Fish Shop Story Idea - A Fishy Accident

Below is a true story that my mum sent me about an incident with her Silver Bengal, Nemo. She thought it could be a good short for one of my animations as its funny and includes a cat and fish. Below is the story.


It was a nice sunny morning and mum was going to feed the fish. She took the lid off the fish tank and opened the jar of the fish food. As she was in a hurry she sprinkled them straight from the tub. As she started to sprinkle the fish food in the tank, Nemo decided he wanted to have some for his meal too. He knocked the tub that was in her hand and the lid fell off while sprinkling so most of the food fell in the tank. The fish tank looked like a snow scene. So tried to hoover it with a fish tank hoover, that was unsuccessful. we thought everything was ok because it settled like a snow drift at the bottom. When we came back Nemo was watching the fish as they were dying.


It is a good story and I could have my cat moaning for food before and make it seem he thinks the fish food is his or that he should be fed first. I could also make the fish get fatter and fatter and suddenly cough and die. Remus could even pull out some sort of betting book and bet which fish will die first. He could even run and get Misty and Nemo so they could put bets down too.
The hoovering bit could be made funny too. Instead of a tank one, I could panic and find a mini handheld hoover that could choke and die. Making me panic and hide it. Then hid the food tub too and walkaway whistling. Matt could then be the one that finds the fish dead. This idea may include too many characters though.

New Simon's Cat Film!

Simon's Cat has a new film out! Intersting how I found out about it the day after Remus first experienced snow. He acted a lot like Simon's Cat, attacking the snow and his reaction to being hit with a snow ball I mean :p



Here are some photos of Remus in the snow. If your wondering, he is wearing a harness and is on his lead.

Plan of the Week

Seen as my dissertation has been handed in and I won't get it back this week I will focus on my project. I have decided that I will go with my Fish Shop idea but with a flat above as a possible advancement depends on what stories I come up with and if any would suit a home instead. Any way, below is my plan.

Wednesday
* Christmas Party in the Studio
* Do more designs for my cat character

Thursday
* Take photos of pet shops and make a collage/display of them.
* Do some designs for my fish shop
* Uni - Karen Dissertation Lecture
* Do some concept art

Friday
* Do more concept art
* Do model sheets for cat
* Look at human character (people have said to have me as the main person in the shorts but have Matt as another member of staff)
* HUMCC Christmas Party

Saturday
(Will probably be dead today)
* Do some self portrait caricatures

Sunday
* Do some caricatures of Matt
* Design my people characters

Some books I want

I have been looking online at some books that have been recommended and look helpful with giving me ideas for my project and how to make my designs better. Could also have some good quote for my dissertation. Below is the list.

* Walt Disney Animation Studios the Archive Series: Animation

* The Art of Bolt by Mark Cotta Vaz

* Art of the Princess and the Frog by Jeff Kurtti and John Lasseter (my idol!)

* The Art of Up (Pixar Animation) by Tim Hauser

* Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes: The Walt Stanchfield Lectures: 1 by Walt Stanchfield and Don Hahn

* Drawn to Life: 10 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes: The Walt Stanchfield Lectures: 2 by Walt Stanchfield and Don Hahn

Imaginary Friends and Tristan.

I've been writing about Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends in my dissertation and I was thinking of the character designs and how they look like their personalities and skills. This got me thinking about my youngest brother, Tristan who had an imaginary friend called ‘Halfie’ (pronounced hal-fee) when he was younger, (I always imagined that he got the name from Halfords where I worked at the time). Tristan told me that she was a great mechanic who helped him fix stuff. He also described her as very pretty, blonde and nice like me. With how he described her I imagine that if she was one the friends on the show that she would be tall like a model, curvy, a warm sun yellow for the kindness and hair. She could also have tools for fingers such as a hammer, screwdriver, wrench. Etc. for the mechanical skills Tristan gave her. Of course Tristan outgrew Halfie and she was forgotten just like most of the friends on the show.

Oh and its funny how Mac looks so much like Tristan! Look below!

Interview with Craig McCracken

Below is a link to a site where I found an interview with Craig on the Powerpuff Girls 10th Anniversary.

http://coldhardflash.com/2009/01/powerpuff-girls-10th-anniversary-interview-with-creator-craig-mccracken.html


Below is another interview I found with him.

http://www.tibbysbowl.com/bowl/2009/01/28/craig-mccracken-interview/

Craig McCracken (Foster's Home)

Ok, seen as Simon Tofield is too busy at the moment to reply I have been thinking who else I could ask questions and recieve advice from. My first thought was Craig McCracken who created Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Just need to find some contact details for him now! In the meantime below are some quotes he has said.

• Anything you see on the screen was at one point approved by me.

• Basicly I'm in charge of all creative aspects of the show.

• Basicly what I had to do was do a 7 minute board and pitch it to a room of big wigs from the network and based on that they determined if I would get a short or not.

• But to me what seems to be missing in a lot of portfolios is Cartooning.

• First, there was 2 Stupid Dogs. Then, Dexter's Laboratory. And now, Powerpuff Girls. There were a lot of little things in between, but those were the main ones.

• For a long time I wanted to be a comic strip artist but when I started doing them in my teens they were getting really elaborate with tons of poses and a lot of information.

• I started working at Hanna-Barbera in '92 on 2 Stupid Dogs.

• I'm a geeky toy collector, and to have toys of your own characters is unbelievably cool.

• I'm always thinking about what I might want to do next, but there's still things I want to do with Powerpuff - so I can keep going with this one for awhile.

• I'm hoping that word-of-mouth on the film - people seeing it and liking it - that that will drive more people to the theaters, because I haven't seen the billboards or the posters or anything.

• I've been drawing since I was about 3 and I come from a family of artists.

• It really just gives you a sense of when you need to have dialogue and when you don't, and if your pictures are telling the story, you don't need to have all this talking.

• One of the main things I do is focus on ideas and what stories we decide to tell, but probably the biggest part of my job I'd say is working on the storyboards.

• So what I do is supervise the boarding process trying to get the shows the way I'd like them to be. And in some cases I've completely redone a board myself even though I'm not credited for it.

• The reason they look the way they do is that the first drawing I did of them was really small so I didn't draw fingers, nose, ears, etc and this drawing had a certain appeal that I really liked.

• The shows are either 11 or 22 minutes and they move pretty quickly, and that's part of the charm of them - so it was just trying to keep that in mind and keep the energy of the story moving, even though we were dealing with a longer format.

• The storyboard artists job is to plan out shot for shot the whole show, write all the dialog, and decide the mood, action, jokes, pacing, etc of every scene.

• There's a lot you can do without words.

• We chose the actors thru a series of auditions when we started the show.

