Analysing of existing animations (P1,P2,M2,D1)
P1: Explain the different techniques for animation
There are many different ways that companies will create an animated video, depending on what they want the video to look like aesthetically. Two examples of different animation techniques are 2D/3D CGI and Stop Motion/ClayMotion.
2D/3D CGI is the most popular form of animation today. It is most commonly used by the biggest animation company, such as Disney, as high quality CGI is very expensive to achieve. But, if the company has the ability to be able to fund a CGI production, the final product will be produced to the highest of qualities. 2D/3D CGI works when digital technology and software are used to generate animated images and graphics. CGI is most common during the creation of BlockBusters, to allow them to make the characters seem more rounded.
Companies will use this form of advertising if they are wanting to create an impossible scenario, such as a talking animal, to a high degree. This is because these effects will be hard to create, to the same level, using any other type of animation.
CGI also enables companies to put the best possible effects into their film, engaging the audience and thus helping them sell the film more. Again, this is a very expensive process, so you'd mainly see this in a high budgeted film.
CGI refers to static scenes and moving characters, while computer animation refers only to moving characters/scenes. There are five major processes in CGI animation. These are the creation of the script, creation of the storyboard, deciding the layout of the animation, creating the animation itself and finally the final revision. CGI is a very time consuming and costly operation, so this would explain why they are mainly created by the biggest companies.
CGI has come a long way since its first use back in 1973s Westworld, with large developments coming in the late 90s early 2000s. CGI has allowed production teams to speak to audiences in completely different ways, making previously impossible scenes possible, or allowing the team to make scenes way more realistic then ever before. CGI developments since the 90s have allowed the effects added into the films come across even more realistic and to a better quality then ever before.
CGI appeals to different audience, as it allows production companies too make films targeted at all ages, as well as combining different ages together, such as with Live Action. This is where the film will incorporate both real actors and animated actors, creating appeal to an older audience, and a younger one.
CGI can also be used to create more adult aimed characters, such as Gemini Man. This creates a dramatic affect, as the characters will often come across in all sorts of intense ways.
Claymation is equally as good an option. It is more popular amongst animated TV shows, as it's a very time consuming process, with the final product coming out very well. Claymation is the process in which the production team will bring inanimate objects to life. This process is achieved meticulously, by moving the object incrementally and photographing it similarly to stop motion.
Companies will use claymation to get a more authentic look and feel to their animation. It creates a more rustic and 'old' animation, whilst still being targeted at groups of all ages. However it is a very time consuming method, as it involves making each object seem as if they are moving themselves, hence it being used predominately in TV shows, such as Wallace and Gromit.
Claymation can appeal to a plethora of people, both young and old. Predominately, it is aimed at a younger audience, being used in a lot of child aimed TV programmes and films, such as Flushed Away and Shaun the Sheep. Claymation can also be used for an adult audience, creating very authentic looking characters. Claymation can make the show seem old fashioned and dated, done right this can appeal to an older audience, as they will gain a sense of connection to the show.
Companies will choose to use Claymation over CGI as it is a lot cheaper, so smaller companies, who want to create impossible situations, but don't have the financial backing to use CGI. However, to save financially, you will lose out on time, as the Claymation process is a lot more time consuming then CGI.
P2: Describe the uses for digitised animation in the media
Two example of genres that are frequently used in animation are comedy and horror, more specifically though uses such as TV and Film. Examples of media products that uses this are 'Family Guy' (TV) video games and 'Coraline' (film). 'Family Guy' used line drawing, whereas 'Coraline' uses a blend of old-fashioned stop-motion, with the new school CGI.
'Family Guy' uses line drawing to create all the actions in their show. This is because this creates the exact movements they want each character doing at each time, to create the best matching speech to character movement. This in the end creates the best quality production, resulting in the most successful project. Comedy is established through the finite detail of the scalable vector graphics. By using these graphics it enhances the comical dialogue, by echoing it through movement which is incredibly realistic. The opening credits also establishes comedy through the use of line drawing, as explained above. This appeals to an older audience as the movements are a little tongue in cheek, but the use of the consistent opening credits appeals to a loyal fan base of TV viewers.
