Issues in Animation - Stereotypes

Animation just like any other type of media is not perfect and is still filled with issues that greatly affect animators and the targeted audience today. 

Stereotypes 

It is important to be aware of the imagery we are (and those around us) are constantly exposed to as it affects us a lot more then what we may believe. As the use of animation (especially for young kids) can be seen as another form of education, a form of verbal communication. That it forms a subconscious teaching to the mind of what is and what isn't. For instance in the most common stories young girls are subconsciously taught that their role should be of a "princess", to be feminine, enjoy wearing dresses and  . To follow upon a very domestic stereotype. Whereas men are subconsciously taught that their role is more valued then the role of the women, that they fulfill the purpose and "save" the women. This as a result teaches men that subconsciously their actions and movements are more relevant. It also subconsciously creates a negative effect as it creates the imagery that a man has to be strong, heroic and muscular. It even goes as far as suggesting that overweight men have negative characteristics, creating a starting foundation for insecurities in the minds of these children

Female Stereotypes

In Disney movies, female stereotypes are often very clear and the most prominent in the representation of the Disney princesses. What is usually conveyed through these princess is that women are weak and are of desperate need of help, that a women's appearance is what defines her presence and stance. That a women's goal should be to marry, as all her deepest dreams and wishes lie between that marriage. Just like I have mentioned with male stereotypes, overweight women are viewed to be unattractive and miserable due to their weight and not being married. These factors are a big problem in animation as when crating an animation one has to think clearly about what message they are conveying. In what way are they teaching and affecting the viewer through the form of animation? Looking at these stereotypes it seems as if Disney was simply trying to please an audience, using features and a perspective of women that was very common at the time, rather then trying to introduce a different perspective to an audience. As an artist I find this very disrespectful as they are wasting their potential by trying to fit in, rather then using the power of their influence to create change. 

The princess are also seen having body images that are close to being non-existent in society, from how slim their waists are, to their facial features. It conveys the message that the answer to a women's problems is to be a princess, that things such as a good appearance and wealth are what determine a women's happiness. That the role of a women is to clean and to have a beautiful singing voice, creating an imagery that for a women to not have these things marks her as unsuccessful and a failure. What is saddening about this was that it empowered the medias portrayal of women, to what it now and how difficult it is for women to overstep these boundaries for equal fairness and rights.There is also the fact that the only African-American princess Tiana is often not included in photographs and line ups of princess, being ignored by many. How these stereotypes are also starting to form racial boundaries and offenses. 

Maybe Disney need to stop representing Women as princesses and start representing women in another light, and with another concept. Perhaps Disney themselves need to exist the fairytale concept, and challenge themselves to other styles. 

Male Stereotypes

Many tend to ignore the stereotypes that surround males and fail to notice that they have just as a damaging effect on males as they do on females. In Disney, male stereotypes are often represented by what being a man truly means, and how a mans masculinity is what determines his worth. For instance in "Mulan" you have the very well known song "Make A Man Out of you", the consistent subconscious idea being put forward that a man has to be strong and heavily built. That he has to be the hero, and must not under any circumstance show any sighs of weakness or vulnerability. There is also the idea that males who are slightly overweight or unattractive take on the form of evil characters as seen in "Beauty and the Beast" Sound familiar?  There is also the toxic message that regardless of the females opinion and belief, as long as the male is persistent in aiming to get the female, he will eventually succeed, and that if the character does not it is because he is evil. Not teaching the reality of the situation to young viewers, that sometimes these things don't go well, but that's okay as things move on and so will you. If these things were taught at an earlier age then maybe children wouldn't feel so betrayed as they grow older and learn the truth. 

This to me not only conveys the great influence animation has and can have among viewers, but also that when making an animation one has to be absolutely sure of what they are representing and to research the many ways what they are making can be interpreted by the viewers of many different cultures and mindsets.

