REACHING CATHARSIS within HYBRID ANIMATION EMOTIONAL STORYTELLING AND THE DISAPPEARANCE OF TRADITIONAL ANIMATION Samantha Schoonen Master of Animation, 2015 Avans / AKV / St. Joost Breda August 17th, 2015 0 REACHING CATHARSIS within HYBRID ANIMATION EMOTIONAL STORYTELLING AND THE DISAPPEARANCE OF TRADITIONAL ANIMATION Student: Samantha Schoonen Studentnr: 2030558 Graduation Program: Master of Animation Graduation Period: September 1st, 2014 up to August 30th, 2015 Tutors: Mrs. Sarah Lughthart Mr. Leon van Rooij Release Date: th August 17 , 2015 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary …………………………………………………………………………………………. 3 1) Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………….…. 4 2) Context ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 2.1 Theoretical Framework ……………………………………………… 5 2.2 Objective ……………………………………………………………………. 8 2.3 Research Question ……………………………………………………… 8 3) Methodology …………………………………………………………………………………… 10 4) Results …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11 4.1 Emotional Storytelling ……………………………………………….. 11 4.1.1 Importance of emotion in stories ………………………. 11 4.1.2 Emotional response ………………………………………….. 13 4.1.3 Story elements …………………………………………………. 15 4.1.4 Conclusion ………………………………………………………… 17 4.2 Visual Storytelling ……………………………………………………… 19 4.2.1 Aesthetics & consistency …………………………………… 19 4.2.2 Composition ……………………………………………………… 19 4.2.3 Camera use ………………………………………………………. 22 4.2.4 Film Editing / Montage …………………………………………..…. 24 4.2.5 Conclusion ……………………………………………………….. 26 4.3 Hybrid animation ……………………………………………………… 27 4.3.1 History of hybrid animation ……………………………… 27 4.3.2 Basic principles of animation …………………………… 28 4.3.3 Differences between animation techniques …….. 29 4.3.4 Animating believable ………………………………………. 30 4.3.5 Visual style ………………………………………………………. 32 4.3.6 Conclusion ………………………………………………………. 34 5) Design & realization ………………………………………………………………………… 35 5.1 Emotional Storytelling applied …………………………………. 35 5.2 Visualization …………………………………………………………….. 36 6) Conclusion & discussion ………………………………………………………………….. 39 References ………………………………………………………………………………………. 41 Appendix ………………………………………………………………………………………… 48 A. Planning B. Animated movie analysis C. Directors statement D. Written Storyboard 2 SUMMARY Nowadays, there are discussions that games lack deep-rooted emotional bonding and that traditional animation is being abandoned. Inspired by this fact, a preliminary investigation has been conducted to find out more about emotional animated movies and to figure out the current status of traditional animation. These early findings resulted in to the following final research project. This research report addresses how catharsis can be reached within CGI animated shorts and games using emotional and visual storytelling and how this can be supported and improved by using traditional hand-drawn animation fundamentals and styles. This research report focuses mainly on feature animated films from well- known animation studios. For this thesis both primary and secondary research methods have been used. Primary research has been done by performing small analysis on emotional feature animated movies. Secondary research was conducted using various books, articles and reviews which were found online. One of the topics addressed in this research report is emotional storytelling. Research has been conducted on the importance of emotions in stories as well as on how emotions are triggered by stories. Human emotions are triggered by emphasizing with the characters emotions which drive the characters actions. Furthermore, story elements such as character goals, conflicts, the use of non-human characters and elements that cause deep-rooted emotions were studied. It became clear that certain elements, such as suspense and tension play an important role in accessing those deeper emotions. Secondly, it was examined how emotions could be visualized in movies. Cinematography was studied to see how composition, color and lighting could add to the emotional burden of a story. Moreover, camera positions, angles and movement were researched to gain insight in how to show a story to the public. Furthermore, research touched upon how editing could contribute to showing emotions on screen and supporting the story. All those visual ways of telling the story add to the overall experience as well as of making the story clear to the audience. Last, the topic of hybrid animation was studied to gain more insight on traditional animation as well was CGI animation, their advantages, differences and how to convey emotion using animation. On top of that, the visual style of the media was assessed to see whether style was dependent on the emotional response. The short movie “Hunted” was designed and improved based on the results of this research. The visual storytelling was adjusted and guidelines for animating the movie were made. If done correctly, most story elements combined with the use of visual storytelling, add to the emotional bond the audience develops with characters in a story. Traditional hand-drawn animation improves and supports the emotional response, because of its expressive style and possibility to exaggerate in the animation itself. 