• Well, for one thing, the executives in charge at Cartoon Network are cartoon fans. I mean, these are people who grew up loving animation and loving cartoons, and the only difference between them and me is they don't know how to draw.

• Yes, it's a prequel. It tells the story about how the girls were born with superpowers, but they weren't necessarily heroes at the beginning of this movie, so the movie is about the events that happen in their life to make them decide to be heroes.

(http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/craig_mccracken.html - accessed on 14th Dec)

I got a reply from Simon's Cat

Below is the reply I received when I asked Simon Tofield if I could ask him some questions about the processes, inspiration.etc. of Simon's Cat. Bit dissapointed that he is too busy but it's understandable. He did say that he is unable to help till things quieten down though so you never know, I might still get the help I really wanted :D Thank you Simon for getting back to me and I'm glad that you liked my blog.


*******************************************


Hi Emma,

I had a look at your blog. Very interesting! Thanks for finding Simon's Cat worth mentioning.

After seeing your hard work and dedication it's with regret that I have to say that Simon is unable to assist you at this time.

Ideally he would love to help everyone interested with animation and cats, but due to a large number of prior obligations he is currently engaged in, he is unable to help till things quieten down.

Good luck. I look forward to seeing where you take Remus.

Kind regards,
Simon's Cat

Ideas from questionnaire answers

The one that has really made me think and come up with a new idea is the one about the story ideas. I love both and so far the results show 50:50. This is why I have come up with a new idea. Mix the two! Who says that the fish shop owner can't live above the shop! Then episodes could have the cat in the shop or in the flat above. I really like this idea but when the flat is first introduced the cat will have to go up the stairs to show the audience it is still part of the shop and the cat hasn't just appeared in a home.

Interview with Hayao Miyazaki from Ghibli Studios

Below is a link to an interview with Hayao Miyazaki. It is a very interesting read.

http://www.angelfire.com/anime/NVOW/Interview1.html

Cool new Go Cat Advert!

Go cat have a new advert out with well animated 3d cats. Below is the advert!!

Please click on the link to do my Questionnaire!

Please click on the link to do my questionnaire. I have created this Questionnaire to help me with my final year project and dissertation. Well explained answers will be greatly appreciated.


Click here to take my Online Questionnaire

My questionnaire to give people

Below is the questionnaire that I plan to ask people to fill out for my dissertation as primary research. I believe that what I have asked will give me helpful advice and quotes for my dissertation and project. If you wish to be helpful then please leave a comment on this post with your answers.

To view a larger version of the questionnaire you need to click on the image of the page you wish to view.

Mini Episode Idea - Bed + Remus + Laptop = Disaster

Remus sneaks under the duvet. You see a little bump moving towards Bob who is in bed with his laptop on his legs. Swift eye movements show that Bob acknowledges that its Remus. The bump moves closer but stays still next to Bobs legs. Suddenly the bump flies forward going under the laptop and making it fly off the bed! Its on the floor with the screen now black and lying in a bad way. Bob looks horrified. Remus now has his head poking out looks at Bob with a big grin and rolls on his back still looking at Bob and rolls about. Bob rolls his eyes and 'Uhhhs'


I could make it more obvious that he wants his tummy rubbed by making Remus point at Bob and then scratch his tummy but this might make it look like he wants food not a tummy rub.

Mini Episode Idea - Fetch

Another one :) Mainly because this just happened. Blood still leaking out of my finger and all!


Sitting wiggling a straw. Remus comes running and tries to attack the straw. Claw catches hand. Bob shakes hand and sucks the cut. He then wiggles the straw and throws it shouting fetch. Remus runs after it and picks it up. Bob is patting his legs saying come back. Remus looks at the camera, points a backturned thumb at Bob and gives a look as if to say 'yeah right, why would i give you the straw back'and attacks it away from Bob so he can't get it back.

POSSIBLE BEGINNING
Remus walking by trees. Sees a man playing Fetch with his dog. Looks confused, shakes his head and carries on.

Mini Episode Idea - Stairs & Bathroom Door

Below is an idea for a mini episode. It happened this morning well not exactly... I've obviously exagerated in places to make it funnier.


Bob walks up the stairs. Suddenly a paw appears over the edge and then a head with ears back. Remus suddenly attacks his head and shoots back hidden. Bob looks shocked and looks around. Slowy carries on. It suddenly happens again but Bob sees and Remus shoots back but Bob goes to grab him. Remujavascript:void(0)s turns on his back and bites and scratches his hand. he pulls back and tells him off.
Bob carries on into the bathroom. Having to pick Remus up to put him out.

(Various ideas of how it could continue are below)

IDEA 1
Remus cries and attacks the door, climbs the frame, jabbing paws under. Once door opens he looks in and then walks off.

IDEA 2
Bob has to fight Remus over closing the door as he either puts his paw or tail in the way making bob have to push him out with his foot or Remus pushing the door or attacking Bobs hand.

IDEA 3
Remus keeps sneaking back in in various ways. Runs in when turn to go back in. Jumps on Bobs back.

Remus the Cat as mini episodes

On Monday one of my lecturers, John Kelly suggested that I do lots of short animations like little episodes. I imagined this similar to the short happenings in the Simon's Cat Book and each being set in a different place. ie. Lounge, Kitchen, Bathroom, Garden.

I like this idea and might actually go along with it. Seen as Remus does something that is funny or could be made funny everyday! It also means I can carry on making as many animations about him as I want and make it like a mini series.

Just bought Simon's Cat The Book!

I was just in Sainsburys and saw it so had to buy it! About time really. It is brilliant its like short comic book strips but not. You have to see it to get what I mean but what it says on it. 'Everyone has a cat like Simon's Cat' is true and that is what has made it such a success. My aim is to stick to this idea, that my cat will be like every other cat with their quirky ways and funny actions.

I am also considering writing to Simon Toefield to let him know what I am doing and asking for any advice.

Cat movement images

I found this image that show frame by frame images of a cat walking and then jumping. Im sure it will come in handy.

CAT RULES........ Rules for Cats to Live By...

This is a page as a joke towards cats. Basically it is a bunch of rules based on things cats do. Such as doors aren't allowed to be closed and must accompany people to the bathroom.

Its great as it is true and I have had cats all my live and they have done all that's in the list.

http://www.frostymoon.co.uk/15.html

Plan for the week

1. Have a final character design for Remus finished by Thursday.

2. Do a short hand-drawn animation test of Remus.

3. Get other peoples stories of funny things their cat/s have done and post them onto my blog.

Feliway Advert

John Kelly told me about this advert. Think it shows that I've been researching cats too much with the fact that I knew what he meant when he said it was a plug in thing for cats.

