Animation: Technology, culture, and industry

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Situate animation in the context of wider histories and theories of cinema and assess gaps in them relating to animation as an artistic practice and philosophical concept.
• Position animated works within their cultural context and examine their place in the international history of animation.
• Discuss a variety of definitions of animation and relate their implications to provide readings of specific films.
• Apply the histories and theories studied on the module to provide readings of new animated works.
• Describe the economic and technological basis of a selection of animated works and relate this to their aesthetic and historical meaning.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Independently research appropriate resources
• Produce a competent critical analysis
• Research and compose different forms of written essay/report
• Communicate effectively

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• A range of techniques used to produce animated films and the periods and countries they are commonly associated with
• A range of (inter)national animation traditions
• Advertising and commercial use of animation
• Early, ‘Golden age’ and contemporary Hollywood animation
• The intermedial relationships that have shaped animation
• Key theories and theoreticians of animation studies
• Artists’ films that use animation techniques

The aesthetic and historical understanding of animation in this module will be structured around three themes: technology, culture, and industry. The first section of this module will examine technological approaches to animation and look at the history and aesthetics of the three most common techniques: drawn, object, and computer-generated animation. It will explore the shared characteristics and implications of these techniques, while identifying their distinctive qualities. This raises questions about the ability to create a common definition of animation, as well as challenging their separation from ‘live action’ cinema. It will typically consider examples of these techniques from mainstream studios like Disney, Pixar, Aardman, and Dreamworks, as well as international and independent work from filmmakers such as Sylvain Chomet, the Brothers Quay, David Oreilly, and Nina Paley. The second section of this module will place animation in its varying cultural contexts through cases studies of specific countries or regions. Like cinema in general, animation has been dominated by American films and interests, especially through the work of the Disney studio. However, its artisanal nature and aesthetic possibilities have also seen it adopted by filmmakers looking to express their own historical and cultural circumstances. This section will understand specific works within their national context, while also using the liminality of animation as a way to interrogate and challenge the complex ideas of national cinema and identity and their place in a global marketplace. Countries/regions addressed may include Japan, Eastern Europe, and Britain. Indicative examples of films to be screened are landmark work from Studio Ghibli, Jan Švankmajer, Priit Pärn, Joanna Quinn, and Bob Godfrey. The third section of this module will consider the institutional models within which animation has been produced. Since the 1910s mainstream animation has been produced on an industrial scale as part of the Hollywood studio system, with the Disney studio being the foremost example of this approach. Yet animation has also been produced using different funding models, including sponsored and artists’ films, and the use of animation for advertising purposes. This section of the module will consider the implications of these varying models, both for the aesthetic results they produce, as well as their political repercussions, such as labour relations and the representation of race and gender. Films examined in this section will likely cover ‘Golden Age’ Hollywood animation from Disney and UPA, independent and avant-garde work by filmmakers such as Lotte Reiniger, Norman McLaren, Len Lye, and Oskar Fischinger, as well as advertising, video game, and web animation.

Teaching methods include • Lectures • Seminars • Screenings • Tutorials Learning activities include • Seminar discussion • Independent study, viewing, and research • Writing a comparative essay critically examining a film studies text and an animation studies text. • Writing an analytical essay that studies the form of one or more animated works. • Writing a research report that communicates empirical information about the technology or economics of an animated work and assesses their impact on the film aesthetically.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.