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BACHELOR THESIS AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI

BACHELOR THESIS

ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION

ASMA LAMIRI

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROF. DR. GERHARD FUNK

DEPARTMENT OF TIMEBASED AND INTERACTIVE MEDIA UNIVERSITY OF ART AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGN LINZ

OCTOBER 2018

1 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI

ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION

1. Introduction...... 3

2. A brief ...... 4 2.1 The beginning of ...... 4

2.2 From 2D to 3D – a turning point...... 9

3. Overview of different animation Styles...... 12

3.1 Traditional animation (hand – drawn, animation)...... 12

3.2 2D Animation (Vector based )...... 12 3.3 3D Animation (CGI, computer animation)…...... 12

3.4 ...... 12 3.5 Motion Graphics …...... 13

4. Why 2D animation might be thing of the past...... 14

5. The business of 3D animation...... 15

6. Animation and imperfection – the human aspect...... 17

6.1 The uncanny valley phenomenon...... 21 6.2 The influence of animation styles on visual storytelling...... 29

7. The Future of 2D animation...... 40

7.1 „2 ½ D“ as future of 2D animation...... 41

8. Web Sources...... 44 9. Video Sources...... 46 10. Literature...... 47

11. Image Sources...... 48

2 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI

1. Introduction

In my Bachelor thesis I would like to talk about imperfection in relation to the art of animation and the influence of animation styles on visual storytelling. I am also researching what has changed in animation over the years. I am going to discuss the infrastructual aspects of the animation industry and take a look at why 3D seems to be taking over traditional hand drawn 2D animation.

I am going to talk about the „uncanny valley“ phenomenon and how it affects animation. In the following I am asking the question of what emotional impact a certain style of animation can have on the viewer .

I would like to present my thesis using different , such as „“, „“, „Kizumonogatari“ and „“.

What I do not want to discuss in my thesis is the effect that music and voice acting can have on an animation. For me, it is self explanatory that music, sound effects and voice acting will change the way animation is precieved by the audience completely.

That being said, through research and discussion, I hope to find out more about what makes an animation unique, why big animation studios have turned their backs on traditional hand-drawn animation and if that means it should be left in the past for good.

To give a better understanding of the topic, the first two chapters are about the history of animation and different animation styles. In the following chapters I will discuss the questions I posed above. Finally I want to discuss new animation styles that have emerged over the past view years and how these might change the animation industry in the future.

3 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI

2. A brief history of animation The word „animation“ derives from the latin word „anima”, which means „the breath of life”, „vital principle” or „soul”. To understand what animation is, it is important to understand the definition of animation. Animation is the manipulation of images and objects to appear as if they are in motion, thus animation can be seen as a form of illusion of movement, generated by hand or by computer.

The resources of following paragraphs are retrived from Wikipedia and Digital Media for Artists. [10] [11]

The history of the moving image dates as far back as the paleolithic period, where shadow plays offered popular shows with moving images as the result of manipulation by hand. In the 17th century moving images were generated by pre-kinematic apparatuses, such as the Laterna Magica, which is seen as the foundation for and animation. The invention of the in 1832 introduced the stroboscopic principle of modern animation, which would also provide the basis for . The phenakistiscope was the first device that created a fluid illusion of motion. The spinning cardboard disc could only show a short continuous loop but was sold out immediately after it first launched. It was then widely produced and loved by the public. Although after the phenakistiscope other similar devices, such as the praxinoscope, were made, the principle stayed the same: A stroboscope is used to make a cyclically moving object appear to be stationary. It consists of a rotating disk with slots, holes or a lamp which produces short repetitive flashes of light. In 1888 Charles-Émile Reynaud further developed the praxinoscope into the Théâtre Optique, an animated moving picture system, consisting of 300 to 700 transparent pictures of successive phases of moving figures with black backgrounds that he drew by hand.

Although the invention and developement of pre-kinematic apparatuses are the beginning of early animation history, I want to take a closer look at the developement of animation starting from 1900, after the invention of the first film camera. Furthermore I am not only considering animation history, but also the history of japanese style animation, since it has become quite popular around the world in the 21st century.

2.1) The beginning of traditional animation Since around 1899 filmmakers experimented with stop-motion animation. When film became a common medium manufacturers produced many chromolithography (a unique method for making multi-colour prints) film loops, by tracing live- footage, which is now known as the rhotoscopy method. J. Stuart Blackton, who had previously worked on stop-motion, experimented with animation drawn on blackboards in „Humorous Phases of Funny Faces“ in 1906. Blackton drew various portraits using the frame by frame method. Only two years later the film „Fantasmagorie“ was created by Emile Cohl, who used what became known as traditional hand- drawn animation. The animation was released in 1908 with a white-on-black chalkline look. Cohl created this look by using negative prints from black ink drawings on white paper. The film consists of a stick figure moving around, encountering different objects.

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During the 1910’s, animations were called „Cartoons“. They were mainly produced for cinemas as pre-show attractions, to be screened before a . Producer John Randolph Bray and were the most successful in the animation industry at that time. They were responsible for patenting the cel animation process, which would later dominate the animation industry for most of the century. Winsor McCay, who was an American cartoonist and animator showcased very detailed drawings in his animated film „“ (1914). It was also an early example of character development in drawn animation. „El Apóstol“ was a 1917 Argentine animated film produced by Federico Valle and the world's first animated feature film, utilizing , however the film was destroyed by a fire and is now considered a .

The history of japanese animation, widely known as , can be traced back to the start of the 20th century with the first animated film produced in Japan in 1907 called "Katsudō Shashin“ („Activity Photo"). The film was found in 2005 and depicts a boy in a sailor outfit drawing the characters of the film. It consists of fifty frames on a strip of celluloid. Unfortunately there isn't an exact record of more animations that were made in Japan during that time, though it is widely believed that there are many more which haven't been found or forgotten. Taking into consideration that Japan's social and economic situation was different to the one in the U.S. at that time and there were less financial resources for animations. Furthermore most animation techniques were developed in the west and were then introduced to Japan. The first foreign animation is known to have been found in Japan in 1910. A film called „Fushigi no Bōrudo“ („Miracle Board") was found in the records of Yoshizawa Shōten, a film studio and importer in the early years of cinema in Japan. The studio bought a cinématographe camera and introduced motion pictures to Japan in the 1900s. The description of „Fushigi no Bōrudo“ matches James Blackton's „Humorous Phases of Funny Faces“. The first confirmed animated film shown in Japan was „Les Exploits de Feu Follet“ by Émile Cohl on April 15, 1912. While other animated have been found in Japan, „Les Exploits de Feu Follet“ is the first recorded account of a public showing of an animated film in Japanese cinema.

Unfortunately only a few complete animations made during the beginnings of Japanese animation have survived. After the clips had been run, the film strips were sold to smaller cinemas in the country and then disassembled and sold as strips or single frames. Another reason for many animations being lost or destroyed was World War II. The first japanese Anime was made sometime in 1917 called „Dekoboko shin-gachô: Meian no Shippai“ („Bumpy New Picture Book: Failure of a Great Plan") directed by Hekoten Shimokawa. The first anime short-films were made by three leading figures in the industry, Ōten Shimokawa, a political caricaturist and cartoonist who worked for the magazine Tokyo Puck, Jun'ichi Kōuchi, a caricaturist and painter, who also had studied watercolor painting and Seitaro Kitayama, an early animator who made animations on his own and was not hired by larger corporations. The works of the two latter include „Namakura Gatana“ ("An Obtuse Sword", 1917) and „Urashima Tarō“ (1918) which are believed to have been discovered in 2007.

Wladyslaw Starewicz made the first -animated film „The Beautiful Lukanida“ (1912) and later worked on stop motion films first using dead insects and later using again. He created „The Cameraman's Revenge“, which is still seen as a pioneer work and a milestone in puppet animation. It is also one of the first animated films featuring a story with violence, drama

5 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI and feelings. Puppet animation is later to be widely known as stop-motion animation, to date one of the most popular being „Wallace & Gromit“ (1989).

Although a lot of animated films such as „“, „ the Sailor Man“ and „Superman“ were released after rhotoscoping became popular in around 1915, the next important milestone in animation history is the time of and Warner Bros, the golden age of animation. Without going into too much detail about Walt Disneys life, after working at the Kansas City Film Ad Company, which produced cutout animations, he became more interested in different animation techniques. Disney has always been passionate about drawing cartoons and established the Laugh-O-Gram Studio back in 1921. Because the studio failed to provide enough income, Disney started the production of „Alice's Wonderland“ featuring and cartoon characters. It was later known as „Alice's Adventures in Wonderland“. However, the Laugh-O-Gram Studio went banckrupt and Disney moved to Los Angeles in 1923.

Since May 1924, Dave and 's Inkwell Studios produced several cartoons with sound, using the so called „sound-on-film“ process. In this process, the sound accompanying picture (waveform) is physically recorded onto the same strip of film carrying the picture. Disney's breakthrough was „Steamboat Willie“ in 1928, where he also used sound for the first time. In 1933 Warner Brothers Cartoons was founded, which was a division of Warner Bros. Primarily the Studio is known for „“ and „“.In this time, animation and animation techniques became more famous and cartoons were made into animated short films. The first animation using the three-color method was „Flowers and Trees“ (1932) by Disney Studios, which later won an Academy Award. The three-color method is a color motion picture process which was first developed in 1916 by Technicolor. Following the Kinemacolor, Technicolor, the developing company of color film, became known for its highly saturated color spectrum. Originally, the process was a two-color (red and green) process, but later became a three-color process. A prism behind the camera lens exposed two frames of a single strip of negative film simultaneously. One behind a red filter and the other behind a green filter. Because the process was quite tricky and required special projectors when showed in cinemas, it was thought to be the end of the process. However, after many more processes between the first one, in 1929 Technicolor was actively developing a full-color process. Unfortunately the Great Depression took its toll on the movie industry and film developers had to cut back on their expenses. In 1932 a new color movie camera had been released, which allowed Technicolor to provide movie makers a full range of color film, which was a big step from only a limited red-green color spectrum. Color animation became the industry standard with Warner Brothers and Disney releasing many more of their . Disney realised the success of animated films with breathtaking stories, which would transport the viewers into a fantasy world, so he developed a story department in his company. In this department, animators worked on and story developement. In 1937 „ and the Seven Dwarfs“ was released. It is still considered the first animated feature film completely made by using hand-drawn animation.

