Extended Project: Research

EXTENDED PROJECT

RESEARCH

For my research I am going to look into various different sources and outlets in order to provide research for my artefact. My main types of research are going to be that of the internet and imagery, whether that be videos or pictures/graphs as I feel that’s fitting for the artefact that I am going to go forward with, being a 2D animation that is of moving imagery. Other types of research I am going to undercover are that of Books, Newspapers, Television Programmes, Journals, Images, Graphs and other types of research that relate to what I need to find.

-2D animations with emotional stories/emotional scenes

2D animations with emotional stories and or emotional scenes is an element in my 2D animation I want to focus on as my overall goal is to produce a success, professional 2D animation with a strong sense of emotion. Since I will want to be looking at both the eastern and western variety of 2D animation to combine them in an interesting way, one of the animes I want to look into and research is Dragonball Z. Whilst this over-the-top action anime isn’t too strong in its story nor its characters there is a pretty emotional scene whereby Goku has to sacrifice himself in order to save not only Earth but his beloved son, Gohan. [Insert Anime] I feel this would be useful to look at as my animation isn’t just going to be all emotional, there is going to be quite a fair amount of action and it would be interesting to see how this example in particular can translate from action-packed brutal fighting to slower, more thoughtful emotional fighting between a father and his son.

WHY DRAGONBALL Z

WHY IT WOULD BE USEFUL

Dragonball Z - Episode 95

"Bye-Bye Everyone! This is the Only Way to Save the Earth"
In a desperate attempt to destroy Earth, Cell begins to self-destruct. With mere seconds left, Goku says goodbye to his son and teleports himself and Cell to King Kai's planet, the only safe place he could think of. Upon arrival, Cell finally explodes, destroying the planet and killing everyone there. As Gohan is left on Earth to grieve, Goku and King Kai realise that Cell hasn't accompanied them to the Other World, and therefore must have survived the explosion. Using Goku's Instant Transmission technique, Cell returns to Earth, where he kills Trunks with a single blast through the chest. He then reveals that not only did his nucleus survive the explosion, but he was able to regenerate into his perfect form - and thanks to his Saiyan genetics, he is far stronger than ever before. Enraged by the death of his son, Vegeta unleashes a furious barrage of ki blasts at Cell, but is easily defeated and is only saved from certain death when Gohan intercepts Cell's blast and takes the full force of the attack. With Gohan injured and nobody left to challenge him, Cell prepares one final Kamehameha to destroy Gohan and the Earth once and for all.

Another anime example from the eastern side of the world I want to look into is Sonic X.

-sonic x (when cosmo dies = change of music from japanese dub to american, how importance of music is in a emotional scene the difference/comparisons between the two)

American and Japanese Comparison Video of the scene:

WESTERN

When looking into the Western side of 2D Animation with emotional stories/themes, the first thing that came to my head was Episode 10 of the Sixth Season of The Simpsons. Titled "Grandpa vs Sexual Inadequacy", I feel the episode is very useful in giving a taste of what it takes to build an emotional story from a personal or general view. Personally, this was the only episode of the Simpsons to this day where I almost cried and it still holds true. Watching the episode makes me think how useful this is as it combines all the elements in a great way to convey emotion. The episode in essence is about Homer and his father teaming up to sell a drug, but one chain of events leads to another and they split both ways, showing two different sides of the characters but they end up at the same spot, the old house, their home. The tight writing, brilliant use of music and subtle events such as Homer lighting a match to find a photo of him and his father in a happy light, only to burn it down by accident is a great addition to the episode but it's the bonding at the end when they seek each other that seals the deal. This theme of seeking someone or something is something I want to incorporate into my 2D animation as I feel it's a good way to lay in some strong music and character to give that emotion. The clip, starting 19:39 on wards until the end, the clip illustrates what I mean in great detail and it's a strong, firm choice for analysis.

http://www.wtso.net/movie/404-610_Grampa_vs_Sexual_Inadequacy.html

The second Western 2D animation example I am going to look at help build understanding for emotional stories/scenes/themes/elements is by the same producer as The Simpsons episode above, Matt Groening. Only this is from a different show, Futurama. Titled "Jurassic Park" this episode is the one that raised the bar if Grampa vs Sexual Inadequacy was the one that set it in the first place, personally, this episode made me cry and many others. Once again the tight writing and music really show it off but there is a strong sense of emotion conveyed more in the actions on scene and the overall story. The story is something people can relate to, the lose a pet and wanting to get it back and it's that set of wanting the main character Fry to succeed and find this dog that works so well.
Futurama is set in the year 3000, with Fry from the year 2000, being set into the future by a strange time capsule. He wakes up the world is completely different around him but in this particular episode he finds a prehistoric fossil of his dog and with this, he tries to find a way to bring his beloved dog back to life, Semore. The episode works very well and whilst some might not like pets, having an animal companion or animal attachment in my animation is something I feel would work very well. Unlike humans, some people feel that animals aren't the same, that some don't feel emotion but others will argue that and I want to put that point across of animals having emotion as well as humans but if I was to include an animal I want it to be a strong part of the story, just likes Fry's dog. The biggest scene of this whole episode from Season 5, Episode 2 of Futurama, begins at 13:27 until the very end that shows a montage of the dog getting progressively older, wanting his Fry back. That wanting, that seeking, that loving seems to be a theme that runs common in these emotional stories, Western or Eastern and is something I feel I must nail to get the emotional right. Lastly, like The Simpsons, the stories are typically quite light hearted, being that they are of comedy but I would like to take something more serious but when the cartoon gets serious, it really does and this Futurama episode really does show that producer Matt Groening really put his heart and soul into this episode.

http://www.watchcartoononline.com/futurama-episode-502-jurassic-bark

The Iron Giant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX0cGftqbrg

The Walking Dead (Comic)

Treasure Planet