Line drawing allows the creators to position each character in which ever position and action they want. They are not limited by the amount of movements they can do with clay, only being limited by their imaginations. The facial expressions of each individual character would be much easier to transform, from production into pre-production. Again, this enhances the comedy as facial expressions are key to the mise-en-scene of a production. Line drawing allows the producers to create scenes, that done any other way may come across quite vulgar, and turn them into unrealistic, comedic scenes, such as turning deaths into a comedic scene. This means the producers don't need to worry so much as to what they put into the scenes.
Line drawings allow the production team to place all the appropriate props into place, with ease. This enables the team to create scenes to the highest of quality and make them as realistic as possible. Not only this, but it cuts out the potential of not being able to create certain props, as it can all be done with a piece of paper, and a pencil.
Another genre that is often used within animation is Horror. Video games such as 'Five Nights at Freddie's', 'Friday 13th' and 'Slender man' use this genre frequently, to engage audiences. Often actors wear motion capture gear to capture realistic movements and then use CGI (or in some cases Chroma Key) to overlay the computer generated image. This links in well with horror as it creates more realism and fear for the viewers.
Horror films similarly have specific conventions, that create the best possible horror film. These conventions are best created and shown through a combination of CGI and claymation. Claymation creates a jittered effect on the characters' movements, giving them a more gothic and conventionally 'scary' feel and appearance. An example of this is 'Coraline'.
Jump scares are possibly the most renowned horror conventions to date. They are infamous with horror films, and can make a film memorable. CGI enables the jump scares to really come to life, with the characters being able to face their greatest fears, without actually having to confront them in real life. Using a combination of these two helps the production team to keep the jittered, slow pose motions in the characters, with the addition of CGI adding some realistic features, enables the production team to have all ends of horror films covered, creating the best possible animation.
Animation is used for TV and film as its style and design allows the producers too aim the content at people of any ages; shown through the contrasting content of Family Guy and Coraline. This eradicates limitations for the production team, not limiting them to one style of animation. This means that films and TV shows can be aimed at people from a multitude of different audiences, resulting in a plethora of films and shows being available on the market.
M1:
Family Guy has a target audience of 15-35, but with people outside of these age brackets also finding enjoyment in watching the show. Using a combination of line-drawing and CGI is best suitable for this age bracket, as it juxtaposes a predominately child's aimed form of animation, with an adult used one. Using line-drawing to make adult themed content and jokes gives the show a unique style, and an extra comedic effect. The child's animation, combined with adult level humour, equates in a big comedic factor for Family Guy to build a brand around.
Family Guy is very similar to The Simpsons, in the sense that the show is based around child's appeal, with the characters looking and acting very childish, but containing crude and adult based humour, that a child wouldn't catch onto. Additionally the content is satirical with subtle nudges to politics, which most definitely appeals to the target audience. Although this is primarily established through the script, the visuals most definitely enhance the satire and political statements.
The Simpsons does this so a parent and child can sit down and enjoy the show together, with the child catching onto the wacky appearances of the characters, and the adult catching onto the adult level humour of the show. The Simpsons was one of the first shows to do this, with the creators quickly realising that the most compelling character in the show was Homer, rather than Bart. Initially, content was focused around Bart, positioning him as a kind of modern-day Dennis the Menace. However, as the first series progressed, Homer took more of a central role, with audiences enjoying some of the more adult jokes associated with him. This meant that the target audience subtly shifted during the first and second season of the show.
As opposed to The Simpsons, a large part of Family Guy's appeal is the fact that the production team takes an animation technique, that is predominately linked to a younger audience of 6-9, and combined it with such crude jokes, despite its childish appearance, you wouldn't ever want to watch it with someone below the age of 15. This gives the show a unique appeal; an adult themed show, with a child's themed production.
