Receiving feedback on the Academic Language Support course
I am very grateful to Nigel Crossingham for helping me with my weekly academic language support sessions. I was unfamiliar with the UK essay system and verbal presentation as an overseas student. However, Nigel encouraged me every week and taught me step-by-step how to express my ideas more clearly. Also. I would get stuck on details when writing my dissertation, and Nigel helped me revisit the outline. Lastly, I would like to say！ I enjoyed his course! As well as being very grateful for his help!
Conclusion
In the final week, Nigel introduced us to the theoretical framework of critical reporting and how to write a report. The feedback and help I received from my professor were something I cherished the most this semester. Whenever I thought about further developing my report, I always received some inspiration in class.
This week I watched many videos about the direction of animation documentaries, the literature of some previous scholars and the views of authenticity in different periods. I started to help myself go through the outline and summarize the literature.
(Folman et al., Waltz with Bashir 2008)
(Flaherty, Nanook of the North (1922) 1922)
Different animation documentaries. I found that some directors in various animation documentaries prefer text to enhance the sense of reality in the documentary, some like to add authentic voices and interviews, and some use virtual reality technology. Try to increase the persuasiveness of the film.
In week 8, this session focused on understanding the methodology, abstract, introduction, and summary. Nigel Mairs professor, provided us with some references and notes on reporting. During the class, the students asked for many details about the paper, and In the process of finding information, I created an outline of my dissertation to help me sort out my thoughts.
As I had no experience studying overseas, the report format was slightly different from the format of the dissertation I had written before. I asked Dr Nigel Mairs two points I was confused about before the class.
The first was about using diagrams in the report and the dissertation, and the second was about the methodology and the percentage of words in the report. Nigel Mairs professor answered it all very clearly and kindly for me.
In this session we will meet in groups to discuss topics, exchange knowledge, share resources and approaches.resources and approaches.
In the first few weeks, when putting together my literature review, I looked up some literature in Google scholar that could help me search for the scope of keywords and organize my thoughts.
I hesitated in identifying keywords until I went on a small search for connections between animated documentaries and other fields, and this material helped me a lot in going for the pulse of the thesis, and my main points gradually became clear
In week 7, I continued to explore the keywords identified last week. I wanted to talk about the values and effects, the prospects and potential of the field of animated documentaries.
As an animation student, I often face several problems in the animation production process, such as the complexity of the people involved and the long lead times. For animation production, the cost of creation and the revenue is an issue we must face. After sharing my views with other majors in this group exchange session, I realized that economics is a vast topic, and this part is too broad to be a sub-part of my subject. So I will not be exploring this area as a significant part of my subject.
Secondly, I realized that my knowledge of philosophy is lacking through the exchange with classmates from different countries, and I need to continue to spend much time improving my reading skills and knowledge. This exchange allowed me to hear about many exciting topics in other fields.
The authenticity of a documentary is ‘deeply linked to notions of realism and the idea that documentary images are linked to notions of realism and the idea that documentary images bear evidence of events that actually happened, by virtue of the indexical relationship between image and reality’
Horness Roe. A. (2013) Animated Documentary. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Paraphrased Paragraph
Honess Roe (2013, Animated Documentary) argues that images can reproduce social reality realistically and objectively, and the existence of the documentary image can prove the authenticity of a documentary.
Animation, as an audio-visual language art, is often used by creators to express personal outbursts of emotion, social ephemera, and other abstract subjects. Animation can be traced back to the earliest days of cave paintings and was often used to record significant historical events, such as hunting, rituals, and various religious activities. But for the Disney studios, World War II turned the animation factories into barracks, using animation as a weapon. Many government and military administrators understood that film was the best tool to educate, inspire and motivate people.
Categorisation: Animation is an integrated medium of creative expression for film and television. The creation of a good job is often influenced by a variety of historical, economic, and political influences. Historically, the late 1960s saw the outbreak of a second feminist surge, during which the world’s economic landscape changed dramatically. In the early 19th century, faithful women had to be pious, pure, and good at housework, and men morally influenced women through their roles as mothers and wives. In 1964, supported by the law, the student movement broke out. Many young women raised resistance against sexism, while in 1966, the anti-war movement in the United States, where women were mainly limited to providing moral comfort and support to young men, this traditional concept was reflected in a new type of revolutionary situation, where sexual freedom became sexual oppression. In animation history, feminist works have occupied a critical position.