Pre-war animators in Japan faced several difficulties, since they had to compete with foreign producers like Disney and Warner Brothers. Foreign films spread fast and had already made a profit in the west so they could be sold for cheap in Japan. This however meant that japanese animators had to work for a low price in smaller companies, thus not being able to provide the

6 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI same quality that major animation studios in the U.S. provided. Until around 1930, Anime genereally was made using cutout animation instead of the widely spread cel animation. The reason for this was, that celluloid was too expensive and had to be imported. While western animations were quickly developing and ever so changing in style, japense Anime seemed flat and without detail. But eventhough japanese animators had to face such difficulties, they were able to turn these limitations into a distinctive style of animation. However Kenzō Masaoka and Mitsuyo Seo, tried to bring Japanese animation to the level of foreign work by introducing cel animation and sound to the japanese industry. Kenzō Masaoka created the first Anime made entirely using cel animation, „The Dance of the Chagamas“ (1934). Mitsuyo Seo was the first to use the multiplane camera in his animation called „Ari-chan“ in 1941. These innovations were difficult to finance and so pre-war animators depended on sponsorship and often had to work on millitary and governement propaganda films. In the 1930s, the Japanese government began cencoring and controlling published media, which forced animators to produce political animations about nationalism and more animated films were commissioned by the military.

In 1941, „Princess Iron Fan“ was made in China, which was Asia's first full-length animated feature. The film is based on an episode of the novel „Journey to the West“. It was directed in Shanghai by Wan Guchan and Wan Laiming.

From 1945 to 1952 the Whirlwind Computer was developed at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Servomechanisms Laboratory of the U.S Navy. The Computer was commissioned during World War II and was originally meant to become a flight simulator for war purposes. It was the first digital electronic computer that operated in real-time and therefore replaced older mechanical systems. Furthermore the computer was able to calculate in parrallel rather than serial and used a magnetic core memory. This breakthrough in technology is the foundation of computer animation though it would still take many more years until computer animation was widely used. During the same time the Whirlwind Computer was built, United Productions of America (UPA) was founded by several Disney animators. First the production was responsible for creating industrial and World War II training films but eventually produced shorts for .

In 1951 color television was introduced to the US market and in 1958 the first half-hour television program to feature an animation was „The Huckleberry Hound Show“ by Hanna-Barbera Productions. In 1960, Hanna-Barbera released one of the to date most well known animated television shows, „The Flintstones“, which was the first animated series on prime time television. During that time many more animations were made, because the industry experienced a rise as animation became widely spread through the whole world.

In the 1960s, UPA produced the „Mr. Magoo“ and „Dick Tracy“ television series as well as other series and specials. They also produced „1001 Arabian Nights“ and distributed japanese films from Toho Studios in the 1970s and 1980s. Another important milestone in animation is the introduction of japanese Anime to american television. The first Anime film to be broadcasted in america was „Three Tales“ (1960).

By the early 1960s digital computers had become widely established and were initially used for science, engineering and other research purposes. Artists began experimenting with computer

7 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI generated graphics in the mid-1960s. Firstly it was only possible to create 2D imagery but soon it was possible to calculate three dimensional spaces and therefore computer generated 3D imagery was born.

Considered the inventor of computer animaton, american animator John Whitney and his brother James created a series of experimental films in the 1940s to . They custom-built a device based on an analog computer, which was connected by servos to control the motion of light and objects. John Whitney's best known work probably is the animated title sequence from 's film „Vertigo“ (1958). In 1960 Whitney established the company Motion Graphics Inc, which focused mainly on producing titles for film and television as well as continuing further research in computer generated graphics.

One of the first digital computers that could be programmed was SEAC (Standards Eastern Automatic Computer) in 1950 and in 1957 together with his research team Russel Kirsch scanned the first photograph which was only 176x176 pixels. The computer was used to extract line drawings and count objects, it even could recognize different types of characters and display digital images on a screen. The breakthrough of being able to scan was the foundation of computer imaging and soon digital computers could be found everywhere in universities, research centers and organisations. Soon after the developement of graphic screen devices begun and thus a completely new world of digital art was born. William Fetter, who was a graphic designer, worked at Boeing in 1960 and used computer graphics to develope ergonomic descriptions of the human body. This project resulted in the first 3D wire-frame figure. A lot happened in the world of computers and animation during the 1960s. Bell Labs in New Jersey was a leading research center in computer graphics and computer animation. Researchers were looking at different ways to produce computer-generated imagery. Edward Zajac produced one of the first computer- generated films at the Bell Labs called „A Two Gyro Gravity Gradient Attitude Control System“ (1963). Ken Knowlton was responsible for developing the BEFLIX animation language system, one of the first embedded domain-specific languages for computer animation. He used this language to create animated films for engineering purposes. Meanwhile at MIT Steve Russell developed the first videogame „Spacewars”.

A pioneer in computer art to be mentioned is Lillian Schwartz. Not only was she an artist who used mixed media like film and digital collages for her work, she was also using the BEFLIX language and the graphics language EXPLOR and SYMBOLICS. Schwartz worked on using simple commands like „draw a line“, „zoom an area“ and „copy a region“. Around 1975, Schwartz and Knowlton digitally created computer-animated films. Another important person in the history of computer animation is Ivan Sutherland. He is considered to be the creator of interactive computer graphics and is also considered an internet pioneer. Sutherland tought at the University of Utah in the 1970s where he invented what are now seen as foundations of computer graphics. He worked at MIT and developed a program called „Sketchpad“, which allowed the user to interact directly with the image on the screen. Sketchpad was a breakthrough in computer graphics and the first user interface of its kind.

In 1968, Sutherlandand and David Evans, who was chairman at University of Utah Computer Science Department, founded the company Evans & Sutherland. They worked on the

8 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI developement of simulation systems using computer graphics. Their breakthrough concept was the concept of interaction between human and computer not only through text, but also through graphics. For the first few years, the systems were used by the U.S. Military but later the company worked commercialy. During the 1970s, japanese Anime developed further, with the inspiration of major studios. Anime soon created distinct such as and its robot subgenre and very much seprated itself from typical american animation styles. Especially the robot subgenre is unique for Japan and plays a very important role in the discussion of robotics and the uncanney valley (see chapter 6.1). Typical shows from this period include „Astro Boy“, „Lupin III“ and „Mazinger Z“. By that time the japanese started to develop their own kind of style and look in character design, which, after developing further for decades, is now easily destinguishable to western style characters. With new technology and new inventions coming from the U.S and Europe, Japan also saw a rise in technology and the use of computers. With that change came new possibilities for animators around the world. However during this period several japanese filmmakers like Hayao Miyazaki became famous for their simple style in 2D animation and the breathtaking story concepts. While western animation was seen more as „a thing for kids“ with stories and characters targeted towards the younger audience, japanese animators started to focus on the adult market. Nowadays Anime is known for it's adult stories often featuring blood, violence, fantasy and love. Hayao Miyazaki however gained popularity internationally for being the maker of some of the most well known Anime feature films which are for children as well as adults and founded the famous Studio Ghibli. Some of the best known films are „Castle in the Sky“ (1986), „My Neighbour Totoro“ (1988) , „Princess Mononoke“ (1997) and „Spirited Away“ (2001).

To finish off the topic of traditional animation, a TV Show worth mentioning is „The Simpsons“ (1987) which was created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is the the longest-running American animated program as well as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series. One of the very special things about „The Simpsons“, is the distinctive goofy, yellow look of the characters and the fact that the series is targeted towards adults which has now become iconic.

2.2) From 2D to 3D – a turning point In the 1970s the capabilities of 3D animation had evolved to be able to display quite realistic human faces, which was later the foundation of CGI technology. 3D software began appearing for home computers with the earliest known example being „3D Art Graphics“ written by Kazumasa Mitazawa and released in June 1978 for Apple. One of the most important innovations in computer graphics at that time is the Bézier curve, developed by Pierre Bézier, who worked as an engineer at Renault. The curve is widely used in computer graphics to generate smooth curves and in animation to create smooth movement. Bézier curves are also used to define 2D and 3D paths for keyframe interpolation. In 1972 Ltd. Was founded in Bristol. The Studio is known for films made using stop-motion with the most famous one being „Wallace and Gromit“.

