Substitutive bodies and constructed actors: a practice-based investigation of animation as performance

The fundamental conceptualisation of what animation actually is has been changing in the face of material change to production and distribution methods since the introduction of digital technology. This re-conceptualisation has been contributed to by increasing artistic and academic interest in the field, such as the emergence of Animation Studies, a relatively new branch of academic enquiry that is establishing itself as a discipline. This research (documentation of live events and thesis) examines animation in the context of performance, rather than in terms of technology or material process. Its scope is neither to cover all possible types of animation nor to put forward a new ‘catch-all’ definition of animation, but rather to examine the site of performance in character animation and to propose animation as a form of performance. In elaborating this argument, each chapter is structured around the framing device of animation as a message that is encoded and produced, delivered and played back, then received and decoded. The PhD includes a portfolio of projects undertaken as part of the research process on which the text critically reflects. Due to their site-specific approach, these live events are documented through video and still images. The work represents an intertwining, interdisciplinary, post-animation praxis where theory and practice inform one another and test relationships between animation and performance to problematise a binary opposition between that which is live as opposed to that which is animated. It is contextualised by a review of historical practice and interviews with key contemporary practitioners whose work combines animation with an intermedial mixture of interaction design, fine art, dance and theatre

Delving Deep into the Sketch and Photo Relation

"Sketches drawn by humans can play a similar role to photos in terms of conveying shape, posture as well as fine-grained information, and this fact has stimulated one line of cross-domain research that is related to sketch and photo, including sketch-based photo synthesis and retrieval. In this thesis, we aim to further investigate the relationship between sketch and photo. More specifically, we study certain under- explored traits in this relationship, and propose novel applications to reinforce the understanding of sketch and photo relation.Our exploration starts with the problem of sketch-based photo synthesis, where the unique trait of non-rigid alignment between sketch and photo is overlooked in existing research. We then carry on with our investigation from a new angle to study whether sketch can facilitate photo classifier generation. Building upon this, we continue to explore how sketch and photo are linked together on a more fine-grained level by tackling with the sketch-based photo segmenter prediction. Furthermore, we address the data scarcity issue identified in nearly all sketch-photo-related applications by examining their inherent correlation in the semantic aspect using sketch-based image retrieval (SBIR) as a test-bed. In general, we make four main contributions to the research on relationship between sketch and photo.Firstly, to mitigate the effect of deformation in sketch-based photo synthesis, we introduce the spatial transformer network to our image-image regression framework, which subtly deals with non-rigid alignment between the sketches and photos. The qualitative and quantitative experiments consistently reveal the superior quality of our synthesised photos over those generated by existing approaches.Secondly, sketch-based photo classifier generation is achieved with a novel model regression network, which maps the sketch to the parameters of photo classification model. It is shown that our model regression network is able to generalise across categories and photo classifiers for novel classes not involved in training are just a sketch away. Comprehensive experiments illustrate the promising performance of the generated binary and multi-class photo classifiers, and demonstrate that sketches can also be employed to enhance the granularity of existing photo classifiers.Thirdly, to achieve the goal of sketch-based photo segmentation, we propose a photo segmentation model generation algorithm that predicts the weights of a deep photo segmentation network according to the input sketch. The results confirm that one single sketch is the only prerequisite for unseen category photo segmentation, and the segmentation performance can be further improved by utilising sketch that is aligned with the object to be segmented in shape and position.Finally, we present an unsupervised representation learning framework for SBIR, the purpose of which is to eliminate the barrier imposed by data annotation scarcity. Prototype and memory bank reinforced joint distribution optimal transport is integrated into the unsupervised representation learning framework, so that the mapping between the sketches and photos could be automatically detected to learn a semantically meaningful yet domain-agnostic feature space. Extensive experiments and feature visualisation validate the efficacy of our proposed algorithm.

