Cartoons are an integral part of modern children’s culture, and many children are exposed to cartoons as part of their early entertainment. I have a keen interest in children’s psychological development and the process of value formation, and would like to explore how cartoons influence children’s emotions, moral values and behavioural patterns. This research will help me gain insight into how children receive and digest information when exposed to these media, which in turn influences their worldview and values.
The overall theme of these presentations focuses on the impact of the media on children, in particular how it affects their psychological development, values, behavioural patterns and social perceptions through the medium of television, films, cartoons and so on.
I’ve looked into the literature to find the deeper mysteries.
Primary means of building a chain of shots and scenes into a complete film. Each edit ends one shot and begins another. In live-action film this usually takes place after the film has been completed. In an orthodox, narrative animation editors usually work closely with the director and the story supervisor from the point where the storyboards are ostensibly complete.
Long takes are often considered an alternative to editing The viewer gains the most obvious plot information from the shot but the shot lingers or things continue to happen without a cut occurring
Montage Editing: brings individual shots together to generate a shock, strange juxtaposition, or a new idea.
Disney Hyperrealism
The artistic paradigm promoted by Snow White has since been known as hyperrealism The artistic paradigm promoted by Snow White has since been known as hyperrealism Paul Wells has come to define hyperrealism as referring to a mode of animation which despite the medium’s artifice strives for realism This paradox attempts to represent reality in a medium predicated on artificiality that makes hyperrealism an appropriate term frequently seen ‘as the yardstick by which other kinds of animation may be measure for its relative degree of ‘realism’ (Wells 1998, 25)
Mark Langer asserts that Dumbo shows two disparate animation traditions operating simultaneously within the Disney studio. These sequences ‘alternate between those presented in Disney’s West Coast style, an expression of the classic Hollywood tradition, and an imported East Coast style, which emphasized artifice, nonlinear narrative, and “rubbery” graphics’ (1990).
In my opinion,It offers a break from the predominantly naturalistic style of film, demonstrating the creative potential of animation to explore abstract concepts. The sequence captivates the viewer’s imagination with visually stunning art that adds an element of surprise and wonder.
Strategies for conception and development of the story, focussing on narrative resolution building events and engaging the audience.
Staging in animation, film, and theatre shares common goals and overlaps in their aim to direct the audience’s attention with precision.
Composition plays a crucial role in animation, not only serving as the foundation for visual expression but also directly affecting the audience’s understanding of the scene and their emotional experience.
Facial Expressions provide a clear indicator of how someone is feeling. Body Language may also indicate how a character feels towards another character or may reflect the state of their relationship.
Screen direction is very important.A rule of continuity film editing and film grammar is that movement from one edited shot to another must maintain the consistency of screen direction in order to avoid audience confusion. “Camera left” or “frame left” indicates movement towards the left side of the screen, while “camera right” or “frame right” refers to movement towards the right side of the screen.
While larger animation projects require editorial screen direction decisions to bring precision to scene timing and flow, primarily this is determined in pre-production. Screen direction has to be fully pre-determined and is resolved at storyboard and animatic production stages, and is an essential In professional animation production.
1.has been recorded or created frame by frame 2.is about the world rather than a world wholly imagined by its creator 3.has been presented as a documentary by its producers and/or received as a documentary by audiences, festivals or critics
‘Animation, in part through its material differences from live-action film, shifts and broadens the limits of what and how we can show about reality by offering new or alternative ways of seeing the world. It can present the conventional subject matter of documentary (the ‘world out there’ of observable events) in non-conventional subjective, conscious experience – subject matters traditionally outside of the documentary purview’ (Annabelle Honess Roe, 2013: 1)
The animation and documentary should cohere into a single form ‘in which the animation works to enhance our knowledge of an aspect of the world and to the extent that the separation of the animation from the documentary is either impossible, or would render the inherent meaning of the film incomprehensible
“animated documentaries do not easily into the received wisdom of what a documentary is” (Honess Roe, 2013: 3). Christina Formenti locates it in the realm of docu-fiction due to what she perceives as the lack of objectivity of what we observe on screen (2014: 108-110)
Animated documentaries have the potential to both enhance and detract from the seriousness of a situation. On one hand, the use of animation can introduce a degree of abstraction that might make it harder for viewers to directly engage with the factual content. This abstraction could potentially dilute the perceived gravity of the subject matter, especially when dealing with sensitive or serious issues.
However, this abstraction can also be a strength. By distancing the audience slightly from the raw reality, animation can offer a different lens through which to process difficult topics, making them more accessible without losing their impact. In some cases, it can even emphasize the emotional or psychological truth of the subject in ways that live-action footage might not.
Historically, animation has been seen as a medium primarily for children, which has contributed to the perception that it is unsuitable for serious or “grown-up” content. While this stereotype persists, it is increasingly being challenged by works that use animation to tackle complex and mature themes. I disagree with the notion that animation is inherently ill-suited for serious material. On the contrary, its versatility allows it to explore issues in unique and powerful ways.