Project Two: Flip book (Production)

To do this we were put into groups of three and were each assigned a picture of a specific historical moment to research. Our group got the Bayeux Tapestry

To summarize the Bayeux Tapestry,  a man named Harold is crowned king despite the oath made to William, William upon hearing this is filled with betrayal and thus heads out to Hastings  and seeks to attack , as a way to retrieve his right to the throne. The battle sets out and king Harold gets killed (by he famously known) by an arrow to the eye. What I found interesting about this was how these tactics that humans would undergo years ago, still exist today. How war is still a massive issue, how human lives can be thrown away and cast aside so easily. Moments like this I believe only highlight the worst features of mankind. I reason I thought about this was that (with the knowledge that we are making an animation) it is important to reflect upon how it links with modern society, how (as an animator) one can connect with the audience, to pass on a moral that speaks for itself and has a global impact. As animation itself is simply another form of visual and verbal communication, and what good is speaking if it is without purpose?

After that we were told of the required format of the flip book animation, that the chronological order of the animation would be split between the beginning, middle and end, and each member of the group would take a specific part. Having to produce a 100 paged flip book (on a post-it note) for each stage.

After that we started to brainstorm ideas about what our flip book animation could be (based on the historical moment we looked at)

We came up with our idea quiet quickly. When this happens it is occasionally because as a group you were lucky to hit it on the first strike. Usually only professional and experienced animation studios and teams are able to do this, therefore as a result I believe we as a group may have slightly been too eager to come up with a resolution, that we did not think about any other possible outcomes. I also think this was because the group weren't comfortable with one another verbally, as there were instances I felt members (including myself) have ideas but kept it to themselves. I have yet, to experience this and learn how to solve it. As when in a real situation, the priority is the idea, and therefore such things shouldn't come in the way as it could possibly endanger the projects potential by a large scale. My aim is that the next time I experience this, I will act more and try to help make every member feel involved and engaged with the project.

Idea one
Our first idea was to recreate the most well known scene of the Bayeux Tapestry which was the moment Harold got hit in the eye by an arrow. Here is the way the story was split up.

Storyline
Beginning: The troops are running in (Sam)
Middle: An arrow is shot by member of group (Samson)
End: arrow is seen flying and hitting eye (Halima)

Equipment 
Pencil
Ruler
Post-it notes

Making the flip book animation

The process required a lot of patience as it took a lot of time to get the shot of the arrow and its speed in time with the amount of post-it notes. What I also did that was a mistake was that I started by imagining what the arrow might look like and working from my head, rather than searching images of arrows and the way it is shot. I did this later on, and only when I did this did my animation work and finish in time. A problem that everyone else also realized at the end was that because of all individual drawing styles by each member, when the animation came together the scenes didn't flow as well as they could have. I personally liked the differentiation in style as it brings together different forms of visual communication. Despite this in a professional environment, the drawings have to be styled in the same way. This made me see how difficult animation is a a career choice, as everybody working together in a studio has to have the ability of easily adapting to different styles, and the one needed.

Here is my flipbook animation 

Project Two: Flip book (History)

Before starting this project, as usual it would be a lot more resourceful to understand the history of the product, its function, and the effect it has had on society.

To start off with, what is a flip book? A flip book is a series of individual pictures that are put together page by page in order of chronological movement in order to create the illusion of motion. Flip books can be done on any medium or size, as long as it can be stacked on top of one another. 

Flip books rely on the effect known as the Phi phenomeon, which is what creates the illusion of a continuous loop of movement. For this to work however there are certain guidelines. The first being that a correct amount of speed should be used so that the illusion may work and be understood visually. To do this the corner of the page is usually targeted as it does not hide any parts of the animation, and is often held by the thumb. 

The Flip book is known to have first been invented in 1860 by a man named Pierre Hubert Desvignes and had it originally called folioscopes, however his name with the invention did not get recognized as he did not patent the product. Which is why later in 1868 it was John Barnes Linett who got the credit and recognition for the product as he had it patented in 1868. His name for it was known as Kineograph which meant moving picture. What made this invention a successful development was how it was the first type of animation to generate a liner order of images, whereas the known and used order was a circular order. As seen in the Phenakistoscope.

