Research and Epistemology

This lecture basically just tell us to base our research topic on our own experience. This reminds me of last year's PPP lesson where we have similar topic and learn how to make good reflection and evaluation for our work and learn from mistakes. Research can be categorized into Primary research and secondary research which is from first hand resources like experiment, survey and taking photos and from secondary hand resources like reading books, journals and news articles respectively.

Although I know all the information by heart, I seldom think about these relationship instead I kind of doing these instinctively and which helps improve my work and myself unconsciously. Nevertheless, research enable us to learn from experiments and to solve a problem also to analysis the results in order to absorb new knowledge to upgrade ourselves. We can also know more about ourselves by finding informations that interested us and make us how we are. 

Censorship and 'Truth'

This lecture we had is all about 'truth' given from media. For example the photographic manipulation and the documentation of truth to the public and how these information change and affect people's thoughts in order to believe the given information is trust-worthy. The most common rendered truth is from photography especially it is related to political crisis, these could be seen as a conspiracy create by the government in the simulacrum. I think this quote is absolutely right about the world we are living in ‘Everybody everywhere wants to modify,transform, embellish, enrich, and reconstruct the world around him – to introduce into an otherwise harsh or bland existence some sort of purposeful and distorting alleviation’ Theodore Levitt, The Morality  (?) of Advertising, 1970. I always doubt when reading new articles and this is a trust exercise the government gives to the citizens, the better the performance (in this case the people who support the given 'truth'), usually the they are treated better than the rest. Historically, revolutions began by a group who question the world or the government and they believe in a different truth and contradicting with such large government, the only path is to success or disappear.

It is also interesting how text can change our interpretation of a picture. My first reaction is thinking how ridiculous these adverts are! This is extremely rude to use such sad accident to modify into commercial use however this is how they work in order to catch our attentions in either good or bad way. We have already absorbed so much wrong information in daily life whether we are willing to or not and this proofs the power media has when interfering our mind and I will say brain-washed.

Another example from myself is the current ISIS. There are a lot of doubt on the news and internet media whether they can exaggerated the events in order to gain more views or censor the information due to conspiracy. There is a radio channel in HongKong which I always listen to, encourage audience of the news to think carefully about the information and not to be affected by the texts. I do not think there can be a specific law to protect us from these censored 'truth' but to be smart and interpret the 'truth' on our own, put forward any individual thoughts and not to be lambs to follow the crowd which is also an advantage we have as living in this 21st century world.

We are talked about should art sit outside of censorship laws exercised in other disciplines. As an artist, I definitely want art to be not restricted politically or financially and sit outside the censorship law. However it is always difficult to be accepted by the public and not always successful in terms of spreading messages to the public since the majority do not consider art as a daily subject.

 

Identity

We had a lecture on Identity. Identity is an essentialism, it can also be the biological make up which makes us who we are and also it can be more theologically the inner essence like the experiences and the institution we involved make us who we are and who we identify ourselves as from pre-modern to modern respectively. However post modern identity accepts fragment and is constructed whom can be chosen.

We also look at identity we have in today's world- virtual character. Since facebook and other social media is so popular in nowadays, people are able to come up with identities they want and have a freedom on the internet. Some people use their online characters to commit goods whereas some do not take responsibility for their actions on the internet.

‘Fun they may be, these virtual communities, but they create only an illusion of intimacy and a pretence of community’ Charles Handy (2001), The Elephant and the Flea, Hutchinson, page 204

This is a serious topic we have to consider about as a member of this new generation. Is too much identity causing problems? Is it too much to handle with or is it simply not a wise idea to speak up their thoughts? I think the problem is growing because people demand when they are restricted, for instance selling animals' fur is not ethical but still some people will want it because some likes to challenge the law and the world.

I think it is worth challenging the identities I see in daily life. Are they really the people owning those identities? how could they be seen in different perspective etc This might be an element I will pay attention to when life drawing.

Core Texts / Essay Briefing / Link to thematic lectures

This lecture we looked at how to write our essay effectively from research to setting a question. We look at examples of harvard Reference and given the website www.jstor.org where we can look for journals, primary sources and books etc which are extremely useful when making research. The lecture has introduced an important issue of what is deconstruction. Deconstruction is an approach to texts which analyse their systems of representation -the systems which frames their communication. I want to look at my hobby which is Japan Anime and there is an issue of eroticism involving in the majority of the animation which makes me curious to find out the seed of the case and any cultural related problem. I am researching both primarily and secondarily by reading relevant books and journals and online resources respectively.

About the essay question, I have discussed with a couple of people like Ollie and Greta, they think my topic is interesting and have given me a lot of advices like where and what to search. After that I have planned roughly what I want to state in my essay:
-is eroticism necessary in Japanese Anime?
-Introduce the 'typical anime'
-when has this been happening in terms of involving erotic scenes
-Why?
-What does this mean to the Japanese in society-wise?
-What are the typical scenes
-Who are the target audience?
-Are there any females animators working on these?
-Define Anime
-Is this happened because of specific working style of studio?manga? or about the culture?

