Showing posts with label walks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label walks. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

THE WINDY CITY

 Chicago's called "The Windy City" and I'm sure the name is justified. I wonder what it would be like to live there? Theory Corner investigates.

Well, I guess you'd have to keep the window shut.


It sounds like a great place for girl watching. 


Some men prefer flappable skirts...


...me...I prefer billowing.


But let us not underestimate flappable. Flappable even looks good on men. 


No doubt every generation had its own version.


Probably Chicagoans learn to walk against the wind from the time they're kids.


Even when they go to live in other places the walk stays with them.



Maybe the taste for flappable stays too. How could it not?



Here's (above) how Chicagoans mail a letter.

'Makes you want to go to Chicago, doesn't it?

Sunday, September 07, 2014

FUNNY FASHION MODEL WALKS



 For the animators out there, I thought I'd put up some funny walk reference. In this case it's fashion models who fall on the runway. Sometimes the fall is the funny thing, more often it's the walk on wobbly feet that precedes the fall.



I feel sorry for these girls. I'll bet models who fall don't get asked back. Add to that the impossibly high heeled shoes, the rule against looking down, and the thin and slippery Mylar walkways. You can fall through those runways and it's just like falling into a manhole. Add to that all the trouble it takes just to get the gigs and a diet that consists of carrot sticks and coffee. Yikes!

[HAW! I told this to Mike and he disdainfully said something like, "Oh, those poor, poor supermodels who get outrageous sums of money because they have the rare skill of being able to walk and turn around. Gee, I sure feel so sorry for them!" Hmmmm. The man lacks the proper respect.]



Even without accidents model walks are really funny. They practice walking "fierce."



Here's an interesting video. The coach is on the right and the student is on the left. The student has all the moves down, but she lacks the casual elegance of the coach.  I wonder if that quality is teachable. Maybe you have to be born with it.


Somewhere in the videos a model talks about the way to do big strides in ultra high-heels. The trick is to avoid putting weight on the heel, to lift the leg high, and to have all parts of the shoe touch the ground at the same time. Wait a minute...that describes a march...only the march can't be allowed to look like a march. Disguising it takes a lot of practice.

Not only that, but a flat foot and a straight up body implies that the model's walk isn't a controlled fall like they describe in animation class. The forward leg has to use muscle power to drag the rest of the body forward, and somehow the model has to make this look effortless. Geez! It sounds like a tough life.





Right now funny model walks are the domain of a small number of skinny women, but you have to wonder if it'll become more general someday. The future may not value the casual look the way we do today.


Saturday, August 11, 2012

COOL DANCES / WALKS


Oh, Boy! Let's watch some funny dance videos! Mike Fontanelli turned me on to this dance (above) from Eddie Cantor"s "Ali Baba Goes to Town."



Max Wall was one of the kings of the funny walk. This sample (above) starts slow, so I'd advise starting at the 1:30 mark.



I posted this walk video (above) about three years ago and I expected it to change the animation industry. Sigh! It didn't, but it should have.



Imagine what Vaudeville must have been like! You could see a whole live matinee like this (above) for just a quarter.



Don sent this link (above) in a comment. See what you think.