57130 Animation Concepts Seminar

Handbook description

This subject covers some key concepts of animation. Students will be able to study and research these concepts in relation to major and experimental methods for generating animation (including optical toys, stop frame, pixillation, procedural, motion capture, genetic algorithms, cel, claymation, rotoscoping, interactive, real-time, 2D and 3D computer animation). Learning is by lectures, seminars and in-class presentation by students.

Subject objectives/outcomes

At the conclusion of this subject students are expected to:

1. have an understanding of all major animation processes
2. have an understanding of different concepts of animation
3. have done significant independent research and study of a number of animation methods
4. be able to competently discuss and present ideas about various forms of animation.

Contribution to graduate profile

Students completing this subject will:

• have an understanding of animation history, concepts and methods
• be aware of animation industry protocols
• have had the opportunity to develop conceptual, creative and critical thinking skills in relation to animation to a significant level
• be able to develop and critically revise their own work.

Teaching and learning strategies

Lectures and seminars will focus on methods and concepts involved in animation. Students will give in-depth in-class presentations based on chosen aspects of the course contents. Students will do reading and research towards their in-class presentations and deliver their presentations written up for assessment.

Content

The content covers the main animation concepts throughout history including:

• animism
• automata
• the animatic and the cinematic
• caricature, realism and simulation
• concepts of movement
• concepts of life
• concepts of transformation
• visualising the cosmos
• animation production techniques including stop frame, pixillation, procedural, motion capture, genetic algorithms, cel, claymation, rotoscoping, interactive, real-time, 2D and 3D computer animation.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Lead in-class discussion on a specified topic or set of readings

Assessment item 2: In class presentation

Minimum requirements

Students are expected to read the subject outline to ensure they are familiar with the subject requirements. Since class discussion and participation in activities form an integral part of this subject, you are expected to attend, arrive punctually and actively participate in classes. If you experience difficulties meeting this requirement, please contact your lecturer. Students who have a reason for extended absence (e.g., illness) may be required to complete additional work to ensure they achieve the subject objectives.

Indicative references

Weekly readings will be available to students through UTS Online or via a library service online.

A list of references for each topic will be available in class.

General references

Adamson, Joe, Bugs Bunny: Fifty Years Old and Only One Grey Hare, Henry Holt and Co, 1991

Auzenne, Valliere R The Visualization Quest: A History of Computer Animation, London and Toronto: Assocaited University Presses, 1994

Bendazzi, Giannalberto, Cartoon: One Hunderd Years of Cinema Animation, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indianapolis, 1994

Cervone, Tony Animating the Looney Tunes Way, Foster books, 2000

Cholodenko, Alan (ed) The Illusion of Life: Essays on Animation, Power Publication, 1991

Crafton, Donald Before Mickey: The Animated Film 1898 - 1928, MIT Press, Cambridge Massachusetts and London, England 1984

Cohl, Emile The Origins of the Animated Film, Vols 1 and 2, UMI Dissertation, Yale University, 1977

Furniss, Maureen, Art in motion : animation aesthetics, Sydney, John Libbey, 1998.

Halas, John, Masters of Animation, BBC Books, London, 1987

Halas, John The Contemporary Animator, Focal Press, London and Boston, 1990

Jones, Chuck, Chuck Amuck, Harper Collins, 1990

Klein, Norman 7 minutes: The Life and Death of the American Animated Cartoon

Kunzle, David, The Early Con-Lic Strip, University of California Press, 1973

Laybourne, Kit The Animation Book Crown Publishers, 1998

Leslie, Esther, Hollywood Flatlands: Animation, Critical Theory and the Avante-Garde, London: Verso 2002

Leyda, Jay, (ed) Eisenstein on Disney, London: Methuen, 1988

Moholy-Nagy, Lazlo Vision in Motion, Paul Theobald and Co, Chicago, 1947

Muybridge, Eadweard Animals in Motion and The Human Figure in Motion, Dover, 1957 and 1955

Napier, Susan J, Anime from Akira to Princess Monoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation, Palgrave, New York, 2001

Noake, Roger, Animation: A Guide to Animated Film Techniques, Macdonald Orbis, London and Sydney, 1988

Pilling, Jayne, A reader in Animation Studies, London: John Libbey, 1997

Perisic, Zoran The Animation Stand: Rostrum Camera Operations. Focal press, 1976

Reiniger, Lotte, Shadow Theatres and Shadow Films, (New York: Watson-Guptill, 1970

Russett, R and Starr, C Experimental Animation: Origins of a New Art, (Rev Ed.) Da Capo press, New York 1976 and 1988

Sitney, P. A, Visionary Film: The American Avant Garde, 1043 1978, Oxford University

Press, New York, 1979

Sennett, Ted The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Yeas of Creativity, Viking Studio, 1989

Smoodin, Eric, Animating Culture: Hollywood Cartoons from the Sound Era, New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1993

Solomn, Charles Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation, Alfred A Knopf, 1989

Spess, Marc Secrets of Clay Animation revealed, Minute Man Press 2001

Williams, Richard The Animator's Survival Kit, Faber and Faber, 2001