In 1974 Bill Gates founded Microsoft and Ed Catmull, who is now president of and Disney Animations, formed a research group working with 2D animation, mostly focusing on tools that

9 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI could assist the animators in their work and make animation easier. One of the innovations was the painting programm „Paint“ which was later further developed and the prerunner of many more painting programs. After working on 2D animation Catmull started to work with 3D graphics and motion picture production. from Lucasfilm approached Catmull to create a group of people who would work on computer graphics and video editing. Catmull became vice president at Industrial Light & Magic computer graphics division at Lucasfilm and helped to develop digital image compositing technology. In 1986, Steve Jobs bought Lucasfilm's digital division and founded Pixar, where he was a key developer of the „RenderMan“ rendering system used in the first 3D feature film „“ (1995). Pixar Animation Studios first created 3D short films like „Luxo Jr.“ (1986) and „Tin Toy“ (1988) and soon they became leaders in the field of 3D animation. „Toy Story“ was the beginning of 3D animated feature films and was followed by „A Bug's Life“ (1998), „Monsters Inc.“ (2001) and „“ (2003). , who began his career as an animator at Disney and joined Lucasfilm, worked on the use of CGI animatior and directed „Toy Story“ and „A Bug's Life“.

Founded by Jim Clark in 1981 Silicon Graphics was a manufacturer of high-performance computer software and the Geometry Engine. This engine was able to calculate the main operations like transforming, clipping, and scaling. Silicon Graphics' first product was the IRIS (Integrated Raster Imaging System), which used the a 2 MB memory and the Geometry Engine. Around the same year AutoDesk was founded and developed the 3D Software AutoCAD. AutoDesk is now known for the programs „3D Studio Max“ and „Maya“. Disney published their first 15 minute digitally generated called „“ (1982).

Because of the international interest in space and space travelling with films like „“ (1977) and „Space Battleship Yamato“ (1974) japanese Anime experienced a boom in the 1980s and thousands of magazines were sold which would later be made into Anime. During this period one of the most influential Anime called „Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind“ (1984) directed by Miyazki was made. The success of „Dragon Ball“ (1986) introduced the martial arts and fighting into Anime. Japanese filmmakers began merging different topics like space, martial arts and mideaval sword fighting which was the start of the Anime's unique stories and character designs. After video games became popular the world of Anime and games started to merge with game characters looking like the beloved Anime characters people saw on film and television. Osaka University developed the LINKS-1 Computer Graphics System in 1982 which was a supercomputer that could render realistic 3D graphics. The luminance of each pixel that could be seen from a certain viewpoint, the light source and object position had to be calculated. The system was developed to realize the ray tracing technology, where each pixel could be processed in parallel.

University of Montreal was one of the top universities in computer animation realizing some notable 3D animated short films. Philippe Bergeron, Nadia Thalmann and Daniel Thalmann directed a film called „Dream Flight“ (1983), which was completely programmed in the MIRA graphical language. In 1984 the short film „The Adventures of Andre & Wally B“ was the first fully CGI-animated film, created by The Graphics Group, which later became Pixar.

With the rise of technology and the ever so present research in computer graphics came many

10 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI inventions. Computers became more accessible and more people started to research 3D technologies as these were in the interest of all kinds of industries. In 1984 Wavefront Technologies published the first commercial 3D animation software followed by the invention of the TIFF, JPG and GIF image formats. In 1989 Photoshop was being developed followed by the Autodesk 3D Studio (later 3D Studio Max). Because there were so many inventions in that time (MPEG format, OpenGL, etc.) , let's take a step forward to the next important milestone in animation, which is 1995, when Pixar and Disney published their first work in cooperation „Toy Story“. Like already mentioned above, „Toy Story“ is the first 3D film entirely animated on the computer. This breakthrough in 3D animation meant that the two Studios would now focus on the developement of 3D animations, spending years and years on research and developement of new programs. Although 2D animation was still common, with 3D animation being extremely expensive and time consuming, studios were now able to use 3D elements in 2D animation. The same year, 1995, DreamWorks was founded, which produced almost entirely computer animated films. Computer animation started to expand with CGI technology now being readily avaliable for TV productions. In 1993 another milestone was reached with Jurassic Park by . For the first time 3D CGI dinosours were merged with life action.

In 1995, Hideaki Anno wrote and directed the Anime „Neon Genesis Evangelion“. The show became popular in Japan but was so controversial showing violence and sexuality that TV Tokyo hat to censor it. Eventhough the Anime was so controversial it's success continued to influence shows in the when mecha style anime had a comeback. The robot genre had declined in the 1990s but since 2000 has gained more and more popularity even to this day. The 1990s also saw the popular video game series, „Pokémon“, which later became an anime television series and is still running. Although „Pokémon“ being the most popular, „Dragon Ball Z“, „Sailor Moon“ and „Digimon“ gained international success and brought attention to japanese anime. Another large success was the anime „One Piece“, based on the best-selling manga of all time. In 1997, Miyazaki's „Princess Mononoke“ became one of the most-expensive animated films up until that time, costing $20 million to produce mostly being a hand-drawn film with some computer animated scenes.

Emerging from the gaming industry and japanese influence on games and animation, has seen a rise in computer graphics. It is the use of realtime rendering engines to create a computer animation, mostly using video game engines.

Fast forward to present days, 3D CGI is mostly used in mainstream animation and there are almost no hand drawn animations to be produced with the exeption of Anime. A lot has changed in the animation industry since it first stared and technology is changing ever so rapitly. With this fast change, new programs pop up on the market every year and 3D programs are now affordable for single artists to create breathtaking visuals.

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3. Overview of different animation Styles With time and inventions came a change in the process of creating animations. From traditional hand drawn animations, to 3D computer generated images, in this chapter I am going to list the most important animation techniques that have emerged over the past hundred years.

The recources of the following four points are a summary from Bloop Animation. [14]

3.1) Traditional animation (hand – drawn, cel animation) Known as traditional or hand-drawn animation, cel animation technique is an important innovation to traditional animation, as parts of each frame to be repeated from frame to frame, allowing for a better workflow and saving animators a lot of time. The process consists of creating „layers“ and changing each layer over a certain amount of time. The transparent drawings on the layers are being redrawn and slightly changed. A cel (short for celluloid) is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted. During the beginning of the 20th century celluloid was used but was later replaced by a different material, cellulose acetate. When computer animation was on the rise the use of cel animaton was abandoned in major productions and is now almost entirely replaced by 2D computer graphic programs. However some indie filmmakers are taking a step back and use traditional animation techniques again.

3.2) 2D Animation (Vector based computer animation) Vector-based animations are computer generated 2D animations, which use the exact same techniques as traditional animation, therefore it benefits from the ability to use computer interpolation. In addition to the option of animating frame by frame, an animator has the option of creating rigs for the characters and then move the body parts individually instead of drawing the character over and over. These flexibilities provide more options and require less drawing skills than traditional animation.

3.3) 3D Animation (CGI, computer animation) 3D animation works in a completely different way than traditional animation, however, no matter the animation techniques, an understanding of the same principles of movement and composition are needed. 3D animation is also referred to as CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), or just CG (Computer Generated). The animation techniques of 3D animation have a lot of similarities with stop-motion animation, as they both deal with animating and posing models, however the computer automatically generates in-betweens for a flowing motion. Still 3D conforms to the frame-by-frame approach of 2D animation, but it is a lot more controllable since it’s in a digital work-space and each frame can be easily changed. When the animation is complete, the computer will render each frame individually, which can be very time-consuming, but these days new rendering techniques have surfaced which make the process less time and computer power consuming.

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3.4) Stop Motion Stop motion animation is a technique to make objects appear as if they move on their own, however they are moved by human hand and nowadays even by machines (as can be seen in the making of the film „Kubo and the two Strings“). Stop motion is done by taking a photo of a scene, then moving objects and characters by just a little. The process is repeated and when the photos are played back one after another they give the illusion of movement. This is similar to traditional animation but it uses real life materials and puppets instead of drawings. One of the most well known films in this category is „Wallace and Gromit“. Within the stop motion category, there are subcategories:

• Claymation: One of the most popular stop-motion form, working with clay or play-doh characters that can easily be manipulated for animation. To stabilize and in order for the puppets to move, armatures are used. They are often simple skeletons made out of wire and the clay is sculpted around it.

• Puppets

• Cut-Out: using construction paper or cardboard characters and placing them on paper while shooting the animation from above ( was made that way before animators switched to computers)

• Silhouette

• Action Figures / Lego

3.5) Motion Graphics Motion graphics is quite different from other animation techniques, however it is still considered as animation. Unlike the other animation types, motion graphics are not character or story driven. Motion graphics refers to the art of creatively moving graphic elements or texts, usually for commercial or promotional purposes.

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4. Why 2D animation might be thing of the past Many 2D inthusiasts have noticed the decline in 2D animated films since the 3D boom and major studios didn't produce 2D animated films in years. I am going to take a look at reasons why 2D might be a thing of the past. In order to get a full understanding of a certain topic or idea, one must consider all angles, one must consider the opposing opinion. So by discussing why 2D animation might be a thing of the past and left behind us for good, it is possible to gain more understanding of the exact opposite (why 2D animation should not be abandonned).

The first reason is, that 3D animation might be easier in production, but there are many animators who will argue that 3D animation is most certainly not easier. They will argue that „animation is animation“ no matter what technique is used, because in order to get beautiful movement in 3D, the sampe pricipals that are used in 2D have to be applied. Movement will always stay the same, only the way it is put in action changes. However, the process of animating itself is entirely different in 3D. One example is, that it requires less artists in 3D animation, simply people who can learn and understand a program. While it takes years, even an entire lifetime to be able to draw continous characters, scenes, etc. , for a person to learn a program, it may only take a year or two and the knowledge can be applied to different programs as well. While an animator can take classes in drawing, those classes are only a push in the direction towards a lifetime of practice until drawing at a masterful level is achieved. With that being said, it is not that 3D animation is inherently easier than 2D, it is more that a different skill is needed to bring animation to the screen and there are now more people able to use computers than to use pen and paper.

