Responsive Brief feedback / crit

So I presented what I had for my responsive brief so far which if I am perfectly honest, isn't so much and is still in the works; it was little more than a few ideas for the characters. The idea I had is in presenting two animations in different ways, e.g 2D and 3D, and having the characters cross over at one point. Ultimately I think this isn't the way to go now; it doesn't fulfill any sort of transmedia criteria and it would mean a lot of work. It was recommended instead that I do something else, perhaps a comic of some sorts.

I'm thinking I could perhaps produce one, or a semi-animated comic of sorts to explain the background of the animation that will take place afterwards. I like that idea as it means I'll be able to do some good illustrations and put them to use and still be able to make a 2D animation.

I will set the story within a universe I started developing over the easter holiday; the details of which I keep on my laptop. The only thing I am currently in need of is a monster design, which I explained I wanted to draw parallels between Samurai Jack and Aku, in that the antagonist is a large, supernatural monster whereas the protagonist with only one magic quality, his weapon.

I am still a little indecisive as to how to approach making my 2D animation. In the test animation with the mage character I made it is little more than a static image that is made to look like it is moving. I may produce the animation this way as I have very little experience with flash. However if I produce the comic in a semi-animated fashion I may also use After Effects, so it is a question of deciding to use both but making the differences notable or observable, or not animating the comic at all - which I think might be the wiser decision.

In the meantime I feel that I have a better grasp on my project as a whole and I intend to develop it further by creating a monster for the protagonist to battle - and I think I will use the mage character. Animating a fight between a sword-fighting melee character would be very hard and much more time consuming, but with a magic-wielding character I could make use of particle effects, and it would be relevant to the universe that the animation is set in.

In an idea I had afterwards, I may produce 3D environments and have the 2D animated characters, but this is just an idea for now and will have to think on it and develop it further.

CoP Practical

For my practical piece I decided to raise awareness on the effects of censorship; though it was the focus, I also couldn't help but bring in some elements of how the media control censorship as the media gaze and censorship are very closely tied together. It is something I have become more aware in since many of the things mentioned came to light and I learned a concerning amount whilst gathering information, pictures and relevant details to include in the film - some of which I didn't use.

Whilst this isn't my piece it is an image I used within it that demonstrate the differences between the USA and the rest of the world; interesting as the USA considers itself 'free' and prides itself on freedom, but happens to be censored in some cases without many being aware of it. Anything relevant to America which may portray it in a negative light is ignored.

This is the type of power censorship has and this is the power I wanted to bring to light and raise awareness of.

Pop & Celebrity Culture

Celebrity and pop culture is something I am quite familiar with given my earlier background in media studies, and I can agree that it is mechanical to some extent as Benjamin suggests, by saying that 'even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in it's presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be'. In his frequent suggestions and stabs at the lack of originality found within a piece of art if it is reproduced, he suggests that only the original piece maintains it's impact, as might a famous painting in a museum is something many might pay to see despite being able to see it on the internet for free. This isn't quite true for games though; as with the time and money invested into producing games, it requires many sales not only to make back the investment made in producing it but also in making a profit, and thus benefitting from their roles in the games industry. The same is true for films and animations; though all of these are still subject to the relevance of time. A new game is in most demand whilst it is still new. It could be bought for a much smaller sum after it had been released for a year. However this is subject to change after the game goes out of print; especially if it is a well-received game as it will become well sought after and rare. The price of the game might actually skyrocket.

However, reproduced work doesn't automatically devalue the existence of an original piece work; in fact the notoriety or even one's awareness of an original piece of work, especially in realms of film, games and animation, are only possible in most circumstances. The popularity of the Lara Croft character is speculative in that she is a highly popular female character, amongst the notable of earliest characters in gaming history as far as level of fame goes, though this is mostly attributed to a few things in particular in Rehak's text. He refers to a Cassel and Jenkins text  of game producer Core's lead programmer Tony Gard which describes Lara as 'a tough, self-reliant, intelligent woman. She confounds all the sexist cliches apart from the fact that she's got an unbelievable figure. Strong, independant women are the perfect fantasy girls - the untouchable is always the most desirable'. She is a strong character that draws parallels with Indiana Jones, but has received criticism for being an unnatural portrayal of women. Though I think it is justified not for any of the formerly mentioned reasons - simply because Lara is not supposed to be a portrayal of all women or one woman in particular besides herself. I wouldn't go so far as saying she seduced players into buying her games.