Form and Function: Imagination is at the heart of animation, and these films invariably demonstrate how these female-identified and feminist animators, under the pressure of patriarchal domination, have flourished through a series of political statements and commentaries on public life – all of which have succeeded in animation in particular –to show their creativity.An issue often overlooked in the study of feminist films, media, and practices is animation’s critical capacity and potential. Both are historical markers of women’s individual and political resistance and the current burgeoning, deliberate use of film by female animators as a text of resistance. It makes sense.
The animated film turns the Asparagus into a male head-like vessel, the head sawed open, bright red with sap, and blooming beautifully. From the window, she peers in or views a man’s advances. But when this man disappears, she begins to lose it and debug herself, but how can she not leave her existing life? Asparagus is sex, the essence of a beautiful male form with its phallic stem, pointed style, and purple-green color. But as summer passes, it stretches high and becomes a subtle fern, leaning over the curb in the wind, the essence of femininity like long, tangled hair. It is a beautiful symbol of sexuality. The couch allows for rest and comfort, and she needs to relax a bit, employing sex. She puts on a mask and brings all kinds of temptations to the streets. The windows of the roads are a reflection of the times. I think Susan’s most significant limitation is that the animation lacks a vision of the future of feminism. In the production of the spirit, she favors the depiction of female appearance and the influence of the environment. Still, there is no doubt that this is an excellent experimental animation.
Formal Elements: In the animation, dazzling colors paint beautiful pictures; the motion pictures fluctuate like a vast, surging sea; it excites and delights the eye and the mind. Beautifully animated, with sometimes strangely raunchy visuals and a disturbing soundtrack, this is a strange short film, but it’s still gorgeous and entertaining. I think many moviegoers of experimental animation might immediately dismiss it as less plotted gibberish; however, if you greet the film’s bizarre atmosphere with open arms, you might find a shocking, funny, weird, beautiful, atmospheric, creepy, unique, provocative and fantastical wealth of animation.
Process: as Jung said, “Images are pregnant” There’s something about the ’60s and ’70s in the film – the acid and hallucinogens, the spectacular insight, the trance of being lost and found – and the color. All of Susan’s movies are handmade and shot on 35mm cameras – the slight shaking and layering of the film give the films a psychedelic style. The hand-drawn animation is vibrant and personal. The cackling vibrations of the shadows, the shifting light, and the medium of the film are all part of the look and feel of the film. The quality of the animation and the resolution color is very influential in working. It’s as different as looking at a painting and looking at a reproduction of an image – the quality of the film itself is part of the message.
From the color scheme alone, a swath of dazzling pinks and big reds suggest femininity, sensuality, and passion. In the lavishly decorated room, our eyes “follow” a faceless (masked halfway through) heroine on a journey that is iconic and familiar (woman, home, private domain), ending in an eerie, theatrical space. The theater is filmed with a stop-motion public, which is very different from the animated style of the entire film, realistic, realistic. The natural public prefers the unreal. Curtain after curtain, as if always can not be pulled out, masking what is behind. Behind the curtain is a huge figure, a hand, and this hand wants you to see whatever you want to see. He is the manipulator of everything. What does the waterfall mean? The mask in the picture is raw and dull, a rotating hole like an intestine where excrement is released and gets public admiration. The leather bag is like Pandora’s magic box, releasing endless compulsions. Notice the sofa is very eye-catching?
Sex toys correspond to the major companies, respectively, manufacturing goods. The surprise and amazement of the crowd. Leave all this to the people. The woman left, and she took off the mask. She went to the man, and here is a peek-a-boo shot of us spying on her, spying on her with our digital products. The meaning here is that this woman serves this man, and this woman is a general reference; she can already appear in various guises and be Santa Claus, as in the masked cabinet before. She can also be the man. The appearance of the waterfall in her mouth corresponds to the first play of the theater. What is the symbolism? Flowers, meat, whatever it is. Who gets the ultimate pleasure at the end, metal bands, fruit candy, hair dough, and who gets the ultimate pleasure? Susan uses a lot of vivid colors and music to articulate the film’s climax, creating a psychedelic yet elegant cinematic atmosphere.
