89201 Animation Genres Seminar

This subject consists of a series of weekly lectures, screenings and seminars and the occasional master class and aims to increase the student's knowledge of the history and theory of animation with a particular emphasis on the study of genre. A range of animation genres is examined. These include, but are not restricted to, animation production techniques such as trick films, puppet animation, claymation, cut-outs, pixillation, rotoscoping, model and toy animation, scratched and drawn animation, digital animation and cartoon animation. In addition to the study of techniques of production, this subject also analyses various animation styles and formats, including cartoon animation, Anime, television animation, animated title graphics and motion graphics, art animation, abstract and experimental animation, animated music video and animated film musicals, animation special effects in live-action films, animation in advertising and on the Internet, animation for mobile phone displays and computer games including hand-held game sets, Web animation, applications in architecture and design such as virtual space and buildings, children's animation and kids TV animation. Other aspects of genre studies include issues such as self-reflective animation, cute and hyper realistic styles, animation as visual communication in instructional, informational and propaganda environments, aspects of artifice, art and ideology, entertainment, fantasy, fairy tale and myth, as well as a study of centres of production such as European, North American and Asian animation.

Typical availability

Spring semester, City campus