Another reason 2D could be replaced by 3D for good, is the fact that computers are superior to humans. Although this blunt statement can be argued with for years and years, one can't argue, that the processing power a computer posesses, is faster and more capable than a human can and will ever achieve, even with an IQ of over 140. A computer is capable of a level of detail and perfection that no human hand is going to come close to. Due to technological advances and the fact, that computers make our life easier, why would we limit ourselfes when the technology is right here for us to create amazingingly perfect and realistic images? If the director tells the animator, that a certain scene would work better from a different angle, in 2D animation that would mean to re-draw thousands and thousands of pictures, while in 3D animation a simple change in camera position does the job. So why would we go backwards and do things that are more difficult and much more limited due to the fact that we are human? Why not embrace the future instead of living in the past? Instead of arguing and trying to answer these questions, the question that should be asked is: „Would this story be told differently if it was 3D? Would the audience feel more immersed if it was 2D? Do these beautifully rendered shots of a landscape really push the purpose of what should be told?“

The more subtle a 2D animation, the more difficult it becomes to animate. This applies in keeping characters feeling alive and „moving“, even when they are simply standing still. In 3D animation, it is very easy to make a character move extremely subtly over time, whereas in 2D animation, this is almost impossible and an extreme challenge for the in-between animator. In mainstream animation, there’s no room for error, but humans are far from computers when it comes to technical detail and accuracy. There is no argue, 3D animation is more real and for some it blurs

14 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI the line between fantasy and reality. But 2D animation has been able to do the same with compelling characters that create a sense of reality, an animator might argue, even more so than any technology. The problem is, cinemas are not filled with animators, they are filled with people who have little to no idea how animation is made and to some of them, 3D is more real, more beautiful and more interesting in look. An animation has to be convincing at most, it has to convince the audience of it's own credibility in existance.

„Computers don’t create computer animation any more than a pencil creates pencil animation. What creates computer animation is the artist.“ - John Lasseter

However, having discussed these points, almost in favour of 3D animation, there is a reason why 2D animation should be continued, which is the fact, that hand-drawn animation is human. By giving a level of control to computers, maybe some „organic-ness“, some personality is being lost – there is no room for imperfection, yet humans are imperfect, but it seems for us it is so hard to admit. Through that imperfection, art becomes interesting and great and in animation that means, imperfection cannot be achieved unless a human hand has created it (this however is my personal opinion and of coarse can be argued with). Rough edges and lines can be seen as mistakes, but also as a form of art, a form of personality the animator brought into the final product, maybe even leaving some non-animators wondering about how the animator created such a masterful piece.

This brings me to the conclusion, that technology shouldn't be used for the sake of technology, and the same goes for the old way of 2D animation. If there is a better and more efficient way to do something, one might be a fool grasping on to tradition for the sake of tradition. It is important for an artist to know why a certain technique is being chosen over another one. This leads me into the next chapter, which is the business of 3D animation industry.

5. The business of 3D animation One point, that I haven't discussed in the chapter before, a point that stands highly in favour of 3D animation, is the infrastructure and business behind it. Studios are now set up to do huge 3D films with the physical systems like rendering machines already in place. If the tools for 3D are there, why not use them? Whether the majority of people want that or not can be argued with. I would say, the majority of people (who also are not working in animation) prefer 3D animated films over 2D, simply because it is modern and what they are being served. One thing is for sure, 3D animated films make a lot of money, almost regardless of quality, while great non-3D films like „Kubo and the Two Strings“ flop in the box office. And that’s what it’s really all about: box office numbers. It’s not that the film industry decided that 3D is a better animation method, it just sells more tickets and makes a great return on their investments. It's not a secret that 3D animation is not only a form of art but also a business. Every year Pixar ivests millions of dollars into new computers and software, trying to stay on top of the game. It's not all about animating, it's also about research in making things easier, faster and time efficient, finding new ways and tools to create 3D imagery. Ultimately I think that 3D is a more business oriented and effective medium and the industry is a business not an art. Artists simply work in the industry and create art within it but the decisions are probably based on money.

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The artists within the industry: incredible concept art from the 2017 3D animation „COCO“. [29]

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6. Animation and Imperfection – The human aspect

Having talked about the history and infrastructural aspects, let's move on to the core of animation itself. Through my research I came to the conclusion that animation consists of three fundamental elements, which are visual, story and sound. One can't exist without at least one other: visual – story , visual – sound but in mainstream animation the three always exist together: visual – story – sound.

Each one impacting the other and having an effect on the preception of the viewer. In many ways animation is a balancing act of movement indicated through sound and / or story. Of coarse animation can be silent which would nowadays be considered a choice of artistic approach, however an animation always has a story to be told or a story left to be interpreted by the viewer. Even if the story is not the intention of the animator or director, the process of animating itself would mean the animator just did something without thinking about – and that is pretty much impossible.

To not get deeper into the philosophy of animating itself, I want to talk about the visual aspect in animation, which I am basing my thesis on. Though animation techniques and also styles have changed over decades, one thing hasn't changed, and that's the human perception (at least from a biological point of view). We may nowadays be more open to what was once labelled as controvercial, be it images or topics, but the way our eyes see images hasn't changed. What has changed immensly however is the speed and the way images are presented to us. With the fast paced society comes fast paced entertainment, music, film and animation. Apart from the framerate getting higher and the resolution of screens becoming bigger, there is now so much detail in images presented to us, we can barely process it all or even notice it. Our brains are being overstimulated with breathtaking visuals and to give us the most immersive experience possible. Immersion – that is , what I would say animation is all about. Bringing the viewer into this fantasy world and making them forget about what is around them. In many ways animation is striving for a perfect illusion, striving to impact the life of the viewer and striving for an immersive fantasy world using different styles and techniques to achieve such thing. Mainstream animation is striving for perfection using photo realistic rendering techniques and

17 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI spending years on motion studies to make characters move perfectly. With and 3D came the ultimate immersive experience for humans and the industry is working towards bringing the viewer even more into a fantasy world, working on 4D cinematic experiences with moving chairs and smell sensors. But at a certain point, isn't it too much immersion? Can we even take that much stimulation of our senses? Or do we maybe just become numb? There must be a certain point where, in animation, the viewer doesn't notice certain changes anymore. There must be a point, where it doesn't matter how high the resolution of an image is or how „flowy“ a scene is animated. Animation has worked well when it was 2D and technically unsophisticated, maybe nowadays we expect more. Expectations might be higher because of all the technical inventions that have been made – maybe we got used to it. Humans are striving for perfection, we always have been and probably will be. Failure is required for growth and with innovation comes failure. By us being obsessed with perfection we might forget the reason we even make something in the first place, by „something“ meaning in this case the art of animating. In art there has always been a certain balance of imperfection, a slight „error“ in the creation, a human error. But when art becomes industry everything changes. The only reason for us trying to achieve a higher framerate or a higher resolution is simply because we can. - and because it is a technological breakthrough in processing power of machines. Because new innovations mean new business opportunity and that again means money. But the question I am asking is, do we really need perfection in animation? I would say, probably not. But in order to achieve maximal immersion and experience for the audience, we have to constantly seek change, balance perection, accept imperfection and take a step back if needed. Traditional animation can pretty much do the same thing that computer animation can do, just less exact and more stylized, because the artist's personality can be seen in his / her drawings however a computer doesn't have a personality (yet). Slowly computer animation is approaching reality, but one thing that computer animation can not deliver, and will most likely not be delivering in the near future, is true physical reality – it can only be a simulation. Our imagination needs to be fed but at the same time we, as animators, have to balance that with identification. Imagination and identification can be seen as the „yin and yang“ in animation, both have to coexist in harmony and together they become immersion. If one is taken away, animation becomes abstract and possibly has no context in its existance. Once again, this can also be seen as a form of artistic approach or artistic research, taking either one away and figuring out what impact it can have on the viewer or even the animator him / herself.

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The human eye is limited, not as limited as 60fps (frames per second), but limited in a way that machines could potentially, in the future, and probably inevitably, overpower us. The human eye can physiologically detect up to 1000 frames per second – current technology is far from that framerate and the average human can see the difference all the way to around 150 fps, but only when asked to specifically notice the difference. So, without asking, people might not have noticed the difference between 60 and 120 frames per second at all. This would answer part of the question if we can even take that much stimulation of our senses. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of research about that topic in connection to animation as of today. So how can we find the perfect balance between realism in animation and human preception?

It is important to note that there is a big difference between the people who work in the field of animation and the people who are „the audience“, the „entertainment seekers“. I am writing this thesis based on the fact that I am working in the field of animation.

