History of the field

Animated films have existed since the early 29th century, but over the years they have evolved in scale and scope. Various improvements in animation technology have allowed for the extension of creativity through this outlet. The design of animated films revolves around an expression of concepts and emotions through exaggerated means that can’t be found in our natural world. Due to the more stylized nature of animation the lengths to which animators can express emotions through characters is greatly increased and draws a lot of attention to visual elements in the film.

Research Process

My project being a combination of both live action and animated elements will seek to make use of the creative freedoms found in animation to tell a compelling narrative about people’s differing perspectives. To aid my production of this project I will be conducting various instances of research into the nuances of animation and its affect on the audience as well as the various tools that are available to create compelling animated pieces.

I will begin my research by investigating various noteworthy animation techniques that are used to convey subconscious or conscious messages within a short time frame. Many short films currently exist of varying length and a challenge of these films is too appropriately convey a message in a short period of time. This means that both the message and animation have to be short and to the point. Given the amount of time that is allotted to do this project I would greatly benefit from information pertaining to creating short yet compelling narratives.

The other area of research that I plan to pursue is what technical abilities do I need to have for this project that I might not already have, or what ways are there to improve my current process for going about this project. At the moment my animation style is primarily 3D, however, I would like to try my hand at other animation forms if possible. If there is a way to simplify my 3D animation to allow myself more time to focus on other methods of animation, or a way to more easily produce the content that I am looking for in other areas then this would also be extremely helpful. At the moment there are a variety of steps that have to happen for my project to be successful, and it would also be in my area of research to discover which elements are best done now as to avoid creating too much work for myself later.

The differing areas of research that I have planned out are to help me optimize my time most effectively. I have a solid idea of what I want my project to be, and now it is merely a matter of ensuring that I can be successful at achieving the goal that I have set for myself.