animation theory

Essay Questions Choose 2 questions from the list below and each one should be 2,000 words in length (50% of the module mark each; threshold mark 30%). 1. What does Starewicz achieve by using animated animals and not real actors in his films 2. Discuss the artistic and technical development of MacCay's animation films. 3. Trace the early development of the American animation studio system discussing the impact of new techniques and organisation. 4. Discuss the ways in which the Fleischers develop the American cartoon. 5. Discuss the development of Disney’s visual and dramatic style between the late 1920s and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). 6. In what ways are Warner Bros’ cartoons a contrast to Disney? 7. Discuss censorship of animated content on new media ,the internet, phone content, online gaming,social sites. 8. Discuss tradition and innovation in relation to digital animation 9. Using one of the course films, analyse the main characteristics of Japanese anime. Main aim(s) of the module: • To present a historical survey of film animation in relation to its various aesthetic modes and technological innovations from the 1900s to the present. Main topics of study: The module progresses from the work of early animators such as Cohl and Melies in the early 1900s through to the major studio production of Disney and Warner. It examines the pre-war work of Starewicz and post-war Surrealist-influenced East European animators such as Svankmajer and Borowczyk. There will also be an examination of experimental animation by the 1920s German avant-garde (Fischinger and Ruttman), animation by the Quay brothers, post World War II European cinema, ‘object’ animation, and narrative forms in animation. The module also examines the technologies, cultural frameworks, aesthetic forms, and social and economic contexts of film animation including Computer Generated Imagery and contemporary animation. Reading and resources for the module: These must be up to date and presented in correct Harvard format unless a Professional Body specifically requires a different format Core Pilling, J. (ed) (1999) Reader in Animation Studies. London: John Libbey & Co Wells, P. (1998) Understanding Animation. London: Routledge Recommended Bendazzi, G. (1995) Cartoons: One Hundred Years of Cinema Animation. Indiana: Indiana University Press. Buchan, S. (ed) (2007) Animated ‘Worlds’ , London: John Libbey & Co. Crafton, D. (1993) Before Mickey: The Animated Film 1898-1929. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Eisenstein, S. (1988) Eisenstein on Disney. New York: Seagull Books Furniss, M. (2008) Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics 2nd edn. London: John Libbey & Co. Hames, P. (2008) Dark alchemy: The Films of Jan Svankmajer 2nd edn. London: Wallflower Press. Klein, N. (1993) 7 Minutes. The life and death of the American animated cartoon, London: Verso Books Leslie, E. (2004) Hollywood Flatlands: Animation, Critical Theory and the Avant-Garde , 2nd edn. London: Verso Press. Manovich, L. (2002) The Language of New Media, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. O’Pray, M.(1998) ‘The Animated Film’ in Dyer, R & Kaplan, E.A., et al, Oxford Guide to Film Studies, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wells, P. (2002) Animation and America. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. [login to view URL] [British Film Institute]