To give a better understanding of my thought let's put human preception in relation to realism in animation. Realism in this case being the realism of movement taking into consideration the framerate and therefore „flowyness“ of animated objects. Furthermore I am considering the biological perception of humans, meaning, what is biologically possible for us to notice, our ability to precieve changes in animations (such as framerate and resolution) the more realistic in movement they become. Now imagining a mountain, where on the top of it sits the perfect balance between motion, framerate, resolution (IF there is something such as a perfect balance) - as often we try to reach the peak of the mountain but ever so often we find ourselves wandering around the left and right side, trying to find a way up the rocky climb. Although I would say that quite a lof ot animated films are sitting right on top of that mountain and animators have achieved the perfect balance of all components. One example being „The Lion King“, which is a movie that is loved by millions of people around the world. No matter the language or cultural background, it was recieved phenomenally all over the world when it came to cinemas for the first time in 1994 and still the movie is seen as a classic in animation. In my opinion „The Lion King“ has all of the components that lie on top of that mountain in perfect balance: 24fps [13], traditional hand- drawn, traditional in movement. The pace of the animation isn't too fast but also, there is a continuous flow and the animation never feels „stuck“. Most of all, each element of animation plays together in perfect harmony and creates an immersive experience for the viewer. Of coarse other components such as story and music play a big role in this film, however I am simply taking a look at the way the movie was animated. Having said all that, it is almost impossible to have “the perfect balance” of all the components. For example, a higher resolution, higher framerate and more details can be very cost intensive. Therefore, there must be a point where a reasonable balance between all components is given

A quick side note: To also consider the appeal in animation, which I will be talking about in the following paragraphs and chapter, I want to shortly discuss the appeal of animation using the same mountain metaphor with a different parameter instead of human preception, appeal. On the bottom of the mountain, we would find uncanny faces and weirdly moving characters. On the top would lie the perfect balance of design and movement. This however is, more so than the preception, a very personal aspect and, again, is different for everyone. Maybe it should therefore be called personal appeal,

19 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI rather than human appeal. However generally (and this will still be discussed thouroughly in the next chapter about the uncanny valley), for an animation to be precieved as appealing by the general public, it should lie within the top part of the mountain. Of coarse making an animation unappealing, creepy, weird or however one might call it, can be a choice of artistic approach, a choice of how an animator or director wants to impact the audience and in what way he or she might want to go about that. To come back to „The Lion King“, which is generally very appealing with characters looking „cute“ and „symphatic“, the „normal“ human would find this as appealing. Therefore I place „The Lion King“ on top of that mountain once again, when it comes to the visual appeal of the animation.

Apart from the framerate, another aspect that has impact on motion or motion flow is resolution. Every year new monitors are being developed, some of which can present incredible colors and have needle-sharp high definition. After Standard Definiton came High Definition and now there is Ultra High Definition. In animation, specifically 3D animation, that means more rendering time as every single image has to be in an ever higher resolution than before. This again means, animation is now a process requiering incredible computing power, lots of money and time. As already discussed, the business of 3D animation is a thing of its own, but the human aspect, leaving business aside, is quite important to take a look at as well. Whether Disneys „“ is shown on a HD or UHD screen, probably, it has the same emotional impact on us. Given the fact that there are quite some social differences around the world and people in third world countries can't afford an HD monitor, animation probably has the same emotional impact on these people watching the film on an old second hand TV. So the answer the question „Do we really need a higher resolution and a higher framerate in animation?“ I posed above - my answer to that would be probably not. The answer to that question lies more in the business and research of new technologies. And the fact that, genereally speaking, humans get bored easily and therefor new innovations are needed. Human preception is made out of two main elements: Biological ability to see certain things (how many frames per second can we possibly see, what resolution can our brain possibly process?) and the philosophical element of aesthetics. Having already discussed the biological element, this leaves us with the philosophcal and probably also psychological element. I think that, since we are all individuals, preception is subjective and can never be objective. Of course preception is also highly influenced by society and culture. Therefore, the graph I drew and the explaination of why I think „The Lion King“ lies on top of that graph can easily be argued with. It is a given that some might say they have never seen „the perfect animation“ or some might say „perfection does not exist where humans are“. Another viewpoint might be the fact that it is not necessary to strive for perfection, we should rather walk along the lower path of that mountain and make the best out of it. Furthermore it is hard to look only at the technical side of animation, without considering the story and sound, but that is exactly what is so interesting to me.

With trial comes error and in animation, that means something appears as „weird“ and „creepy“ to us. This „creepiness“ can occur in movement of objects and look of characters. Leaving the technical aspect of framerates, resolution and pace behind, this brings me to the next chapter within this thesis, which is specifically the strive for perfection in character design and the uncanny that comes with it.

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6.1) The uncanny valley phenomenon Now that I discussed why „The Lion King“ is lying on top of the mountain (even though that is a very personal choice), a movie that I personally would place on the right side of the graph nr. 2, close to realism in animation but very far from appeal is the 2011 animated film „Mars Needs Moms“. This film was a big flop when it came out and one of the reasons was the way the animation looks. Puting aside the story, the animation was precieved as „strange“ by many viewers with the film looking like a video game rather than an animation, without any visual appeal in style or character design. The film cost Disney around 175 million dollars to make and was expected to bring in huge sums of money, yet the film only grossed around seven million dollars in its opening weekend in the United States. [15]

The uncanny valley is the phenomenon of a robot or a character being too realistic but not realistic enough in the way they look and move, therefore making us feel like something is „off“ and not quite right, even sometimes making us feel creeped out and afraid.

More than fourty years ago the japanese professor of robotics at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Masahiro Mori, wrote an essay about the, what he named, „uncanny valley“ in reacton to the growing use of robots that look like humans in Japan. Before talking about Masahiros „uncanny valley“ however, I want to get into the history and research of the „uncanny“ itself.

The uncanny characters in Disneys „Mars Needs Moms“. [30]

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In 1919 Sigmund Freud wrote an essay „Das Unheimliche“ („The Uncanny“) in reacton to Ernst Jentsch's „Psychologie des Unheimlichen, Psychiatr. -neurolog. Wochenschrift 1906 Nr. 22 u. 23“ („Psychology of the Uncanny“). In his study of the „Psychology of the Uncanny“ Ernst Jentsch concludes that people vary in their sensitivity to this quality of feeling. He then also states, that he belives the uncanny feeling comes from an intellectual difference in people. The better a person is familiar with their surroundings, the less the person feels a feeling of uncanyness when encountering something unfamiliar. Jentsch stopped his research after puting the uncanny in relation to something „unfamiliar“ and connecting it to personal intellect. Freud however started his research where Jentsch stopped and went deeper into the matter. Firstly Freud asked himself, where the term „uncanny“ even originated and found an interesting anwer. In many languages the word „uncanny“ (unheimlich) is described as a slight nuance of something scary (schreckhaft). In Latin for example, „locus suspectus“ means „an uncanny / creepy / scary place“. In english the word „uncanny“ has synonyms like „uncomfortable“, „uneasy“, „gloomy“, „dismal“ or „ghastly“. [25, p. 2 - 3] Interestingly in arabian and hebrew Freund found, that the word „uncanny“ is connected to the words „demon-like“ and „scary“. Freud also found, that the german word „unheimlich“ stands in connection to the word „heimlich“, which interestingly describes two things: the feeling of „feeling at home, comfortable and safe“ and „secretly“. Freud then continued to write about the meaning of the german words, which I do not want to discuss further, as it doesn't contribute to the topic I am writing about.

In chapter two of his essay Freud is taking a statement from Jentsch and puts further thought into it. Jentsch stated that he thinks the uncanny feeling comes from the doubt whether an object, person or impression is real or not („Zweifel an der Beseelung eines anscheinend lebendigen Wesens und umgekehrt darüber, ob ein lebloser Gegenstand nicht etwa beseelt sei“, Ernst Jentsch, Psychologie des Unheimlichen, Psychiatr. -neurolog. Wochenschrift 1906 Nr. 22 u. 23) [24, p. 10]. Freud then proceeds to take Jentsch's statement and put it in connection to E. T. A. Hoffmann (Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann), a german author of fantasy and gothic horror in the 18th century, who successfully wrote about this exact psychological phenomenon and showecased it in the very famous fairytale „Der Sandmann“ („The Sandman“). In his story, the young student Nathaniel, although he is engaged, falls in love with the puppet Olimpia, which he thought to be a real person. Since childhood Nathaniel is deadly afraid of the „Sandman“, who he thinks will cut out his eyes. This fear plays a big role in the story, as he is writing letters to his friend and fiancé about his fear. However Nathaniel's fiancé told him he shouldn't let his fear take over his life. Nathaniel later finds out that the beloved Olimpia isn't real and in a fight with the owner of the puppet, Professor Spalanazani, the puppet was destroyed. This made Nathaniel go insane and he later killed himself.

After summarizing Hoffmann's story Freud explains why he used this example to argue and disagree with Jentsch's opinion about the intellectual ability of a person being the reason for an uncanny feeling. In his essay Freud says:

„[...] Diese Kurze Nacherzählung wird wohl keinen Zweifel darüber bestehen lassen, daß das Gefühl des Unheimlichen direkt an der Gestalt des Sandmannes, also an der Vorstellung der Augen beraubt zu werden haftet, und, daß eine intellektuelle Unsicherheit im Sinne von Jentsch mit dieser Wirkung nichts zu tun hat. Der Zweifel an der Beseeltheit, den wir bei der Puppe Olimpia gelten

22 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI lassen mußten, kommt bei diesem stärkeren Beispiel des Unheimlichen überhaupt nicht in Betracht. Der Dichter erzeugt zwar in uns anfänglich eine Art von Unsicherheit, indem er uns, gewiß nicht ohne Absicht, zunächst nicht erraten läßt, ob er uns in die reale Welt oder in die ihm beliebige phantastische Welt einführen wird. […] Eine intellektuelle Unsicherheit kommt hier nicht mehr in Frage: wir wissen jetzt, daß uns nicht die Phantasiegebilde eines Wahnsinnigen vorgeführt werden sollen, hinter denen wir in rationalistischer Überlegenheit den nüchternen Sachverhalt erkennen mögen, und – der Eindruck des Unheimlichen hat sich durch diese Aufklärung nicht im mindesten verringert. Eine intellektuelle Unsicherheit leistet uns also nichts für das Verständnis dieser unheimlichen Wirkung. Hingegen mahnt uns die psychoanalytische Erfahrung daran, daß es eine schreckliche Kindesangst ist, die Augen zu beschädigen oder zu verlieren. Vielen Erwachsenen ist diese Ängstlichkeit verblieben und sie fürchten keine andere Organverletzung so sehr wie die des Auges.“ [24, p. 11 - 12]