Naughty Remus Story idea

Remus goes to the end of the sofa and pads his feet to jump. He jumps on mirror thinking there is a shelf or ledge but it is just a frame. He ends up going splat into the mirror and falling to the floor. He gets up and acts like nothing happened like a cat does. He could then wash himself or just walk off all proud until Bob(guy characters name at the mo) looks away and then Remus carries on being naughty. Also, When he jumped the cat nip that was on the top of the mirror could fall and land in his toy box!

This little idea has comedy = the thinking the mirror has a shelf and going splat. The cat owners joke = acting like nothing happened when cat embarressed itself. It also has a way of the cat nip sensibly ending up in the toybox because who would put a thin plastic bag of it in a cats toy box!

Image is example from 'Simon's Cat - Let me In' of cat splatting. Although Remus would be doing it to a mirror so you would only really see his back. Would also test my perspectives :s

Remus the Naughty Cat/Bengal Storyboard

Not sure on the title yet. I kind of think Bengal sounds better than Cat but not everyone has heard of Bengals but know what a cat is... Guess I could call it 'Remus the Naughty Bengal cat' but that sounds awful to me. Oh 'Remus the Cat' or 'The Naughty Cat' or even 'The Naughty Cat, Remus'. Doesn't really matter at the moment any way.

This is the first page of my thumbnails for the Naughty Cat story. I'm not overly impressed with quite a few of the angles and will have to get some advice on good angles and views. Never really been taught it so will be very helpful.

I also think that I will be sticking with this idea or slightly changing it to be set in a Fish Shop. I will write a short script with the fish shop as a setting to see how I feel first though.

I also found that I prefer to draw guys than girls probably because most of my friends are guys so I can think how they move and act more than a girl. Yes I know I am a girl and should know from that but who watches them self or really thinks how they sit on a sofa or throw a toy, and could draw that accurately! That's why once I have a final story, plan and storyboard I will ask a friend to be my character in the animation. I plan to film him doing the actions so I know it looks right. Just like they did for the old Disney films ;) Walt supposedly preferred doing it this as well. Can't remember the quote I read but I will find it and post it on here when I do.

Oh and excuse my thumbnails, they aren't meant to be the neatest or tidiest things in the world.

Little Red Riding Hood Storyboard

I'm slowly going off this idea as I really want to do something that will make people laugh. Making this first page of storyboard thumbnails for it made me really realise this.

Some more work from my sketchbook

Interview with Gini a Pixar Animator

What’s a typical day like for you?
During film production, the animators get together every morning in a small screening room with the director in what’s called “dailies.” It’s a chance for the director to see where we’re at in the shots that have been assigned to us, and for the animators to find out if they’re going in the right direction. It’s also a chance to become inspired by the other animators’ work. The director is looking at whether a shot is feeling the way it should, and the action is doing what it should. After that, I start working. Sometimes I call other animators in to get feedback on my work. We also have walkthroughs when the director comes around to see what we’ve worked on during the day.

How are shots assigned to you?
Sometimes we get one or two shots, or a sequence of five to seven shots. The supervising animators usually assign a shot by matching the kind of animation called for in the shot with an animator’s strengths. But sometimes we’ll be allowed to select what shots we want to animate, and our choice might be motivated by the type of shot: action, slow-moving, emotional moments, or just by a particular character. Then there are the shots that the director wants assigned to a particular animator.

And what do you start with?
The way it usually works is after a movie has been scripted and storyboarded and approved, they make layouts of the shots. The shot contains the sound, models and props that are needed for the acting. You have the storyboards as a guide to what needs to happen in a scene.

How do you begin animating?
We begin by blocking out, which is when we roughly put in the key poses to tell the story of what’s happening in the shot. So at this point we’re not doing much facial expression or dialogue. Sometimes the director will tell you it’s not feeling the way he wants it to, and you go back. Or you might have one of those days where he says, “keep going.” An animator always likes to hear that! We go back and work more on it-that’s called IP (in progress). We put in more acting. More details. Some lip dialogue. You show the director this IP version, where you have a pretty good sense what it’s going to look like toward the end. He might say, “It looks great-keep going.” Or he might say, “We’re losing something here.” Animators show the shot again close to final, where everything is mouthed out, and the details of the face are there. It’s one last chance for director to make changes. Once a shot is finaled it gets a render check and then it goes to lighting and shading.

How do you animate characters in the computer?
The characters are built on the computer as models. These models are then given avars. Avars are the controls assigned to each part of the model. There’s avars in the face, the limbs, etc. We use these avars as a puppeteer would use the strings on a puppet to get the desired movement. The movement of each avar on a character model gets recorded on the computer in distance and time. Adjustments are made accordingly until we are satisfied with the motion of the model.

How long does it take to animate a shot?
There’s a formula the animation team uses. Generally, an animator will average about a hundred frames a week (that’s 4 seconds of actual screen time). But it also depends on how many characters are in a shot. They also take into consideration the difficulty of the shot. If it’s a character interacting with a prop-where he might be pushing or holding things-or special effects are involved, it might take longer.

It sounds fast-paced.
We try to be creative but also work within the schedule of the shot. A shot sheet says how many frames a shot has and how much time you have to work on it. It’s important to work within the schedule allotted because the shot usually has to go through other aspects of film production, such as special effects, lighting and shading. In order for us to be able to put our movie out in time, we have to allow for time in each aspect of the production process but sometimes there are technical difficulties that happen that we can’t anticipate.

What do you do to put yourself in the mindset of your characters?
More often than not, the nice thing about animation is we get to animate characters we’re drawn to. We film ourselves acting a scene, but sometimes that’s not enough. The team has a list of films that were used as reference when the script was written, which helps us get the feel of the characters. Animators also tend to be people-watchers. The stranger the person, the more we’re hooked. We pull from that when we animate. It’s not unusual for animators to be talking in the hallway and one of them is saying, “There was this guy at the park and he did the weirdest thing...” We’re fascinated by what motivates peoples’ little ticks. There are a lot of interesting, unusual nuances that we’re able to take in from real life for characters we might animate in the future.

What’s the most challenging aspect of your job?
Being able to animate a character and convey that the character is alive, truly thinking and driven by something. In real life, you meet people and know they have a history you don’t necessarily know about. An animator has to be able to convey this with a character. That it existed beyond this movie and is driven by many things. That’s the biggest challenge. That’s the core of what I get caught up in. It’s easy to do the more difficult action, but when it comes to true acting-that this character is alive and breathing and thinking and has a past-that’s the most challenging.

