Geri's game is a joint production of John Lasseter and Pixar Film. It is about an elderly man, Geri, who plays chess with himself in a national park during the Autumn season. Although he seems to be lonely, he is actually playing the game with his alter ego, Black Geri.
This short film expresses certain types of non-verbal communication, mainly, kinetics, paralinguistics, oculesics and physical appearance.
In the game, Geri, who was using the white chess pieces, appeared to be losing to his alter ego (black), because he had made a number of careless mistakes; he found it hard trying to savage the situation. 
This is the part where kinesics, the study of body movement, comes in. Geri used emblems during the times when he had such difficulties. For instance, he scratched his head and stroked his chin when he was deciding on his next move. 
In addition, paralinguisticswas also involved during the chess match. Through the use of vocalics, we were able to know which player (Geri/Black Geri) had the upper hand in the game. From the beginning to the middle of the game, Black Geri was winning. He made loud sounds like "Hah!" and "Hmm!", which showed that he knew that the move he made was right and also showed that he wanted to demoralize Geri. However, at the and of the match, it was Geri who said "HaHaHa!", which showed that he was the victor. To add on, oculesics, the study of nonverbal meaning with the eyes, was also portrayed in this clip. Black Geri was constantly giving Geri the challenging stare whereas Geri gave the look of panic.
Finally, physical appearance allowed us to differentiate between the real Geri and his alter ego. Black Geri was the one who did not wear spectacles (and had the dentures with him). On the other hand, Geri wore circular-shaped spectacles.
This short film is excellent. A big WELL DONE to pixar as well as John Lesseter who chose such a fine script. Here is the video of Geri's Game, please enjoy...
Hihi!
ReplyDeleteThis movie looks quite cute and interesting. (That's the main reason why I like animation movies soo much!)
I am also impressed by the artists as they can draw out so many non-verbal communication acts in a production. The refreshing idea of drawing a person playing chess with himself shows a deviation from the norms and the script of playing chess (which requires 2 people to compete in the game)However, the spilt personalities of the person gave me a bit of goosebumps....
Hi Marilyn,
ReplyDeleteI think its very cute for an old man like Geri to be so expressive! Pixar is famous for their ability to make characters come alive just by their actions and non verbal expressions alone.
Please comment on my blog too!
Rachel Lim
Hmm...
ReplyDeleteIn this movie, (i havent watched it yet) it portrays sthg else: there is a market for animators, so pple taking animation stand to gain! =P
From your description, I like the story plot, because firstly it captures the audience's attention without doing much. And the point is clear-everybody understands it. Furthermore, i felt that simplicity is king in the animation world. =P
hello. from what you have said i liek the story plot a lot. it is interesting how pixar has been able to bring about such lively facial expressions in the character to showcase their feelings and bring about human qualities that we can relate to
ReplyDeleteThis is a great video on non-verbal communication, it shows quite a bit of what we have learnt in lectures. The different facial expressions and objectics(the specs) of geri when he splits himself into two characters to portray the difference between the two. And the paralinguistics made in the video to indicate who had the upper hand and who will win.
ReplyDeleteNice analysis.
vanessa
To anorexia>.<
ReplyDeleteJust watch it girl...Geri's split personalities are clearly shown, one wears spectacles and the other does not. This is a joy to watch because it portrays clear non verbal means of communication, it is not at all confusing; the message sent has been successfully received.
To Rachel Lim SY
ReplyDeleteI heard that there is another short film done by pixar as well; it has something to do with babies, clouds and birds (the ones that carry babies into the world). It also shows paralinguistics, kinesics, etc. Try to find it if you can.
XD