Our conversations re. rubber house animation and basking sharks excepted, I see no evidence of a new attitude to your degree studies demonstrated by this under-nourished blog; on evidence of your half dozen posts (and scrappy drawings in a tiny notebook) it would seem that the total output of your creative development so far runs to one idea about a box kite and the choice of Norman Mclaren for your assignment topic.
Whoopee-do.
Forgive me if I don't applaud or enthuse about your work.
If, as I suspect, you'd rather be playing computer games instead of engaging with this course and your own personal and creative development, there's little more that I can do; I've warned you before and now I'll do it again - for the last time.
Let me be blunt; in comparison with many of your classmates, you are beginning to look like a waster. Don't misunderstand me - I make no judgement here re. your potential or your talent or the opportunities that may await you, but what I am saying is you're in need of a serious wake up call; the creative industries don't need another X-Box sleep-walker - neither does the course. You have a choice - get it sorted, demonstrate some self-discipline and the ability to prioritise; stop being some sappy consumer of other people's creativity and energy, and start being a producer of your own. Of course, I might be way off beam, but something is stopping you from engaging fully and effectively with your studies. You're giving your time to something other than your degree - I can say this with certainty as I have your classmates output by which to compare your own.
More specifically to Unit 5 - your idea is fine, you need to employ 'rubber hose' exaggeration and you need to get on with it. I do not want to be able to sit here in week 3 and already predict your grade in week 5...
Regarding your essay, Norman Mclaren is a good choice, but you're going to have to dig - visit the BFI website for some interesting articles...
http://www.bfi.org.uk
See following post for important advice re. the relationship between your introduction and the main body of your essay.
Use your introduction* to state clearly the investigative intention of your written assignment and the means by which you are going to support your discussion; for instance:
‘This essay will investigate the animated films of The Brothers Quay in relation to Freud’s theory of the Uncanny - with particular focus on Street of Crocodiles (1986) and The Comb (1990)…
Or
‘The stop-motion animator, Ray Harryhausen is arguably the father of modern day cinematic fantasy. What follows is an investigation of his life and work in relation to the development of special effects…’
Stylistically, it is often clarifying to begin with a key-note quote or bench mark statement that sets the scene for the discussion… for instance:
‘… the Brothers Quay's works are independent of any definable genre; indeed, the imitation of their unique style which can be observed in films of other animators are a complimentary gesture to the auteur style they have developed. Throughout their opus, a continuity can be observed - Quays' devotion to the marginal, the nobody and the unnoticed, elevated into the sublime…’ (Buchan: 1996)
In her essay, Shifting Realities – The Brothers Quay – Between Live Action and Animation, Suzanne Buchan observes that other animators have imitated the unique style of the Brothers Quay. This investigation seeks to trace that influence by comparing their short 1986 film, Street of Crocodiles with Henry Selick’s Coraline (2009)…
* If you can’t provide a succinct introduction for your discussion, chances are you’re not quite ready to write the essay. You need to make your argument clear – without one, you are submitting a ‘blancmange’.
When referring to a film for the first time, always give proper title (with capital letters!), release date and director; after that, you can use title only. Please check spelling of film title – if it’s a made-up word, the spell check won’t know the difference!
When referring to a person for the first time, use full name – after that, use surname only.
You must use Harvard Method for quotations!
Use footnotes for ‘additional’ information that is important or contextualizing but ‘outside’ of the main body of the essay.
2 comments:
Online Interim Review 23/03/10
Dan,
Our conversations re. rubber house animation and basking sharks excepted, I see no evidence of a new attitude to your degree studies demonstrated by this under-nourished blog; on evidence of your half dozen posts (and scrappy drawings in a tiny notebook) it would seem that the total output of your creative development so far runs to one idea about a box kite and the choice of Norman Mclaren for your assignment topic.
Whoopee-do.
Forgive me if I don't applaud or enthuse about your work.
If, as I suspect, you'd rather be playing computer games instead of engaging with this course and your own personal and creative development, there's little more that I can do; I've warned you before and now I'll do it again - for the last time.
Let me be blunt; in comparison with many of your classmates, you are beginning to look like a waster. Don't misunderstand me - I make no judgement here re. your potential or your talent or the opportunities that may await you, but what I am saying is you're in need of a serious wake up call; the creative industries don't need another X-Box sleep-walker - neither does the course. You have a choice - get it sorted, demonstrate some self-discipline and the ability to prioritise; stop being some sappy consumer of other people's creativity and energy, and start being a producer of your own. Of course, I might be way off beam, but something is stopping you from engaging fully and effectively with your studies. You're giving your time to something other than your degree - I can say this with certainty as I have your classmates output by which to compare your own.
More specifically to Unit 5 - your idea is fine, you need to employ 'rubber hose' exaggeration and you need to get on with it. I do not want to be able to sit here in week 3 and already predict your grade in week 5...
Regarding your essay, Norman Mclaren is a good choice, but you're going to have to dig - visit the BFI website for some interesting articles...
http://www.bfi.org.uk
See following post for important advice re. the relationship between your introduction and the main body of your essay.
Use your introduction* to state clearly the investigative intention of your written assignment and the means by which you are going to support your discussion; for instance:
‘This essay will investigate the animated films of The Brothers Quay in relation to Freud’s theory of the Uncanny - with particular focus on Street of Crocodiles (1986) and The Comb (1990)…
Or
‘The stop-motion animator, Ray Harryhausen is arguably the father of modern day cinematic fantasy. What follows is an investigation of his life and work in relation to the development of special effects…’
Stylistically, it is often clarifying to begin with a key-note quote or bench mark statement that sets the scene for the discussion… for instance:
‘… the Brothers Quay's works are independent of any definable genre; indeed, the imitation of their unique style which can be observed in films of other animators are a complimentary gesture to the auteur style they have developed. Throughout their opus, a continuity can be observed - Quays' devotion to the marginal, the nobody and the unnoticed, elevated into the sublime…’ (Buchan: 1996)
In her essay, Shifting Realities – The Brothers Quay – Between Live Action and Animation, Suzanne Buchan observes that other animators have imitated the unique style of the Brothers Quay. This investigation seeks to trace that influence by comparing their short 1986 film, Street of Crocodiles with Henry Selick’s Coraline (2009)…
* If you can’t provide a succinct introduction for your discussion, chances are you’re not quite ready to write the essay. You need to make your argument clear – without one, you are submitting a ‘blancmange’.
When referring to a film for the first time, always give proper title (with capital letters!), release date and director; after that, you can use title only. Please check spelling of film title – if it’s a made-up word, the spell check won’t know the difference!
When referring to a person for the first time, use full name – after that, use surname only.
You must use Harvard Method for quotations!
Use footnotes for ‘additional’ information that is important or contextualizing but ‘outside’ of the main body of the essay.
Please double-space your written assignments!
You must provide a paper-copy at time of crit!
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