Absence, Excess and Epistemological Expansion: Towards a framework for the study of animated documentary

This article gives an overview of the history of animated documentary, both in regard to the form itself and how it has been studied. It then goes on to present a new way of thinking about animated documentary, in terms of the way the animation functions in the texts by asking what the animation does that the live-action alternative could not. Three functions are suggested: mimetic substitution, non-mimetic substitution and evocation. The author suggests that, by thinking about animated documentary in this way, we can see how animation has broadened and deepened documentary’s epistemological project by opening it up to subject matters that previously eluded live-action film

The Evolution of Animated Documentary

Examining the development of animated documentary through the lens of media ecology, Honess Roe reveals complex interrelations between the animated documentary text, and its contexts of production and consumption. From the emergence of digital animation and film editing tools in the 1990s to the impact of the Internet as an alternative distribution platform, the chapter considers the economic, social and technological factors shaping the evolution of animated documentary. Honess Roe argues that while the digital media ecology has provided new opportunities for animated documentary production it has also challenged established business models and practitioner identities

A ‘Special’ Relationship? The Coupling of Britain and America in Working Title’s Romantic Comedies

This chapter explores the 'special relationship' between Britain and the US via Working Title's romantic comedies that couple British and American characters. At first glance it would seem that these films are an attempt to reassert British dominance over America. However, close examination reveals a much more complicated attitude towards Americans and the US with the American as the object of the Briton's desire and narrative closure resulting from the union of man and woman, Britain and America. Films discussed include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Wimbledon

Snow White

The young princess Snow White is kept in servitude as a scullery maid by her stepmother, the wicked Queen. Jealous of her beauty and the attentions of a handsome Prince, the Queen orders the Huntsman to kill Snow White. After the huntsman is unable to fulfil his task, Snow White flees into the ominous-looking forest and, aided by friendly woodland animals, comes across the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs. Here Snow White finds safe harbour, after wooing the fearful Dwarfs with her beauty, charm and domestic talents. The wicked Queen disguises herself as an old hag and persuades Snow White to eat a poisoned apple, which sends her into a death-like sleep. Desperate with grief, the Dwarfs are unable to bury the beautiful princess, but instead place her in a glass and gold coffin. Snow White’s slumber is broken by a kiss from the handsome Prince, with whom she rides off into the sunset to ‘live happily ever after’

Snow White

The young princess Snow White is kept in servitude as a scullery maid by her stepmother, the wicked Queen. Jealous of her beauty and the attentions of a handsome Prince, the Queen orders the Huntsman to kill Snow White. After the huntsman is unable to fulfil his task, Snow White flees into the ominous-looking forest and, aided by friendly woodland animals, comes across the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs. Here Snow White finds safe harbour, after wooing the fearful Dwarfs with her beauty, charm and domestic talents. The wicked Queen disguises herself as an old hag and persuades Snow White to eat a poisoned apple, which sends her into a death-like sleep. Desperate with grief, the Dwarfs are unable to bury the beautiful princess, but instead place her in a glass and gold coffin. Snow White’s slumber is broken by a kiss from the handsome Prince, with whom she rides off into the sunset to ‘live happily ever after’

The Evolution of Animated Documentary

Examining the development of animated documentary through the lens of media ecology, Honess Roe reveals complex interrelations between the animated documentary text, and its contexts of production and consumption. From the emergence of digital animation and film editing tools in the 1990s to the impact of the Internet as an alternative distribution platform, the chapter considers the economic, social and technological factors shaping the evolution of animated documentary. Honess Roe argues that while the digital media ecology has provided new opportunities for animated documentary production it has also challenged established business models and practitioner identities

Interjections and Connections: The Critical Potential of Animated Segments in Live Action Documentary

Gwen Haworth’s 2007 documentary about her male-to-female gender transition is an autobiographical documentary that comprises mostly interviews with family members and close friends, interspersed with home video and observational material. The film also includes some less conventional documentary material in the form of a few short animated segments. About thirty minutes into the documentary an interview with Gwen’s mother is interrupted by an animated sequence that playfully establishes the issues she has with Gwen’s take on being female. Captions are added to retro magazine images of women and domestic scenes, such as ‘family events are not optional’ and ‘grow your hair long.’ Haworth (2008) has commented that she included the animation to lighten the mood and to add humour to a film that would otherwise become too intense and serious. However, this segment is more than a comic interlude. We might think of the use of animation in She’s a Boy I Knew as an interjection. In spoken language, an interjection is a word such as ‘wow’ or ‘aha’ that one utters to create emphasis, draw attention to what has just been, or is about to be, said and to express emotion and attitude. Grammatically, an interjection is not related to the other part of a sentence, yet it only really gains meaning, or significance, when heard in conjunction with that sentence. If a speaker says ‘wow!’ and nothing else, the listener will most likely wonder ‘what?’ If the same speaker says ‘wow! That’s the best documentary I’ve ever seen!’ then the listener will better understand why they said ‘wow’ and the value judgement being made regarding the documentary in question will gain greater emphasis. So, while the ‘How to be a girl’ section in She’s a Boy I Knew can be viewed independently of the documentary in which it appears and as such could stand as an exclamatory statement on its own, it only fully resonates as an articulation of the film’s themes about the societal expectations around gender when viewed within the film as a whole

Animated Documentary

Animation and documentary may seem an odd couple, but Animated Documentary shows how the use of animation as a representational strategy for documentary enhances and expands the realm of nonfiction film and television. From prehistory to states of mind, animation can show and evoke things that elude live-action. The current boom in animated documentary production is situated in the historical context of the cross-pollination of animation and documentary, before exploring the different ways animation functions in the animated documentary. Through analyzing films and television programmes such as Waltz With Bashir and Walking With Dinosaurs, this volume – the first to be published on this fascinating topic – demonstrates that while animation might at first seem to destabilize documentary's claim to represent reality, the opposite is in fact the case. Table of Contents: List of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Representational Strategies 2. Digital Realities 3. Animated Interviews 4. The World in Here 5. Animated Memories Afterword Notes Bibliography Inde