Line-drawing allows the production team to show severe violence and injuries in a comedic way. This allows the show to show adult themed content; stuff that if wasn't animated would be gruesome and vulgar, and show it in a fun way. This then doesn't break regulations and is established immaturely, which in turns is suitable for the target audience.
This further empathises the point that Family Guy creates its scenes in the mindset that they could possibly be watched by both a younger and older audience together. Line-Drawing is the best animation technique for this, as the team are more than able to position the characters in positions that highlight violence, without making them to disturbing for viewers.
Similarly, CGI is an animation technique that can be aimed at audiences of all ages. This is because with CGI, the possibilities are endless, as you can create anything you want. This allows the production team to aim specific shows and films at any age groups, not limiting the audiences you can aim at with CGI.
With CGI, production teams can create characters and scenarios that would be completely unrealistic, thus making CGI the most versatile form of animation. As the team can use it to create characters aimed at a younger audience and an older one, CGI is the most common form of animation.
Overall, these animations came across strong and suitable. This is down to the fact that they interlink specifically with their target audience, as well as carrying the suitable conventions that appeal to these target audiences. This makes the animation good for the audience, as they directly appeal to the market they are attempting to break into, resulting in them being successful.
D1: Compare digital animations from two different countries from around the world.
Different countries have very different takes on animation. In the US, the main form of animation is CGI, creating a very realistic final piece. This differs immensely to Japan, where their main form of animation is known as anime.
Your Name (Japan) and The Lion King Live action reboot (US) are examples of these differing forms of animation.
In The Lion King, Disney have taken an incredibly ferocious animal and 'Disneyfied' it; essentially making the character harmless and appealing to a young audience. Disney did this to bring a sense of excitement to their film, as it gives the audiences a chance to almost interact and be with one of nature's most feared predators, in a fun, engaging and family friendly way.
The realism in the live action version of such a classic film gives the film a whole new target audience and purpose. The design is completed to a very high level, giving the animation a high sense of realism, appealing to a much older audience, as they will truly appreciate the quality of the film.
Anime became popularised in the West during the 1980s, with Japanese and American animators working together to produce many children's classics, such as He-Man and Thundercats. However, as time passed, it became much more influenced by older generations appeals, with a much older appeal when it comes down to the contents and the characters. Anime is known for tending to have a lot of sexualised characters and violence throughout it, making it rather unpleasant for younger viewers.
The characters in Your Name match the general conventions of anime characters. The eyes are designed to be very big and wide, as this makes it easier for the production team to add the specific emotions to the characters.
Anime is known for its female characters being very sexualised. Your Name abides to this convention, with the main female character being over-sexualised. Anime does this to appeal to its older, traditional audiences.
A typical convention of Japanese animation is the over fetishised appearance of school-girls. This is portrayed hugely in Your World with the main female character abiding by all the typical conventions of this fetish. This will appeal to the audiences as it matches the fetish, bringing in a high number of views, specifically just for this reason.
American animations come in a variety of different themes, from heartfelt romance to blood-pumping thriller. US animations can also incorporate a multitude of themes, to create almost one super-theme animation, appealing to a wide variety of people. This is an important aspect of american animation, as it doesn't limit the production team to one target audience, resulting in their product being viewed by a whole range of consumers.
The main theme of Lion King is the Circle of Life. Mufasa explains to Simba that lions aren't necessarily dominant just because they're predators, since when they die they become dirt, which grass grows from, which their prey feeds on. This theme introduces the idea of the cruelty of life to children from a young age; this being death.
A sub theme of The Lion King is the emphasis of family importance, loyalty and love. This is shown through the close bond and resilience of Simba and Mufasa; never leaving each other sides, right up until the death of Mufasa. This is a very common, underlying theme in a lot of American animations, as they want to emphasise the need for family importance to children from a young age. American's are known for their strong patriotic views, so animation studios will want to emphasis the family importance into the young from early on.