„[...] This short summary leaves, I think, no doubt that the feeling of something uncanny is directly attached to the figure of the Sandman, that is, to the idea of being robbed of one's eyes; and that Jentsch's point of an intellectual uncertainty has nothing to do with this effect. Uncertainty whether an object is living or inanimate, which we must admit in regard to the doll Olimipa, is quite irrelevant in connection with this other, more striking instance of uncanniness. It is true that the writer creates a kind of uncertainty in us in the beginning by not letting us know, no doubt purposely, whether he is taking us into the real world or into a purely fantatsic one of his own creation. […] There is no question, therefore, of any „intellectual unvertainty“ we know now that we are not supposed to be looking on at the products of a madam's imagination behind which we, with the superiority of rational minds, are able to detect the sober truth; and yet this knowledge does not lessen the impression of uncanniness in the least degree. The theory of „intellectual unvertainty“ is thus incapable of explaining that impression. We know from psychoanalytic experience, however, that this fear of damaging or losing one's eyes is a terrible fear of childhood. Many adults still retain their apprehensiveness in this respect, and no bodily injury is so much deraded by them as an inury of the eye.“ [25, p. 7]

For Jentsch, and I personally tend to agree with this opinion, the uncanniness derives of the uncertainty whether an object is alive or not and when the inanimate object becomes too much like an animate one. For Freud however, he argued that because dolls happen to be rather closely connected with the infantile life, there might be a deeper reason for the uncannyness we experience, therefore connecting it to his study of psychoanalytics, which I do not want to further discuss in this thesis.

The uncertainty if something is living or lifeless, which, to get back to the topic of animation, is the uncertainty if something is computer generated or real. The distinction between CG and reality becomes blurry. In chapter three of his essay, Freud talks about, what seems to be closely related to the uncanny of animation – the extremely uncanny feeling people have when thinking about bringing the dead back to life. This to me seems very closely related to our ability as humans to determine the state of a person or animal, telling the difference between life and death. However, as already said, this can become difficult when we are presented something that does not quite look human, but also doesn't look „unhuman“ enough to us. This might be connected to our inherent instinct of telling whether something is dangerous or not. Therefore there might not be

23 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI an intellecutal uncertainty, rather an inherent uncertainty that humans have. Furthermore, Jentsch's statement that people vary in their sensitivity of the uncanny feeling seems true, especially in animation as, for example, some might not see the uncanny in „Mars Needs Moms“, be it due to psychological, physical or even cultural factors.

51 years after Sigmund Freud published his essay about the uncanny, Masahiro Mori wrote an essay about, what he named, „The Uncanny Valley“. In 1970 Mori was interested not only in the industry of robotics, since he was a professor in this field, he was also a practicing buddhist. He asked the question, whether a robot should be seen as part of japanese society, therefore being treated equal to a human being (He even wrote a book about his research „The Buddha and the Robot (1981). At that time Japan was undergoing a roboticiation of human culture with humanoid robot technology emerging, taking over workforces in factories, boosting mass production. The japanese have accepted robots quickly, embracing the idea of a form of a social robot. There are different explanations why the Japanese came to accept robots as part of their society so quickly. One of the explanations could be the culture of Anime, Manga and puppet culture. Another explanation might be the east asian / oriental embrace of things being seen as one or „oneness of all things“ opposed to western viewes of seperation of things.

„Unlike Christian Occidentals, the Japanese don't make a distinction between man, the superior creature, and the world about him. Everything is fused together, and we accept robots easily along with the wide world about us, the insects, the rocks- it's all one. We have none of the doubting attitude toward robots, as pseudohumans, that you find in the West. So here you find no resistance, just quiet acceptance.“ (, Stokes 1982) [1, p. 31 - 32]

A quick side note: Osamu Tezuka was a japanese manga artist, cartoonist, animator, and film producer, who is seen as a pioneer and "the father of manga and anime". Tezuka is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney. His complete works of manga include over 700 volumes with more than 100,000 pages. Tezuka's creations include „Astro Boy“, „Black Jack“ and „Princess Knight“. In January 1965, Tezuka received an invitation from the american film director Stanley Kubrick, who, amazed by „Astro Boy“, wanted Tezuka to be the art director of his next movie, „2001: A Space Odyssey“ (1968), however Tezuka could not afford the travel to England and had to deny the opportunity. [11c]

Mori's concept of the „Uncanny Valley“ has rapidly attracted attention in the past view years, however when he first published his concept in 1970 it has recieved almost no interest at all. Researchers have since explored the concept of the „Uncanny Valley“ in close relation to computer animation, since technology has evolved.

Our sense of familiarity with robots increases as they become more humanlike, however only up to a certain point. If lifelike appearence is approached so closely to reality but not completely attained, human reaction shifts from empathy to a feeling of uncanniness. Mori outlined this phenomenon in this essay about the „Uncanny Valley“:

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„[...] An example of a function that does not increase continuously is climbing a mountain —the relation between the distance (x) a hiker has traveled toward the summit and the hiker’s altitude (y)— owing to the intervening hills and valleys. I have noticed that, in climbing toward the goal of making robots appear human, our affinity for them increases until we come to a valley (Figure 1), which I call the uncanny valley.“ Figure 1. The graph depicts the uncanny valley, the proposed relation between the human likeness of an entity and the perceiver’s affinity for it. [Translators’ note: Bunraku is a traditional Japanese form of musical puppet theater dating from the 17th century. The puppets range in size but are typically about a meter in height, dressed in elaborate costumes, and controlled by three puppeteers obscured only by their black robes. […] Nowadays, industrial robots are increasingly recognized as the driving force behind reductions in factory personnel. However, as is well known, these robots just extend, contract, and rotate their arms; without faces or legs, they do not look very human. Their design policy is clearly based on functionality. From this standpoint, the robots must perform functions similar to those of human factory workers, but whether they look similar does not matter. Thus, given their lack of resemblance to human beings, in general, people hardly feel any affinity for them. If we plot the industrial robot on a graph of affinity versus human likeness, it lies near the origin in Figure 1. By contrast, a toy robot’s designer may focus more on the robot’s appearance than its functions.“ [3]

Mori stating that „a toy robot's designer may focus more on the robot's appearance“, could be seen in connetion to the purpose of animation, which is, almost always, the target audience. Who does the animatiorwant to reach, which emotion does an animator want to convey? What effect does the look of the animation have?

Mori then goes on to talk about the effect of movement, outlining a more precice version of Figure 1:

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„[...] Movement is fundamental to animals— including human beings—and thus to robots as well. Its presence changes the shape of the uncanny valley graph by amplifying the peaks and valleys, as shown in Figure 2. For point of illustration, when an industrial robot is switched off, it is just a greasy machine. But once the robot is programmed to move its gripper like a human hand, we start to feel a certain level of affinity for it. (In this case, the velocity, acceleration, and deceleration must approximate human movement.) Conversely, when a prosthetic hand that is near the bottom of the uncanny valley starts to move, our sensation of eeriness intensifies. Figure 2. The presence of movement steepens the slopes of the uncanny valley. The arrow’s path in the figure represents the sudden death of a healthy person. [Translators’ note: Noh is a traditional Japanese form of musical theater dating from the 14th century in which actors commonly wear masks. The yase otoko mask bears the face of an emaciated man and represents a ghost from hell. The okina mask represents an old man.] […] Movement-related effects could be observed at the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka, Japan. Plans for the event had prompted the construction of robots with some highly sophisticated designs. For example, one robot had 29 pairs of artificial muscles in the face (the same number as a human being) to make it smile in a humanlike fashion. According to the designer, a smile is a dynamic sequence of facial deformations, and the speed of the deformations is crucial. When the speed is cut in half in an attempt to make the robot bring up a smile more slowly, instead of looking happy, its expression turns creepy. This shows how, because of a variation in movement, something that has come to appear very close to human—like a robot, puppet, or prosthetic hand—could easily tumble down into the uncanny valley. “ [3]

Especially the last part of this paragraph from Mori's „The Uncanny Valley“ is interesting and plays a big role in animation. Mori is talking about making a robot smile by using a sequence of dynamic deformations and how easily, by changing certain parameters, this can look creepy rather than happy. It seems to me, it is all about timing. Therefore, animation can be seen as the art of timing every single movement to the right degree in order to achieve something that is precieved as „animated“ by humans. When movement and design is overexaggerated to a certain degree, we precieve it as uncanny rather than funny or realistic. This leads Mori to his next chapter in his essay, which is design. Having talked about movmemnt, another important aspect is the way a

26 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI robot, or in the case of this thesis, an animated character looks. Mori says that „a moderate degree of human likeness and conciderable sense of affinity“ should be the first goal in design of a roboter and further, that it is „possible to create a safe level of affinity by deliberately pursuing a nonhuman design.“ Mainstream animation studios have done exactly that to evade the uncanniness that comes with character design and movement by creating characters with overexaggerated features like big heads and small bodies. Although it is important to state, that this overexaggeration is also used to give a character a certain personality and to enhance the feeling of „cuteness“ , „scaryness“ or „sadness“.

„Sadness“ from the movie „Inside Out“. [31], Cute „Little Moana“ from the movie „Moana“. [32], Miguel and the scary father from „Coco“. [33]

However, a drawing will always be a drawing, no matter how realistic the drawing might be, it still can and never will be as realistic as a 3D computer-generated image, but due to the technological advances in the field of 3D animation, it is possible to create something so close to a human, the uncanniness will most likely be difficult to evade.