What sequences are you most proud of?
Whatever I’m most proud of is always my biggest downfall. I always think, “Ugh, it could have been better.” Mostly recently, I’d say it was probably the cave sequence in The Incredibles, when Helen gets down with the kids and tells them they need to use their powers to save themselves after years of her telling them not to use their powers. She loses it and then gains control and nurtures them. It was a meaty scene as far as acting goes. There was a lot going on there-a duality of emotions. One was internal and one external; trying to act one way while feeling something else. To convey that through animation is difficult. I went back and forth on that with the director, Brad Bird. It was the sequence I was most proud of, but I feel like it was my weakest. You do your best, but sometimes you’re still not satisfied with it.

There seem to be very few female animators in the industry-do you find that to be the case?
It’s true. In ratio, we’re still not as many as there are men, but nowadays I see more and more women in the field. I remember someone advising me that it was “such a man’s world, you have to elbow your way in.” But for me, what got me through was that I wanted to animate and keep learning. My experience at Pixar was that if you do good work, you are recognized. I haven’t had to elbow my way into anything here. All I want is to animate. I suck in as much as possible, and we have a good collaborative environment here. What they care most about is that you have a solid art background.

Speaking of which, what’s your background?
For college, my parents sent me back to the Philippines to study. My dad was a banker and wanted me to take commerce. I told him no, that I had to be an artist. So we agreed on advertising, which I studied at the University of Santo Tomas. After graduating I went into advertising for about five years in Guam. It was great, because I was a big fish in a small pond. I was able to work with big clients, like Nestle, that I would never have been able to work with at my age here in the United States. After a while I burnt out and wanted to go back to school. There was a course in computer animation at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. For our thesis we had to make a short animated film and then send it out to the companies you wanted to work for. I sent mine to Blue Sky, Disney, Pixar and PDI. I actually got job offers from Blue Sky and PDI. Pixar was the last one to call me, but told me they couldn’t do the interview me for a whole month. I had to take a big leap of faith when PDI and Blue Sky said they didn’t know if they could wait that long. But I knew if was going to learn anything, it’d be at Pixar.

When did you know you wanted to be an animator?
Well, it’s funny, because I can tell you when I knew I didn’t want to be an animator. In college I took a side subject called 2-D animation. I’ve always been more of an illustrator, putting everything into one image. In this 2-D class I had to do all these images. I remember hating the assignments-it was too many drawings! For the longest time I wasn’t drawn to it, but I knew I loved watching animation as a kid.

So what changed your mind?
When I discovered 3-D animation and realized the computer can do the in-between drawings. But you’re still wrestling with the computer to do exactly what you want it to do. Mainly, that one pose that should tell you what is happening in that moment. And that goes back to my love of detail-that one image that tells a story.

http://www.pixar.com/artistscorner/gini/interview.html

Pixar have a blog!

I can't believe I hadn't known about it before! I'm going to have to read it all :D

http://pixarblog.blogspot.com/

Idea twisted!

I can't decide which idea to go with :( I love my orginial idea of a remake of Simon's Cat but with Remus as the character and I wouldn't mind changing it to be the same idea but set in a Fish Shop, which is going back to 'The Fish Shop Cat' idea.
Then I went and had the Red Riding Hood idea. I'm a bit less keen on that idea but it could have a better story. I guess it depends how I wrote and animated them both.

Lil' Red Riding Hood Lyrics

Owoooooooo
Who's that I see walkin' in these woods
Why, it's Little Red Riding Hood
Hey there Little Red Riding Hood
You sure are looking good
You're everything a big bad wolf could want
Listen to me

Little Red Riding Hood
I don't think little big girls should
Go walking in these spooky old woods alone
Owoooooooo

What big eyes you have
The kind of eyes that drive wolves mad
So just to see that you don't get chased
I think I ought to walk with you for a ways

What full lips you have
They're sure to lure someone bad
So until you get to grandma's place
I think you ought to walk with me and be safe

I'm gonna keep my sheep suit on
Until I'm sure that you've been shown
That I can be trusted walking with you alone
Owoooooooo

Little Red Riding Hood
I'd like to hold you if I could
But you might think I'm a big bad wolf so I won't
Owoooooooo!

What a big heart I have-the better to love you with
Little Red Riding Hood
Even bad wolves can be good
I'll try to be satisfied just to walk close by your side
Maybe you'll see things my way before we get to grandma's place

Hey there Little Red Riding Hood
You sure are looking good
You're everything that a big bad wolf could want
Owoooooooo
I mean baaaaaa
Baaa


http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/sam_the_sham_and_the_pharaohs/lil_red_riding_hood.html

Simon's Cat by Simon Tofield - Great video about it!

Brilliant video by Simon Tofield.
He talks about the insperation, the style, how he does it, the soundtrack, ideas, the book and new characters. There is even a quick sketchbook flip too! Would love to slow that bit down to have a look :D

Quote could also be taken from this video.

BBC News - Simon's Cat is an internet phenomenon

"Simon's Cat is the most watched video ever on YouTube with over 45 million hits. Creator Simon Tofield talks to us about the inspiration behind his quirky cartoon cat."

Really interesting interview and definitly can get some quotes from this for my dissertation. A lot of good advice from Simon Tofield to help me with my animated short and the questions asked are helpful too.

Click here to see the Simon's Cat interview

Little Red Riding Hood Animations

more about "Little Red Riding Hood: As Told by Ro...", posted with vodpod
I'm not a fan of the animation but I like the idea of using Roald Dahl's version as I'm a big fan of his, I love the rhyming especially.

more about "Simsala Grimm Little Red Riding Hood ...", posted with vodpod
This is one of my favourite of the examples I found. I've never heard of the Simsala Grimm Animations but the style and humour is the kind I like and would be interested in doing. Although I would prefer to just have the story of Red Riding Hood and not have characters that are like narrators in this animation.




Click to see Red Riding Hood Video

I love how the animation looks, the voice over and the sinister feel and twist they put on it although its a bit too odd and off track for me.




Click here for Old Disney Little Red Riding Hood Animated Cartoon

I love Disney but this animation was just a bit too unstructured and crazy for my liking although I do like some things they did such as Grandma being on the duvet. The voices are quite annoying too.




Little Red Riding Hood - Kung Fu - The best bloopers are a click away

I like how Red Riding Hood fights back. With my idea being a cat as lil red and a dog as the wolf I can imagine it being quite a fun idea if I did roughly the same idea. I hate the commentary though.





This made me laugh but it is a bit odd and i think a bit stretched out. I don't think I would do anything like this as I would like to stick to the story.

more about "Little Red Riding Hood as told in the...", posted with vodpod
This is quite an interesting twist and is interesting but no where near what I am planning or would like to do.




On youtube there are lots of videos people have made with the song by 'Bowling for Soup - Lil Red Riding Hood' This one was the one I thought had the best editing and is actually quite a good match and tribute. It gave me the idea that I could make my animation based on this song. It's not too long and if I got the cutting right it could turn out good. My only problems so far is that if I did this I might not be able to enter it in any competitions and would have to get permission to use the song.



