Hello everyone! Welcome to Understanding Animation History and Theory.
Please introduce yourself. What year are you in your program? What is your major, or field of study? Why are you taking this course? How do you define animation? What is your favorite animated film/TV show? What was the last animated film/tv show that you watched?
Feel free to comment on the posts of others.
I’m a senior majoring in cinema at SIUC. My main interests are in screenwriting, directing, and cinematography. I’m taking this course because I grew up watching “The Three Caballeros” (which is one of my favorite animated films– along with “Fantasia”) and the “Popeye” and “Betty Boop” cartoons and I’ve always been fascinated by well-designed animation. I define animation as artwork that moves.
The last animated movie I watched was an obscure B-movie on a 50-movie DVD pack called “Alice in Wonderland in Paris”.
I love the Three Caballeros! Who made the Alice film?
I am a third year cinema student here at SIUC. My main interests began with participating behind the camera and being a part of a film crew. I have grown my appreciation for post production during my college carrier and I am taking steps to further my education in that vein. I am taking this course to further my knowledge of post production and the beauty of animation. I can define animation as the intent to create a moving picture that does not have to adhere to the typical laws of cinema, or physics for that matter. Animation allows the creator a large widow of creativity and exploration. My favorite animated film from my childhood is hands down Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki. The latest animated feature film that I’ve seen was Inside Out.
I have a hard time picking a favorite Miyazaki film.
Hi! My name is Laura Tate, and I’m a freshman majoring in cinema. I grew up watching animated films and TV shows, and working with animation is something I’ve been interested in for a long time. I would love to have the opportunity to direct an animated film or work on an animated TV show. 🙂 In taking this class, I want to learn more about animation as well as try out some animation techniques myself, especially stop motion. My focus is on being a film director, but I’m also interested in screenwriting and cinematography. Right now I’m watching a lot of Batman: The Animated Series, and the last animated film I saw was Persepolis.
Laura, how do you define animation?
Oops, sorry! 🙂 I would define animation as creating the illusion of movement through a medium, such as photography. That’s the definition I tend to think of, although it would include things like “traditional” film and flip books, which is interesting to think about!
I am a sophomore here at SIU, majoring in Cinema. I have always loved animated films, short, full length, whatever. I decided to take this class because not only does it seem like a topic that is interesting to me, I am also an animation minor, so I felt that it would be helpful. I would love to work with 3D animation someday, but I also enjoy post production in general. I believe animation to be an image created using art that moves within the frame to create a film. The last animated film I watched was Ratatouille, but my favorite is probably the Lion King or Tangled.
I loved Ratatouille.
Hello, My name Jeremy Thurlby and I am a 2nd year grad student within the sculpture program. My current research is based upon automata and kinetic works. My reasoning of taking this course is two fold, one to fulfill an art history requirement but also to gain more knowledge of animation and possible ways to tie it into my current work. I believe a simplistic definition of animation is movement of an object, I say object verse pictures because of the incorporation of early mechanical toys and automata. Since I feel muppets can be tied into animation, I would say my favorite animated TV show would have to Fraggle Rock. The last animated film I saw was Inside Out.
Fraggle Rock was an excellent show.
I am Charlie Scott.
I am a First Year grad in the sculpture program.
I am taking this course to fill a requirement, but I chose this over others because I am sure it will be good.
I define animation as sequential imagery that provides the illusion of movement.
My favorite animated Film/TV show is Neon Genesis Evangelion.
On New Years Eve I watched Rudolph’s Shiny New Year.
Every year I look forward to having a Rankin and Bass marathon.
I am Casey Hilliard, a Junior in Cinema and Photography. I hope to learn more about the study of animation. Animation includes separate images creating the perception of motion. I enjoyed Dragon Ball, growing up, and have continued watching the show recently.
I haven’t delved too deeply into Dragon Ball yet but it is on my list.
my name is Nik Price
I am A first Year Graduate in the Art Department with a focus in printmaking
I am interested in learning about different types of animation Ranging from digital based to puppetry, and hand drawn animation.
Defining animation is hard but i would consider it as taking a static image, object, or idea, and giving it life and movement.
one of my favorite animations is by William Kentridge. it’s calledAutomatic Writing
And i think the last animated film i watched was the Box Trolls
I will have to check out the Kentridge piece
I’m Becca Gerdes and I’m a junior majoring in film with a minor in marketing. I’m taking this class so that i can be well rounded in my cinema knowledge. I’m someone who believes that good art draws from lots of different influences, and so I want to know about all genres of cinema. I define animation as a moving drawing or picture. My favorite animated TV show is Spongebob. Even though it’s a kids show I still think it’s funny and clever. The last animated thing I watched was Regular Show, another favorite of mine.
