Art and design higher education curriculum design: integrating a lost stop motion method in higher education

This piece discusses considerations for what might inspire Art and Design higher education curriculum design as well as published concepts that argue potentially unavoidable considerations. A unique case study is then offered to reflect upon these discussions. The case study will reflect on integrating a lost animation method referred to as ‘shooting blind’ in Level four teaching, implemented over five academic years. A history of the shooting blind method helps us understand why this method was replaced after eighty years of utilisation before being forgotten by both industry and education. Methods of creating animation inevitably evolve when technological advancements offer a simpler, quicker, more cost-effective route for animation production. 3D Animation methods update almost yearly with this animation discipline relying heavily on software and technology for its own existence. 2D Animation diversified with the development of screen-based graphics tablets able to recreate the visual aesthetic of previously utilised ‘traditional’ hand drawn methods. Stop Motion animation currently utilises a mixture of both software and technology that offers enhanced workflows replicating previous utilised methods. In my opinion animation methods that were replaced, methods that were practised for decades, and their inherent potential were forcibly lost in an ever changing digital and advancing technological landscape. The simpler, quicker, more cost-effective benefits of current methods utilised by industry seem to be believed to outweigh all benefits of the methods that they replace. However, I believe that there are uncharted educational benefits which have been left undiscovered with these lost methods of animation

Pedagogical benefits of discontinued animation methodology

Within the history of animation production, there is a continuing growth and development of methodology that is as turbulent today as it has been since the birth of this creative art form. Past methods used in Animation production are quickly forgotten as new, adapted variants take hold, adding efficiency and higher profit in an industrial setting. But what of those lost methods? Was their only potential for efficiency? For the last two years, Melvyn Ternan has brought back 'Shooting Blind', the only method that his L4 students are allowed to use for the first 6 weeks of their learning in Stop Motion Animation. 'Shooting Blind' does not permit the animator any reference of how much they have moved a puppet when animating, compared to todays 'Onion skinning' method where animators can see precisely how much they have moved the puppet. Shooting blind is deemed impossible, difficult, unwieldily and defunct. But what of it's pedagogical properties? The focus required to use such a method, where all physical tools fall away only to be replaced by a rampant focus of the mind to fully portray the illusion of movement? Let alone the ignorance set around even the existence of the shooting blind method, it's difficulty is greatly misconceived and its benefits, within Animation development seem crucial at least as used in this L4 module. if not a method to be used in industry, then a method to properly illuminate the actual benefit of onion skinning for animation students. This presentation will contain a live demonstration of both methods, for the audience to understand and comments from students on the Animation course who have spent 6 weeks shooting blind and the benefits that experience has brought them

Traditional Animation Principles within Mobile App Development

As a result of being asked to devise and run a games based workshop at the 2015 Games Britannia event utilising Animation and a mobile gaming platform to produce a cross-media product – A project was born. A challenge in itself, the project was restricted with a time limit, group sizing and resources. The skills base of the workshop attendees also had to be taken into consideration. Traditionally computer games utilise 2D or 3D-CGI Animation. With a younger audience, to enhance engagement in the workshop, the hands on approach afforded by Stop Motion Animation was utilised. Teaching traditional animation principles alongside mobile app development skills, this workshop developed into a interdisciplinary collaboration between the animation and Digital Media Production courses. This idea was inspired from rare occurrences found within the games industry where stop motion and other traditional animation practices were used to generate the imagery found within computer games. An upsurge in recent indie game development has shown an increased interest and experimentation with visual styles used within computer games. The outcome of this project was highly successful but also offer ample scope to expand on the scope, skills and practices within both disciplines. This could potentially provide a platform for collaboration within other courses but also develop a sense of Media Art practice across all three courses. This presentation demonstrates the context of the devised workshop within past and present industry trends, the methodology of each discipline and the potential for further development and collaboration

When these university staff utilised Facebook for an entire year - no one expected what happened next

With social media integrating itself into every facet of university life, four staff members took the reigns of Facebook to see if they could bring about a difference to how students interacted with opportunities, self development, project work and course identity. Steered clear of, for many potential negative factors, Facebook can often be seen as a double edged sword when used as a tool for interacting with university students. It’s social aspect makes it a difficult tool to utilise professionally within the context of the University ethos. However, after a year of using it to guide group project work (Anne Doncaster), encourage and develop Placement Year success (Arnett Powell), develop concept artwork skills (Martin Jones) and manage four years worth of course students (Melvyn Ternan) the results are not what you might think. See first hand examples and findings on how Facebook has made a difference to both students and staff through a naturally developed ‘best practice’ of this social networking beast