This is another video with the song over the top and is Betty Boop footage from "Dizzy Red Riding Hood" (1931). This song is by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs (1966) though. Bowling for Soup did a remake.

Plan for this week

1. Work on character design of Remus.
For help print images of him in different poses and do guides to get his rough shape.

2. Look at other animations of Little Red Riding Hood.
Do any have characters as animals instead of people (excluding the wolf)?

3. Come up with 3 different rough scripts for my 3 favourite ideas (Remus the Naughty Bengal, The Fish Shop Cat and Little Red Riding Hood parody).
Show these to people to see which they think is the best idea/story. Remember to let them know any problems that any of my ideas may have such as it could be difficult to make under 1.30mins or if the script needs changing and its just a rough idea of the story.

4. Print out my blog for presentation of Research and Development.
Probably just stick with normal print out. No fancy colours or anything. Although I could possibly print out any Cat stuff on say Yellow paper and any animation research on errr Blue paper and anything else on Green paper. Oh and make a cover page and include my name, course, Research and Development and my blog address. Also create a first page explaining about writing all my research on my blog and also how I use it to show my development.etc. Basically an intro.

Story Idea - Anthropomorphism version of 'Red Riding Hood'

I've been dreaming about new stories for my animated short. Forgotten a few purly because my notebook was downstairs and by the time i got there the dream had gone. I hate when that happens.
Any way, one that I remember and thought was an interesting idea was a anthropomorphism version of a Fairy Tale such as 'Red Riding Hood'. Instead of the girl it could be a kitten and the granny could be an old cat, the wolf could stay a wolf or change to be a dog. I imagined it in a very Ghibli kind of style.
An idea I came up with later with the fairy tale story in mind was making it into a modern version or like in a modern cats life type of way, kind of reminds me of Tom Kitten from the Beatrix Potter books.
My idea is that the kitten catches a mouse or his/her mum gives the kitten a mouse and tells the kitten to take it to its grannys garden/house. Off the kitten goes and could meet challenges or other animals on the way.
The bit with the gran and the wolf would happen but it may have to be a clothed type of anthropomorphism because of the dog/wolf dressing as the granny to trick red riding hood. Unless I can come up with a good way of twisting it without clothes. Maybe the dog could have the same colour fur as granny and just pin his big ears so they look smaller and point up and maybe curl his tail because the granny's does... something like that. Any way, as far as I can think the story pretty much carries on and finishes as the original.

The only problem I have with this is the fact that fairy tales have been done over and over. I like the idea of oringinality or a twist of an original thats not been done before. If I found out that nothing like my idea has been done then I would be happier about doing it as my animation.

Simon's Cat Book

Tofield's creations have reached a wide audience over the last few months, drawing more than 20m hits on YouTube and winning a number of awards, including Best Comedy at the British Animation Awards and YouTube's Blockbuster Award. The animations – simple line drawings in black and white - depict the ever-hungry Simon's Cat in various attempts to get his owner to feed him.

Canongate editorial director Nick Davies said: "The humour is refreshingly innocent which gives the characters the broadest possible appeal. I think we have a major new comic creation here—something to rival The Bunny Suicides, Purple Ronnie, and maybe even one day, Wallace and Gromit."

The first book has been published in hardback and the second book will be published for Christmas 2010.

The Bookseller reports that agents have already started talking to a number of film, television and merchandising companies about the Simon's Cat brand.

http://www.yourcat.co.uk/Simon-s-Cat-cartoons/Simon-s-Cat-to-feature-in-books.html

The insperation for Simon's Cat is...

37-year-old Simon Tofield, from Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, has won praise from cat lovers worldwide with three short animated films, Cat Man Do, Let Me in and TV Dinner, with Cat Man Do picking up the best comedy award at the 2008 British Animation Awards.

In the films, a loving, but frequently exasperated cat owner watches while his cat demands to be fed, let in and groomed.

In Let Me In, the cat is desperate to come indoors while in TV Dinners, his feline resorts to increasingly concerted measures to gain his owner's attention. Finally, in Cat Man Do, he goes to extreme lengths to wake up his owner – much to the amusement of the viewer!

Simon, who works for London-based Animation Studio Tandem Films, explains that the films are based on three of his cats, all moggies.

“Jess is a tiny seven-year-old cat, who I bought from an ad in the paper, in Clapham Common. Maisie is a gi-normous five-year-old rescue cat, while Hugh is a one-and-half-year-old cat from Cats Protection.

“It all started when I wanted to set myself an new animation project last year and one day, I had Hugh climbing all over me and I thought: ‘That’s perfect!”

Simon's actual cat!


Hugh goes on to be the main inspiration in the films, though the action on the sofa in TV dinner is mostly taken from Jess.

“I think it’s so popular, as the cat mannerisms result in well-observed comedy. People enjoy identifying with them and are reminded about their own cats and their own quirky behaviour.”

And for die-hard fans of the series, there’s good news as Simon is already planning more clips featuring the hapless cat owner. “I’m looking for new scenarios for future films and the garden is something I’m considering, as well as feeding time!”

http://www.yourcat.co.uk/Simon-s-Cat-cartoons/Simon-s-Cat-is-revealed.html

Quotes

“By associating with good and evil persons a man acquires the virtues and vices which they possess, even as the wind blowing over different places takes along good and bad odors.”

http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/authors/the_panchatantra_quotes.html
(accessed on 4/11/09 at 7.48pm)



"Most scholars since the time of the English philosopher Francis Bacon (1561–1626) have agreed that the tendency to anthropomorphize hinders the understanding of the world, but it is deep-seated and persistent."

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/27536/anthropomorphism
(accessed on 4/11/09 at 7.55pm)

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Blog

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends has an official production blog! AWESOME!

They post inside scoop on the day to day goings on directly from the fine folks who make the Cartoon Network series. It shows and hopefully will continue to show things that you won't see anywhere else including, production designs, board pages, sketches and doodles, etc. The link to the blog is below.

http://fosterstv.blogspot.com/

Behind-the-scenes clip of The Princess and the Frog

Cartoon Brew TV, offer an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip, courtesy of the Walt Disney Company, from their forthcoming hand-drawn feature, The Princess and the Frog.

In the video, supervising animator Bruce Smith (Bebe’s Kids, The Proud Family) discusses the character of Dr. Facilier, the villain of the film, and how voice actor Keith David influences the animators work and the character’s performance. David is shown performing and being directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. There are also some brief bits of pencil tests and color footage that hasn’t appeared anywhere else on the web.

After witnessing Disney abandon their hand-drawn films several years ago, and watching the rest of Hollywood consumed by CG, it’s incredibly exciting seeing classical character animation being produced on this scale. Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. The Princess and the Frog marks the return of a beloved moviegoing tradition: the classic Disney fairy tale.