This lends Lara to be an incredible but almost unbelievable character around which a dedicated fan base has sprung up to dedicate themselves to her expansion as a character through fan-fiction. I do not think Rehak's explanation of a work of art, if games, animation and films could be described as such, loses it's authenticity if the work of art is anywhere else besides it's place of production and if it is not the original work. I think that may be true in the case of art in it's most well known form; early paintings from earlier centuries. Seeing the Mona Lisa in person is far more interesting as seeing it within a book. There is an interesting point made that the greater 'the decrease in the social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and and enjoyment by the public'. It is arguable that Benjamin is suggesting that Lara's popularity comes to a lack of appreciation for 'better', more sophisticated forms of art, if he would consider her to be a work of art at all. The fact that her gender was reversed as a decision to avoid being a shameless Indiana Jones copy, is also down to whether they wanted a strong female character, or just a strong character, or whether that character needed to have sex appeal. She said to be capable of 'migration', going from one media to another without much complaint from anyone.

Lara certainly makes a change from the typical mascot character of a console; Lara Croft was to the Sony Playstation what Mario was, and perhaps still is, to the Nintendo. With the release of another Lara Croft game this might be the case again soon.

Coward & Mulvey, Gaze and the Media

Mulvey's breakdown of cinema with consistant referance to Freud's breakthrough, but often-irrelevant psychology regards the woman's symbolism in the film and where she stands opposed to the man. In typical cinema where one would expect to find the visual pleasure of voyeurism, that representation appears to be one of lust and power from a certain perspective. 'Woman is often only to serve in a patriarchal society as a signifier other, bound by a symbolic ordering which man can live out his fantasies through linguistic command by imposing them on the silent image of the woman, again and again represented to be second to him; her place as the bearer of meaning, but not it's maker. '

Coward on the other hand portrays a representation that is less vaguely tied to archaic psychological ideas and more to more modern ideologies; that women's experience of sexuality rarely strays far from those ideologies and feelings about their self-image. This ties in well with the fact that the audience often is more preoccupied and gives priority to the visual image and impact, rather than other impressions. 'The camera has been observed in it’s use as an extension of the male gaze, and men largely control the look; and the female's responsive look can determine her own power'. This goes against Mulvey's suggestion that women serve as signifiers of their male partners - 'attraction to imagesof women's bodies is none other than an attraction to a sight which is in some way reassuringly pleasurable.’

The two viewpoints favour the role of male power and male gaze in cinema through the audience's and camera's perspective, but Mulvey's use of psychoanalysis is far too dated, regardless of the apparent pre-existing patterns of fascination already at work within the essay. It would be hard to put these ideas into context in games or animation and are best left to the areas of film, where such ideologies are sought out and explored. However, some interesting points are made when the focus is moved away from psychoanalysis, especially regarding the relationship between Scottie and Judy in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo'.

Strict control over sexuality is suggested to be a characteristic of male-dominated societies. Marriage is said to secure the women's labour and reproductive capacity to the advantage of men and that in some societies this control is references to practices in 18th and 19th century China like foot-binding, and ancient punishments for adultery, and how Western societies pride themselves on their advanced morality; but points out that individuals are supposed to be drawn to one another without having to take into account property or political preferances.

Mulvey goes on to suggest that 'men cannot bear the burden of sexual objectification, according to principles of ruling ideology and the physical structures that can back it up' - that man is reluctant to be seen as an exhibitionist - justified by the fact the audience should be able to project themselves to the main male character; and become his own on-screen surrogate doppelganger. This is true enough for games as well, though perhaps not in the same context. The player needs to relate to the main character, but for more reasons beyond sexual gratification, as there is far more moral choice to be made, and the player must see all things from the character's perspective.

Creative Rhetorics notes

Clarify how creativity is talked aboutEnable us to talk with precision about creativityDevelop practice; techniques/definitionsPotentially expand discipline

Blade Runner, Scott Ridley and Runner


Practice-based beginning, studio (supports creativity) arts and crafts
Best idea – always next creativity dynamic  George Dickie 1971 - art is beyond definition constantly changing - the history of aesthetics
Be Stupid – using heart not head  expressionist theory linked to Romanticism idea that creativity is a knowledge gaining activity opposition to sciences
Work in teams – creative process, collaborative

The artist is a creator, not an imitator, stand aside from the rules, rule breaker and definer
own master and owner of the discipline, expanding the discipline

Flow illustrated by working methods Studio Ghibli

Director Hayao Miyazaki talks about how narrative award winning film Spirited Away 2001, collaboratively and incrementally

Internet is the biggest idea since the wheel, enables lots of small ideas to circulate -that combination of a trillion little ideas is in itself the biggest idea there is. We are at the most interesting point of communications history ever'.