Your Name, despite sharing similar themes to that of The Lion King, has a different main overarching theme. This main them is love and commitment. In Japan, they believe the greatest honour one can have is to die in battle, never surrendering and giving up. This ideology coincides with the animation, as the two main protagonist never think about surrendering the idea of not being able to be together.
An underlying theme of Your Name is self-expression. Mitusha (school-girl) wishes to transform into a handsome boy in her next life. The animation was released in 2016, during a time that sexuality expressions became a much more widely accepted concept. By placing this theme in a traditional anime, the producers are highlighting this rise in acceptance, trying to bring it into mainstream Japanese culture.
Your Name is set in a fantasy world in Japan. This is where a majority of Japanese anime is set. This is because it allows the production team to make extraordinary situations and scenes, captivating the audience.
These extra-ordinary scenes have become famous within Japanese animations, with the over dramatised weather and locations being synonymous with the Japanese form of animation.
Not just this, but you will often find bright and bold colours in these environments. This is because it really captivates the audience and keeps them engaged too the animation.
Your Name's fantasy setting coincide with the traditional anime form. Across the majority of anime, you'll find that the locations are in mythical places. This is because it gives the stories an extra layer of complexity, separating themselves from the rest of the world, due to their over-the-top, overdramatised settings.
American animation differs to the Japanese, as their locations are a mix of both mythical and reality. This creates a whole plethora of animation types, appealing to a wide range of people. The Lion King is set in a real places, the plains of Africa.
This appeals nature lovers, who will take great interest in viewing these wonderful predators, in their natural habitat, living a full story and life. Not only this, it also highlights the beauty of this habitat, highlighting the importance of keeping it fresh, clean and healthy.
At a time where global warming and pollution is at its height of conversation, showing the younger audiences this wonderful lands and area will show the importances of keeping this land fresh and clean.
American animations similarly include bold and bright colours, to appeal to a younger audience. This works wonders as the colours appeal perfectly to the younger audience, resulting in a higher grossing film and a better profited animation.
The narrative of Your Name is a common structure across all animations; the same with The Lion King. This is essentially the Todorov equilibrium theory. All successful films follow this theory, whether animation or not. Anime films follow a specific narrative theory, starting calm - this is the equilibrium - facing a problem, which is the disequilibrium before an attempt to resolve the problem, and resolving the problem to create a new equilibrium. This usually comes with a sacrifice. Your Name follows this classic anime pattern.
This makes Your Name appealing to an anime enthusiast, as the show follows the conventional structure of a classic anime. Your Name does this to ensure the success of the show, resulting in a profitable show and a successful brand.
The Lion King also follows Todorov's narrative theory, without the final sacrifice needed to bring back a sense of stability and a new equilibrium. This narrative has proven to be the most successful for films, as it keeps the plot fresh and fluid, with each stage keeping the viewer engaged and entertained.
Overall, the differentiations between the animations appeal to their specific target audience strongly, due to the clear cultural divide. The Japanese animations appearance, locations and characters choice are standard of any animation produced in this area. Similarly, the US animation contains the appropriate codes and conventions of a typical US animations, meaning that they both successful appeal to their audiences.
There are many different ways that companies will create an animated video, depending on what they want the video to look like aesthetically. Two examples of different animation techniques are 2D/3D CGI and Stop Motion/ClayMotion.
2D/3D CGI is the most popular form of animation today. It is most commonly used by the biggest animation company, such as Disney, as high quality CGI is very expensive to achieve. But, if the company has the ability to be able to fund a CGI production, the final product will be produced to the highest of qualities. 2D/3D CGI works when digital technology and software are used to generate animated images and graphics. CGI is most common during the creation of BlockBusters, to allow them to make the characters seem more rounded.
Companies will use this form of advertising if they are wanting to create an impossible scenario, such as a talking animal, to a high degree. This is because these effects will be hard to create, to the same level, using any other type of animation.CGI also enables companies to put the best possible effects into their film, engaging the audience and thus helping them sell the film more. Again, this is a very expensive process, so you'd mainly see this in a high budgeted film.
