Tuesday, January 19, 2016




When: Thursdays from 5:00 pm - 7:50pm 
Who: Professor Jay McRoy 
Office Hours: W 3:30pm - 4:45pm in CART 228 
Email: mcroy@uwp.edu 
Web Page:  www.jaymcroy.com

___________________________________________________________________________


Course Description:  This course surveys the history of animation. Though no course could ever allow for an exhaustive overview of so expansive a topic, we will explore some of the art form's major technological, narratological, and aesthetic shifts and continuities.  

Required Texts: Online & via hand-outs distributed in class 

Required Work and Assignments:

  • Preparation and Attendance (10%).  You must be here for every class meeting with the day's reading completed. Since weekly quizzes and take-home exams will test information presented in lectures, as well as in the texts on the syllabus, missing class will negatively impact your grades on these assignments.  
  • 3 Critical Microthemes/Brief Essays (approx. 500 - 700 words [or about 2-3 pages max] - 30% each). A successful microtheme presents an argument about an assigned topic or question as clearly, precisely, and concisely as possible. Do not worry about elaborate introductions or conclusions. Successful microthemes resemble detailed abstracts or, perhaps even more accurately, outlines created in sentence and paragraph form with transition statements linking the main and supporting points of your argument. You are encouraged to seek at least one or two outside sources for this project (no wikipedia or fan sites, etc.).

     Although microthemes are very short, it will be impossible to write one effectively in a single draft. Trust me on this one; do not take this warning as a "challenge accepted" moment. Given the rigid word limit, narrowing your microtheme to between 500-700 words will prove very challenging. Indeed, given the rigid word limit, narrowing your microtheme to between 500-700 words will prove very challenging.

     NB - If you are new to writing critically about cinema or simply want to further refine your skills, I can think of few better texts than Timothy Corrigan's A Short Guide to Writing about Film; this work is a fantastic resource and is readily available used on-line. For a nice excerpt, click here. 


  Rules and Regulations:
  • Come to Class
  • Turn your work in on time.  
  • Respect your fellow student.  This class is a space where everyone’s ideas must circulate freely. There will be no censorship of any kind in this class.  If you agree or disagree with something someone says, please wait until she or he has finished speaking before voicing your opinion in a respectful manner. Do not hit or bite each other. 
  • Although the films we will view in and for this class vary greatly in aesthetic approach, they each engage with everyday human experiences both hideous and beautiful.
 _________________________________________________________________________________

 ***PLAGIARISM WARNING***

There is nothing wrong with using the words and thoughts of others as long as you acknowledge your debt.  In fact, you can frequently strengthen your writing by doing so. However, if you represent the words or ideas of others as if they were your own, then you are plagiarizing. Plagiarism includes:  

1) Paraphrasing or copying (without the use of quotation marks) someone else's words without acknowledgment.

2) Using someone else's facts or ideas without acknowledgment.

3) Handing in work for one course that you handed in for credit in another course    without the permission of both instructors.


When you use published words, data, or thoughts, you should note their use. We will use MLA Guidelines throughout this course. When you use the ideas of friends or classmates, you should thank them in an endnote (e.g. "I am grateful to my friend so and so for the argument in the third paragraph").  If friends give you reactions but not suggestions, you need not acknowledge that help in print (though it is gracious to do so). Collaboration and using the work of others is the backbone of academia. Plagiarism and academic dishonesty destroys the possibility of working together as colleagues. Therefore, all instances of plagiarism in this class will be addressed with the utmost severity.  If you have any questions as to whether something you have written for this class constitutes plagiarism, please see me before handing it in for credit.
___________________________________________________________________________


WEEK-BY-WEEK BREAKDOWN:

2/4: Introduction/Overview
2/11: Early Animated Films & Other Visual Experiments 
2/18: Global Animation I
2/25: Early Disney 
Read: "Walt Disney: Producer, Entrepreneur" 
3/3: Global Animation II
Read: "Jan Svankmajer: The Surrealist Conspirator" by Wendy Jackson
Microtheme #1 Due 

Select one of the following prompts:

1) Choose one of the animated works we have examined this semester and discuss it in regards to "orthodox" and "experimental" animation practices. Site specific elements from the animated work to illustrate your point(s). Recall that "orthodox" animation practices frequently include traditional modes of figuration and are edited with "specific continuity" in mind. They generally conform to recognizable narrative modes,  with a pronounced focus on narrative content. "Orthodox" animation practices also demonstrate a unity of style, seek to lessen our awareness of the artist's presence, and are frequently driven by expository dialogue/figural exchanges.  Experimental films, on the other hand, usually include "abstract" visuals, are edited unconventionally ("non-continuity"), and are formally innovative. These films may focus on animation's materiality," sometimes even foregrounding the artist as a creative presence, and they tend to be dynamic in an almost musical way.

2) The British animators John Halas and Joy Batchelor have written that: "If it is the live action film's job to present physical reality, then animated films are concerned with metaphysical reality -- not how things look, but what they mean." Discuss this quote in relation to one of the animated works we have viewed this semester. Site specific elements from the animated work to illustrate your point(s).
  
3/10: Watership Down (Rosen, 1978)
Read: "Take Me with You, Stream, on Your Dark Journey" by Gerard Jones
3/17: American Pop (Bakshi, 1981)
Read: "Ralph Bakshi: Interview" & "Interview: Ralph Bakshi and the Animation Industry, Then and Now"
3/31: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Zemeckis, 1988)
4/7: Ghost in the Shell (Oshii, 1988)
Read: "Ghost in the Shell: Film Analysis"
Microtheme #2 Due
4/14: Paprika (Kon, 2006)
Read: "Satoshi Kon: Editing Space & Time"
4/21: The Iron Giant (Bird, 1999)
Read: "Rethinking The Iron Giant: Cold War Anti-Gun Fun...for Kids"by Jonathan Kim
4/28: Mary and Max (Elliot, 2009)
5/5: World of Tomorrow and It's Such a Beautiful Day (Hertzfeldt 2007 & 2012)
Microtheme #3 Due in my office (CART/RITA 228) by 5:00 pm - 5/12






BACK 




Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)