Is 2D animation still viable in the growing Film industry?- better question as more specific
Research Questions:
- What are the unique attractions in 3D and 2D animation?- E.g. Quality, realism, design, style
- What are the major differences in the production of 2D and 3D Animation? Techniques, software, timing consumption, cost
- What are 3D and 2D animation market trends and justification?- early animation was 2D more popular, nowadays is it 3D that is more popular- but WHY!
- What has 2D and 3D animation contributed to the film industry?
- What is the future of animation regarding 2D and 3D content in Film and TV?
Topic discussion ideas
- “the uncanny valley”- how some 3D animations may look too realistic (polar express)
- Mixing media- g.- “Paperman”
- Production pipelines
- 2D and 3D processes/ techniques
- History of animation
- Disney and Pixar
- Japanese animation- Anime
- CGI/ VFX
- Money/ cost- Box office figures
- Reboots- 2D into 3D
Keywords
- 2D
- 3D
- CGI
- Animation
- Film
- Television
Headings- topics to talk about
- History of animation- Snow white and the seven dwarfs (1937) to Wreck it Ralph 2 (2018)
- Disney and Pixar
- 2D animation- what is it?
- 3D animation- what is it?
- Integrating 2D animation into 3D- Moana and Paperman
- 2D animation more in TV nowadays
- 3D animation- CGI- “Uncanny Valley”
- Differences and justifications- 2D vs 3D
- 2D vs 3D- Market trends, Box office figures, cost effective, Production pipelines
- 2D vs 3D- Unique attractions/ Major differences
- 2D Japanese Animation- Anime
Structure
Chapter 1- Introduction
- What is animation?
- 2D animation- What is it?
- Examples of 2D
- 3D animation- What is it?
- Examples of 3D
Chapter 2- Understanding Animation
- A Brief History of Animation (1937- 2018)-
- Animation timeline
- Disney and Pixar contribution- Toy Story
- Japanese Animation industry- Studio Ghibli
Chapter 3- What makes 2D and 3D animation Popular?
- The Unique Attractions in 2D and 3D animation:
- Quality of Animation
- Traditional animation
- 3D/ CGI Animation
- Realism – “The Uncanny Valley”
- What do the general audience prefer and why?
- What do industry professionals prefer and why?
Chapter 4- The Production Pipeline
- 2D Animation Production pipeline
- 3D Animation Production pipeline
- Integrating 2D and 3D animation
- Comparing Production costs
Chapter 5-The 2D and 3D animation market trends in Film
Market tends:
- Early Animation in the film industry-
- Discuss Early traditionally animated films- Disney (1937-2009),
- Modern day animation in the film industry-
- Discuss 3D animated films- Pixar, DreamWorks, Marvel, DC
- Box office figures- (Compare 2D and 3D)
- The 2D and 3D box office flops
Chapter 6- 2D animation moving towards TV
- 2D Animation in TV- Rick and Morty, Simpsons, Family Guy, Adventure Time, Gravity Falls
- 3D animation in TV- Peter Rabbit,
- Shows that are being produced as 2D animation in the age of 3D- Ducktales 2017, Scooby Doo)
- 3D animated feature films with 2D animation TV spin offs- (Tangled, Big hero 6, Peabody and Sherman show)
- Why are these feature films getting 2D TV shows?
Chapter 7- What are the views on the Future of Animation?
- Does people think 2D animation make a comeback in the film industry?
- What are the views on the future of animation- public opinion and professional opinion
Chapter 8- Conclusion
- Summarise dissertation
- Bibliography
Research Sources- Websites/ Journals
What is 2D and 3D animation?:
- “The Creative Process of 2d animation”
- 4 “To portray the mentioned “appearance of movement”, we need to create a sequence of images –drawn, painted or produced by other artistic methods that will slightly differ from one another”
- 13 “Modern computer animation usually uses 3D computer graphics but 2D computer graphics are still used from time to time.”
Market trends:
- “Thinking animation”- pg5; “The Importance of History and Trends in Animation”
- 5- “With improvements in animation came demands for richer backgrounds, more complex camera moves and an ever-increasing level of believability all around. This increasing need for more impressive visuals also pushed the budgets of these pictures higher and higher.”
Major Differences between 2D and 3D:
The views on the future of animation:
- “The illusions of life”
- 532- “In addition to the excitement of experimenting with untried uses of animation, there is always the challenge of trying to achieve audience identification through other means.”
History of animation in the film industry:
- http://www.filmsite.org/animatedfilms3.html
- May 1996-2018
- Tim Dirks
- AMC Networks, Inc
- Filmsite
- Pg 3
- “The Golden Age of Hollywood cartoon comedy was in the late 1930’s and 1940’s.”
- “The first full-length animated film was Disney’s Classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)”
- Popularity:
- “Thinking animation” pg13 “Popularity of the CG medium or story?”
- Pg13- “The introduction of computer generated animation to the masses and the push of heavy visual effects movies have fundamentally changed the audience’s perception.
Above is a variety of notes that will be used to help develop my draft for the dissertation research proposal. This includes; Research topic, Research questions, sub headings/ ideas discussed, Structure and research sources. Furthermore I have briefly expanded on the structure and research I will conduct for this proposal, where I have added some additional features that I could apply to the proposal. For instance I have added some clear structured bullet points into the content I will apply to each chapter of the dissertation. Therefore I have tried to apply a clear structure that starts with explaining the defining aspects of 2D and 3D animation, as well as the history of animation to help define what animation is to the reader. In addition I plan to go onto the discussions, arguments, justifications and shift on demand for 2D and 3D content in the film industry, to provide evidence (Quantitative and Qualitative data) that relates to the research topic and research questions.
Plus I thought it would be a good idea to look at some online research sources to help me practise with finding information that must be included in a reference/ citation. This will be important information that I need to include when I am referencing one of my books or journals in my literature reviews.
Therefore I am going to use this document as a reference to help construct my research proposal for the research topic/ questions I have made for my dissertation project.
Dan Sanders Art & Animation 