CGI refers to static scenes and moving characters, while computer animation refers only to moving characters/scenes. There are five major processes in CGI animation. These are the creation of the script, creation of the storyboard, deciding the layout of the animation, creating the animation itself and finally the final revision. CGI is a very time consuming and costly operation, so this would explain why they are mainly created by the biggest companies.
CGI has come a long way since its first use back in 1973s Westworld, with large developments coming in the late 90s early 2000s. CGI has allowed production teams to speak to audiences in completely different ways, making previously impossible scenes possible, or allowing the team to make scenes way more realistic then ever before. CGI developments since the 90s have allowed the effects added into the films come across even more realistic and to a better quality then ever before.
CGI appeals to different audience, as it allows production companies too make films targeted at all ages, as well as combining different ages together, such as with Live Action. This is where the film will incorporate both real actors and animated actors, creating appeal to an older audience, and a younger one.
CGI can also be used to create more adult aimed characters, such as Gemini Man. This creates a dramatic affect, as the characters will often come across in all sorts of intense ways.
Claymation is equally as good an option. It is more popular amongst animated TV shows, as it's a very time consuming process, with the final product coming out very well. Claymation is the process in which the production team will bring inanimate objects to life. This process is achieved meticulously, by moving the object incrementally and photographing it similarly to stop motion. 
Companies will use claymation to get a more authentic look and feel to their animation. It creates a more rustic and 'old' animation, whilst still being targeted at groups of all ages. However it is a very time consuming method, as it involves making each object seem as if they are moving themselves, hence it being used predominately in TV shows, such as Wallace and Gromit.Claymation can appeal to a plethora of people, both young and old. Predominately, it is aimed at a younger audience, being used in a lot of child aimed TV programmes and films, such as Flushed Away and Shaun the Sheep. Claymation can also be used for an adult audience, creating very authentic looking characters. Claymation can make the show seem old fashioned and dated, done right this can appeal to an older audience, as they will gain a sense of connection to the show.
Companies will choose to use Claymation over CGI as it is a lot cheaper, so smaller companies, who want to create impossible situations, but don't have the financial backing to use CGI. However, to save financially, you will lose out on time, as the Claymation process is a lot more time consuming then CGI.
P2: Describe the uses for digitised animation in the media
Two example of genres that are frequently used in animation are comedy and horror, more specifically though uses such as TV and Film. Examples of media products that uses this are 'Family Guy' (TV) video games and 'Coraline' (film). 'Family Guy' used line drawing, whereas 'Coraline' uses a blend of old-fashioned stop-motion, with the new school CGI.
'Family Guy' uses line drawing to create all the actions in their show. This is because this creates the exact movements they want each character doing at each time, to create the best matching speech to character movement. This in the end creates the best quality production, resulting in the most successful project. Comedy is established through the finite detail of the scalable vector graphics. By using these graphics it enhances the comical dialogue, by echoing it through movement which is incredibly realistic. The opening credits also establishes comedy through the use of line drawing, as explained above. This appeals to an older audience as the movements are a little tongue in cheek, but the use of the consistent opening credits appeals to a loyal fan base of TV viewers.
Line drawing allows the creators to position each character in which ever position and action they want. They are not limited by the amount of movements they can do with clay, only being limited by their imaginations. The facial expressions of each individual character would be much easier to transform, from production into pre-production. Again, this enhances the comedy as facial expressions are key to the mise-en-scene of a production. Line drawing allows the producers to create scenes, that done any other way may come across quite vulgar, and turn them into unrealistic, comedic scenes, such as turning deaths into a comedic scene. This means the producers don't need to worry so much as to what they put into the scenes.
Line drawings allow the production team to place all the appropriate props into place, with ease. This enables the team to create scenes to the highest of quality and make them as realistic as possible. Not only this, but it cuts out the potential of not being able to create certain props, as it can all be done with a piece of paper, and a pencil.