A Historic Waterfront Revitalisation Project in Tanjung Emas, Johor

This project addresses the importance of public open spaces in supporting the revitalisation of historic waterfront development along Tanjung Emas, Muar, Johor. At the domestic level, this place is popular as it attracts many visitors, particularly on weekends. Its location in the Royal Town of Bandar Maharani; thus, it plays an essential role in creating a catalyst for a sharp image of urban design elements. The distribution of many historical buildings such as Masjid Sultan Abu Bakar, Muar High School, and Muar District Court, reflecting the influence of colonial architecture adds to its colourful and vibrant image of an old town. Hence, the proposals which mainly cover the public open spaces along Tanjung Emas are expected to revitalise the image of Bandar Maharani. The projects involve mainly the uplifting the facilities of the children playground, provision of the water fountain, open theatre, pavilion, and floating café

Neo traditional boutique hotel

Tourism cities are facing massive emergence of new tourism enterprises that continuously catering the changing needs and lifestyles of tourists and local communities. Hospitality industry plays a major role in ‘branding’ tourism cities However, the current issue on overdevelopment of tourism accommodations with similar branding approach are causing many cities in the world losing their creativeness (Chang and Teo, 2008). The similar issue also occurred in Malaysia especially in Melaka city where thousands of hotels emerged around the cities without having creative branding style (Hall, 2000). Therefore, the need of themed boutique hotels is vital to attract local and international tourists to Melaka city. Consequently, a Neo Traditional Boutique Hotel was proposed which have not more than 10 rooms, maximum of 2-storey height with other supporting facilities. The Boutique hotel was proposed to be located at Jalan Klebang Besar near Bert’s garden restaurant

Cinesonica: Sounding the Audiovisuality of Film and Video

The dissertation presents an exploration of neglected and under-theorised aspects of film and video sound. In doing so, the study proposes a sounding of the cinesonic; that is, it considers the deployment of sound within an audiovisual context. The key concern of this dissertation is how we might map and negotiate the materiality of film and video sound both beyond, and in relation to, its signitive dimensions, and what might be at stake in a critical engagement with that materiality. In particular, this sounding engages with the inscription of difference that is common to Saussurian linguistics, signitive formulations of sound-image relations, and notions of what might constitute the properly 'political' in an audiovisual poetics founded on modernist paradigms. The research demonstrates that any coming-to-terms with film and video's materiality needs to be informed by the idea that the material events we term 'the film' or 'the video' are marked by a relationship between sound and image. Thus the dissertation negotiates a sounding of these media in relation to that materiality best described as audiovisuality. The dissertation opens with a consideration of the way in which sound is commonly conceptualised in terms of its relationship with an object source, and how the formulation of sound as signifier militates against an engagement with its material dimensions. The following chapters explore neglected aspects of film and video sound by drawing on a range of theoretical resources predominantly - but not exclusively - derived from the work of Gilles Deleuze, with detailed case study analyses of specific film and video texts, and interviews with filmmakers. The topics covered in these chapters include the phenomenon of optical crackle, electronic sounds, the correspondence of sound and image pejoratively termed 'mickey-mousing', and the organisation and manipulation of sounds in British Scratch Video of the 1980s

A Classroom Based Assessment in a High School Social Studies Classroom

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the use of brain-based pre-writing strategies will improve students’ abilities to support claims, with evidence, on a state-mandated, classroom-based, assessment. Specifically, the research evaluated the working hypothesis that using brain-based, pre-writing activity in the non-fiction, expository writing process will assist students in their performances, as assessed by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state-approved You and the Economy CBA CBA Rubric. By using brain-based strategies as a pre-writing activity in the non-fiction, explanatory, secondary social studies writing process, I hypothesized that those students would demonstrate logical use of claims and evidence in their typed essays. The research questions were answered through an action-research data cycle. This research is guided by two overarching research questions: 1. As brain-based learning strategies are being implemented in real time, what is the nature of the process of using brain-based interventions? In documenting the brain-based interventions, what decision-making factors are considered when designing the unit of instruction? 2. What changes—if any—are demonstrated in student writing performances on a Classroom Based Assessment, when brain-based learning strategies are implemented over the span of the research cycle? These research questions were answered through a study design involving a cycle of instruction, culminating in an explanatory writing sample. The results of the CBA-related to claims and evidence outlined in EALRs 2.2.1 and 5.2.2, instructional practices to implement brain-based pre-writing strategies will be implemented. Using brain principles to increase visual, auditory and kinesthetic contact with the concepts presented may improve students’ abilities to make claims and provide proper evidence for those claims, as measured by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State approved You and the Economy Class Based Assessment (CBA) Rubric. The process of my decision making, as well as student writing, was examined to evaluate the effect of brain-based pre-writing strategies, which students use to complete the CBA

