I'm Matthew, I am doing a BA (hons) course In CG arts. The art that inspires me is surrealism, one day I would like to be a game concept designer or animator.
I'm going to be doing my essay up on Hanna Barbera, the animator is of two, with this essay I will look at slight history behind them, I will structure my essay on this plan.
Part 1 – Brief History-
Background Hanna and Barbera
Who they were and where they came from, and history
How did they become a team and before they became a team. Who and what they worked with
Other animators at the time
Did they all work together at one stage
Part 2 – what was happening at the time in animation, polotics socially and other areias of the arts,
Part 3 - Tom and Jerry and how they came about and why are they distinctive
Tom and Jerry
The chemistry between them.
The interaction, between the mouse and the cat,
Part 4 - Story boards and developed it, and whether it was a competitive team.
Principles of animation to practice
Part 5 - Compare with another animators at the same time
Who what/techniques/ when/ where/ how and why
What there style of work is/ trademark, and how you know its them and not Disney
Part 6 -
Back ground
( the books that I will be looking at for this essay are:
Tom and Jerry Fifty Years of cat and mouse
Cartoon Modern Style and design in fifties animation
You and I had good chat yesterday about the way in which to expand your melancholy toadstool narrative - it's all about directing; Charlotte has posted on your blog previously about how useful she's found the 'Setting up your Shots' book that formed part of the unit 4 resource and is available on myUCA; you should absolutely consult this book for reference re. how to create engaging and dynamic shots; what you have to do is get better carrying over the information from your previous units into your current unit; for instance, I noticed from your sketches that you're not working at 16:9, that you're not thinking about the rule of thirds... Your story is simple, but your direction (story-telling) must be compelling; use the composition of shots to show us how your toadstool is feeling; use spatial relationships to your advantage; use a good mix of shot-types (establishing shot/mid shot/close-up/tilt/pan etc). I want you to prepare a storyboard as you've been taught - as a guide to your key frames and getting your story told as effectively and engagingly as possible.
Also - on a more general note - I'd like you to reconsider your blog 'blurb' that accompanies your photograph; I think it's time you went for something more professional sounding...
For important guidance re. your written assignment please see the following post; the 'shopping list' of contents above worries me, because there's too much there and I can't see any evidence of your argument (i.e. what are you trying to prove or say about your subject?). Before you write anything, you need to identify the angle you're going to take and why...
Use your introduction* to state clearly the investigative intention of your written assignment and the means by which you are going to support your discussion; for instance:
‘This essay will investigate the animated films of The Brothers Quay in relation to Freud’s theory of the Uncanny - with particular focus on Street of Crocodiles (1986) and The Comb (1990)…
Or
‘The stop-motion animator, Ray Harryhausen is arguably the father of modern day cinematic fantasy. What follows is an investigation of his life and work in relation to the development of special effects…’
Stylistically, it is often clarifying to begin with a key-note quote or bench mark statement that sets the scene for the discussion… for instance:
‘… the Brothers Quay's works are independent of any definable genre; indeed, the imitation of their unique style which can be observed in films of other animators are a complimentary gesture to the auteur style they have developed. Throughout their opus, a continuity can be observed - Quays' devotion to the marginal, the nobody and the unnoticed, elevated into the sublime…’ (Buchan: 1996)
In her essay, Shifting Realities – The Brothers Quay – Between Live Action and Animation, Suzanne Buchan observes that other animators have imitated the unique style of the Brothers Quay. This investigation seeks to trace that influence by comparing their short 1986 film, Street of Crocodiles with Henry Selick’s Coraline (2009)…
* If you can’t provide a succinct introduction for your discussion, chances are you’re not quite ready to write the essay. You need to make your argument clear – without one, you are submitting a ‘blancmange’.
When referring to a film for the first time, always give proper title (with capital letters!), release date and director; after that, you can use title only. Please check spelling of film title – if it’s a made-up word, the spell check won’t know the difference!
When referring to a person for the first time, use full name – after that, use surname only.
You must use Harvard Method for quotations!
Use footnotes for ‘additional’ information that is important or contextualizing but ‘outside’ of the main body of the essay.
Online Interim Review 23/03/10
Hey Matt,
You and I had good chat yesterday about the way in which to expand your melancholy toadstool narrative - it's all about directing; Charlotte has posted on your blog previously about how useful she's found the 'Setting up your Shots' book that formed part of the unit 4 resource and is available on myUCA; you should absolutely consult this book for reference re. how to create engaging and dynamic shots; what you have to do is get better carrying over the information from your previous units into your current unit; for instance, I noticed from your sketches that you're not working at 16:9, that you're not thinking about the rule of thirds... Your story is simple, but your direction (story-telling) must be compelling; use the composition of shots to show us how your toadstool is feeling; use spatial relationships to your advantage; use a good mix of shot-types (establishing shot/mid shot/close-up/tilt/pan etc). I want you to prepare a storyboard as you've been taught - as a guide to your key frames and getting your story told as effectively and engagingly as possible.
Also - on a more general note - I'd like you to reconsider your blog 'blurb' that accompanies your photograph; I think it's time you went for something more professional sounding...
For important guidance re. your written assignment please see the following post; the 'shopping list' of contents above worries me, because there's too much there and I can't see any evidence of your argument (i.e. what are you trying to prove or say about your subject?). Before you write anything, you need to identify the angle you're going to take and why...
Use your introduction* to state clearly the investigative intention of your written assignment and the means by which you are going to support your discussion; for instance:
‘This essay will investigate the animated films of The Brothers Quay in relation to Freud’s theory of the Uncanny - with particular focus on Street of Crocodiles (1986) and The Comb (1990)…
Or
‘The stop-motion animator, Ray Harryhausen is arguably the father of modern day cinematic fantasy. What follows is an investigation of his life and work in relation to the development of special effects…’
Stylistically, it is often clarifying to begin with a key-note quote or bench mark statement that sets the scene for the discussion… for instance:
‘… the Brothers Quay's works are independent of any definable genre; indeed, the imitation of their unique style which can be observed in films of other animators are a complimentary gesture to the auteur style they have developed. Throughout their opus, a continuity can be observed - Quays' devotion to the marginal, the nobody and the unnoticed, elevated into the sublime…’ (Buchan: 1996)
In her essay, Shifting Realities – The Brothers Quay – Between Live Action and Animation, Suzanne Buchan observes that other animators have imitated the unique style of the Brothers Quay. This investigation seeks to trace that influence by comparing their short 1986 film, Street of Crocodiles with Henry Selick’s Coraline (2009)…
* If you can’t provide a succinct introduction for your discussion, chances are you’re not quite ready to write the essay. You need to make your argument clear – without one, you are submitting a ‘blancmange’.
When referring to a film for the first time, always give proper title (with capital letters!), release date and director; after that, you can use title only. Please check spelling of film title – if it’s a made-up word, the spell check won’t know the difference!
When referring to a person for the first time, use full name – after that, use surname only.
You must use Harvard Method for quotations!
Use footnotes for ‘additional’ information that is important or contextualizing but ‘outside’ of the main body of the essay.
Please double-space your written assignments!
You must provide a paper-copy at time of crit!