Analysis of existing Animations (P1, P2, M1, D1)

P1-Explain the different techniques for animation

Cel Animation

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One example of a technique used in animation is cel animation. This is short for  celluloid animation. This is where a celluloid sheet (a transparent sheet) is placed onto the characters and scenery drawn or painted and it is traditionally done by hand.

From this image we can see the background and the painted celluloid sheet that is being placed onto the background. Each sheet will be placed onto the background in order to make movement in the animation occur. This is used in order to create movement for animation such as Loony Tunes. An advantage of cel animation is that it's unique and it often surprises viewers by the way it looks as it's drawn in 2D but moves like it's 3D, meaning the audience will be enticed to watch due to the fact it's different and not like traditional animation and it gives it a unique feature.

Another advantage of cel animation is that it's more cost effective due to the fact you don't need lots of new and advance technology to create it, like Disney or Pixar has. However, a disadvantage of cel animation is that you need to ensure that every drawing on the celluloid looks the same. For example, the colour can't be off as it needs to look identical to the previous one. A way to overcome this is to trace the character first and ensure that you use the same colours and keep track of the ones you have used. An example of celluloid animation is Snow White by Disney; they would have their workers paint onto the celluloid the scene so it would then come to life and be placed onto the background to create the moving image.

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From this image it is showing the painted cel of the characters along with a sketched background to put it into proportion. This technique has advanced over the years as it's mainly done on the computer and colour can easily be added by using the eyedrops tool instead of using paint swatches so this has made cel animation a lot easier.


Line Drawing 

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Another technique used in animation is line drawing this is a hand drawn sketch that moves frame by frame so that the shape evolves and moves. It is most commonly used in contemporary advertising In order to sell their products. Line drawings, today are generally created using adobe illustrator, adobe flash and Lightbox where as before they would be hand drawn. From these images you can see that it's very simple and they will have to draw over the lines in order to gain movement.  Some advantages of Line drawing is that is simple to to due to the fact you don't need to add too much detail to the face as you are using online lines to sign it (as shown in this image). 

An example of line drawing used in animation are in the Tom and Jerry Animation. This was simple yet effective to children as they were easily draw but where created into something children would enjoy that was a cat and a mouse with their relationship of the cat wanting to eat the mouse but the Mose always winning and defeating the cat.

However due to the fact its simple it may be seen as uninteresting to the audience and therefore they may not want to watch as it doesn't give much detail therefore brand awareness and income would decrease as not many people would be watching it and it it was used to promote a product people may feel uninterested in the product due to the fact it wasn't sold to them in a detailed and exciting way. A way to overcome this is that they could add colour to the lines and detailed backgrounds to help entice the audience more. People would have drawn the lines themselves but nowadays due to an advance in technology they can do it on the computer which guarantees straighter and more accurate lines.

P2- Describe the uses for digitised animation in the media 

One genre of animation is for family films/Children's Television, using the claymation technique. This is where an animation makes their characters out of clay and will use stop motion in order to create their movements. An example of this is Wallace and Gromit. This is an animation created by Ardman productions about a man named Wallace and a dog called Gromit and it includes them getting in sticky situations and crazy adventures. They will create many different figures and facial expressions in order to make the movements realistic. This animation type is aimed more towards kids than it is adults as clay and plasticine are all objects you expect children to Olay with and by them seeing it used in an animation they can try and make their own character that looks similar to the ones in the animation. Here are some images from Wallace and Gromit and as we can see they are clearly made out of clay but they way they make it gives them life and animates their features.
Another use of animation is through the media of film. Tim Burton has also used this in his films such as 'Corpse Bride', 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and 'Coraline' which are all popular films created by a well know director. They use the technique of claymation to appeal to the children as well as the adults within the storyline. Here we can see the figures that are being placed onto the background and scenery and they can change his body shape as well as having different faces in order to change his expression. As a part of claymation there is also stop motion and its using characters that aren't necessarily clay being moved by hand and a still image is taken of them and are put together to make it look as if it's moving.
'The Corpse Bride' takes on a victorian, family, fantasy genre and this is established by the setting and the costumes used to dress the figures. It sets the scene for the animation so the audience get a wider sense of understanding on the film and the time period its in.
This is also used in TV programmes such as 'Clangers' and they would communicate through whistling and somehow people knew what they were saying much like 'Pingu' which used the sound effect "NOOT NOOT".

Tv and film studios use stop motion and claymation in order to appeal to young children and get their attentions. This is due to the fact the characters look more child like as they are made out of  something children play with to develop their imagination when they are younger so this is how they reach out and grab their attention.