Ari Folman, David Polonsky,2009.Waltz with Bashir.Israeli
Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary about the war and humanity of the brutal Second World War. The director interweaves layers of animation and authentic images to render the film’s poignant yet moving emotional tone. With the technical support of joint exploration and year-on-year updates, emerging digital media technology and the combination of animation and authentic images add many bright moments to the film, making the characters more complex and bringing the entire story circle to the audience, achieving the most basic principles. The freedom of animation and the flexibility of expression and production adds to the artistic aesthetic of the documentary. And what Nichols, B. says in his book about film and television assumes the destiny of understanding contemporary and old works in the history of society. At the same time, animated documentaries face many controversies. I think the most critical factor is whether to respect authenticity based on objective facts and the creation of animated language.
According to Honess Roes’ ‘Taxonomy for the documentary,’ people will question the disadvantages of animated documentaries, such as the fact that live-action films are much faster and cheaper. But I would counter with two points; the production process of animation avoids the extra expense of renting filming equipment and issuing crew props for documentaries. If one were to make a documentary about war, using a ‘secondary live action’ method of filming to recreate historical war footage to make up for the shortcomings of a historical film would necessarily involve expensive explosives and guns, which would be costly and dangerous. The use of ‘re-enactment’ in the documentary ‘Battle of Britain,’ about the Battle of Britain and Germany in World War II, was far more expensive than the pay-off due to the high upfront investment. Director spent more money on magazines and gunpowder than on the actual war in history. In contrast, the animated documentary on the same subject, Waltzing with Bushehr, cost just over a million dollars. In documentary filming, unpredictable weather conditions, equipment, and costume factors often do not compromise the production process. On the other hand, the animated documentary saves money and reduces the flow of existing resources, speeding up the filming and production process and facilitating the creation of images.
I found that most of the articles focused on whether animated documentaries could convey the essential character of the film in a new form of presentation. However, we often overlook the many social factors. For example, in a documentary film, without authentic historical footage, the filmmakers have recreated history and consulted many sources. However, the viewer questions the authenticity of the images when secondary re-enactments are used. In a highly abstract experimental animation, however, many viewers can glimpse the creator’s experience and creative philosophy through the many different forms of representation. In the case of an animated documentary, if only some animated elements are used, should the film be discussed under the concept of a documentary?
Formal Elements; the narrative character of an animated documentary.In the first half of the film, when I saw the soldiers shooting a young boy to death, it was clear to me that this was no longer the cruelty of war but the unleashing of human nature and selfishness. As the soldiers enter the forest before they can see the boy’s face, the film switches between a group of soldiers and the skinny boy, with the editing tugging at the heartstrings and making you feel the tension of the protagonist. The mission details are also fascinating, with the soldiers’ neatly tailored uniforms and rifles and the boy’s tattered clothes and old gun barrel. A few brief details convey a great deal of information about the film to the audience in a short period. The worldview is effectively and meticulously described and embellished. The film Waltz with Bashir is repeatedly interspersed with repeated depictions of the suffering caused by the war and the beauty of the memories.
I chose to analyze free guy because it fits my area of interest very well. UGC games and films are one of the most popular genres, and we see more and more elements of the metaverse appearing daily in film and television: animation and games. This reflects the intertwining of cultural, artistic, and scientific fields worldwide, and I am very interested in this topic.
In this movie, several factors have a massive impact on the protagonist, and the setting of these tools is exciting. The first and most important is the sunglasses. When GUY first awakens, he realizes that ordinary NPCs cannot have skin in the game world, and he grabs someone else’s sunglasses and puts them on so that he can see all kinds of game resources and weapons. The second is the bubble gum ice cream, used to promote the development of the relationship between GUY and the heroine, slowly driving this story to the climax plot. The third is the equipment library, which makes GUY fly through Freedom City to upgrade and gain popularity. The fourth is the code, which gradually reveals why the Keyboard has a massive conflict with Antoine and the origin and future of Freedom City.
Stasis
Stagnation When we meet our characters, their lives are usually average. Show us how they see the world and how the world sees them. Everything is calm …… until ……
The guy is a non-player character (NPC) in Free City, a massively multiplayer online role-playing video game (MMORPG). The players of Free City are distinguished from NPCs by the sunglasses they wear and spend their time robbing banks, fighting each other, and causing mayhem. Unaware that the world they live in is a video game, the NPCs are mostly oblivious to the chaos caused by players while living out their scripted lives.
