Animation (Discussion)

1. Describe the efficient mode of production that developed for cartoon production in the 1930s. What were its basic (1) technological and (2) economic characteristics? That is, how was cartoon production organized so that it could be profitable?

Group 1

1. How do made-for-TV cartoons differ from made-for-movie-theater cartoons?
   • What was the first made-for-TV animated cartoon? When?
   • What aspects of made-for-TV cartoons does The Flintstones exemplify?

Frame capture from Crusader Rabbit.

Group 2

1. What does this term mean in the context of cartooning: abstraction?
2. What studio was associated with (somewhat) abstract cartooning? What aesthetic techniques did it use to achieve this abstraction?
3. How has cartooning balanced abstraction with naturalism?

Frame capture from Gerald McBoing Boing.

Group 3

1. How does digital (CGI) animation differ from conventional cell animation? In particular:
   • How is that difference part of the production process?
   • How is that difference evident in how the animation looks?
2. Which of these Simpsons frame grabs exemplifies CGI animation?

Frame capture from The Simpsons.   Frame capture from The Simpsons. Homer enters a new, strange dimension.

Group 4

1. What does this term mean in the context of cartooning: naturalism?
2. Which filmmaker's cartoons were associated with naturalism? What technological and aesthetic techniques did he use to achieve this naturalism? What technological device did he use that is also used in Ah-Ha's music video?
3. How has cartooning balanced naturalism with abstraction?

Frame capture from Ah-Ha's Take on Me.

Bibliography

1. Butler, Jeremy G. Television: Critical Methods and Applications. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.

External links

• Chapter 11 illustrations

External videos