Poster for Media Arts Walking Research Group

The inclusive Media Arts Walking Research Group has become a forum for practice and reflection, where the group acts as a vessel, enabling individuals and collaborations to generate their own areas of research interest. Seven members will present their individual area of research at the symposium. We created a poster displaying individual QR codes linking to research.</p

"Environmental impact on idea Genesis" or "The idea of Ideas"

After becoming a freelance animator in 2001 I’ve worked on over 150 client projects covering many areas of the animation industry. As a Senior Lecturer in Animation, I now find myself surrounded by the projects of amazing students, each developing their own ideas from scratch. It’s an inspiring experience, but I often find myself, late in the animation studio wondering “What’s next?” I joined the Walking Group with no idea of what I wanted to utilize it for. No specific research area excited me enough and frustration set in. At the heart of my frustration, I wanted to get away from technology, techniques, software, current industry work and other peoples Ideas. I wanted ideas of my own to work on, for the sake of the idea. Setting out on each walk with nothing more than a notepad and pencil and an app on my phone I track my walking route and mark specific points with images, video and sound clips when I become conscious of a notion or influence. I now have two planned pieces of work that I want to complete based on ideas of my own, directly influenced by nothing but the experience of walking and the environment around me.</p

Stop motion animation : how to make and share creative videos

Packed with step-by-step tutorials and inside tips and advice from professional animators, Stop-motion Animation is the ultimate handbook for anyone seeking to explore the exciting possibilities afforded by stopmotion animation. With its highly accessible approach and use of inspirational, bang up-to-date examples, the book is guaranteed to appeal to a hip new generation of recreational animators, as well as artists, photographers, and creatives of all stripes seeking new outlets for their creativity. Combining a winning formula of practical instruction and creative inspiration, Stop-motion Animation examines a wide range of stop-motion techniques, covering traditional forms such as claymation and cut-out animation, as well as innovative new techniques that use everyday items such as Lego and post-it notes. Engaging interview-style case studies explore the work of some of today’s most exciting stop-motion practitioners, providing readers with an invaluable insight into their working processes, while detailed tutorials illustrate a range of both basic and more advanced techniques, from making a basic puppet to shooting with an iPhone. QR codes (readable from any smartphone) accompany each tutorial, linking directly to online videos which reveal the finished piece of animation, as well as to videos of digital tutorials which provide a moving screen capture. Readers will also learn easy post-production techniques for editing files and creating animated movies on both Macs and PCs

Say What? Dialogue animation by hearing-impaired students: challenges and opportunities.

The presentation will explore the relationship between animated gesture, spoken language and British Sign Language (BSL), in the context of a second-year undergraduate stop-motion animation module. The module involves an audio-based stop-motion dialogue project, where lip sync and appropriate body language constitute the main learning outcomes. This presents significant difficulties for hearing-impaired students who communicate through British Sign Language (BSL). BSL speakers use a combination of manual signs (hand shapes, location and movement) and non-manual signs, including facial expressions and body posture. This involves additional work for the student, so if we simply substitute lip sync with its ‘signing equivalent’, we may significantly increase educational barriers, instead of redressing them. Secondly, the stop motion workflows and materiality of Stop Motion Dialogue Animation bring additional difficulties. Existing language animation work uses rotoscoping or 3D-CGI, with algorithms for various phonetic and lexical symbols, complex hand and torso movements, facial expressions and mouth shapes. In contrast, working in the straight-ahead method native to stop motion requires detailed planned consideration for delivering a performance understandable to BSL users. With no existing stop-motion based BSL animation to date, this presentation will be a first-hand account of incorporating a BSL assignment brief, based on the main author’s pedagogic action research. The presentation will be illustrated with extracts from reflective video-diaries, artefacts produced by the BSL student and the screening of the resulting animation

From reasonable adjustment to anticipatory action: engaging hearing impaired students into dialogue animation

A case study of anticipatory action taken to engage a hearing-impaired student with a sound based module. The steps taken to include a BSL student with an English speaking cohort whilst maintaining an industry standard workflow and the potential impact it will have on the student and industry