The quest,
the central part of the script is about the protagonist chasing his needs, the pursuit or the purpose of the protagonist in this story, the embodiment of the plot
When Guy runs into Millie again, Millie is infiltrating another player’s “private storage space” (Stash) for the second time, hoping to find clues to Antoine’s plagiarized source code. After Gai helps Milly escape security, Milly thinks Gai can help her get evidence in the game world. Later, Keyboard discovers that Gai has developed self-awareness through the artificial intelligence in the original code of “Freedom City” and is convinced that Antoine has plagiarized the “Game of Life” created by him and Milly. Because Gai’s character code, including the setting of liking girls like Milly, was all designed by Keyboard in “Game of Life”, Gai has developed a strong affection for Milly. Millie revealed the truth about the game world to Gai, but Gai did not want to believe it. After separating from Millie, Guy is disappointed after seeing the natural face of this world and decides to go to Buddy for a chat. Guy expresses his disillusionment with the false life, while Buddy believes that the world of the present is the real world, so Guy decides to help Millie get the original game. With Buddy’s help, Guy breaks into the private storage space again. This time, the owner of the personal storage space recognizes Guy as the fiery red brother in blue and gladly hands over the clue video.
Surprise
Unexpected timing will lead the protagonist to plunge into the conflict, consolidating conflicting character development that can be invested in and can be questioned.
As Gai’s growing fame affects the sequel’s release, Antoine orders Keyboard and his partner Mouse to reset Gai’s program. Keyboard refuses, and Mouse resets the program because he doesn’t believe Antoine plagiarized.
Critical choice
A choice or decision made by the protagonist before the climax; generally, for this choice, the protagonist may need to change his approach; the embodiment of the character reaches its peak at this stage now.
The guy lost consciousness, and Mitty re-entered the game world to try to wake up GUY’s consciousness. Reboot will not damage his code; only complete deletion will. And the engineer encourages Milly to enter the world again, and Milly brings the guy into the bank again to put on the glasses. But the guy still does not activate consciousness, knowing that Milly and the guy kiss together; he remembers everything.
Climax
the climax is the tensest moment in a story, the moment when the character faces a crisis that controls the rest of the plot, the ultimate test of the character’s emotional and arcing abilities, the confluence of all previous problems and conflicts
When Millie saw Gai again, he had lost all his memories after generating self-awareness. Millie remembered that the Keyboard had said that Gai needed a stimulus to re-trigger the AI and let Gai recover his memories with a kiss. Millie knows there is an island that is part of Game of Life. Although the recorded data is restored every time the game is reset, this island is the only one protected because it is located within the base source code and can be considered the only evidence of Antoine’s plagiarism. The clue video reveals that the island appeared in the game, and Gai recalls seeing the island in the game, when in fact, the island was only made invisible through blindfold to make it invisible. Later, Gai and Milly persuade the other NPCs in the game to get rid of the programmed restrictions, making the progress of Freedom City entirely out of control. Antoine sees this and orders Gai and the cocktail girl to be deleted but never succeeds.
On the other hand, Milly and Keyboard need a Keyboard to guide Milly Gai to the island from inside the company to obtain evidence. After Antoine finds out that it was Keyboard behind the company, he fires Keyboard and sends the character Dude (actually the super-built Gai), who developed the game for “Freedom City 2”, to deal with Gai. After a vicious fight, Gai finally succeeded in turning enemies into friends with Big Brother.
The Falling action
The Falling action plot transitions from the climax to the end, a natural change of events that can go in the direction of the protagonist but can also be subverted and make things worse
Antoine lost face under the Keyboard to the world’s players’ lives, helpless under the axe to go directly to destroy the game’s servers, trying to destroy the evidence of plagiarism and the game together. However, in the end, Gai still managed to board the island, and the world’s players also witnessed everything throughout the process. Antoine wanted to sabotage the final server and destroy the entire Game of Life world and the characters to lose both. Milly offered to drop the lawsuit against Antoine and let him keep the IP and all the revenue of Freedom City in exchange for Antoine to give Milly the last server with the remaining world and NPCs. In the end, Antoine agrees to the deal, and Milly can save all the characters in the game.
