"

"G"

"SL"

"EEEEEEE"

"PPPPP"

All while a Siren plays during his sudden realization.

That's how you can tell your audience that your character is SCREWED BIG TIME!!!

That and there's no need to in-between Ren's sudden realization animation as it's already effective enough to have him tell the audience what's he just realized just by snapping from one emotion to the next.

Ren repeats this FRIGHTENED MANTRA two more times...

"THE BIG SLEEP!!!!"

"THE BIG SLEEP!!!!"

Ever had realizations of your mortality to a point where your heart starts to beat faster?

And you also suddenly feel short of breath?

I've been there, but this exaggerated animation of REN's heart beating is a clear indication of what's gonna happen to our Asthma Hound Chihuahua.


STIMPY on the other hand is just as dumbfounded as the EEDIOT he is...

All while REN is crying offscreen in the background...

This tongue animation is inspired by the CATS from the Looney Tunes Cartoon

KITTY KORNERED.

REN is now reduced to a blubbering whimpering mess....

But curiosity strikes the MANX CAT.....

"What's the big sleep Ren?"

This surprises REN, as he's noticed STIMPY has just become concerned.

All while SAD violin music plays in the background....

Ren whispers to STIMPY to come closer to....

You might think that it's REN feeling pity for the dumb animal....

But then.....

"IT'S DEATH!!!!!"

"DEAD YOU EEDIOT!!!!

YOU KNOW WHAT DEAD IS!!!!!!????"

"JUST LIKE WE'LL BE IF WE DON'T GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!"

And the SAD VIOLIN has been replaced with the sound of 

AN ANGRY SWARM OF BEES....

Hey... AN ANGRY SWARM OF BEES is enough to scare the bejesus out of us so the sound of their swarm to heighten the fear of Death is plausible....

That alongside a heavy emphasis on REDs for the Backdrops.

What a way to enhance your art.....

Sound effects, Musical Queues, understanding of the meaning of what color can do for a setting, that all helps to enhance the feel of a Cartoon.

For example, here's some animation done by an old COLLEGE friend of mine:

Here, TIAGO OLIVIERA did the animation but I enhanced it with some sound effects, which made sense since I was the editor of the entire 2022 Thesis Animation.

This scene took place outside of the tower where NEKO fell from so I used the sound of the wind blowing. Man it must have been COLD that day but hey, it was early MARCH 2022 when I edited this piece so..... it's only natural.

The bone cracking sound was to make sure NEKO the Cat didn't hurt his spine.

And when NEKO tosses the diamond in the air slightly, I used the sound of the PLAYSTATION 5's PLATINUM TROPHY RETRIEVAL to show that NEKO still has the DIAMOND he stole.

This is quite important for you editors.

Pay attention to what the scene calls for before you go to your DATA LIBRARY of SOUND EFFECT whether they be in your HDDs or NAS Drives.