After that many developments were made of the flip book, including the Mutoscope (1894) made by Herman Casler which overlapped the pages on a rotating cylinder rather then in a book. This development was a huge success, especially in the twentieth century being used as an early motion picture device.










A Mutoscope



Another development was made three years later known as the Filoscope which was made by Henry William Short. The difference with his product was that now the flip book can be held by a metal holder to smoothen the transition between each page whilst being flipped.

A Filoscope


The modern day use for flipbooks is often used as an form of entertainment for children, for instance being used as cereal prizes. They are also a popular choice for advertising and marketing.  

Animation Studio: Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio that has been involved in producing 20 movies, 16 short films and a vast number of commercials and other forms of media. The animation studio was formed in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki.

Hayao Miyazaki began his career as an animator working in the company known as Toei Animation on an animation known in"Gulliver's travels beyond the moon." Hayao Miyazakis leadership skills and creativity immediately shined through, the ending of Gulliver's travels being his own idea. In 1979 he made his first feature length film known as "Castle", this film received positive reviews and was a short insight to Miyazakis potential through animation.  One admirable aspect Miyazaki had was that he didn't limit his own creativity, he didn't stick to one form of working but was consistently creating other forms of art, such as his Graphic novel "Valley of the wind" Which was made with the help of Toshio Suzuki. This was soon adapted into an animated film with the same name as his novel in May 31st 1983. To do this he worked alongside the producer Isao Takahata (who would later help him form Studio Ghibli). A year later in March 11th 1984 the animation was released. It received a countless number of positive reviews and made up to fifty million dollars in the box office.

It was most likely the aftermath of this production that made Miyazaki realize the power of these animated films. It was a year later in 1985 where all three came together to form the animation studio known as Studio Ghibli.

The first production they worked on was "Laputa: Castle of the sky" which was written by Miyazaki and produced by Takahata. The movie was very well received, however it did not get its western release until 1998.

"Laputa: Castle of the sky"


Around the same time two animations were in the making, "Grave of the fireflies" by Isao Takahata (1988) which was an animated war drama based on a novel with the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, the film received critical acclaim for being able to emotionally reach and connect to audiences worldwide. It was a beautiful example of his film making abilities.






 "Grave of the fireflies"


Whilst Takahata approached his own animation with utmost seriousness, Miyazaki took a child-like and light hearted approach with the making of "My Neighbour Totoro." Which involved bright visual and concepts, at the time his staff were greatly opposed to it, however Miyazaki stuck to his own idea and thus his vision prevailed. The film was a massive success, not only did it receive such amazing reviews, become the Studio Ghibli logo, but it was also the first film of Studio Ghibli to be distributed in the west by Disney.






"My Neighbour Totoro."


Studio Ghiblis success skyrocketed with the next couple of films, such as "Kiki's Delivery service" which was produced in 1989 by Miyazaki. It was based on a novel (made in 1985) that influenced Miyazaki with themes such as independence in relation to the main character Kiki. The film was as expected a success, the difference being that this time the Disney release made just as much as the Japanese release.

"Kiki's Delivery service"

Two years later, in 1991 "Only Yesterday" was released to the public and was again based on a novel and shared the same name of the manga. This film tackled adult themes such as misogyny issues and why this was important at the time was that it proved that mature themes could still flourish in animation.

"Only Yesterday"

The following year "Porco Rosso" was released, this movie was planned to be a short film however Miyazaki was heavily inspired by real life events that changed his mind, making "Porco Rosso" a full length film.






"Porco Rosso"


Two years later in 1994 "Pom Poko" was released and directed by Takahata. It was a critical success and received many compliments for its consistent and fluid change of style throughout the movie. How there was a balance between the realistic style of animation to the quite childlike style of animation.






"Pom Poko"


The next year in 1995 "Whisper of the heart" was released and was the first production to be directed without Takahata or Miyazaki, the director for this being Yoshifumi Kondo. The movie was a success and the director did perfectly to prove his skills, as every aspect including the soundtrack (music) of the film gained a great amount of attention. Sadly the director passed away before any more collaborations could be executed.