Another genre that is often used within animation is Horror. Video games such as 'Five Nights at Freddie's', 'Friday 13th' and 'Slender man' use this genre frequently, to engage audiences. Often actors wear motion capture gear to capture realistic movements and then use CGI (or in some cases Chroma Key) to overlay the computer generated image. This links in well with horror as it creates more realism and fear for the viewers.
Horror films similarly have specific conventions, that create the best possible horror film. These conventions are best created and shown through a combination of CGI and claymation. Claymation creates a jittered effect on the characters' movements, giving them a more gothic and conventionally 'scary' feel and appearance. An example of this is 'Coraline'.
Jump scares are possibly the most renowned horror conventions to date. They are infamous with horror films, and can make a film memorable. CGI enables the jump scares to really come to life, with the characters being able to face their greatest fears, without actually having to confront them in real life. Using a combination of these two helps the production team to keep the jittered, slow pose motions in the characters, with the addition of CGI adding some realistic features, enables the production team to have all ends of horror films covered, creating the best possible animation.
Animation is used for TV and film as its style and design allows the producers too aim the content at people of any ages; shown through the contrasting content of Family Guy and Coraline. This eradicates limitations for the production team, not limiting them to one style of animation. This means that films and TV shows can be aimed at people from a multitude of different audiences, resulting in a plethora of films and shows being available on the market.
M1:
Family Guy has a target audience of 15-35, but with people outside of these age brackets also finding enjoyment in watching the show. Using a combination of line-drawing and CGI is best suitable for this age bracket, as it juxtaposes a predominately child's aimed form of animation, with an adult used one. Using line-drawing to make adult themed content and jokes gives the show a unique style, and an extra comedic effect. The child's animation, combined with adult level humour, equates in a big comedic factor for Family Guy to build a brand around.
Family Guy is very similar to The Simpsons, in the sense that the show is based around child's appeal, with the characters looking and acting very childish, but containing crude and adult based humour, that a child wouldn't catch onto. Additionally the content is satirical with subtle nudges to politics, which most definitely appeals to the target audience. Although this is primarily established through the script, the visuals most definitely enhance the satire and political statements.
The Simpsons does this so a parent and child can sit down and enjoy the show together, with the child catching onto the wacky appearances of the characters, and the adult catching onto the adult level humour of the show. The Simpsons was one of the first shows to do this, with the creators quickly realising that the most compelling character in the show was Homer, rather than Bart. Initially, content was focused around Bart, positioning him as a kind of modern-day Dennis the Menace. However, as the first series progressed, Homer took more of a central role, with audiences enjoying some of the more adult jokes associated with him. This meant that the target audience subtly shifted during the first and second season of the show.
As opposed to The Simpsons, a large part of Family Guy's appeal is the fact that the production team takes an animation technique, that is predominately linked to a younger audience of 6-9, and combined it with such crude jokes, despite its childish appearance, you wouldn't ever want to watch it with someone below the age of 15. This gives the show a unique appeal; an adult themed show, with a child's themed production.
Line-drawing allows the production team to show severe violence and injuries in a comedic way. This allows the show to show adult themed content; stuff that if wasn't animated would be gruesome and vulgar, and show it in a fun way. This then doesn't break regulations and is established immaturely, which in turns is suitable for the target audience.
This further empathises the point that Family Guy creates its scenes in the mindset that they could possibly be watched by both a younger and older audience together. Line-Drawing is the best animation technique for this, as the team are more than able to position the characters in positions that highlight violence, without making them to disturbing for viewers.
Similarly, CGI is an animation technique that can be aimed at audiences of all ages. This is because with CGI, the possibilities are endless, as you can create anything you want. This allows the production team to aim specific shows and films at any age groups, not limiting the audiences you can aim at with CGI.
With CGI, production teams can create characters and scenarios that would be completely unrealistic, thus making CGI the most versatile form of animation. As the team can use it to create characters aimed at a younger audience and an older one, CGI is the most common form of animation.
