Amy Andrews Research Report

I am currently interested in Animation and have therefore decided to investigate this

subject area from the very start of its origin to the present day and how it’s techniques and
style has altered throughout the years. I’ve decided to focus on animation because it’s what
I studied last year for my Final Major Project but I feel like I didn’t cover or achieve as much
as I wanted too and saw this time as the perfect opportunity to extend my knowledge in this
subject area. I’ve also been a big fan of animation whether that be the classic Disney films,
Pixar, or TV cartoons animation has no age limit and is something anyone at any age can
appreciate and enjoy. So, I also wanted to discover why the public love animation as much
as they do.

I began my research with secondary research, gathering information from newspaper

articles, books and the internet to compile a variety of research material. I decided to begin
with secondary resources as I thought I’d get a better grasp of the topic and therefore be
able to fill in the gaps with primary research. Whilst conducting secondary research I
managed to construct a fully detailed historical timeline of the history of animation which
then became the basis of the rest of my research. From the timeline, I went onto show the
visual progression of animation and then how animation is changed due to cultural and
political restrictions across the world. During this time period of researching animation I
kept coming to the conclusion that there was no personal recollection with the art. Hence
the reason I thought it’d be worth moving onto primary research which is my preferred
research strategy as you move away from the screen and get to interact with the public. I
began with a survey which I posted on Facebook and asked my friends and family to
complete. Their responses were amazing and helped me understand why animation is so
popular. These responses gave me the confidence to contact those with in the industry and
despite my first hesitation in reaching out as I thought I wouldn’t get any response I have
been pleasantly surprised! I have a received a total of 4 responses from different production
houses and different positions in the industry. These responses have given me a greater
understanding of the stages within the industry. I also conducted some technical research,
admittedly probably not enough but time has just got away with me. But I am going to make
the point of technical experimentation in unit 13.

As briefly mentioned my technical research is lacking behind the other pieces of research
that I have conducted in my opinion. Unfortunately, time just got away with me on this part
of my research due to the projects that have been going on in the background and I
focussed the majority of attention on the primary and secondary research. To solve my skills
gap here I am going to make the point of prioritising technical research in Unit 13.

Despite the lack of content technically I think that the remainder of my research is quite
substantial. In my primary research, I managed to interview 4 industry experts as well as
have 30 responses of a survey that I conducted on social media. Both of these methods gave
me a wide variety of information to work and reflect on giving me a better understanding
on the world of animation. I suppose the one thing that I lack in is a face-to-face interview
with an industry expert. I did try and get one with a local production house but had no
response therefore I opted for my quick 5 question email that seemed to work. Looking
back, I could have gone into the city and asked members of the public the same questions I
asked on my survey but at the time it didn’t cross my mind, however I now know for next
time.

As for secondary research, I feel like I covered the basics well and investigated the areas
that I felt like I lacked any knowledge of which was initially the whole point of conducting
this research. In my opinion research never ends. We are constantly learning new things and
therefore our knowledge is constantly evolving. Therefore, I still feel like I have more to
learn on this topic but for what I need to know to continue on this subject in the next unit I
feel like I have enough under my belt to carry me over onto the next unit.

I personally think that as far as research goes I have covered the majority of the areas that I
intended to and more. I started with the basics of history and delved further into the points
that interested me most and then went onto learn how the industry works from first-hand
experience. By using a variety of resources from the internet, books, to people I have been
able to get a better understanding of the world of animation form how it works, to what
people think about it to what it’s like to work within that industry. Overall, I am pleased with
the outcome of the research that I have undertaken over the last few months.

References:

 Pete Turner. 2013. Animated Music Videos

[ONLINE]]http://ilovethatfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/animated-music-videos.html

[Accessed 12 January 2018]

 Drew Burduky. 2012. Purpose of music video

[ONLINE]http://drewburdakyting.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/different-genres.html

[Accessed 12 January 2018]

 Laura Raxten. 2011.Types of music video

[ONLINE]https://www.slideshare.net/lauraraxten/types-of-music-video-10579155

[Accessed 12 January 2018]

 2014. Vitruvian man

[ONLINE] http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/leonardo/gallery/vitruvian.shtml
[Accessed 11 January 2018]

ALL ACCESSED 11TH JANUARY 2018

 https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/phenakistoscope

 http://www.flipbook.info/history.php

 http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/eadweard-muybridge

 https://theredlist.com/wiki-2-16-601-798-view-pioneers-profile-marey-etienne-
jules.html

 http://brayanimation.weebly.com/studio-history.html

 http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/bray-studios-on-tcm/

 http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheSilentAgeOfAnimation

 Chancellor T August 1st 2016: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/when-attending-

college-party

 http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation

 http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LimitedAnimation

16.1.18

 http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1859935,00.html

 https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/04/the-evolution-of-scooby-doo-
one-of-tvs-greatest-tr.html

 http://www.nothans.com/simpsons/

 https://www.bloopanimation.com/types-of-animation/

NEWS PAPER ARTICLE

 https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/mar/07/disney-hand-drawn-animation

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10849028/How-technology-is-
driving-the-next-wave-of-film-animation.html

 https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/jan/31/weird-new-world-
computer-animated-news
 17.1.18

 http://www.insidethemagic.net/2017/01/influencing-america-through-animation-
wwii-propaganda-cartoons-part-two-looney-tunes/

 http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Four_Methods_of_Flush_Riveting

 https://listverse.com/2017/02/05/10-disney-propaganda-cartoons-from-world-war-
ii/

 http://cec.vcn.bc.ca/cmp/modules/emp-cul.htm

 https://nkosianthonyseniorsemanimationcapstone2014.wordpress.com/2014/05/09
/the-amazing-evolution-of-animation-and-its-importance-in-modern-society/

 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254258356_Understanding_Culture_Thr
ough_Animation_From_the_World_to_Malaysia