Creativity is a subject thing as it isn't material; it cannot be measured and what is or isn't creative is more often than not opinionated, especially in the realms of film, games and animation; but I think the word that best describes creativity is originality - even though something needn't be original to be creative, the most creative things I think can be summarized as the most original -which ties into what was said about artists not being imitators, but creators. Overall it has been good to reflect on these thoughts on how creativity comes to be and how it is encouraged or assessed.

Identity notes

To introduce historical conceptions of identity

To introduce Foucault’s ‘discourse’ methodology

To place and critique contemporary practice within these frameworks, and to consider their validity

To consider ‘postmodern’ theories of identity as ‘fluid’ and ‘constructed’ (in particular Zygmunt Bauman)

To consider identity today, especially in the digital domain

Theories; Essentialism, Biological Identity, Inner Essence (soul?)

Physiognomy, Phrenology - Hieronymous Bosch, Christ carrying cross oil painting


Pre modern identity – personal identity is stable defined by long standing roles

Modern identity – modern societies offer a wider range of social roles. Possibility to start ‘choosing’ your identity, rather than being born into it. People start to worry about who they are

Post-modern identity – identity is constructed

Masquerade and the mask of femininity, wonderbra adverts

'Yes, indeed, identity is revealed to us only as something to be invented rather than discovered, as a target of an effort, an objective' - Bauman, 'I think therefore I am' - Rene Descartes, 'I shop therefore I am' - Barbara Kruger, 1987

There was a lot to think about in this lecture but it was very subjective to vague ideas, concepts and thoughts; I think identity is the result of many things - it is neither inherited nor earned by interacting with other people and environments and cultures alone but generated slowly over a long period of time, though it has been insightful to see what others make of identity and how it is formed. It has been eye-opening and insightful and I believe I can make use of it in my area of study, especially in character development.

Psychonalysis notes

Primarily the work of Sigmund Freud - Oedipus / Electra complex etc

Created through infancy to protect our conscious selves from events, ideas and thoughts that are not acceptable to consciousness.

Continues to affect our conscious selves in some ways.

The unconscious is chaotic, without order and without language.

Makes itself present through ticks, slips and symptoms (e.g. Freudian slip)

Freud’s hysteria patients developed debilitating symptoms as a result of experiences or feelings that had become repressed

In the 60s and 70s Jacques Lacan presented his own brand of psychoanalysis claiming a ‘return to Freud’.

He reconceptualised Freud’s findings through the theoretical model of structural linguistics. Signification.

Lacan posited that the development of the psyche is entwined within the structures of language…language molds us as much as we mold it

Psychoanalysis provides us with a definition of the unconscious

A definition of subjecthood outside of logic and rationality

A tool to help understand motivations and meanings of art works.

A tool to help us understand how art & design affects us and why.

All in all I feel there is very little relevance to psychoanalysis in films games and animation, except for perhaps in film where subtle morals or messages are expressed, but it is done less and less in modern popular cinema.

Censorship and Truth notes

Stalin photos, with and without Nikolai Rezhov/ Trotsky

Kate Winslet, magazine - photoshopped models creating wrong impression 'perfect human', unattainable by every day people.

Whereas representation tries to absorb simulation by interpreting it as false representation, simulation envelops the whole edifice of representation as itself a simulacrum.

These would be the succesive phases of the image:

It is the reflection of a basic reality.

It masks and perverts a basic reality.

It masks the absence of a basic reality.

It bears no relation to any reality whatever : it is its own pure simulacrum.

Ken Jarecke, Iraqi Soldier, 1991 

Most of the reporting that reached American audience and the west in general emanated from the Pentagon, total blackout on the magnitude of the devastation and death on the Iraqi side. A statement of the number of dead centred around 100,000 thousands soldiers and 15,000 civilians sufficed for mainstream media audience.  Made for TV war started at 6:30pm EST on January 16, 1991, coinciding with National News. The American audience today cannot distinguish between computer war games and real war, between news and entertainment

Censoring:

A person authorised to examine films, letters, or publications, in order to ban or cut anything considered obscene or objectionable

To ban or cut portions of (a film, letter or publication

Questionable nude child photos - child pornography? Art? Photography? Definition of censorship is 

universally different

Censorship plays a large role in films, games and animation and I think it is important to be aware of the criticisms, drawbacks, strengths, weaknesses and benefits of censorship and to be knowledgable and aware of it; a lack of understanding in this area could make on insensitive to multi-cultural understandings and the workings of societies outside your own.