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Comedy, action and family are other genres established through animation and CGI is popularly used a technique. CGI this stands for Computer Generate Image, which is when digital technology and software is used to generate animated images and graphics. CGI refers to static scenes and moving characters, while computer animation refers only to moving characters/scenes. Some companies that use CGI include Pixar and Disney.
Some examples of CGI animation which illustrate these three genres through the use of film include 'Toy Story 4', 'The Incredibles', 'Inside Out' and 'Finding Dory'. This is so they can create scenery and characters that almost look life like to the audience. This is an advantage as it ensures that the audience are seeing an animation that is in excellent quality and it is important on children fils to look realistic. For example in 'Toy story 4', the CGI characters look life like so for the children it enhances the sense of magic and therefore they will buy Disneys products in order to have toys that will come to life like in the film. However a disadvantage of CGI is that it is expensive and you will need the equipment to do it so if you are a small animation company it may be harder to have all this equipment as its expensive so they will have to go for cheaper alternatives which may not look as realistic towards the audience hence why Disney and Pixar are so popular due to their good quality and therefore will make more money and can get more equipment to use to create better quality animation. The first full length CGI film was Toy story in 1996. Comedy is established in inside out due to the emotions own characteristics for example fear is scared of nearly everything and jumps out of his skin which makes children laugh as well as disgust is nasty and things everything is  bad and has a sassy attitude. This is funny because it shows the emotions characteristics and how they are controlling the girls head. Action is established when joy and sadness go on their adventure to bring Rileys core memories back and they have to run while her subconscious is breaking or they will get lost forever and the girl will never be happy or know who she is.

TV and film studios use CGI because it give the animation more human like features and its better quality. This will attract more people to watch their animations because the better the quality will be and therefore it will get good reviews from the audience meaning the studio will have more brand awareness and become bigger.

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M1 - Assess the suitability of animations for the target audience

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Claymation has been used since 1926 when the first claymation animation came out. it was called Long Live The Bull and it was directed by Joseph Sunn. It was filmed in black and white and it included a little character playing his guitar. I would say this style of animation is targeted towards children and through the years there have been many children animated characters that are iconic. For example there is Wallace and Gromit as well as Sean the sheep. From the way they look we can see that children would be intrigued by the way they look because its a character that isn't created on the computer but is created by hand and therefore they can create it themselves out of clay and look similar to the characters. Wallace and Gromit are also relatable characters with and they use some adult innuendos that will also bring in the adult audience when they are aching with their children to keep them interested in the animation and them to continue watching. However due to the crazy adventures Wallace and Gromit go on that always leads to them being in trouble will entertain the children watching as its humorous.  

Also the fact they look toy like also appeals more to children as its as if their toys are coming to life and due to this it will keep their imaginations alive as if their own toys will come to life. Also due go the fact they will use creative dialogue that fits with the character. For example sheen the sheep makes a "baaaa{ noice however you still some how know what he is saying.  We can also see from Claymation productions such as Pingu it would be more suitable to target this genre of animation towards children because the child like aesthetic would entice them to watch more as they make characters with play dough and clay from a young age to seeing them come to life on screen. Sean the sheep is shown on CBBC which is the children BBC which means everyone with a TV licence is entitled to have it as BBC is a public service broadcaster since then it has Benn adapted into a movie as well. This is also mist suitable for children due to the fact its a cartoon sheep that likes to annoy the farm owner which will be humorous to the children as the farmers dog is always trying to stop then but he is always the one that gets into trouble which will make the children laugh. However there are always relatable scenes for the adults so they enjoy it such as the farmer being woken up from his sleep by the animals being loud which is much like their children waking them up. 

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CGI animation stands for computer generates animation. This is mainly used in animations created by Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks. Big animation studios use CGI as it ensures the animation is good quality and gives the animated characters almost human like features. CGI is expensive and needs a lot of equipment in order to create a clear and detailed animation within the expressions and the features. Smaller animation studios may not be able to afford this equipment so they will have to do other animation techniques. Disney used it to create films such as Toy Story 4 and The original Toy Story was the first ever CGI full animation. Disneys products are mainly aimed at children due to the colourful content and lovable characters such as woody and buzz. Children will see them both as hers of the story and buy their merchandise as they want to be just like them. However to attract the adult target audience that have to go to see the film with their children they will add in innuendos that the adults will understand to keep them entertained throughout the film along with the children enjoying the adventure the characters go on and the brightly coloured scenes.

To summarise the animation studios use different types of animation in order to appeal to the target audience they want. Film and TV studios use claymation in order to appeal to young children hence why its used in programmes such as Pingu and Sean the sheep because they look childish and colourful from the clay they have used. It also looks as if it were made with toys they have used and they could potentially make their own and therefore it entertains them to watch them move. Bigger companies use CGI to create animations such as Disney and Pixar as it looks more professional as its better quality. It is also more suitable for young children as when they are watching they will see the characters look more human like such as the princesses and therefore they seem more real in the children eyes and it will brighten their imagination.



D1-Compare the different styles of animations across global cultures

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Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation film studio based in Tokyo. This studio create anime feature films but have also produced some short films and TV adverts. Due to the success of  Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984 the created by  Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and the producer Toshio Suzuki therefore founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. Six of Studio Ghibli's films are among the 10 highest-grossing anime films made in Japan. The highest grossing film in that list is spirited away created in 2001 which grossed over $360million.

