Thesis Checkin - Tune Up

At the beginning of the quarter it was essential, and halfway through the term, its a good idea to check directions again. For the most part, my direction has gotten more focused. I've added a slight change to my audience, which will affect how my thesis will be presented in the end. I have a couple of directions to explore regarding "Laban Motion Analysis", the theoretical acting component to my thesis and Ed Hooks' thoughts on "Laban Motion Analysis". Looking ahead, I'm thinking about refining and filling in the blanks for the exercises which make up my curriculum, and finally (and this makes me nervous...) is that I still have to plan an unexpected addition to the animation component of my thesis which I will explain below.

My major claim is that animating emotion can be taught to intermediate animation students, after this week, I've decided to change things a bit, I've decided to gear my presentation towards instructors as well. This seems obvious, but I didn't see it at first. This change came about while doing work for the "Teaching Methodologies" class with Michael Greene. I figured that I needed to include myself, acting as the animation instructor, as I will be using this specific curriculum for the classes I teach. In the class, I put together a list of objectives and a workable lesson plan that made me see how the exercises should be presented. I had not done so up to this point, and it would be best to begin putting this information together before the quarter ends. My main audience, the MFA approving body, are instructors as well, and one of things they will be watching out for, is how clear and well presented my curriculum is. This includes learning objectives, lesson plans, exercise descriptions, tips from professionals, video tutorials (for some) and a means to assess progress for the student. I have 10 other exercises to do this for, and if I can commit this to paper, I would feel much better.

A subject that came up last week was "Laban Motion Analysis". Developed at the turn of the century, this was a system which broke down movement for actors to four major states. Presently, ideas are included in acting classes for animators. One of the main proponents for this method is Ed Hooks. Hooks is the author for "Acting for Animators", the book which gave me the idea for this project, and has since acted as my guide. The book however, doesn't mention the Laban Method, and so an inquiry is in order. I hope to make contact with him early next week. Some of the driving questions regarding "Laban Motion Analysis" that will guide my research include: What is Laban Motion Analysis? How does it benefit actors? How can it benefit animators? How is this used in acting classes for animators? How can this information be simplified and edited so that it can be integrated into my curriculum?

One concern I had developed last quarter, was when my thesis was reviewed by my MFA thesis committee. It is still not clear, but I wasn't sure if people were in agreement of the development of a website to represent my curriculum, I also don't think they liked that my project didn't have a final animation to accompany the thesis, which is what usually happens. The input I got from my acting advisors, was that my idea was good. When my work was reviewed last quarter, my project consisted of examples from the animation exercises presented in my curriculum. This, as well as creating the website, seemed to be enough.

This was not the case. After my thesis was reviewed, someone made the comment that my animations were disparate and that something needed to be done to make it look like one piece and there were some in agreement. I had some help, and came up with the idea of stringing all of my animations into a "documentary" style presentation. Imagine a show like "60 Minutes", where the animated characters were being interviewed about the topic of emotion. These interviews would be strung in-between the different animated examples and would also have an interviewer or host who would guide these characters. The idea had merit, seemed fun to do and was feasible to complete within the timeframe.

To some extent, I agree to what was suggested. By putting this animation together in this way, it would serve as a good example for others as it unifies everything I have done. The extra animated footage would also feature the characters in different emotional states (I envision these to be quite entertaining). The hard part, is that since this idea came at the last minute, that I should be using this quarter to plan before executing the animations next quarter. This includes developing a simple script and a storyboard so that I have a better understanding of how the final animation is going to be put together. The sledding accident which broke my leg didn't help and its been frustrating, but things are getting better. So in my schedule I hope to include time to put this together. I'm expected to begin animating and putting this together next quarter, otherwise I won't be able to finish in time for thesis defense.

Below is a tentative schedule for this quarter. I think everything explained (excluding the animation) above can be achieved, and once completed, would serve as a good base for the next two quarters. Mentally, I would like to have this work out of the way before I animate next quarter.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Week 7:
Send Ed Hooks inquiry
Develop learning objectives for exercises 1 and 3.
Research Laban Motion Analysis
Create Script for final animation.
Research and make contact with USC animation group.

Week 8:
Develop learning objectives for exercises 4 and 5.
Research Laban Motion Analysis
Review professional animator interviews and note where information will be placed.
Garner script feedback.

Week 9:
Refine Laban Motion Analysis
Develop learning objectives for exercises 6 and 7.
Storyboard script for final animation.
Cite 2D and Lifedrawing Examples
Gesture Research

Week 10:
Develop learning objectives for exercises 8 and 9.
Refine storyboard script for final animation.
Work on thesis rough.
Eyes Research

Week 11:
Develop learning objectives for exercises 10 and 11.
Submit thesis rough.