Ahhh Spongebob!
Hello all My name is Jon Booker. I am actually an Art Major in my third year hear at SIU. My major is Drawing and will have a minor in art history and hopefully one in Animation!! I have always loved animation. Though I like the newer animated movies with computer animation, I prefer and there is always a special place in my heart for hand drawn animation. I would describe animation as a gateway art. It is through animation that many younger kids are introduced to the arts and I feel like it is crucial that we keep animation and it’s history alive. I would say my favorite animated film is Lion King, but also love all of Miyazaki’s work. The last show I watched in animation was Avatar: The Last Airbender and the last film was actually Pokemon The first movie lol.
I love hand drawn animation as well, but have a soft spot in my heart for puppet animation
Hi Everyone,
My name is Tom Kendall. I am a cinema student in my final semester. I’m interested in film theory & studies, narrative film production, commercial advertising production, timelapse photography, photography and film criticism.
I enjoy the practice of animation, since it can make narrative experiences possible that would not be possible if shot practically. I adore and draw inspiration from the works of filmmakers, Ralph Bakshi, Hayao Miyazaki, Satoshi Kon and Walt Disney.
My favorite animated films are Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Miyazaki, 1984), Mind Game (Morimoto &Yuasa, 2004) Perfect Blue (Kon, 1997) and American Pop (Bakshi, 1981).
My favorite animated television shows are Rick and Morty, Futurama and South Park. I just recently re-watched Wall-e over the holidays.
Nice to meet you all.
Tom Kendall
tomkendallfilm.com
Impressive list of influences!
My name is Joey Burrow. I am junior studying cinema and photography with a minor in animation. Since about the age of 8 or 9, I have wanted to be an animator. When I was younger, I would sit at my mom’s old Gateway XP computer and use the Microsoft (super basic) paint program and create all kinds of different characters. I would give them names and make up stories about them. I am sure that movies like “Toy Story” and “Bugs Life” inspired me. In my spare time, I spend hours online researching different programs, learning how the programs work and how they are used. I am also an avid movie goer. Sometimes seeing more than one movie in a day. I especially like animated movies. It is absolutely amazing how far these animated movies have come. Even looking back at the most earliest “Toy Story” clips, the characters have become so much more realistic since that early animated baby. The latest animated movie i watched was The Good Dinosaur. I define animation as a form of visual media where anything imaginable is possible.
I have yet to see The Good Dinosaur
I’m Danny Vincent, and I’m a sophomore majoring in Cinema and Photography with a minor in theater. I’m taking this course because animation is what got me into my love of cinema, and I’ve always been interested in it as an art form. Animation is a medium where a variety of stories can be told, with the unique aspect of being limited only by imagination; if you can envision it, it can appear in animation.
My favorite animated series is Avatar: The Last Airbender, I’ve seen it approximately twelve times all the way through. A close second would go to BoJack Horseman, easily Netflix’s best show in both live action and animation. I feel like I have to give a top five animated movies because it’s hard to pick one… let’s go with The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, The LEGO Movie, The Lion King, and a Toy Story movie (my favorite switches weekly). The last animated film I saw was The Peanuts Movie, which was fairly charming.
The Iron Giant is one of my favorites as well
I am Mike Maxwell, a second year graduate student in the MCMA Master of Fine Arts program. I focus primarily on audio arts and engineering. My initial reason for taking this is that it fills the 552 studies course requirement for my degree. With that being said, animation is the one of the topics available that most interests me. Animation could be defined by the process of creating motion from still images in series. I would like to suggest that animation in audio could refer to the movement or transformation of a sound through time. Much like the envelope on a synthesizer.
For my favorite animated work, I’m going to say Futurama. With Perfect Hair Forever coming up as a close second. King of the Hill is also way up there, but it is not currently on Netflix, where I consume most of my animated products. The last animated piece I watched, or perhaps am watching, is Sword Art Online. Though, frankly, I have taken in quite a bit of animation over winter break thanks to Netflix.
Mike we will be seeing some great films that explore the connection between sound and image
Hello,
I’m Ashley O’Brien. I am a 3rd year graphic design major and animation minor. I transferred to SIU from WIU. I was a music major at WIU, but I found out after 3 1/2 years that music was not my passion but art of any kind was. So I combined my love for computers and art into graphic design and animation. I fell in love with animation long ago as a child but I always thought that because I didn’t do any type of art in school I would never be able to become an animator.