Production teams will use CGI to add extreme effects to their piece, resulting in a higher standard of production. Not only this, the extreme effects will appeal to an older audience, as these effects are normally quite extreme, thus expanding the point that CGI can be used appropriately for people of all ages. These effects however are tailored to each audience, something too extreme would not be suitable for a younger audience. 'Frozen' for example uses CGI but in a family orientated way, there is not extreme violence as this wouldn't be suitable.
Similarly with line-drawing, CGI can be used to make violence and injuries appear in a softer way, resulting in certain scenes being able to be viewed by both adults and children. This cancels out the grey area between the two age gaps, meaning content can be viewed by both.
CGI also enables the production team to create villain characters, with very kid friendly elements. This means the team can create a plethora of films, with a whole variety of genres aimed at children, not limiting the amount of creativity they require, and not resulting in very similar films being created, with slight changes, to appeal to new viewers.
This is suitable for audiences, especially younger audiences as it becomes fantasy and plays around with a fictional world.
CGI is also used to appeal to older audiences, especially through the medium of video games. By using CGI, technology nowadays is extremely enhanced and therefore the content becomes incredibly realistic. Although rendering takes a long time, this doesn't directly impact the target audience. As older audiences crave a sense of realism, especially thorough a high paced video game, this is suitable as it maintains their interest and loyalty. An example of this is 'Call Of Duty'.
Similarly with line-drawing, CGI can be used to make violence and injuries appear in a softer way, resulting in certain scenes being able to be viewed by both adults and children. This cancels out the grey area between the two age gaps, meaning content can be viewed by both.
This is suitable for audiences, especially younger audiences as it becomes fantasy and plays around with a fictional world.
CGI is also used to appeal to older audiences, especially through the medium of video games. By using CGI, technology nowadays is extremely enhanced and therefore the content becomes incredibly realistic. Although rendering takes a long time, this doesn't directly impact the target audience. As older audiences crave a sense of realism, especially thorough a high paced video game, this is suitable as it maintains their interest and loyalty. An example of this is 'Call Of Duty'.
Overall, these animations came across strong and suitable. This is down to the fact that they interlink specifically with their target audience, as well as carrying the suitable conventions that appeal to these target audiences. This makes the animation good for the audience, as they directly appeal to the market they are attempting to break into, resulting in them being successful.
D1: Compare digital animations from two different countries from around the world.
Different countries have very different takes on animation. In the US, the main form of animation is CGI, creating a very realistic final piece. This differs immensely to Japan, where their main form of animation is known as anime.
Your Name (Japan) and The Lion King Live action reboot (US) are examples of these differing forms of animation.
In The Lion King, Disney have taken an incredibly ferocious animal and 'Disneyfied' it; essentially making the character harmless and appealing to a young audience. Disney did this to bring a sense of excitement to their film, as it gives the audiences a chance to almost interact and be with one of nature's most feared predators, in a fun, engaging and family friendly way.
The realism in the live action version of such a classic film gives the film a whole new target audience and purpose. The design is completed to a very high level, giving the animation a high sense of realism, appealing to a much older audience, as they will truly appreciate the quality of the film.
Anime became popularised in the West during the 1980s, with Japanese and American animators working together to produce many children's classics, such as He-Man and Thundercats. However, as time passed, it became much more influenced by older generations appeals, with a much older appeal when it comes down to the contents and the characters. Anime is known for tending to have a lot of sexualised characters and violence throughout it, making it rather unpleasant for younger viewers.
Anime is known for its female characters being very sexualised. Your Name abides to this convention, with the main female character being over-sexualised. Anime does this to appeal to its older, traditional audiences.
A typical convention of Japanese animation is the over fetishised appearance of school-girls. This is portrayed hugely in Your World with the main female character abiding by all the typical conventions of this fetish. This will appeal to the audiences as it matches the fetish, bringing in a high number of views, specifically just for this reason.