Below is the link to site where I found this.

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/brewtv/princessandfrog.html

The Panchatantra tales

The Panchatantra tales are an one of India's most influential contributions to world literature and another example of anthropomorphism, the Panchatantra (also spelled Pañcatantra or Pañca-tantra) consists of five books of animal fables and magic tales (some 87 stories in all) that were compiled, in their current form, between the third and fifth centuries AD. It is believed that even then the stories were already ancient. The tales' self-proclaimed purpose is to educate the sons of royalty.

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/panchatantra.html

Opposition to anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism has a varied application to religion and religious matters.
Certain religions and religious leaders throughout history have actually condemned it, for example Xenophanes, a Greek philosopher during 570–480 BC, said that God could not be limited by portrayals of anthropomorphism.

"The greatest god" resembles man "neither in form nor in mind."
Love to Know 1911 (2006)

Both Islam and Judaism reject physical portrayals of God; Judaism further rejected this antagonism to the idea after Christian’s claimed that Jesus Christ is the physical manifestation of God.

Many people believe that anthropomorphism can help people feel closer to God and do not see any harm in it. If God truly understands and loves us he will accept what helps us believe and cope with the theory of a mighty being watching over us.

Anthropomorphism is not just a religious debate but also a literary debate, for example in 1911, in China's Hunan province; Lewis Carroll's novel ‘Alice's Adventures in Wonderland’ was banned. They believed that "animals should not use human language" and it "puts animals and human beings on the same level." GDFL (2009)

Later in the twentieth century George Orwell's novel Animal Farm used anthropomorphism to satirize Stalinism, as voiced by a pig in the famous passage below.

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".


This is a good example of how using anthropomorphism of animals can help make much broader and complex political statements accessible and interesting to the general public. This is because people can relate to the animals and absorb the message easily whereas if the message were presented in another style they would not listen as intently.

The Looney Tunes

I've been looking at the Looney Tunes as they are and were a big influence for me. When I was young we used to always go to the Warner Brothers store and sit in a large model of Martin the Martian's spaceship as it contained a TV that played Looney Tune shorts. My mum would then wander off doing her shopping. I thought this was great as I didn't have to wander around town and got to watch Willie Coyote, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and all the other greats! I was devastated when the store closed and I still wish it re-opened as it was my favourite store and quite possibly always will be.

Below is a quote I found that I find quite inspirational. It's funny how it also has a bit of a jibe towards Disney as 2 of their original animators wrote a book called 'The illusion of life'.


"A small child once said to me: 'You don't draw Bugs Bunny, you draw pictures of Bugs Bunny.' That's a very profound observation because it means he thinks that the characters are alive, which, as far as I'm concerned, is true. And, I feel the same way about animation ..... Animation isn't an illusion of life. It is life."

Chuck Jones

http://www.animationusa.com/resources/aboutwb.html


Looney Tune books to look at

I especially want to look at the last book as it even includes model sheets, background art and how they actually created and made the Looney Tunes! Only problem is, its not published any more so I will have to find a used copy. The cheapest I have found so far is just over £30!

* Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: Complete Illustrated Guide to Warner Brothers Cartoons
by Jerry Beck, Will Friedwald

* Looney Tunes: The Ultimate Visual Guide
by Jerry Beck

*Animating the Looney Tunes Way (Looney Tunes Collection)
by Tony Cervone

Japanese anthropomorphized animals

I was searching the Internet for anthropomorphized animals in culture and came across this image from a Japanese magazine. I think they are either Mice or Rats. I love how they are wearing Kimono's and are all different sizes. It's a great example of the Japanese using anthropomorphism and is actually quite a nice image.


Found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/37217398@N02/3536158725/

My confusion and conflicting advice - dissertation

Should the dissertation be based on the development of ideas towards my final animation or is it a discussion of the theory behind my final animation?

Am I on the right line by what I have written as a dissertation plan? Am I pretty much writing what I had started on my blog but mixed with the anthropomorphism and jungle book stuff?

Anthropomorpism

Anthropomorphism is when a non-human creature, phenomena, element or object has human characteristics and attributes. For example an animal acting with human incentives such as the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland who is trying to not be late, he acts like a human because how he speaks, runs, dresses and has human emotions. For something to have anthropomorphism it only needs one of these examples so the White Rabbit is on the extreme end of the example. A more modest example is the cat from ‘Simon’s Cat’. Most of the time he acts like a cat, the thing that makes him have anthropomorphism is that he does small human like actions such as hitting his owner with a baseball bat or carrying a plant pot, obvious things that a real cat can’t do.

Most cultures actually use anthropomorphised animals as characters in their fables such as the Asop fables or the Just so Stories. I believe this is because animals are a big interest for children and can be an easier and more enjoyable way for them to learn to morals.

“The term derives from the combination of the Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos), "human" and μορφή (morphē), "shape" or "form".” Found on Wikipedia

Abstract

My project is going to cover the different ways cats can be animated and use that information to build my project. I am going to look at how anthropomorphism can be used and has been used. I am also going to look at different types of animation for example stop-frame, traditional and 3D. Then I am going to look at how books have been changed when made into an animated film specifically looking at The Jungle Book. Then I am going to look in detail at previous animations and documentaries of cats and comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each method. For example comparing the animation, ‘Simon’s Cat’ with the much more complicated and time consuming ‘The Aristocats’. Finally I will look at real cat behaviour, breeds, body language.

Cat body language

I've been researching this as it will be important in making my cat actually act like it should. Below are 3 images I found explaining what different actions mean. I found them at http://www.messybeast.com/cat_talk2.htm This site also has a lot of information on cat's body language. I am planning on going through it all and picking out any comments that will be especially helpful.






I also found the information below at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_body_language I have included my comments in red to what I have seen from Remus.

* Disgust - Lifting and subsequent shaking of a paw or paws. The more paws, the stronger a feeling is indicated; this can sometimes be a four paw affair with each paw being lifted and shaken in turn. This is possibly related to the identical action that's displayed after stepping in water.
Remus must be rather confused then. He goes in the bath and does this at first but then runs around in the water playing.

* Aggression - The swishing or sweeping of the tail in a wide swath, mid-air or against a person means the cat is trying to get the person's attention. And if the message isn't getting through, the cat may simply leave the room.

* Contentedness - Kneading with the paws on a person or, for example, a favorite blanket or sleeping spot. Young kittens knead their mother's nipples to stimulate the feeding reflex in her so that her milk flows for the kittens to suckle on. Cats may knead for a short or extended period of time, the extended period is sometimes interpreted by people as a sign of discomfort or restlessness, but it is more likely the cat is happy. Most cats will demonstrate this for about ten minutes at the longest.
Remus does this a lot to his favourite blanket especially just before he falls asleep. He also sucks it and purrs. I can't see it being a sign of discomfort more a sign of comfort and happyness.