Animation’s ability to abstract and stylize can foster a more universal level of identification. By avoiding the specificities of live-action imagery, it can create characters and scenarios that resonate across cultures and personal experiences. This universality can help audiences connect with the underlying themes on a broader, more empathetic level, making it a valuable tool for storytelling in documentary contexts.
The director is regarded as the creative author who imparts a unique identity to a film.
3 criteria for auteurism
Andrew Sarris: Part 1
suggests that the directors do not always follow the formcritics can never assume a bad director will always make bad films and a good director will always make good films. There are more elements such as photography, editing, and acting to decide what makes good films rather then depending on the director alone.Sarris intimates that a film can be produced without a director. “A direction that is nonexistent” would be difficult for critics to evaluate the production.
Andrew Sarris: Part 2 & 3
Sarris’ theory assumes that the films should exhibit the director’s distinct personality, his “recurrent characteristics or style,” and the specific ways that the director thinks and feels. The third criterion for auteur theory is the interior meaning of the film, “the ultimate glory of the cinema as an art.”
A response to Sarris critiques the fundamental premise of auteur theory. Argues that the theory glorifies directors who rely on repetitive and overly obvious techniques. Objects to Sarris’ tone regarding the significance of auteur theory in analyzing a director’s body of work as a cohesive whole. Kael emphasizes that while the growth of technical skill or competence throughout an artist’s career is important, it should not be the sole standard for evaluation.
Pauline Kael: Circles and Squares
To Kael, a better area of critique, and the ultimate function of a critic, is ‘perceiving what is original and important in new work and helping others to see’. She also considers it to be a complete misunderstanding of the necessarily talents required for the production of art as many great directors violate rules of technical competence.
The auteur may be understood as: A person who prompts and execute the core themes, techniques and expressive agendas of a film. A figure around whom the key enunciative techniques and meanings of a film accrue and find implied cohesion. A figure who provides the organising principles of textual practices to engage with, and create motivated spectatorial positions.
This term relates to the abstraction and juxtaposition of narrative structures or storytelling tools, traditional cannons, and communicative vehicles. These approaches question and build film language, challenge perception and exploit semiotics metaphor and symbolism.
The arrangement or contrast of formal elements evokes sensory and emotional reactions. In mainstream cinema, their application may be subtle or hidden, whereas in abstract works, these elements are often openly and unapologetically displayed.
From Hollywood’s silent era to Surrealism, and from children’s stories to Expressionism, the absence of dialogue as a primary tool for narrative or thematic development challenges creators to rely on gesture, performance, cinematic techniques, special effects, and alternative audio elements to convey meaning.
Animation was starting to catch the eye of the modernist movements who stated
‘cartoons—which rebuff so ferociously painterly realism and filmic naturalism—are set-in a universe of transformation, overturning and provisionally’.
The ‘cartoon’ provides the experimental artists with anew realm to explore abstraction, geometric forms, flatness and space, non-linear time, logic and the illogical, many dropping their paintbrushes in favour of animation. (Malovich geo over figure)
In terms of art, form refers to objects that are 3-Dimensional, or have length, width, and height. The world we live in made up almost entirely of forms. As artists, we must have a strong understanding of form and how to create the illusion of form in drawings and paintings.
Color is the element of the art that refers to reflected light. Color theory is defined as a theory because it cannot be proved. Theories are generally accepted, despite the fact that they cannot be proven. Laws are accepted because they can be proven.
There are volumes and volumes of information available about color. This page, while thorough, will present color theory in an “easy to understand” fashion. It is an exciting, ever-changing science. Color has an affect over how we feel about objects, how we behave, and how our bodies react to circumstances.
Many new artists overlook the importance of creating space in a drawing or painting. The result usually looks flat or objects can appear to be floating. Luckily, however, creating space in an artwork is very simple to accomplish and there are a number of ways to it.
Texture refers to the way an object feels to the touch or looks as it may feel if it were touched. Texture is one of the seven elements of art. Understanding it fully will lead to stronger drawings and paintings.
In terms of art, line is considered to be a moving dot. It has an endless number of uses in the creation of art.
Line can control an viewer’s eye. It can describe edges. It can indicate form as well as movement. It can also indicate value and a light source in drawing.
When line is used for value or shading, we most typically see it used in the form of hatching or cross hatching. Although these are arguably the most common forms of using line for adding value, there is an endless number of ways that it can be used.
We typically think of a shape as a closed contour. So, if you take a line and enclose it, then you will have created a shape. Shapes can play important roles in the creation of art. They help to create complex drawings and paintings, affect composition, and contribute to the balance within a work.
Understand the paper assignment and paper structure to be completed in this semester to determine the topic selection and research direction of my paper