Resolution
ending story restored to stability
Antoine’s “Freedom Cities 2”, without the technology of Mouse and Keyboard and the original code of “Game of Life”, suffered from a waterloo right after its launch, with game bugs and system instability causing players to drop out. Antoine was also scorned by the public for the poor performance of the game’s sequel and the illegal acts that were previously broadcast live. Keyboard, Mouse and Millie started a new company that released Free Life based on the previous source code and added Cap, Buddy and other Free City NPCs, which was very profitable. Thanks to Guy, Millie realizes that Guy is the love letter from the Keyboard to her and realizes that true love is close at hand. Meanwhile, Guy is reunited with Buddy in “Free Life”, and the two of them are free from the programming of “Free City” and start a carefree life. Cast
-Breakdown the characters into their archetypes
Protagonist-guy
A non-player character in “Freehold” is a bank clerk who lives the same life every day but meets and falls in love with “Cocktail Girl” and starts to develop self-awareness and break free from the system’s restrictions.
The antagonist of the main character-Antwan
The owner of the game company Sulome, who is crazy, snobbish and evil, steals the code of “Game of Life” and adapts it to “Liberty City” and makes a lot of money.
Dynamics Batty = Millie = NPC heroine
Designed the open-world game “Game of Life” with a Keyboard but was bought by Antoine to represent and steal the code to adapt it into “Freedom City”, so she is looking around for evidence to sue Antoine for stealing their code. The virtual stand-ins in Freedom City are cowgirls in steel armour.
Static has no growing characters and no development-Mouser
Game designer and debugger who fixes program bugs at Sulome Games, Keyboard’s partner. Mouser’s virtual stand-in in “Liberty City” is the pink rabbit man.
Round, Depth-rich character with intricate details such as history, ideas, emotions, and personal traits. Walter “Keys” McKeys
Designed the open-world game “Game of Life” with Millie, then joined Sulome Games as a debugger fixing program errors due to financial constraints, and later worked with Millie to find evidence against Antoine. Keyboard’s virtual double in “Freedom City” is a lewd-looking police officer.
Flat fodder role lack of depth is very one-sided. The Hostage
An NPC in “Liberty City,” a hostage who is so frightened by the player that he only raises his hands in surrender.
In recent decades, some have debated the basic principles of authenticity in documentaries and animation. Some argue that documentaries require an accurate record of real life by their very nature. On the other hand, the animation is considered a constructed image, and its authenticity has been questioned. So, in this case. How should creators define the criteria of “documentary” when creating animated documentaries? This report is divided into three main aspects to argue and discuss the differences arising from the division of the two creative principles into two camps based on the authenticity of animation and documentary.
Reference
DelGaudio, S. (1997). If Truth Be Told, Can ’Toons Tell It? Documentary and Animation. Film History
Spence, Louise (2010)Crafting Truth: Documentary Form and Meaning
Honess Roe. A. (2013) Animated Documentary. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Additional individual research background
Over the last few years, I have produced an animated documentary that appeals to attention to polar bears’ survival, combining documentary footage from news interviews with 3D animation. Nevertheless, I cannot confidently say it is an animated documentary because it contains some sci-fi scenarios of polar bear survival in the future that I have incorporated based on actual footage. So in creating this, I had some questions about the authenticity of the animated documentary. I want to use this report to explore the criteria of authenticity in animated documentaries and my work to help me better identify the criteria of objectively realistic creation when making animated documentaries in the future.
This week we have been learning about developing relevant research questions, finding academic resources, and using resources to help us articulate our arguments. We also explored our areas of interest, which served as the start of our critical report.
During the week, we thought about our respective areas of interest, some of which are.
The impact of UGC [user-created content] on modern games
The use of motion capture technology in animation and the threat it poses to animators
A study of the criteria for creating authenticity in animated documentaries
The changes in feminist themes in the history of animation creation
The virtual meets the reality in animated documentaries.
In the end, I chose this title.
The criteria for defining reality in animated documentaries.
Initially, I wanted to do a paper on the subject of UGC. Professor Nigel gave me some advice, and I realised that the topic was too large in scope for a 1,500-word critical report. For example, the scale of data collection would be heavy, and my lack of experience with UGC projects would make me struggle.
After a week of thinking about it, I chose the topic of animated documentaries from some of the topics I had done. While working on the undergraduate animation, we needed some help selecting the actual film and data. I also had some unresolved problems. Hopefully, this report will inspire me to produce animated documentaries in the future.
Language Academic Support Course
I learned about the basic knowledge of some thesis writing in this class, which is very valuable for a non-mother tongue student. At the same time, we played some games together to help students understand each other.