* Relaxation - Sprawling on the side or back and, possibly, rolling about; this may be seen, for example, when a person enters the room or stirs from their seat. The cat may display this at the same time as the person's movement.
Remus will just fall and sprawl on his side any where. He can he sat behind you in the kitchen and when you turn around he will then be sprawled. It does say its a sign of relaxation, maybe he is.

* Greeting - A particular sort of vocalization, such as a low meow or chirp, possibly with simultaneous purring.
Remus defintley does this! If I go away for a few hours or a day, I come home and he talks to me lots and purrs while doing it. Its as if he is telling me off for going, welcoming me and telling me what he's been up to all in one long meowing session. He rubs himself on me lots as well and almost falls over doing so. I know this means he is showing me that I am his and that he was attention.

* Affection - A pressing of the face or top of the head against a person's body, leaving a scent as a marking of territory.

* Submission - Upon being approached, it will fall down on its side, indicating it is not seeking attention and is unwilling to put up a fight.
Remus does this to Matt (my friend) a lot as he likes to play fight with Remus. I think he has learnt to trick Matt sometimes though as he will do this but suddenly attacking him. Its funny as soon as Matt attacks him back he will start licking him as if apologising and will surrender again.

More sketches

My Dissertation Plan

¬¬Below is my dissertation plan. The headings aren't in order at the moment though. At some point I will rearrange them.


Title - The Animation of Cats

Intro - What I am going to talk about? What each subject will cover.

My project is going to cover the different ways cats can be animated and use that information to build my project. I am going to look at how anthropomorphism can be used and has been used. I am also going to look at different types of animation for example stop-frame, traditional and 3D. Then I am going to look at how books have been changed when made into an animated film specifically looking at The Jungle Book. Then I am going to look in detail at previous animations and documentaries of cats and comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each method. For example comparing the animation, ‘Simon’s Cat’ with the much more complicated and time consuming ‘The Aristocats’. Finally I will look at real cat behaviour, breeds, body language.

Aims -

Heading - Anthropomorphism What is it? Any thoughts and ideas for my work. Comment on books/films containing Anthropomorphism.

Anthropomorphism is when a non-human creature, phenomena, element or object has human characteristics and attributes. For example an animal acting with human incentives such as the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland who is trying to not be late, he acts like a human because how he speaks, runs, dresses and has human emotions. For something to have anthropomorphism it only needs one of these examples so the White Rabbit is on the extreme end of the example. A more modest example is the cat from ‘Simon’s Cat’. Most of the time he acts like a cat, the thing that makes him have anthropomorphism is that he does small human like actions such as hitting his owner with a baseball bat or carrying a plant pot, obvious things that a real cat can’t do.

Most cultures actually use anthropomorphised animals as characters in their fables such as the Asop fables or the Just so Stories. I believe this is because animals are a big interest for children and can be an easier and more enjoyable way for them to learn to morals.

“The term derives from the combination of the Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos), "human" and μορφή (morphē), "shape" or "form".” Wikipedia


Heading - Different types of animation
Compare them and why I would or wouldn't want to do it in each form. Including different types of backgrounds. Also, do tests in 3D and hand drawn to see which I prefer and I believe I am better at. If I feel more confident in one form than the other then it will be best to stick with that one. Also, remember my idea of possibly mixing 2 forms.

Heading - From Book to Animation
The Jungle Book comparison between the book and film.

Heading - Previous animations on cats
Looking at realistic and anthropomorpision cats. Write about positives and negatives.
Below are some examples that I could look at.

• Simon’s Cat
• Splat the Cat
• The Aristocats
• The Lion King
• Eye of the Leopard (Documentary)
• Cheetah Blood Brothers (Documentary)
• National Geographic’s The Secret Life of Cat (Documentary)

Heading - Study of Cats
How they move, look, breeds, sounds, reactions.etc.
Use books, magazines, internet, watching my cat.


Summary and Final Idea -
Tying it all together. How my research has affected my idea. If it changed it or re-inforced it. Describe my final idea.


References


Appendix

This weeks plan

Planning time again. Yeah not really that exciting and having a chest infection is making it harder to concentrate on actually doing the work. Any way, here is my plan of what I want to have done by next week.

• Finish writing Jungle Book part of essay
• Write rough intro
• Do 500 words on different types of animation
• Look at people and cartoon characters with the type of acting I’m looking for.
• Do life drawings and experiments for my human character
• Do a thumbnail storyboard for my short film

Short idea based on happenings with Remus

For where this idea came fom you need to look at my Remus blog. I've loved the idea of doing an animation with the feel of 'Simons Cat' and I feel what I have wrote below has that feeling.

Blue text is Remus' actions and red is mine.



Remus the naughty cat


I'm working on laptop and eating a ham sandwich at the same time.

Remus stalks around the sofa, hiding, popping his out in various places. He then runs to his toy box and knocks it over.

I look up and awwww grrrr and roll eyes but go back to work.

The whole time Remus is looking Innocent but as soon as he sees I am looking away he grabs the Cat Nip bag and carries it to under the stool and rips it open.

I look up just as it happens.

Remus is eating it and smacking it (his pupils go big during eating).

I run to him yelling.

Remus runs off.

I get there go awwww as bending down and try to pick up the spilt catnip.

While doing this Remus comes back and starts jumping and rolling in it again and getting in the way.

Once only crumbs are left I go back to work.

Remus carries on messing the crumbs until he notices I'm eating my sandwich. He sneaks up and sits on the arm of the sofa.

I look at him and move the sandwich away.

He sneaks around the back and meows at me and looks at sandwich.

I shake head and move it back to my left side.

He waits till I'm not looking and goes behind me.

I look around think hes gone.

He then sneaks back to my left and he reaches to my sandwich in my left hand and licks my sandwich!

I look and then look away but suddenly shoot my head back and snatch my sandwich back.

Remus still has his tongue out during this but the jumps off the sofa as I wave my hand and look angry. He runs to the other side of the sofa and hides at the back of it.

I've been watching this but as he looks calm, I go back to eating my sandwich and working on laptop.

Remus suddenly pops his head up and does the glare he does when hes going to attack me on the stairs but then stops and meerkats to scope the room. He looks up and sees the string at the top of the curtain. (Zoom in as he notices it). He then goes back to the stairs stalk pose, wiggles his bum and shoots up the curtain as he's reaching...

I jump up and grab him and put him on the floor and finger wag him, he goes for my finger so I growl. I then fix the top of the corner and turn around to find him finishing my sandwich! I awwww and fall to sit down flopped on the sofa. Looking defeated.