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The Style of animation Studio Ghibli use is anime which is a style of Japanese animation typically aimed at adults as well as children. They use this style in order to attract two very different target audiences and bring them together but using the content and not the script like animation studios like Disney do. This will bring more income into this studio as they are selling both ends of the target audience are buying the film therefore more profit to the studio. They created films such as spirited away, castle in the sky and grave of the fireflies. Majority of their films seem to have the theme about war in them which is their USP due to the fact their is a niche audience who will enjoy animation surrounding a war and therefore they will watch the film and will talk about it with other people who are interested in war and from the uses and gratifications theory Studio Ghibli use these films to help with social interaction.

The characters that are used in animations produced by studio will include some type of animal or supernatural being along with a human. This is shown in spirited away which is one of the more famous animation created by studio Ghibli when they have the main character who is a human and is moving away to a new town when they take a short cut and end up at an abandoned amusement park. The main character is warned by haku to be ensure she is back across the river before sunset and when she sat her parents have morphed into pigs. She finds herself in the spirit world working and is discriminated by her colleagues as she is not a spirit. She befriends a spirit called no-face and he tips her at work extensively. After this she sees a ghost attacking the water dragon who is intact haku and they help him reign consciousness and from this The main character then identifies her parents out of a small group of pigs and changes them back but they don't remember,ber anything and they return back to their car.  From the plot we can see it also has aspects of supernatural in the film which may bring in a bigger audience as they are using a mixture of genres that would appeal to a wider audience. such as spirited away which was an anime with aspects of supernatural as well as a slight aspect of thriller. Spirited away won many awards such as the Tokyo anime award and the Hong Kong film awards.

The environments that Studio Ghiblis use in their film mail include a Japanese city such as Tokyo. For example in spirited away we can see the style of the buildings are similar to the ones in Japan. This creates a realistic setting in the anime which may intrigue more people into watching and seeming more realistic. 

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However another animation studio is Pixar which is an American animation company which began in 1979 under the lucasfilm franchise but was called graphics group. It then become a spin off company which was helped funded by Steve jobs and they created their first animation in 1995 which was Toy story. Toy story was the first full length animation that used CGI to create the characters. Since 1995 Pixar have produced 21 feature films and their latest one was Toy story 4 and they continued with the use of CGI to give the toys almost human like features. Each film average gross at around $680 million per film. in 2004 dissent bought Pixar and therefore they are part of the Walt Disney conglomerate.

The style of animation used in Pixar is mainly CGI which stands for computer generated image. This is done on expansive software on the computer. Due to the fact Pixar have the money they gain from the film they can easily access this equipment to make their animations look professional and clear so the audience can enjoy it more. 

The characters used in Pixar films are more child friendly. For example they have a wide range of characters such as Woody and Buzz which are toys, mike and sully who are monsters however they look more friendly than scary. And the incredible family who have super powers but aren't scary. This will entice children to watch as the characters are colourful and could relate to them on some sort of level. Characters from Pixar also have catch phrases such as "just keep swimming" from Dorey in finding nemo. The Fact Disney use Synergy to sell their products will also attract target audience because by selling Toys of the characters such as an action Figure of buzz lightyear  or a soft toy of Dorey. This is so they can have their own character they can go on adventures in their animations with this toy. This will raise the brand awareness for Pixars films and therefore children will keep watching them along with their parents and therefore they will get more income from people buying the film and tickets to see the film. Also From the images bellow the facial expressions are cute and will entice children to watch due to the fact children are interested in cute beings such as dogs so by having characters that are sweet will make them want to watch the film more along with the adults who will find it sweet and therefore be the secondary audience and watch with their children and understand the adult humour that Pixar put in their to make it enjoyable for the adults.

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Themes that Pixar have used in their films include laughter is stronger than fear. This was used in Monsters inc as a way to explain to children that there's no need to fear life or the monsters that come from it laugh from your mistakes and keep moving forward. This is shown when the monsters realise that the power from their city being run by laughter is stringer than the screams. Another theme Pixar is family makes us stronger. This is shown in The Incredibles when the incredible family work together to save the city and this will Texas children that they should always stick by their family through thick and thin. Many of Pixar themes tend to include the theme of either family, believing in yourself or friendship. Pixar do this so chidden develop a wide imagination from a young age and remember societal norms such as respecting your family and learning how to make friends through school and dealing with your feelings like in the film inside out and how you can seek help if you are sad. Its important children understand the message Pixar gives out in their film to make them become better people and learn from their mistakes.

Pixar use many different environments when creating they're animations. For example it could be under the sea in Finding Nemo, Or in a city like in The Incredibles, in a monster world or a neighbourhood like in Toy story. This is so the magic is not limited to one place and your imagination can stretch to anywhere and everywhere in the world and shouldn't be limited to one place.

In conclusion the differences in the studios is mainly the target audience. Studio Ghibli tend to aim their animation at mainly adults but will have a secondary target audience of children due to the theme being more complex. where as Pixar main target audience is children and the secondary target audience is adults who have to watch it with their children. The themes are more f family orientated and about believing in yourself where as studio Ghibli focus on super natural war themes.