3 1) INTRODUCTION I have always had a fascination for stories, art and games. When I was young, I watched animated movies over and over again and came to appreciate them more as time passed by. When I got older I started noticing their complex narrative structure, their lovely drawings and their design of certain characters. These stories got to me on an emotional level. After obtaining my bachelor in ICT, Media & Game Design, I decided to continue studying. I wanted to learn more about art and storytelling. The Master of Animation was the perfect choice for me to explore these fields. I’ve already done research about storytelling in games and movies in my former study. There were many discussions whether or not stories are important to games and whether or not there is a lack of emotional bonding within games. Research revealed that storylines and characters are both important factors that play a decisive part in the consideration of purchasing a game. Emotional storytelling can be used to grab the audience attention and intrigue them. The world changes constantly. Environmental issues are being brought up every once in a while, it gets people talking for a bit, but after a while it dumbs down and gets forgotten. It seems like nobody really recognizes the problems, nor the consequences. Being both an animal and a nature lover, it is important to me to increase awareness. Figuring out how movies reach this emotional bonding, can also aid the game industry. Emotional storytelling can be a useful tool for making better serious and entertainment games in the future. Yet to develop a game with proper character bonding is quite a challenge. Animated movies are quite different from live action movies. The animation medium is used for different kinds of storytelling, for example, a world where animals can play a different part. Yet the medium is changing. There is a lot of discussion about the disappearance of traditional hand-drawn animation (e.g. Cinderella). Nowadays, CGI animation (Computer-generated Imagery, e.g. Kung Fu Panda) has taken over most of the animation industry. I have carried out prior research about this phenomenon which is further discussed in the Context Chapter. I concluded that most animation studios abandoned traditional hand-drawn animation for several reasons. CGI animation is more popular nowadays, because the new generations grew up with CGI animation. Furthermore, CGI animation is easier to produce and cheaper in is production. Additionally, traditional animated movies make less profit than CGI animation. This is blamed on the traditional medium, even though it has more to do with a poor choice of release dates, titles and bad storytelling. Traditional animation still has its value, like its own fundamentals and style characteristics. It should get a chance to coexist alongside CGI animation. New developments within CGI animation are still in progress in this area. It’s interesting to obtain more insight in CGI and traditional animation and to explore the boundaries of hybrid animation. Based on my personal interests, I had decided to focus my research on emotional storytelling and on how to incorporate this into hybrid animated movies. Since Animation is so broadly defined, I have narrowed it down to feature films and shorts made by the bigger famous animation studios. These always got my attention on an emotional level. In this research, the fundamentals of emotional storytelling and how this is applied in animated movies will be viewed upon. After that, visual storytelling, which implies composition and cinematography, will be taken into consideration. Finally, the usage of hybrid animation and how to animate believable in order to get emotions across will be discussed. 4 2) CONTEXT 2.1 THEORETIC FRAMEWORK EMOTIONAL STORYTELLING Some animated features are able to evoke wonder and get people involved within their movies. This is done by making them care about the characters. This triggers emotional bonding in which “Catharsis”, the purification and purgation of emotions through art (Merriam-Webster, 1995), plays a crucial role. Some big animation studios are able to evoke this reaction using emotional storytelling. Emotional storytelling is about getting the audience involved with the characters, their needs and experiencing their emotions within the story (O’Bannon, 2010). For instance, Disney makes the characters