He looks at me and pulls out one of his toy mice and puts it on the plate and slides it to me with a big grin.

My mouth drops and just turn eyes to camera and roll my eyes.

Some stories on Cat's that I found

I have been looking around on forums for peoples favourites and using search engines for stories. The ones below are some I like the sound of. Some are books though so would have to either get them from the library or buy them. One thing I'm dissappointed in is that none of them are funny and I got my heart a bit set on that. I will keep looking though.

Gobbolino the Witch's Cat by Ursula Moray Williams
Why was I ever born a witch's kitten? Why - oh, why?" With his bright blue eyes and sparky magic whiskers, no one could mistake Gobbolino for a kitchen cat, but that's just what he longs to be. So, while his sister Sootica learns how to ride a broomstick and turn mice into toads, Gobbolino sets off to find a nice warm fire and a family to care for him. He has many adventures along the way and makes many friends, until he finally finds the home he dreams of. First published in 1942, Gobbolino the Witch's Cat continues to delight children - a true modern classic.

Catkin by Antonia Barber
Told in folkloric cadence, Barber's story is about the rescue of baby Carrie, who was switched for a changeling by the Little People. The hero of the tale is a multitalented cat called Catkin, so named because he was "...so small that he could sit in comfort on the palm of a man's hand." Because Carrie was stolen while in Catkin's care, the furry fellow risks all to venture into the enchanted land inside the hill. There, of course, he answers three riddles, the last of which frees Carrie but also binds him to that land forever. Posed with a final dilemma, the Lord of the Little People seeks guidance from the Wise Woman; her solution is to have the child and cat spend each winter in the underground realm and return to their own land each spring.

Slinky Malinki by Lynley Dodd
There are a few books on Slinky Malinki. He is one of the cats in one of the author's previous books, "Hairy Maclary Scattercat" - a feline character to match the canine Maclary. It features the adventures of the stalking and lurking adventurous cat Slinky Malinki who is a common cat during the day but becomes a thief as night falls. Written for pre-school children, with rhythmic, rhyming text. It has become a best-selling bedtime story book in New Zealand.

Winnie the Witch by Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas
Winnie the Witch has a problem. Everything in her house is black. The carpets are black, the chairs are black, the bed is black with black sheets, the pictures on the walls are black and there is even a black bath. Winnie likes it that way. But Wilbur the cat is also black and, when he closes his eyes, Winnie can’t see him against all the other blacks in the house. After she’s stepped on him just once too often,Winnie decides that a little magic will do the trick. ABRACADABRA! and Wilbur has a red head, a yellow body, a pink tail, blue whiskers and four purple paws. Poor Wilbur! Even the birds laugh at him when he tries to hide up in a tree. Luckily,Winnie thinks of a new trick that can put everything right!

Remus Blog

I just created a new blog to record all the naughty or funny things that involve my cat, Remus. He is a Bengal Cat and was born 14th May 2009. This is to give me ideas for a short that I am hoping will be the similar type of stories to the Simon's Cat shorts just with 3D characters, hand-drawn backgrounds and involve my own characters, the cat being Remus. The link to my new blog is below.

http://naughtyremus.blogspot.com/

Write my own story or use an already exsisting one?

I really like the idea of writing my own story but my lecturer, Derek thinks it will be too hard for me. I already have lots of ideas though so I have decided to look at stories and see if any interest me. It was recommended that I look at stories with Cats as cats are my favourite animal. While I am looking I am going to think of ideas for my own story just encase I don't find a story I really like.
Another idea is... could I turn a joke into an animated short film. I would like my short film make people laugh.

Anthropomorphism (An-thro-po-mor-phism)

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Examples include animals and plants depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse and forces of nature such as winds, rain or the sun. The term derives from the combination of the Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos), "human" and μορφή (morphē), "shape" or "form".

It is strongly associated with art and storytelling where it has ancient roots. Most cultures possess a long-standing fable tradition with anthropomorphised animals as characters that can stand as commonly recognised types of human behaviour.

Examples are:
* Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland
* Looney Toons
* The Magic Mirror from Snow White
* Lumiere, the candlestick from Disney's Beauty and the Beast
* Pokemon
* Simon's Cat


This is the idea of what I could research for my dissertation. The idea is that it will combine with my project, aiming it at the ideas of 'The Fish Shop Cat' or 'Just So Stories' ideas.

I also found a website that might help me write my dissertation. http://www.editavenue.com/writingtip.asp?cid=93302

Lasseter Promises More Hand-drawn Animation

Animation Magazine made the following report on September 14th and I think it's brilliant news. I always loved the traditional hand-drawn animation and it makes it even better that my idol John Lasseter was the one to reveal the information! Below is report. The link to the original report can be found here -


Lasseter Promises More Hand-drawn Animation
By: Thomas J. Mclean

Pixar and Disney animation chief John Lasseter has built the studio’s sterling reputation on cutting-edge CG animation, but says Disney fans can expect to see a lot more hand-drawn animation in the future.

Speaking at Disney’s D23 fan expo in Anaheim, Lasseter gave fans a peek at the upcoming hand-drawn film The Princess and the Frog, and a new Winnie the Pooh feature due out in 2011, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He said that studios had made a mistake in focusing solely on CG animation.

“I never quite understood why the studios thought people wouldn’t want to watch it,” Lasseter said, according to a Reuters report. “What audiences didn’t want was bad movies.”

Speaking to press, Lasseter denied there was any truth to the rumor that Pixar was planning an Ant-Man movie as part of Disney’s recently announced plans to buy Marvel Entertainment.

He also announced some casting news for the upcoming Toy Story 3, confirming that John Morris will return as the voice of Andy. Jeff Garliln, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton and Whoopi Goldberg also will play voices in the film.

Dissertation Ideas

Seen as my tutor is demanding we have a title in less than a day I am trying to think what I can do! I strongly disagree with how he is forcing us to push a dissertation as I feel that any idea I come up with now will not be stuck with and will have wasted my time. I found the following quote and wish he would listen to it.
"The key elements to the writing of an animation dissertation are the same key elements that exist in the writing of any academic dissertation. Before beginning an animation dissertation, a great deal of thought must be given to the topic to be discussed. A poor decision in terms of topic at this stage may lead to a lot of wasted time and problems in completing the dissertation adequately."

Any way, here are some ideas.

* The quality of art and acting in traditional animation, and how 3d animation lacks this quality. (With this idea I could argue how 3d animation retains these elements just in a different way).

* How traditional animation influenced 3D animation. (Which is better and why? Do we believe that going back is needed like Disney are trying with 'The Princess and the Frog').

* The impact modern forms of animation have had on traditional. (3D, CGI.etc)

* The Future of the Animated Feature Film