Kaleb Belnap

November 2018

I​nformative Speech: Audience Assessment

Specific Goal:​​ My audience will learn about the evolution of animation and how it has made a
difference.

My Narrowed Topic:
● Strategy: ​I’ll teach my topic by explanation.

Narrow Focus:
● Original topic: How animation has changed
● Narrower topic: What made animation change
● Even narrower topic: The evolution of animation and how it has made a difference.

Ethos:
● Primary Ethos: ​I grew up watching cartoons every saturday morning.

● Secondary Ethos: ​ ​“The animation which people are so familiar with today took
centuries of technological development to finally come into its more recognizable form.
The contributions towards the genre over the past 100 years or so have propelled
animation from being a mere sideshow, to an internationally significant cultural medium.”
(Nkosi Anthony, an Animation Artist and Conceptual Designer for Hasbro)
● I will cite Nkosi Anthony “History of Animation Capstone” article and expert references

Audience Knowledge Level:​​ Most audience members have little knowledge of the topic.
Adaptation to Audience Knowledge:​​ I will help my audience understand my topic by
explaining all the key factors and going through how the history of animation has changed.
Pattern of Organization:​​ I’ll use a chronological pattern of organization.

Informative Speech: Full Sentence Outline

Evolution of Animation

Introduction:
Hook: ​I wake up early and see light start to drip in through my bedroom window. I’m seven
years old. No school, cause it’s a Saturday morning. What’s my main priority? Obviously
heading straight to the cartoons! We’ve all been there, right?
Thesis: ​How about we take a look at the evolution of how these cartoons came to be.
Preview:
1. The beginning of cartoons and the Magic Lantern.
2. The Golden Age of american animation the first animation stars.
 3. The Modern America Era and the introduction of CGI

Transition:​​ Animation and cartoons are a huge part of our culture, but do we realize how much
it has progressed?

Body:

I. The beginning of animation was nothing compared to what we have today. We had to
start somewhere, but why do we have animation in the first place?
A. According to Walter Disney,
1. “Animation offers a medium of storytelling and visual entertainment which
can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in
the world.”
B. All the way back through ancient history, archaeological artifacts have shown
drawings of depicted movement
1. The shahr-e sukhteh pottery bowl depicts a goat jumping in 30,000 BCE
C. The invention of the Magic Lantern was considered the first projected animation.
1. Using sheets of moving glass it was able to create the illusion of
movement.
2. This was the introduction to the Silent Era
a) Consisted completely silent black and white animations
b) The surfacing of Bray Productions launched ideas of Woody
Woodpecker and Betty Boop
c) Fantasmagorie was considered the first hand drawn animation.

Transition: ​The Silent Age of animation slowly started to drift into what we know as the
animation Golden Age.
I. Though we were getting close, animation was still handmade.
A. Steven Spielberg said,
1. “In ‘83, not only was there no such thing as performance motion capture
technology, there was no such thing as digital animation. This was the
analog era.”
2. Every animated film was hand drawn, created frame by frame.
B. These years featured the rise of well known cartoons that became part of the
American Culture.
1. Specifically came the showing of Warner Bros (Looney Toons), Fleischer
(Popeye), and the well known Walt Disney and his creation of Mickey
Mouse and other characters.
C. The Golden Age, which was the age of cultural development, led into what is
known as the American Television Era.
1. Still before the 1980’s, Studios were creating many cartoons for
entertainment television.
Transition: ​The introduction of modern technology soon introduced us to what’s known as the
Modern America Era. This is where animation started to have a major role in culture.
I. Digital technology was introduced and cartoons became a regular.
A. Channels like Cartoon Network and Disney Channel were developed
II. CGI was introduced and changed the animation world as a whole.
A. Nothing had to be drawn anymore. Everything could be based off of a digital 3D
model
III. Movies became less about learning lessons and more about finding yourself and
learning that being different is what makes you special
A. For example Zootopia, Inside Out, Big Hero 6
1. Movies back then were mostly about trusting the wisdom of the past, such
as Lion King
IV. Does CGI make animation less of an art form?
A. No
B. As John Lasseter, the Principal Creative Advisor of Walt Disney Company, says,
1. “Computers don’t create computer animation any more than a pencil
creates pencil animation. What creates computer animation is the artist.”
C. From beginning to end, all forms of animation have been art.

[Transition to close:​​ Finally, looking back, we can see that animation has changed intensely
and has become a huuuge part of our culture.

Conclusion:
Summarize main points/thesis: ​From the Silent Era, to the Golden Age, then finally to the
Modern Era, animation has evolved around us.
Bookend:​​ Plus, without cartoons, what else would we have to wake up to every Saturday
morning as a “seven year old”?
End the speech memorably: ​Hopefully, not actually going outside and playing.. (sarcastically)

References:

History of Animation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://history-of-animation.webflow.io/

Z. (2018, April 06). A Quick History of Animation. Retrieved from

https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/quick-history-animation/

Kehr, D. (2018, July 20). Animation. Retrieved from ​https://www.britannica.com/art/animation

Nusair, D. (n.d.). Timeline of Animated Film History. Retrieved November 7, 2018, from
https://www.thoughtco.com/timeline-of-animated-film-history-2420991