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Mori then describes what has already been talked about by Sigmund Freud's „The Uncanny“, which is the dead body, represented by the Corpse in Mori's graph (Figure 2):

„[...] when we die, we are, of course, unable to move; the body goes cold, and the face becomes pale. Therefore, our death can be regarded as a movement from the second peak (moving) to the bottom of the uncanny valley (still), as indicated by the arrow’s path in Figure 2. […] I think this descent explains the secret lying deep beneath the uncanny valley. Why were we equipped with this eerie sensation? Is it essential for human beings? I have not yet considered these questions deeply, but I have no doubt it is an integral part of our instinct for self-preservation.[...]“ [3]

An „uncanny“ face. [34]

By looking at this picture, it is clear what is one factor that makes this face look odd to us. The perfect symmetry. In nature and by default, there is no such thing as a perfectly symmetrical face. One of the hardest things to create in 3D animation is imperfection, to make things look less creepy. It is hard to teach a computer how to be perfect, but it is even harder to teach a computer how to be imperfect. From Mori's research in robotics and with his essay about the „uncanny valley“ , 3D animators have learned to consider what I believe are three very important things in animation:

• the uncanny in movement How close to humanlike does a character move? • the uncanny in design How close to humanlike does a character look? • relatability / credibility How credible is a design? / How can the viewer relate to a character based on look and movement? If all of these three points are considered, an animation will most likely not be precieved as uncanny.

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6.2) The influence of animation styles on visual storytelling With the uncanny valley phenomenon being discussed, one question in my thesis remains: „Which impact can a certain style of animation have on the audience and does it even change anything at all?“

As some confusion between the terms „story“ and „storytelling“ might occur, I want to set straight the use of the terms: „story“ refers to all events that are described directly in a film and the term „storytelling“ is used to describe everything visible and audible. As technology advances, the ability to create audio-visual elements is increasing. In traditional or classical narrative the elements were very simple: narrator – action – characters – time – space. Nevertheless in the cinematic field this concept evolved, which means it also evolved in animation. The implementation of visual communication tools, in this case the utilisation of different animation styles, encourages storytelling and is a creative instrument of communication with the audience. As already mentioned, the form of animation recently has become wider, almost unlimited, with the ability to create 3D worlds and use different styles and techniques in one film to enhance certain in scenes. For a mainstream animated movie, the most important element that distinguishes it from any other forms of animation is narrative. It is what makes the animation have meaning and attract the audiences. To achieve visual stimmulation for the audience, or the individual viewer, animators have to take in consideration what impact different animation styles have and how the story being told can be enhanced through a certain style. For example, we have to ask the question of how can a story be told using a style? Or how can a story be told by using only outlines? Design, composition, color, timing and mood have an incredible impact on the viewer – of course music and voice will even enhance this impact further. However in this thesis I simply want to talk about the general change in style of an animation.

To come back to the example of the film „Mars Needs Moms“ I am now asking myself the question: Would it maybe have worked better in 2D? Would it have maybe had more appeal if the film was hand-drawn like good old „“ or „Pricness Mononoke“? Would it have maybe worked better if they used a different rendering, making 3D look like 2D? My answer to these questions is probably yes. Apart from the story (which I don't want to get into because I am simply talking about the visuals) the uncanniness would be way less, and yes, this might sound harsh, but giving the movie a different style might have worked for the better. Another thing which didn't quite work in this movie is the movement of characters. Like already said, the movie reminded more of a video game, rather than a well thought thourgh animation. To sum it up, this might all come down to budget. Disney saw the opportunity in 3D films and wanted to produce as many as fast as possible, because that is where the money's at. And even though 2D animation would have been just as time consuming, it was just not Disneys intention. On the other hand, it is important to admit, that there have been many 2D animations that flopped and just didn't deliver what people expected. However, the example of „Mars Needs Moms“ is a good one when it comes to the style of animation and the change it can make.

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Three examples of 2D characters in „Mars Needs Moms“. [35] [36] [37]

To give a better understanding of how different animation styles can enhance the visual stimmulation of the audience, I want to give the example of the japanese film series „Kizumonogatari“. In particular I am taking scenes from the 2016 film „Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu“, which translates to „Wound Story: Part 1: Iron Blood“. In many ways, this film is special. The story is being told in unliniar matter and uses little to almost no voice narration, apart from some words that appear seemingly random on the screen at the beginning or during a scene (and some dialog, but that is not where the film's focus lies). What makes this film so special however, is the utilisation of different animation styles, depending on the mood and emotion that should be conveyed to the audience.

Koyomi Araragi, or simply Araragi, is a second year high school student, who befriends the girl Tsubasa Hanekawa. Araragi is usually anti-social but takes a liking to Tsubasa’s down-to-earth personality. Tsubasa mentions a rumor about a „blonde vampire” that has been seen around their town recently, but at first Araragi doesn't seem to be interested. That evening, Araragi encounters this rumored vampire. The blonde, golden-eyed vampire cries out for Araragi to save her as she lies in a pool of her own blood at a subway station, all four of her limbs having been cut off by vampire hunters. She asks Araragi to give her his blood in order to save her life, and when he does, he finds himself reborn as her vampire subordinate.

The beauty of „Kizumonogatari“ falls in its approach to the viewers and its lack of explanation. Where most anime films will try to explain the story, „Kizumonogatari“ is firmly entrenched in establishing the visual tone. The scenes are often initiated by simply a text saying for example „Rouge“, „Noir“, „Dramaturgy“ or „Silence“.

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The following images are screencaps from the movie „Kizumonogatari Par 1: Tekketsu“ [3]

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Already in the beginning sequences of the film, it is clear the director used different styles of animation to awake interest in the viewer and immerse the audience into this experience of visual storytelling. At first, the use of 3D becomes the main focus of interest of the viewer, however this is quickly distracted by the provocative introduction of the main character Araragi. The scene shows what state of mind the character was in while he began his descend into madness.

As a vampire walking straight into the sun, Araragi blazes into fire. Source: „Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu“

What peaks interest is the fact that the 2D characters are being bluntly drawn onto the 3D scene. The effect is imminent: the viewer instantly knows that this is intentional and not a practical use of 3D imagery.

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Characters are directly drawn onto 3D scenes.

The subway station that leads to the fatal encounter of Araragi and the vampire is depicted in an entire 3D animated scene, conveying the coldness and sterile setting of the following scenes.

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The fated encounter between Araragi and the vampire launches the scene into sensory overload of unsettling and captivating imagery. Araragi’s eventual internal conflict to save her at the cost of his life slowly materializes on the screen as the style of the animation becomes erratic. Araragi runs in panic and fear of the vampire. To undernline this emotion further, the animator has decided to draw the character on top of the 3D scene using harsh strokes and frame by frame drawings.

When the mood of the story changes, the animation changes with it, therefore the viewer is impacted by the change of what he / she sees. As the mood of the movie gets slightly brighter, the style of animation changes completely into a „goofy“ kind of style as can be seen on the images below:

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The utilisation of not only 3D and 2D imagery, but also of and real video footage is especially interesting and rare in animation. In this scene of the film, the train in the background should emphasize the fact hat the protagonist Araragi is arroused by the thought of the girl he met and literally taking off as fast as a japanese bullet train, to go and buy adult films.

Though there are many more scenes of that movie to be discussed, I want to end it here. I think the movie Kizumonogatari shows that by using a different styles in animation, or better said, an inconsistency, animation can tell a story in itself. This inconsistency also has the effect of an inconsistency of chacter design, which doesnt seem to bother the viewer at all.

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Even though the movie is visually challenging for the viewer, as while watching, one tires to make sense out of not only what story is being told, but also why the story is being told in a way that is so unusual in animation. With the example of this movie, I tried to convey what using different animation styles can enforce in an animation and benefit the story being told.

Having said all that, this brings me to the next and last chapter of my thesis, which is the future of 2D animation.

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7. The Future of 2D animation

As I have already mentioned in chapter 3. , many 2D inthusiasts have noticed the decline in 2D animated films since the 3D boom and major studios didn't produce a 2D animated film in years. In 2013 Disney effectively gutted it’s 2D department and laid off some of the biggest names in animation at that time and made clear, that probably all future animated features from Disney would be 3D. The reason (and the easy answer to the question fo the future of 2D) is, that 2D has been in decline, because people have just gotten used to such high quality and complex rendering from mainstream films. It’s hard to go back once the technology of the future is there. It’s an even harder task convincing people to spend money to go see a movie that is not like the other „more modern“ movies. Technology can and will never go back and while one can argue whether 2D or 3D is better, one thing that can not be argued with is the fact that 3D is still capable of showing more detailed, complex and realistic visuals than 2D can. Whether the majority of people want that or not can be argued with. I would say, the majority of people (who also are not working in animation) prefer 3D animated films over 2D, simply because it is modern and what they are being served. One thing is for sure, 3D animated films make a lot of money, almost regardless of quality, while great non-3D films like „Kubo and the Two Strings“ flop in the box office. Having already talked about the business of 3D animation in chapter 3, I now want to take a step forward and ask „What is the future of 2D animation?“.

The future of the 2D animation industry deeply lies within the indie productions, as an art form and individuals who use platforms like YouTube and Vimeo to showcase their talent. 2D animation is thriving online, with the development of various accessible animation programs, the ability for independent creators to develop their own projects has come within reach. Apart from art, 2D animation, at least 2D motion graphics can still be used for commercials and informative videos. One thing is probably inevitable: 2D animation will be targeted more towards adults, with the japanese animation industry already having noticed, now producing mainly for the adult market. Because animation got much cheaper to produce than it used to, more and more artists and small studios can make their own 2D movies, shorts and series. The Future of lies with independent creators.

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7.1) „2 ½ D“ as future of 2D animation As I have already given the example of the movie „Kizumonogatari“ in chapter 6.2., which would fall under the category of new animation style and also „2 ½ D“, I would like to talk about a different short film, which is „Paperman“.

