Special Topics in Film : Animation--Reports

As a requirement of this course, students must research an animation-related subject and present an oral report on their research. Students should aim for an approximately 20-minute presentation, accompanied by some form of visual support and a 1-2 page handout, either summarizing the presentation or offering further information (e.g., a time line, a list of pertinent/related events, brief descriptions of related figures/artists, an annotated list of major works by a figure, etc., BUT NOT simply screen captures of the presentation). Presenters will work in teams of 2 (3 if necessary) on the projects, dividing the responsibilities as the team sees fit. Every member of the team, though, should be prepared to answer questions raised by the presentation. The report will count for twenty percent of the term grade. The presentations will be on the dates specified below. Available topics and due dates follow:

• Sept. 3 1. Cartoons and Their Place in Film Exhibition
• Sept. 5 2. Cartoons and Sound Technology
• Sept. 10 3. Cartoons and Color Technology
• Sept. 17 4. A History of the Rotoscope and Rotograph
• Sept. 24 5. The Fleischer Feature Films
• Sept. 29 6. MGM Animation
• Oct. 1 7. Warner Bros.' Cast of Cartoon Stars: 1930s-1950s
• Oct. 8 8. Tex Avery as Star Animator (Warner Bros., MGM)
• Oct. 15 9. Donald Duck as Cross-Media Star
• Oct. 22 10. Restricted Animation/The UPA Style (e.g., Mister Magoo)
• Oct. 29 11. Survey of Contemporary Hybrid Animation
• Nov. 5 12. The Manga Influence on Japanese Anime
• Nov. 12 13. The Computer's Use in Film: A Brief History
• Nov. 19 14. A History of Motion Capture
• Nov. 26 15. Non-Narrative/Non-Representational Animation

Note: A few useful starting points for researching many of these subjects are:

Barrier, Michael. Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. Oxford: Oxford UP,1999.

Crafton, Donald. Before Mickey: The Animated Film 1898-1928. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1982.

Kanfer, Stefan. Serious Business: The Art and Commerce of Animation in America. New York: Da Capo, 2000.

Neale, Steve. Cinema and Technology: Image, Sound, Colour. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1985.

Peary, Gerald, and Danny Peary, eds. The American Animated Cartoon: A Critical Anthology. New York: Dutton, 1980.

Pierson, Michele. Special Effects: Still in Search of Wonder. New York: Columbia UP, 2002.

Sandler, Kevin S. Reading the Rabbit: Explorations in Warner Bros. Animation. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1998.

Smoodin, Eric. Animating Culture: Hollywood Cartoons from the Sound Era. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1993.

Watts, Steven. The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life. Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1997.