"Whisper of the heart"

In 2002 "The Cat Returns" was produced, the film marked the end of the miniature era for Studio Ghibli as they now began to move on to more modern types of animation, regardless one thing that shall always remain is the quality of the animation that viewers look at with fondness.

"The Cat Returns"

1997 marked one of the biggest releases and most successful film production of Studio Ghibli, "The princess Mononoke". The movie not only earned a Japanese academy award, it was the first film (at the time) to produce 10 million yen in the Japanese box office. The story behind this success was a long history of developments, as the movie had been in the works since the seventies. It was initially going to be scrapped as the stroyline was far too complicated however what allowed it to exist today was the simplification computer animation, that allowed the animation to flow freely.

"The princess Mononoke"

Studio Ghibli grew fond with the use of computer animation that in 1999 they released "My neighbor the Yamadas" a comedy based on a comic strip. The use of computer animation allowed it to have a style that was never before used by Studio Ghibli, An entirely digital animation.

"My neighbor the Yamadas"

Two years later, another of Studio Ghiblis biggest releases was produced, "Spirited Away". The movie received a large majority of positive critic reviews and is held as one of the greatest movie of all time. It succeeded in being a non - American movie to win an academy award other then a foreign film. 

"Spirited Away"

In 2004, "Howls moving castle" was produced, it was based on the American Novel and to accurately represent the story via animation the author Jones herself took part in improving the story line to perfect its plot for its animated debut. The film was mapped out using physical art, the characters and settings painted and then digitized to create a hand drawn effect. The movie received positive reviews and was mainly credited for its representation of finding ones self, this aspect striking and inspiring people of all ages. 

"Howls moving castle"

In 2006, "Tales from Earthsea" was produced and was the directing debut of Miyazakis Son Goro Miyazaki. The movie did quite well but was sadly not outstanding compared to other Studio Ghibli movies. 

"Tales from Earthsea"

In 2008, "Ponyo" was released and brought back the traditional animation style of Studio Ghibli, this was done as Miyazaki believed that for the movie to reach its greatest potential, it needed to be in this style. The movie was able to carry out the combination of fantasy and comedy beautifully, most likely because the foundations of the movie were kept simple. The film was the first to hit 20 times more theaters worldwide, and was the biggest releases and success then any of the movies released before it.

 "Ponyo"

 In 2012 we saw the release of "Arrietty" which was a major success, the key purpose of this movie was to create mature scene that were able to still entertain old fans (Audiences) and to gain new (younger) fans at the same time. To create a balance within the animations emotional representation. The movie was a box office hit, the American release had around 600 more theaters than "Ponyo"

"Arrietty"

One year later "From Up On Poppy Hill" was released and was again directed by Miyazaki's son. The movie was very precise with the use of historical context, as many aspects were taken (and research) from the history of that certain time period. 

"From Up On Poppy Hill"

The next movie was something completely new to the viewers from Studio Ghibli, which was co-operative work with publisher Bandai Namco of the Japanese video game "Nino Kuni". The cut-scenes were produced by Studio Ghibli with the use of cell shaded 3D to create the graphics. Regardless of it being a video game the plot had a similar story-line to those of original Studio Ghibli movies.

"Nino Kuni"

It was the year 2013, where Miyazaki sadly announced his retirement with the production of his final film "The Wind Rises". The film was a fictional biopic of a real life figure Jiro Horikoshi, a Japanese plane engineer and notes his struggles as he progresses onto life. The movie is remarked as one of Miyazakis most emotional and amture films. The movie was a success in both Japan and America. Interestingly the movie was supposed to be a sequel to the movie "Ponyo" however he followed the advice of his fellow producers who advised him against this. What initially inspired Miyazaki to create this movie was the following quote by Jiro which was "All I wanted to do was to make something beautiful."

"The Wind Rises"

The following year "The Tale Of Princess Kaguya" was released, based on an old Japanese folk tale. The movie was highly praised for its use of a unique art style. To do this however, the film required a five year production cycle, as to make beautiful and detailed things take a lot of time and require focus and precise detail.

