Research Methodology

What effect has CGI had on the film and Animation industry?

 

Research Methodology:

There are a few problems with research the CGI and animation. Firstly people's views always differ considerably among authors. But regarding the film industry, people interpret events differently. So while author x may think that 'Finding Nemo' really put the nail in cell animations coffin, author y may think that cell animation was long dead. So there is a certain level of difficulty when considering your own interpretation of events. It would be difficult to doubt that CGI had an effect on the film industry, but different sources

For my research, I am using a broad range of secondary resources for example Beck (2004 pp 336-346) argument that at the turn of the century, traditional animation studios had to rapidly rethink their strategy. Or Thomson & Bordwell (2010 pp719-722) argument about traditional cell animation and its decline, despite Disney's success with 'Lilo & stitch'. The research for this paper will mainly be secondary texts although a few relevant articles have been found on Computer animation.

 

 

That is that i have written so far, am I going on the right lines?

Literature Review

Beck 2004 argues that CGI’s rise caused many traditional animation studios to dramatically change their production methods, also stating that ‘CGI went from being the exception to being the rule’. Meanwhile Thomson & Bordwell 2010 argues that as CGI rose and became more popular. Cell animation declined, despite having a moderate success with ‘Lilo & Stitch’ is 2002, Disney suffered the expensive failure of ‘Treasure Planet’ and shut down its cell-animation studios in 2004, becoming almost entirely dependant on Pixar. They also state that Disney retreated to ‘FX Heavy’ live action films such as ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.

However CGI has not always been such a massive success. As Beck 2004 explains, Toy story wouldn’t have happened if Disney hasn’t financed the film; Toy story took four years the make, and without Disney wouldn’t be financially viable. Beck 2004 summarises the situation very easily. Computer animation has taken over Hollywood. Due to the success of numerous CG films (Finding Nemo, Ice Age and Shrek), Hollywood studios have abandoned traditional hand-drawn techniques. Disney has downsized and Pixar as triumphed.

References:
Thompson, K, Bordwell, D., 2010 Film Industry: An introduction, Mcgraw Hill International edition

Beck, J, 2004, Animation Art, Flame tree Publishing



Hope I did the references right, and i wasnt sure if what I wrote was long enough.

Vark Questionnaire

After filling in the Vark questionnaire, I am a kinesthetic learner. Which doesn't surprise me that much, throughout school and sixth form; I have always preferred hands on learning. I don't mind reading and taking notes, but I don't find it as effective. An example that I have mentioned previously was my Cisco CCNA Course. While some people in the class preferred to read through notes in order to revise. I found it much better and easier to revise by actually doing it. My least favourite style of learning is listening to people talk. I find that the information goes in, but unless I actually do it, I don't fully understand it. But i don't mind taking notes and then reading them later on. I just don't learn very well by listening to people talk, which isn't helpful considering a lot of University work is based around lectures. So personally I find it helpful to go back over the lecture slides/notes as I am working through the tutorials.