Cop topic

I am very interested in anime and there are a lot of social issues hidden under anime which I would like to talk about in my essay. The most obvious stereotype on anime is the erotic scenes, underskirt scenes and the anime girls which is very porn-like in the foreigners' eyes. This is a very interesting problem and I would like to know why as well. The question would be why is sexualisation such a large part of Japanese animation.

COP Lecture - The Flipped Classroom 15/10/2015

The flipped classroom is basically what the college is engaging now: allowing students to  access equipments and prepared creative projects with peers and learning through creative process rather than following guides and homework prepared by teachers or tutors. This is a self-teaching system that it is believe to encourage self reflection and social interaction during collaborative projects among students. From an online supporting document on the flipped classroom, it states that 'The flipped model puts more of the responsibility for learning on the shoulders of students while giving them greater impetus to experiment.' which is true compare to the traditional teaching methods where student only try to capture what is being said by the speaker, they cant stop to reflect upon what is being said and may miss significant points because they are trying to transcribe the instructor's words. 

I have a lot of experience on the advantages of flipped classroom since I came from HongKong where traditional teaching is very popular and all the students are aiming for high marks and results, blindly follow guides and totally lost the meaning of teaching. The students in HongKong are very stressed in education and there are only little chance of having group discussion that disable creative thinking or any reflection among them. Their social skills are not as good as other countries and many graduated students struggle with the reality when starting their career. I am very grateful about the flipped classroom system in the UK and I care less about result but enjoy the interaction between peers and tutor. However, there might also be some downsides of this system, such as students may get additional work and require new skills for the instructor and it is a slow learning curve. Lack of direct teaching might also be a problem where some students might be learning better under clear instruction and might not get enough support from the tutors.

Authorship

Authorship is a broad and complex issue that it is hidden within our daily life. Before this lesson, authorship to me is a subject that is unfamiliar and not closely related to, however, it is possible to say that author and brands hugely influence our daily life. In the animation industry, there are a lot of famous directors and animators whose prestige is attributed to their signature style and the unique elements of their work. Audience would choose to watch as if they are purchasing a brand with confidence and which is true because the success of the authors is the epitome of the wealth of the society. It is also true that the authorship might suggest new approaches to the issue of the design process in a profession traditionally associated more with the communication rather than the origination of messages. (Rock, 1996) quoted from ‘The designer as author’. This might be sometimes happen in the world of animation where audience or fans blindly admire some animation studio or ‘author’ but do not critically analyse their work in a third-person view.

This can be linked to the essay ‘death of the Author’ written by Roland Barthes who suggest that ‘The explanation of a work is always sought in the man or woman who produced it, as if it were always in the end, through the more or less transparent allegory of the fiction, the voice of a single person, the author ‘confiding’ in us.’(Barthes, 1968, pg.143) Our society is traditionally set up as a hierarchy that believed the higher the position in the society is more important and is more influential so that creating a ‘religion’ is the path to gain believer and hence money. However, the relationship between the author and the text is changed according to time. In terms of animation industry, there are new spouts growing silently and the immensely powerful technology has provided a space for them to show their works globally. The reveal of the authors’ names is not necessarily related to the popularity, as Internet is a social platform, which automatically accepts opinions from everywhere that is when author is removed.

There are games in the industry where players can decide on the story and trigger events that might alter the ending of the story and this is when the audience collectively decide the ‘meanings’ in the ‘text’ and this is when the author’s view is not as important as the text itself in this case the content of the game. It might be similar to what Roland Barthes suggested that ‘the modern scriptor is born simultaneously with the text, is in no way equipped with a being preceding or exceeding the writing.’(Barthes, 1968, pg.145) Emotion and experience is a abstract element that is personal and incomparable therefore the interpretation of the games or animation can not be manipulated by the author but the content eventually. The space of writing is to be ranged over, not to pierced (Barthes, 1968, pg.145) and people in different state of the society approach animation in various ways and this is not attributed to the author but the educational system and the moral idea of the society makes us who we are.

Barthes, R. (1977) ‘Image Music Text’, London, Fontana Press

Rock, M. (1996) ‘The Designer as Author’, Eye no 20 vol. 5 1996

Response to set academic text

I am interested in the presentations of gender in animation and the text- Law, S. 'Putting themselves in the pictures: images of women in the work of Joanna Quinn, Candy Guard and Alison de Vere' in Pilling, J. (ed.) (1997) A Reader in Animation Studies, Sydney, John Libbey, pages 48-70 is very inspiring and helpful in understanding the topic from other professionals’ perspectives. The text introduces the animations and concepts of three stylistically different artists who produce visualise their thoughts and feelings about representation of gender. In Joanna Quinn’s Girls Night Out, she has introduced the topic about body beauty and representation of female characters. There is a scene where the girl group when to a night pub and there was a sexual appearing male stripper performing. ‘The depictions of male/female characters of the Avery films seems to be inverted in the Quinn films discussed here: the undesirable female in Avery’s films is depicted here as desiring but undesired by the male character who purses the voluptuous you women.’ I think the removal of the G-string from the stripper indicates the removal of male power and in here the main female character does not look away as she is underscoring her empowerment.