Its hard for me to pick a favorite animated movie. I love any type of animation really. I enjoy 3D animation but I also still love 2D.
I really wanted to take this class because I want to learn more about how animation came around.
In one of my art history classes I actually wrote a research paper on how you can trace simple animation back to times when cave men were around. They would get flat stones and carve something on one side and another image on the other and spin it to make whatever they drew look like it was moving. I found it fascinating.
We will be discussing the connection between cave painting and animation in class on Monday 😉
My name is Alejandra, but I go by Alex. I’m a junior majoring in cinematography and minoring in animation. I’m taking this course to learn more on animation and to see my options in the field.
I believe animation is more than cartoons, it can also be used as visual effects.
However, I did grow up on a lot of Japanese animation, so my love for drawing grew from that. My favorite animated show is South Park and Archer. I have a wide range of favorite animated films from Miyazaki’s to Disney and Pixar.
The latest animated films I’ve seen was The Book of Life and The Lego Movie, courtesy of HBOGO.
Hello,
I’m a junior film major, mostly interested in screenwriting and possibly directing and editing with hopefully a minor in animation. I’m taking this course because I believe there are many things possible in animation that simply cannot be done with film. Animation is tricking the eye into seeing this rapid movement of many pictures as a single, cohesive piece, much like film. It’s hard to pick what my favorite animated film/tv show is, but Rick and Morty keeps me entertained for hours on end. The last animation I watched was some Family Guy last night, a show admittedly past its prime but certainly still worth a few laughs. While I can dig a lot of these kids movies that people love, I’m interested in the more R-rated, aggressive, violent, cerebral side of animation. An example would be the music video for French musician Dye, titled “Fantasy”. Watch it if you dare!
https://vimeo.com/30798517
Hey there! My name is Tara, and I am a sophomore RTD student with a specialization in animation. I am also minoring in Japanese, and since the game design minor can’t actually form I’m just trying to take classes related to it in any way possible. I am taking this course because if I plan to go into animation I feel like I better know the roots of it and should be aware of where it all started. I guess in the most general sense that animation is movement – usually vibrant and with purpose. Because on the one hand you can have a person you would describe as “animated”, and on the other you can “reanimate the dead”, and on yet another hand (yes, /three hands/, imagine) you can create or watch an “animation”.
Oh no, it is so difficult to pick my favorite… I’ll end up saying one thing and then five minutes later remember eight other things. I’m going to say that for this very moment specifically my favorite animated TV show is Avatar the Last Airbender and that my favorite animated film is Spirited Away… but it also could be Howl’s Moving Castle.
The last animated film that I watched was Aladdin… I think. Before I came back to school I had a marathon of many animated movies with my nieces so I can’t be sure which one was last. The last animated show I watched was… My Little Pony? Again, I’m not sure. I watch some shows on my own and then accidentally watch several others with my nieces and nephew.
Hey,
I’m Caitlin Shannon. I’m a senior studying Cinema. Specifically, I focus on Production Design. I took this class because I have a strong interest in art and a strong interest in miniature set building for stop motion animation. I would define animation as, forms of art that give the illusion of motion when viewed in a sequence. My favorite animated movie is Wes Anderson’s, Fantastic Mr. Fox. The last animation I watched on TV was South Park.
Hello,
I’m Katherine Lance and I’m a sophomore majoring in cinema and photography, focusing in cinema. I’m taking this course because I find animation extremely interesting and I’d love to learn more about it. My favorite animated film would be A Scanner Darkly and the last animated film I watched was Spirited Away which is a close second for my favorite animated film.
Hello!
I’m Anna Petrelli, a junior majoring in Cinema and Photography. I’m focused on cinema and I’m especially interested in production design and stop motion animation. I’m taking this course because I really don’t know much about animation, but I’m interested and would like to learn more about it. I’d define animation as the process of creating motion through a sequence of still images. My favorite animated film is The Snowman and the last animated tv show I watched was The Simpsons.
Hi there,
I’m Tiffany. This is my first year here at SIU as a transfer student. I am a sophomore majoring in cinema and minoring in political science. I am taking this course to further my knowledge and interest in the world of animation.
When I think of animation, I think of all the different worlds I’ve been introduced to beyond the real life/motion picture world. I guess I would say I define it as a visual escape from reality that leaves me with the same or sometimes an even better feeling of satisfaction as watching a normal tv or film.