Structural Studies of RNA-dependent RNA polymerases

Most RNA viruses possess an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (vRdRP), responsible for viral genome replication and transcription. Furthermore, a number of eukaryotic organisms, including plants, fungi, protozoa and some metazoans, produce cellular RdRPs (cRdRPs) involved in RNA silencing mechanisms. One of the best studied vRdRPs is that of the dsRNA bacteriophage Φ6. Structures of Φ6 RdRP (Φ6pol) in complex with RNA oligonucleotides revealed the basis for template specificity: the extra hydroxyl group leads to additional RNA-protein interactions, further stabilizing the template. Structures of "manganese-free" Φ6pol and a mutated form of the protein with lower affinity for the ion (E491Q mutant) provided some hints to the role of manganese. The structure of a complex of Φ6pol with RNA oligonucleotides and GTP with the catalytic magnesium ions substituted by calcium ions shows a distorted geometry of the initiation competent state, providing a molecular explanation of the calcium inhibitory effect. Finally, the structure of a mutated form of the protein (628QYKW632-SG mutant) prone to back-priming initiation revealed a set of contacts important for de novo initiation. Considering the high structural homology of Φ6pol with other vRdRPs, particularly from (+)ssRNA Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), insights into the mechanistic and structural details of Φ6pol are thought to be relevant to the general understanding of vRdRPs. The dimeric structure of QDE-I, an RdRP from the fungus Neurospora crassa involved in RNA silencing, revealed a surprising similarity at the active site level to multi subunit DNA-dependent RNA polymerases (DdRPs). This implies a close evolutionary relationship between these erzymes and a possible connection between RNA silencing pathways and primordial RNA polymerisation mechanisms. Furthermore, an analysis based on the structures of several template dependent polymerases suggests that they have emerged more than once over the course of evolution

Animating Film Theory

Animating Film Theory provides an enriched understanding of the relationship between two of the most unwieldy and unstable organizing concepts in cinema and media studies: animation and film theory. For the most part, animation has been excluded from the purview of film theory. The contributors to this collection consider the reasons for this marginalization while also bringing attention to key historical contributions across a wide range of animation practices, geographic and linguistic terrains, and historical periods. They delve deep into questions of how animation might best be understood, as well as how it relates to concepts such as the still, the moving image, the frame, animism, and utopia. The contributors take on the kinds of theoretical questions that have remained underexplored because, as Karen Beckman argues, scholars of cinema and media studies have allowed themselves to be constrained by too narrow a sense of what cinema is. This collection reanimates and expands film studies by taking the concept of animation seriously. Contributors. Karen Beckman, Suzanne Buchan, Scott Bukatman, Alan Cholodenko, Yuriko Furuhata, Alexander R. Galloway, Oliver Gaycken, Bishnupriya Ghosh, Tom Gunning, Andrew R. Johnston, Hervé Joubert-Laurencin, Gertrud Koch, Thomas LaMarre, Christopher P. Lehman, Esther Leslie, John MacKay, Mihaela Mihailova, Marc Steinberg, Tess Takahash

Humor and technical communication: the culture, the texts, the implications

This study argues that, for both practical and theoretical reasons, scholarly inquiry is needed in the area of humor and professional communication: specifically, the humor that technical writers are incorporating into technical texts. To address this need, the study approaches humor from a social perspective which assumes that discourse is understood within the contextualized activity within which it occurs;Interdisciplinary humor research is explored, and from these studies specific contextual elements which impact discourse are identified: humor stimuli, expectations, values, participant relationships, and group relationships. However, existing research concentrates on the identification of these elements from a serious perspective, and this present study further argues that humor needs to be understood from within the humor context within which humor operates most freely;Drawing upon the writings of Michael Mulkay and, to a greater extent, Mikhail Bakhtin\u27s Rabelais and His World, this study develops a social theory of humor which explains humor from within such a humor context, specifically the office humor culture which is part of the workplace of professional communicators;Finally, this study applies the theory that is developed in four ways: it presents a sampling of office-humor texts, a synthesis of the subject matter in those texts, comparisons of office humor and humor in technical documents, and a single example which produced differing interpretations