In Candy Guard’s animation, she included a lot of interesting conversation between females and how feminine could be shown verbally. In What about Me? (1990), two female characters’ talk shows typical conversation of females and the obsession with physical appearances. It is true that females are being judged with a lot stereotype and definitions for example the body shapes and appearance but there is no standard of beauty in this world so what is the meaning of beautiful? Guard’s characters are able to raise resonance from a lot of female audience because they are like women in real life, wondering their position in family, friends and lovers and physical appearance. They have contradictive thought of achieving the standard of beauty set by the social but rejecting the stereotype of female. It is a interesting method to represent feminine by a conversation based story which is so different from Quinn’s films.

Alison de Vere’s The Black Dog is unlike others’ animation. It is a fantasy story and it is less straightforward and included a lot of minor concepts. The female character is transformed by the female fate into a culturally defined object of beauty and de Vere seems to have an issue on women’s complicity in their representation as objects to be displayed for the pleasure of other people. Instead of loving their own bodies, females are easily loss confidence about themselves when judged by others about their appearance. The lack of confidence of females can be due to genes but social problems more likely and it is important for them to have an equal life within the society in the future. Three feminist artists have their unique thought about the representation of females in animation and challenge their stereotype. It is interesting to see the difference of female characters designed by male and females animators who have various experience and concerns about feminism in this stereotyped world.

Modernity and Modernism

Gender

Animation

Final COP Animation

The two parts are combined together and I decided to add sound effects and background music to it so as to make it more fun. I used youtube sound library to get license free sources where it has large quantity and variety of sound that is useful to my animation.

I could not render the animation in After Effect which was extremely frustrating therefore I use Premiere instead. I have not used it for a long time and very glad I still remember how to edit videos and sound in Premiere.

And finally this is the final animation! Although it is only half the original story, I think it presents my thought very well and I have learnt so much! It is an interesting brief that to respond to our essay. As a foreigner,  writing in English is hard, visualising my thoughts and ideas are also the easier pathways to show my ideas. I have selected essence of the essay and turn it into this story which is amazingly interesting as if I am writing another essay through animation. There are a lot of things I need to improve.1)time management; If I manage my time better, the animation could be finished on time. 2)after effects; I need to learnt to use after effect as it is a useful tool when animating and editing.

Cop animation

-Backgrounds-

I like the castle because of the shadings and texture also the starry sky, but I am not very good at painting road or details...

I use layering to create the brick texture on the bridge and the close up of the castle. Instead of the size of the brick cannot be adjusted according to the perspective, I am very please with this attempt. I can improve it by layering more carefully and greater details.

-Sequence-

I really enjoy drawing the riding scenes where the princess is riding on her pig. It is a challenging part because it is difficult to present a smooth and realistic action in my point of view especially in frame by frame animation. I think I have solved the problem quite well and really pleased with the outcome.

Here is part 2. After all, instead of refining edges and the quality of the drawings, the story is setting up a good background for audience to understand my concept. I stopped animating at this point because of other work and the time management issue, it will not be finished before deadline...I have to follow my schedule more tightly next time. 

Character design

The character design of my animation is very simple, their characteristic could clearly show what are they in a traditional perspective. What is more, the princess is in the act of a normal prince in spite of her not so attractive look. Her clothes are in blue and yellow which is the symbol of royalty. Her skin is yellow and flat nose which is designed deliberately to challenge the stereotype of asia characters.

The pig's outfit indicates its job and add more fun to the animation. Although it is not shown in the story often, it is also an important character that audience probably will like. I decided to use pinky colour so as to match the princess's outfit.

For the witch/fairy, I was struggling with her outfit and characteristics. A lot of google's pictures of beautiful witch and evil fairy are very predictable. I do not want the witch to look like a villain but a blank looking fairy that audience would not notice from the first look.

I decided to use funky colours on the fairy e.g. metallic green and purple hair because I hope it helps indicating her inner evil a bit (since purple and green together is usually the colours for witches) and

it could differ her from natural appearance but still quite friendly looking.

She also has scary big eyes with barely any facial expression. I am quite happy with the character design because they are suitable for my story and different from my usual art style. It is a good opportunity to experiment with different drawing style and I think they are appropriated in this animation. 

Context of practice process

To start the process, I have made the anamatic for a better overview of the animation. It informs me about the timing and the amount of context I need to put within the animation.

Since the last animation I produced, which is the OUAN405 classical element, this time I want to separate the production into parts so that 1) each program(photoshop) can run faster and more efficient as the file size is smaller 2) reduce the chance of producing crash files. Therefore I divided the project in 4,5 second parts.

I have been looking up to reference a girly bedroom and found this quite suitable.

Backgrounds:

Title sequence of the film: dark style, rosy background, bright types, growing roses in the corners.

The first 5 seconds animation: I think I have a good time management and more organised then before. The character move quite natural and the backgrounds aid the storytelling a lot.