My favorite animated movie is Peter Pan. My favorite animated show is Bojack Horseman.
The last animated show I watched is F is for Family.
Hello,
My name is Dionte Bolling. I’m a senior in RTD at SIUC. I’m majoring in Animation, but I’m more interested in 3D Animation. I’m taking this course to learn more about the History of Animation, because I don’t know too much about Animation. Animation is the movement illustrations that are either characters or objects that can tell a story. My favorite animated tv show is Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD. The last animated film I watched was a movie called Batman: Bad Blood.
Hi, I’m Fiona. I’m a first year Art History Grad student at SIU, I did my undergrad at EIU in jewelry and metalsmithing. I’m taking this class because it sounded interesting and I’ve never taken any kind of film/cinema history class before. My definition of animation is basically any kind of moving image that isn’t live action.I’m not certain I can really think of a favorite animated film/TV show, but I like a lot of different kinds of anime and almost anything with superheros. I think the last fully animated film I watched was Treasure Planet, but if we’re counting movies with lots of special effects, then probably Star Wars, the Force Awakens.
Hello,
My name is Addison de Lisle, and I am a first year grad student in the Blacksmithing department. I am taking this course to fulfill my art history requirements but I’m sure I’ll have fun along the way! My definition of animation, having never thought too critically about it before, would be the illusion of motion. My favorite animated film is probably Howl’s Moving Castle. Last year I attended an exhibition of Miyazaki’s work in Paris, which included many original cells and hand-painted backdrops and it was very interesting how much physical motion of the camera is involved in making his animations. The last animated show I watched was probably Archer, but I can’t recall.
See you all on Wednesday!
Hello, My name is Su-yeon Kim, and I am a third year grad student in glass program at School of Art and Design. This is my last semester, and my thesis show is coming up late April. I am interested in moving images and creating work can visually communicate with the viewer, and for this I decided to take this class. My definition of animation, would be moving images that have narrative,and it consist of fragments that edited by human hands. My favorite animated film the works of Hayao Miyazaki, especially Princess Mononoke and Spirited away, and I also like Tim Burton’s animations such as The Nightmare before Christmas and Frankenweenie. The last animated film/tv show I saw recently was animated TV show Futurama.
Hello, My name is Dennis and I am a first year grad student in Mass Communication studying new media. I received my bachelors in Radio Television animation and minor in art. I enrolled in the course to get enlightened in a greater background of animation than I already know. I definition animation using certain styles objects and art to make illusion or some form of motion. My favorite animated show will have to be between Dragonball Z or Full Metal Alchemist. Last animated program I watched was 8 crazy nights.
My name is Kymberli and I’m a transfer student working towards my Bachelors in Cinematography. I already have a minor in art, as well as an Associate in Art, and I enrolled in this class because it sounds really fun, and I believe it will give me greater insight into film and photography. I define animation in different ways; there’s 2D, 3D, stop motion, traditional. As long as images tells something, whether a story or tidbits of information, I believe it it can be considered animation, regardless of its flexibility in the sense that it can or can’t physically move. I’m picky when it comes to animations; it has to have a good plot, or be visually appealing to me, that being said, I mostly watch Japanese anime, but I do like Dreamwork films. The last animated show/film I watched was an anime called Uta no Prince-sama.
My name is Kenneth. I am a senior at SIU and am majoring in Creative Writing and Cinema Photography. I may or may not decide to get a minor in animation, it depends on how I feel at the end of the semester. I am a novelist with one published work on Amazon.com entitled, “Love From out of this World.” I look forward to deepening my understanding of animation and hope I don’t get addicted to it like I did Photoshop (though I probably will) but if I do, it will be a good addiction.
My name is Trevor and I’m a freshman majoring in Cinema at SIUC. I had just switched my minor from theater to animation. I’m taking this course to familiar myself more with animation, and get more experienced in the field.
I define animation as telling a story in a way that can be drawn, or presented in a way that doesn’t show actual live action at all. My favorite animated TV show would have to be Rick and Morty because it’s just so hilarious. And the last animated movie I saw was Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson’s Anomalisa; it was absolutely amazing and I think I’d name it one of my favorites from last year.
Hi, my name is Connor Strehl. I am a senior majoring in cinematography and minoring in animation. I love most all forms of art for expressing myself. My favorites are painting, drawing, photography, videography, and glass blowing. I am taking this class to broaden my understanding of animation. I believe animation is the art of bringing drawings to life through motion. One of my favorite animated films is “Wall-E”. The last animated film I watched was Lion King, it is my nieces favorite movie.