55501 Studio: Animation Project Pre-production

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

Description

In this subject, students begin to research, generate ideas, develop content and form collaborative teams for their capstone animation project which is completed in Spring session. Pre-production is an important phase in the creative development of animation. It encompasses many standard practices and steps (such as script development, pre-visualisation of key animation concept designs, story pitching to an audience, and storyboard production). As animation is a highly collaborative practice, time is spent fostering the formation of a production team and creative partnerships, paying particular attention to the capabilities of their chosen team and the needs and demands of the evolving major project.

Students work closely with multiple tutors who are animation professionals and academics, to negotiate and refine the feasibility of their proposed project, developing clear strategies for production. At the completion of the subject students have a fully resolved creative package of pre-production assets, including a production bible, concept design artwork, final animatic, temp soundtrack, creative collaborators, and a production schedule, ready to begin production in Spring.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:

• Independently cultivate aesthetic sensibility, demonstrate professional skills in practice including knowledge and standards, and can work conceptually. (1.1)
• Present work with precision and relevance to contemporary industry practice and contextualise work within current and historical animation knowledge and theory. (2.2)
• Re-imagine human practices through storytelling, performance and communication. (2.3)
• Apply a critical and responsible understanding of Indigenous peoples, cultures and protocols to creative practice. (4.1)
• Communicate with a high degree of sensitivity, precision and technical proficiency when presenting narrative, complexity and abstraction to a broad audience. (6.1)
• Demonstrate proficiencies in communication to professionally develop, and critically reflect upon and find solutions through collaborative work (6.2)

Teaching and learning strategies

Weekly sessions of interactive lectures and studio-based workshops and tutorials. These studio projects are focused on a Problem Based Learning (PBL) strategy that involves students in researching and developing their own solutions to complex design challenges. They are not intended as a directly instructional process.

Interactive lectures and tutorials concentrate on articulation and exploration on the set problem, and on encouraging students to take initiative in finding their own solutions through discussion, ideas generation, research and iteration. This studio provides the appropriate time to work through creative problems in a way that is in-keeping with the rigour expected of honours level study.

Studio model of learning includes demonstrations, presentations, visual tasks and exercises, seminars, case studies and external visits. The subject includes active learning experiences where ongoing feedback is provided weekly. In the studios students work on their design projects with a mentor. At the beginning of each studio the mentor discusses with the entire group the challenges they are facing with their projects. The mentor then prompts students faced by similar challenges to facilitate collaborative discussions. The mentor reviews each student’s work weekly, provides feedback verbally, takes notes and/or suggests homework specific to the unique design problems presented by the specific project. It is the students' responsibility to record any feedback provided in studio. During pin-up presentations students are expected to actively participate in collaborative peer review feedback exercises.

Students have ample opportunity to receive feedback from mentors and peers prior to the census date during in-studio feedback sessions and formal critique of the works-in progress.

Content (topics)

Students undertake an extended concept development for animation, writing and designing a major project proposal for realisation in Spring Semester.

The subject content is focused on the development of narrative and non-narrative concepts for animation, and builds upon the conceptual knowledge, technical skills and aesthetic sensibility developed through previous studies in animation production. Key ideas and concepts introduced to the classroom are established in a reflexive mode, allowing the subject to fluidly address the needs of the creative projects in development.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Tone Pitch - Audio Narrative

Assessment task 2: Pitch Bible and Rough Animatic

Assessment task 3: Animatic with 6-12 seconds of animation

Minimum requirements

ATTENDANCE: Students must have fewer than 5 unexplained absences to ensure that staff can accurately assess assignments because, in this subject, a majority of the grades are awarded to creative process. Tutors seek evidence of research, concept development and reflexive iteration over the course of the semester during feedback and discussion each week in class. Tutors are unable to accurately assess the rigour of process in student work if students are not available for discussion and feedback during class time. Attendance will be marked at the beginning of each class. The penalty for not meeting the minimum attendance requirement is that the student’s final assignment will not be marked (as per Rule 3.8).

References

Beck, J. (2003) Outlaw Animation: Cutting Edge Cartoons from the Spike and Mike Festivals, H.N. Abrams

Edmond, M, (2014) Battarbee and Namatjira, Giramondo.

Hart, J. (1999) The Art of the Storyboard: Storyboarding for Film, TV and Animation, Focal Press.

Hooks, E. (2003) Acting for Animators: A Complete Guide to Performance Animation, Heinemann.

McDonald, B. (2010) Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate, Libertary Company.

Meyer, T. (2010), Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects, Focal Press.

Noble, I. (2005), Visual Research: An introduction to Research Methodologies in Graphic Design, AVA Academia.

Pilling, J. (2001) Animation: 2D and Beyond, RotoVision.

Scott, J. (2002) How to Write for Animation, Overlook Press.

Tufte E.R. (1997) Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative, Graphics Press.

Wells, P. (2007) Basic Animation 01: Scriptwriting, AVA Academia,

Wells, P. (2009) The Animated Bestiary: Animals, Cartoons and Culture, Rutgers Press.