Animation Context Essay Development #1

In 'Animation Context', we have been set our brief, which is to write a 1500 word essay on any topic regarding animation, and then present it in the form of a magazine article. At first, I thought that I would continue and expand on the work that I started earlier in this module when I decided to look into 'storyboarding', as I enjoyed researching about an essential part of the process of animation, and thought I'd be able to delve deeper into how they originated and what makes the best storyboard. 

However, it was not long before I scrapped this idea for the following reasons; due to the fact that I am writing an essay, I would find it hard to talk about a process which is primarily reliant on visuals, in a written format, as a topic such as this would benefit greatly from some visual references. I realise that I could include images in the magazine design, but I don't want the essay to only make sense in that format, as it would mean having to plan the design before writing the essay itself. I am slightly disappointed I wasn't able to continue my research that I started much earlier in the module, especially considering that I am working with storyboards with other current projects, but I feel this gives me an opportunity to research into a much more obscure topic of animation. Myself and a lot of the intended audience for this article will already have a basic understanding of 'storyboarding', therefore I think it would be more interesting for myself and my audience to delve into a new topic which I have never heard of before. 

Previously in this module, we were shown a video about how Stephen Spielberg portrayed the terror of war through in his film ‘Saving Private Ryan’, and that lead me onto a video which sparked my own interest, which was regarding how my favorite director 'Edgar Wright' uses visual comedy in his work (shown below). Because of this video, I have been fascinated with this style of comedy, and had caused me to seek out movies which utilise this, such as 'Scott Pilgrim V.S The World'. Due to my current fascination with this topic, and growing inspiration to create similar work, I found it to be an ideal idea to cover it in my animation context essay. I decided to call the title of this essay, 'Visual comedy in Film and animation, regarding director Edgar Wright, 2017'. During the essay, I planned to cover such topics as why Edgar's work is so effective, the specific techniques used, audience reception, similar examples, and how these techniques could potentially be applied to animation.

Poster for 'Shaun of the Dead', my favorite piece of work from Edgar Wright

However, this was where I considered the limitations that would erupt whilst writing this essay would erupt. I would say a large limitation in this work is the lack of modern comedy films and animations which I have consumed, due to my preference of older comedies, therefore it may be difficult to compare these techniques from how recent comedies are animated. Another issue is that comedy is extremely subjective, therefore it may be hard to express something that I think conveys humour well with others who do not share the same view. There was also a lack of source material outside of the internet, as most books I found after looking on Amazon and the library either were regarding visual comedy in terms of slapstick and performance, not through editing, or talk about the psychology behind comedy. The only decent book I found was a book called 'comedy for animators', which may have helped me when it came to discussing how these techniques could be applied to animation, but even then its relevant to the style of comedy Edgar Wright communicates. There was also the issue which I ran into when talking about my original 'storyboarding' idea, which is that I am again talking about a topic that is highly visual, therefore would be hard to talk about what I mean in an essay.

I was gutted I had to abandon this idea, as I was really passionate about this topic. This got me thinking about what else I am passionate about in regards to animation, and at the time the 20th season of South Park was coming to a close, and being a huge fan of that show for years, I was severely disappointed with this newest season. I didn't want the essay to just be a review regarding the downfall of one of my most beloved shows though, because some people liked this newest season. I instead decided to look into the reason why I didn't like this new season, which was the format that it adopted, after some very basic research, I found out that the newest South Park season has been made into what is known as a 'serialised' show, meaning that story-lines are spread across a whole season or more of a television show, as appose to having a self contained story within a singular episode. I think this ruined this latest series for me, as instead of providing weekly satire about current events, South Park opted to focus on one singular story which never held much interest for me.

Banner for the 20th Season of South Park

Instead of focusing on South Park, although I will definitely address it within the essay as it's the driving force behind the essay, I want to instead discuss serialisation as a whole, and why it has become so much more popular in recent years' TV shows. So during my essay, I plan to cover such topics as; the origins of serialised shows, technology's impact on these shows, how audiences react and if these trends are also going to be adopted by more animated shows. I am very pleased with what I have selected as my topic, as I have a strong argument behind the piece, it relates to animation and its a topic obsure enough that I think it would garner attention. 

One thing I will have to be aware of whilst creating this essay however, is not to let my own views and opinions on the subject matter become so evident when writing, as in an essay I have learnt that you have to talk subjectively, and only really express your feelings in the conclusion towards the end, everything else has to be backed up by sources or talking about the topic generally. It may be difficult to find sources which entirely back up my points, but I feel there will be enough content out there from books and the internet to satisfy me. After settling on this idea, I wrote my statement of intent - 

Civilisations Impact on Serialisation in Film and Animation, 2017

I have decided to choose this topic, as I am fascinated by the way in which many modern television shows are shifting their format into a more serialised manor. I am aware that serialised shows are shows which follow main story arcs which span throughout television series, such as with the format of most soap operas. However, I want to investigate why television shows are deciding to go down this route and how audiences respond to this. My curiosity was first aroused by this topic after following the recent seasons of ‘South Park’, as they were once an animated show which followed a single-story path per episode such as what is seen within ‘The Simpsons’, however they have shifted to this new popular serialised style.

Works of others which may assist my research include – South Park (TV Series), The Simpsons (TV Series), Coronation Street (TV Soup Drama), Adventure Time (TV series), Inside Number 9 (TV Series), The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial), A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873 Novel), Serializing Age Aging & Old Age in TV Series (Book), Serialization in Popular Culture (Book)

I would say that my main limitation in this work is the lack of modern live action television which I have consumed, due to my preference of older shows, therefore it may be difficult to compare this format from how recent shows are shot and broadcast, however I feel as though I could still gain a wide enough understanding through research. Another limitation that could affect my research is that many of the modern TV shows that are only recently adopting this style (such as South Park) are still in an experimental phase, so it may be difficult to gather reliable information on how this has effected rating and audience reception, which is why I feel as though I will have to rely on older sources in the forms of books and novels to gain a better understanding.

In order to get this piece completed by the deadline, I will have to gather all of my major resources within the next couple of weeks, allowing me to get all the information and notes required, and make a mock up before the Easter holiday. This will allow me to write the final piece over the holidays and present it in the required format when we arrive back.