"The Tale Of Princess Kaguya"

In 2014, with the release of "When Marnie was there" Studio Ghibli announced that it would be closing its doors and would no longer direct films but simply exclusively distribute them. Marking the end of a beautiful and remarkable era.

"When Marnie was there"

Studio Ghibli was a perfect example of the way animation can be developed and the value of animation, how broad the viewers of animation could be and the importance it has on these viewers. As an animation as the power to change an individuals perspective, more specifically a big part of their life. From the movies I have watched of Studio Ghibli it amazes me how I am able to easily transport myself and emotionally connect with the setting of the individual movie. I'm not sure how they do it, but their animations have the power to touch your heart so easily and broaden your imagination subconsciously. Their animations remind you of the beauty of life and are somehow able to reignite the spark in ones eyes and to see the world with such a curiosity once again.

Project 1: Creating a Pixilation Animation (Production)

To make this animation we used the programme Adobe after effects, I have never used this programme so I was excited to see the way the editing process works, as I've always wondered how it is done, and the level of time and difficulty it takes. As the editing process is usually the part the requires a high level of precision and attention to detail as it determines the consistency of flow throughout the animation. 

The steps to using it are fairly easy. First of all the pictures have to be imported by clicking File-Import,  and then selecting multiple files. Once done the first image of all the other images are selected and by clicking force alphabetical order the programme orders the pictures together in chronological order on its own. Once done the file will appear on the side, and to edit it you simply drag it down to the lower bar. I personally like to click play to see if I am satisfied with the speed and the order of movements frame by frame. As there were no problems with the animation, all that was left for me to do was add effects and sounds. Repeating the process of importing the files and dragging it below the animation bar. Once the animation is completely edited you select file - export - add to render queue. Once the animation is rendered you select File - Export- adobe flash player, and your animation is complete. 

Here are some screenshots of me editing the animation 

I also experimented with the colour of the animation, changing the RGB saturation to see weather it will create a nice effect that could possibly better the animation.  What I liked about the black and white contrast was how it somehow amplified the emotional aspect of the animation, and emphasised  the change in movement. It also gave the animation a somewhat sentimental value. I decided against using the effect as I really liked the way the colour originally stands out and establishes a setting visually to the viewer. 

Green

Blue

Red

Yellow

Overall I found making the animation a lot of fun,  the only problem was that it was quite frustrating at times as it took me around five tries until the animation worked. There were also quite a few problems with the animation getting exported into a quicktime file. I was also quite disappointed with the group as I assigned them individual tasks to find an audio file and work on the credits scene and not a single member completed the task, and as a result the final animation does not have any sound or credits scene. Despite this I thought the the lack of sound amplified the tension in-between the scenes encouraging the viewer to focus more on the scenes. It was useful in improving my problem solving skills with the programme, and with approaching computerised animation 

Here is the final animation 

              

https://youtu.be/aIDcR71xtww

Project 1: Creating a Pixilation Animation (Filming)

The first task set was to create a Pixilation Animation in groups, our group was of five individuals. This to me was both a good and bad number, as if everybody worked with the same positive intention the animation would not only be done in a short time, but it could also be then in a lot more detail. The possible negative side to this was that if certain individuals do not participate it could endanger the animation as well as the groups potential. 

I was personally very excited to have the opportunity to try this stop motion technique.

To start we had to Brainstorm ideas for this animation, these were the ideas we came up with:

Idea one

The story of a baby lion who is in a forest with his family, the baby lion soon wonders off due to his excitement in wanting to explore more of the forest despite his parents warnings. The baby lion without realizing it crosses a safety line put to keep his species safe. Hunter sees lion and kills the baby lion. 

Moral of the story: Curiosity killed the cat

Idea two 

A mini story of a solder set during WW1, whilst solder is in trenches he dies and sees his life flash before his eyes, main focus of the animation experiments with the idea and belief of this and gives the viewer a quick insight into the individuals life. If to be chosen, a way to challenge ourselves and see if this could be done successfully and communicated clearly. Solder spends last few minutes of his life staring and clutching into necklace, life flashback tells the viewer the value of the object. 

