History of Animation
Overview
In this course students will watch, critique, and write about film animation throughout history. Students will examine 5 areas: early animation, Disney animation, Japanese anime, European animation, and computer animation.
My goal is to have students learn about 5 specific areas of animation throughout history. In doing so, they will learn about the history of animation and pay attention to how animation throughout history has changed and developed. I hope they will pay more attention to the animation they watch by thinking about what type of techniques the moviemaker is using: background animation, character animation, storyboarding, color, comedy versus tragedy, irony, fairy tale morals etc. Also, they will learn about the careers available in the animation field.
Standard(s) addressed:
5th grade and 6th grade:
3.0 Students analyze the role and development of theatre, Film/Video, and electronic media in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting diversity as it relates to theatre.
5.0 Connecting and Applying What Is Learned in Theatre, Film/Video, and Electronic Media to Other Art Forms and Subject Areas and to Careers
Grading
Students will be graded according to the 6 Character Pillars: Respect, Fairness, Responsibility, Citizenship, Trustworthiness, and Caring. They will be prepared to learn, exhibit good behavior, have required materials, etc. Students' conduct in these classes will be assessed and reflected in their report cards.
Updates
#1: Our students watched and critiqued film clips from “Felix the Cat” and “Betty Boop”. They included the movie title, a date, and an analysis for each film clip. We had an excellent class discussion about: the use of black and white color, playback animation, morals to a story, and the use of live music such as jazz. Many students guessed that the invention of the t.v. occurred in the 1980s! We learned however that it was invented in the late 1930’s.
#2: This week, the students watched “Popeye” (1933), “Speedy Gonzales” (1955), and “Wacky Races” (1968). We learned about Max Fleischer, the creator of “Popeye”, “Betty Boop”, and “Felix the Cat”. Additionally, students looked for film techniques such as: foreground animation vs. background animation, main characters as villains, the use of color, and why “Popeye” was called a super hero 9 years before “Superman”. So far, the students have been watching, speaking, and writing about film. They are doing an excellent job!
#3: After learning about early animation, the students were introduced to Disney animation. They watched “Mickey’s Circus” ( 1936) and noticed the advances in color, just 3 years after the “Popeye” cartoon. We then watched “El Gaucho Goofy” (1943) and “Saludos Amigos” (1942). These movies were created by the United States government during World War II to strengthen cultural and commercial ties with Latin America.
#4: We reviewed the previous week’s movies and themes. Next, we watched clips from “The Jungle Book” (1967) and “Pete’s Dragon” (1977). Students looked for techniques like animals singing and humans interacting w/a hand drawn character. Also, we discussed Disney’s use of orphans as the protagonists.
#5: Propaganda was the theme of this week’s class. We learned how Disney created a short film, “Victory through Air Power” (1943) which was used by Winston Churchill to urge President Roosevelt to commit the US to a long range bomber program. We also watched a Russian foreign film (complete w/subtitles) called “The Millionaire” (1963) which used propaganda to convince the Russian society about the evils of American capitalism.
#6: Today was the last class for this trimester. Don’t worry, we’ll still have classes until the end of January. The students voted for their favorite clips and we watched Popeye, Betty Boop, Disney propaganda, and a clip from 1916 called “Krazy Kat”. Check out the students’ notes on the next page!
#7: Japanese animation is our new focus for the next two weeks. We watched “Astro Boy” (1963) and “Macross” (1982) while focusing on limited animation techniques. What are they? Ask your child to tell you!
Some techniques of limited animation: 1. Characters are split up into different levels: only portions of a character, such as the mouth or an arm, would be animated on top of a static cell. 2. Sliding a cell or character across a background to suggest movement. 3. Cell reversal (simply using a mirror image of the cell to represent the opposite angle). 4. Panning or zooming in and out of a static cell. 5. Reusing background images.
#8: Our second week of Japanese animation was great! We watched “My Neighbor Totoro”, “The Cat Returns” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” which was created by the famed animation creator, Miyazaki. Totoro is likened to the “Mickey Mouse of Japan” and is my personal favorite.
Thanksgiving Break (no class)
#9: We began European animation this week with two movies: “Stille Nacht” (1988) and “Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers” (1993). Both are from award winning directors and the latter film won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Short Animation. Most of the filming used stop motion animation. Stop motion animation or frame by frame animation is a technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object can be anything from people, pieces of paper, and even food. The object is moved by small amounts between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames are played as a continuous sequence.
#10: Our second week of claymation began with an “old school” movie, “Gumby” (1957) and ended with a more recent movie, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993). We also watched a clip about how stop motion animation is created and the long hours of work it takes to film just one minute of it. Next week, we’ll review Japanese animation, European claymation, and American claymation. Careers in animation will also be explored although many students said they wouldn’t want to do it because of the long hours of work it involves.
#11: After voting, the students chose “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” as the two types of animation they wanted to review. Sadly, this is the last class of 2008. We have only 2 classes remaining for 2009. Happy Holidays!
#12: Careers, Assembly practice, and European animation were the topics we explored this week. We began by reading about the various careers available in animation. The students also viewed websites from different universities to see what courses are offered to undergraduates. Come to the assembly on January 30, 2009 at 11:00 am to see what we’ve studied for the last few months!
#13: Today was our last class. We practiced for the presentation next Friday and studied our final topic, CGI. We watched 3 clips that showed CGI/hand drawing and 100% CGI. I truly enjoyed having this group and hope they will look more critically at animation in the future!
Visual and Performing Arts (grades 5-6) “History of Animation”
Ms. Samantha Lyons (Associate Teacher for 6th grade)
Wednesday (1:20-2:10)