American animations come in a variety of different themes, from heartfelt romance to blood-pumping thriller. US animations can also incorporate a multitude of themes, to create almost one super-theme animation, appealing to a wide variety of people. This is an important aspect of american animation, as it doesn't limit the production team to one target audience, resulting in their product being viewed by a whole range of consumers.
The main theme of Lion King is the Circle of Life. Mufasa explains to Simba that lions aren't necessarily dominant just because they're predators, since when they die they become dirt, which grass grows from, which their prey feeds on. This theme introduces the idea of the cruelty of life to children from a young age; this being death.
A sub theme of The Lion King is the emphasis of family importance, loyalty and love. This is shown through the close bond and resilience of Simba and Mufasa; never leaving each other sides, right up until the death of Mufasa. This is a very common, underlying theme in a lot of American animations, as they want to emphasise the need for family importance to children from a young age. American's are known for their strong patriotic views, so animation studios will want to emphasis the family importance into the young from early on.
Your Name, despite sharing similar themes to that of The Lion King, has a different main overarching theme. This main them is love and commitment. In Japan, they believe the greatest honour one can have is to die in battle, never surrendering and giving up. This ideology coincides with the animation, as the two main protagonist never think about surrendering the idea of not being able to be together.
An underlying theme of Your Name is self-expression. Mitusha (school-girl) wishes to transform into a handsome boy in her next life. The animation was released in 2016, during a time that sexuality expressions became a much more widely accepted concept. By placing this theme in a traditional anime, the producers are highlighting this rise in acceptance, trying to bring it into mainstream Japanese culture.
Your Name is set in a fantasy world in Japan. This is where a majority of Japanese anime is set. This is because it allows the production team to make extraordinary situations and scenes, captivating the audience.
These extra-ordinary scenes have become famous within Japanese animations, with the over dramatised weather and locations being synonymous with the Japanese form of animation.
Not just this, but you will often find bright and bold colours in these environments. This is because it really captivates the audience and keeps them engaged too the animation.
Your Name's fantasy setting coincide with the traditional anime form. Across the majority of anime, you'll find that the locations are in mythical places. This is because it gives the stories an extra layer of complexity, separating themselves from the rest of the world, due to their over-the-top, overdramatised settings.
American animation differs to the Japanese, as their locations are a mix of both mythical and reality. This creates a whole plethora of animation types, appealing to a wide range of people. The Lion King is set in a real places, the plains of Africa.
This appeals nature lovers, who will take great interest in viewing these wonderful predators, in their natural habitat, living a full story and life. Not only this, it also highlights the beauty of this habitat, highlighting the importance of keeping it fresh, clean and healthy.
At a time where global warming and pollution is at its height of conversation, showing the younger audiences this wonderful lands and area will show the importances of keeping this land fresh and clean.
American animations similarly include bold and bright colours, to appeal to a younger audience. This works wonders as the colours appeal perfectly to the younger audience, resulting in a higher grossing film and a better profited animation.
The narrative of Your Name is a common structure across all animations; the same with The Lion King. This is essentially the Todorov equilibrium theory. All successful films follow this theory, whether animation or not. Anime films follow a specific narrative theory, starting calm - this is the equilibrium - facing a problem, which is the disequilibrium before an attempt to resolve the problem, and resolving the problem to create a new equilibrium. This usually comes with a sacrifice. Your Name follows this classic anime pattern.
This makes Your Name appealing to an anime enthusiast, as the show follows the conventional structure of a classic anime. Your Name does this to ensure the success of the show, resulting in a profitable show and a successful brand.
The Lion King also follows Todorov's narrative theory, without the final sacrifice needed to bring back a sense of stability and a new equilibrium. This narrative has proven to be the most successful for films, as it keeps the plot fresh and fluid, with each stage keeping the viewer engaged and entertained.
Overall, the differentiations between the animations appeal to their specific target audience strongly, due to the clear cultural divide. The Japanese animations appearance, locations and characters choice are standard of any animation produced in this area. Similarly, the US animation contains the appropriate codes and conventions of a typical US animations, meaning that they both successful appeal to their audiences.
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