Moral of the story: Destruction of War

Chosen idea --> Idea one

The reason for this was that we wouldn't have been able to show the setting of a trench in full detail with the environments we were surrounded by, it would have also been far too time consuming to make the animation the way we wanted. We were also realistic with ourselves and understood that as this is our first animation, therefore it would be wise to make it short, clear and fairly simple. We did agree however that once we are more experienced we would give idea two a try. 

Idea one in-depth 

Roles

Director/photographer: Halima (me ^^/)

Baby Lion: Carly 

Dad Lion: Carlos

Mum Lion: Afsheen 

Hunter: Edward

Story line (key frames/scenes)

1. Baby Lion is seen with mum and dad Lion 
2. Playing and moving around in the forest 
3. Baby Lion starts to slowly wonder off 
4. The hunter enters
5. Baby lion and hunter freeze whilst making eye contact
6. Scene slows to dramatize scene and create tension 
7. Hunter shoots the Baby Lion 
8. Baby Lion slowly falls and dies 
9. Hunter puts arms up in triumph 
10. Animation ends 

Equipment

One Baby Lion mask

Two Lion masks 

Camera

Gun (paper model)

Craft Knife

Glue

String (to attach masks)

Location

School fields

Trial version

We did a quick practice version as a way to see how the animation would play out and weather any alterations were needed.  It was also to test the efficiency of the props and weather they worked and fit in with the theme of the animation. Here are some pictures from the practice session.

I experimented with this stop motion technique by using my phone, as I found it easier to capture the speed of the movement. Sadly there was not enough memory on my phone, also that for this to be a minute animation there had to be 1000 pictures taken. Therefore the option of a phone was not available. Regardless to have the actual experience of how animators approach Pixilation, it is better to use a camera. This session was very useful as my colleague was able to practice the movements of a lion, and was able to understand how to use it to best express the character.


Making the final animation 
It was time to do the final animation, and for it we used a camera that took 10 frames per second, all that was left to do was to act out the animation one last time. To do this all five members were needed, and it needed to be done on the day as it was crucial in terms of time management, as this was our only chance to do it. Sadly on the day certain members were faced with personal problems, or illness and could not participate during the day. At the time, the remaining team members (two members and I) were all unsure of what to do, luckily for us we had a student from the second year volunteer to take the role of the Baby Lion. Roles were quickly switched between the remaining members, and I was happy to see how everyone was able to easily adapt and solve the issue.

Change in script
Parent lions removed, only characters in animation are the Baby Lion and the hunter

Snapshots of Jess as the Baby Lion 

We later had a team member and quickly put her as part of the film, she was originally meant to be the parent Lion, however due to the change in the script, we decided to have it as a short flashback as a way to emphasize the freedom that is being lost. A way to heighten the emotional aspect of the animation.

Snapshots of Carly as Baby Lion in the prequel.

What I really liked was the change in setting due to it being later on in the day, as this added a sentimental value to the animation, giving it the texture of a foggy dream. I left the ending open to many interpretations, such as weather it is the lions afterlife? Or simply the Baby Lions last and most cherished memory, which was of being free.

Overall I enjoyed doing this project, as it taught me a lot of new skills involved with animation and gave me an insight into aspects that I always wondered about whilst watching a film, animation, or an advertisement that uses Pixelation. The team work started off really well but towards the end worsened slightly, despite this every member did get involved in some way and participated in helping the animation get to where it was, from the story to the props. If the hard work was kept consistent the animation would have been longer and more detailed then it was. It helped give me an insight of the teams animators have to work with and the possible problems that one may face. There was a moment where it was decided that those who didn't work hard enough would simply have to do their own animation, however I figured that in the real situation it is quite rash to make such a decision and it is better to learn how to communicate with the individual to see why they have trouble doing this and to motivate them to create better results.