„Paperman“ was released in 2012 by Disney and is a CG / 2D hybrid black and white short film. After the film was released, the industry honored „Paperman“ with the Annie Award for best short film and in 2013 the film won the Oscar in the short film category. The creator of the short film, John Kars, confirmed that Disney would be pursuing the „Paperman process“ further, however this process hasn't been used in a major feature film animation yet.

Paperman is a technological and artistic advancement of the state of the art. The CG animators animated the scene in 3D, then, the scene is rendered in a „cel shaded“ / „toon shaded“ flat way. The lines are then drawn by hand onto the key frames inside of a custom software. This software is able to track the CG models and „sticks“ the drawings onto the animation, automatically creating in-betweens. The auto-generated in-betweens are then slightly tweaked by hand to appear more organic and hand drawn. Later in compositing, the paper like texture is added.

The process of making „Paperman“. [39]

This technique is a completely new way of merging hand-drawn 2D and 3D CG animation, it is a new artistic approach in the field of animation. Even though the process is just as labor intensive as a „normal“ 3D animation, it will most likely never be used for a major Disney feature film in the near future.

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Another film worth mentioning shortly is the 2016 film "Kubo and the Two Strings". This film flopped immensely at the box office but was luckily nominated by smaller film festivals for some awards. This movie is a mix between 3D and stop-motion. Although the studio had never ventured into the genre before, the director Travis Knight was enthusiastic about the project. The art of the film took inspiration from japanese art mediums like ink wash painting and origami. The props for the scene were partly 3D printed and the Skeleton monster created for the film was a giant 4.9m, 180 kg puppet, which is the record holder for largest stop-motion puppet. The crossover between 3D animation and stop-motion works seemless in this film and is one of a kind. [28]

The main characters of „Kubo and the two Strings“ .[40]

The giant Skeleton puppet from „Kubo and the Two Strings“ [41]

Even though major animation studios are not releasing feature films using new technologies, the

42 BACHELOR THESIS ANIMATION AND IMPERFECTION ASMA LAMIRI attention of animation fans is definetely shifting towards indie productions and individual filmmakers. In 1987 the great John Lassetter, former chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, began his career and won the golden Nica for his 3D animated short "Luxo jr." at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz. [23]

„Luxo Jr.“ [42]

Festivals like these are becoming more and more important for independent filmmakers to showcase new concepts and styles of animation. Though 3D animation is dominating the market, there are now more independent 2D animated films being released each year than ever. It will be interesting to see which direction, or which approach the animation industry will take next. The goal will however stay the same: to provide an immersive experience for the audience, and leave an impression behind, which they will not forget.

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8. Web Sources

[1] Borody, W.A.: „The Japanese Roboticist Masahiro Mori's Buddhist Inspired Concept of „The Uncanny Valley“ , Journal of Evolution & Technology – Vol. 23 Issue 1, December 2013, Pages 31 - 44, published by the Institute for Ethics and Engineering Technologies, ISSN 1541-0099 Retrieved from: https://www.jetpress.org/v23/borody.pdf , October 2018 ______

[2] Stokes, Henry Scott: „Japan's love affair with the robot“, New York Times Magazine, January 10th 1982 Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/10/magazine/japan-s-love-affair-with-the-robot.html , October 2018 ______

[3] Kageki, Norri: „The Uncanny Valley: The Original Essay by Masahiro Mori“, IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, June 2012, Translated by Karl F. MacDorman and Nori Kageki Retrieved from https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/the-uncanny-valley , October 2018 ______

[4] Kageki, Norri: „An Uncanny Mind: Masahiro Mori on the Uncanny Valley and Beyond“, IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, June 2012 Retrieved from https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/an-uncanny-mind-masahiro-mori-on-the- uncanny-valley , October 2018 ______

[5] Guizzo, Erico: „Who's Afraid of the Uncanny Valley?“, April 2nd 2010 Retrieved from www.spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/040210-who-is-afraid-of-the-uncanny-valley October 2018 ______

[6] Chiang, James: „In Search of Imperfection“, July 28th 2016 Retrieved from http://www.animatedspirit.com/in-search-of-imperfection/ , October 2018 ______

[7] Gasek, Tom: „Imperfection in Animation“, indiantelevision.com (Animation ‘xpress) April 26th, 2004 Retrieved from https://www.stopmotionworks.com/articles/imperftanim.htm , October 2018 ______

[8] Hagler, Jürgen: „Geschichte der Animation“, February 2006 Retrieved from: http://www.dma.ufg.ac.at/app/link/Grundlagen%3A3D-Grafik/module/14100?step=all , October 2018 ______

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[9] Carolyn Giardina and Pamela McClintock : „Is the golden age of 3D oficially over?“, The Hollywood Reporter, August 3rd 2017 Retrieved from: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/is-golden-age-3d-officially-1025843 , October 2018 ______

[10] Digital Media for Artists (2018) http://www.dma.ufg.ac.at/app/link/Grundlagen%3A3D-Grafik/module/14100? step=all , October 2018 ______

[11] Wikipedia (2018) [11a] Wikipedia ( October 2018) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation [11b] Wikipedia ( October 2018) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anime [11c] Wikipedia ( October 2018) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Tezuka ______

[12] The history of animation (2018) https://history-of-animation.webflow.io/ , October 2018 ______

[13] The Lion King technical specifications (2018) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/technical https://boallen.com/fps-compare.html , October 2018 ______

[14] Bloop Animation (2018) https://www.bloopanimation.com/why-were-seeing-less-2d-animated-movies-and-why- they-wont-make-a-comeback/ , October 2018 ______

[15] Independent (2018) https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/the-175m-flop-so-bad-it- could-end-the-3d-boom-2247778.html , October 2018 ______

[16] Buzzfeed (2018) https://www.buzzfeed.com/danmeth/welcome-to-uncanny-valley? utm_term=.rtZX55LwJ#.gu1KddM19 , October 2018 ______

[17] CG Meetup (2018) http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/digital-humans-crossing-the-uncanny-valley/digital-humans- crossing-the-uncanny-valley-3/ , October 2018

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9. Video Sources

[18] Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Delicacy of Character by The Weight of Cinema Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_UQ5RI38Qc&t=65s , October 2018 ______

[19] Avatar: The Last Airbender - Visual Storytelling by The Weight of Cinema Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4Bgv_ChCd0&t=104s , October 2018 ______

[20] Paperman and the Future of 2D Animation by SnoutyPig Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZJLtujW6FY , October 2018 ______

[21] THR Full Animation Roundtable: Creators of 'Coco,' 'Despicable Me 3,' & More! | Close Up With THR by The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRlY1LkPRbQ , October 2018 ______

[22] Industrie 4.0 – Machen uns Roboter arbeitslos? | WDR Doku Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb56OVMKfrc , October 2018

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10. Literature

[23] Leopoldseder, Hannes: Prix Ars Electronika Meisterwerke der Computerkunst Edit 88, published by TMS-Verlag- Bremen: 1988 ISBN 3-924252-05-x ______

[24] Freud, Sigmund: „Das Unheimliche“ , 1919, Europäischer Literaturverlag 2012 Source: http://www.studioroma.istitutosvizzero.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ISR_StudioRoma_Freud_DE.pdf

______

[25] Freud, Sigmund: „The Uncanny“, 1919, published by Imago , Bd. V., 1919; reprinted in Sammlung, Fünfte Folge, translated by Alix Strachey Source: http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/freud1.pdf)

______[26] Reutterer, Alois: „Philosophie“ , S.324 - 334 Franz Deuticke Verlagsgesellschaft m.b.H, Wien, 1. Auflage, Nachdruck 1990 ISBN 3-7005-8084-7 ______

[27] Michael Dante diMartino and Bryan Konietzko: „Avatar - The Last Airbender, The Art of the animated Series“ , published by Dark Horse Books: 2010 ISBN 978-1-59582-504-9 ______

[28] Hayens, Emily: „The Art of Kubo and the Two Stirngs“, published by Chronicle Books LLC: 2016 ISBN 978-1-4521-5315-5 ______

[29] John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina: „The Art of COCO“, published by Chronicle Books LLC: 2017 ISBN 978-1452156439 ______

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11. Image Sources

[30] Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBFUAW6jC_M , October 2018

[31] Source: http://s3287.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/inside_out_sadness___disney_pixar- wallpaper-960x6001-760x475.jpg , October 2018 [32] Source: https://geekculture.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/maxresdefault-1170x660.jpg , October 2018 [33] Source: http://basementrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/coco-2017-ernesto-miguel- bad-guy-review.jpg , October 2018 [34] Source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8ar7WO1T5Cs/maxresdefault.jpg , October 2018 [35] Source: https://www.deviantart.com/jesaminefey123/art/Mars-Needs-Moms-197311478) , October 2018

[36] Source: https://drawinghub.com/tut/how-to-draw-ki-28525) , October 2018

[37] Source: https://drawinghub.com/tut/how-to-draw-milo-mars-needs-moms-28527) , October 2018

[38] Source: Screencaps of „Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu“

[39] Source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TZJLtujW6FY/maxresdefault.jpg , October 2018

[40] Source: http://www.artofvfx.com/KuboTwoStrings/KuboTwoStrings_Laika_ITW_06.jpg , October 2018

[41] Source : https://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/laikasetvisit-06302016.jpg , October 2018

[42] Source: https://www.awn.com/sites/default/files/styles/original/public/image/featured/1023175-john- lasseter-s-luxo-jr.added-national-film-registry.jpg?itok=--XWIrDj , October 2018

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