Animation Research
Animation as an Aid to Multimedia Learning
By Richard E. Mayer & Roxana Moreno
"When used mainly as a form of entertainment, an animation can be called a cartoon, but in this review we focus on the potential of animation as an educational tool. Does animation promote learning?"
"The consensus among media researchers is that animation may or may not promote learning, depending on how it used. For these reasons the search for media effects has been called off. In its place is a search for the conditions under which various media, such as animation, affect the learning process. Taking a learner-centered approach, we aim to understand how animation can be used in ways that are consistent with how people learn. Instead of asking, “does animation improve learning?” we ask “when and how does animation affect learning?”"
"An alternative idea is that meaningful learning occurs when students mentally construct coherent knowledge representations. The cognitive theory of multimedia learning is based on three assumptions suggested by cognitive research: (1) dual-channel assumption – the idea that humans have separate channels for processing visual/pictorial representations and auditory/verbal representations; (2) limited capacity assumption – the idea that only a few pieces of information can be actively processed at any one time in each channel; and (3) active processing – the idea that meaningful learning occurs when the learner engages in cognitive processes such as selecting relevant material, organizing it into a coherent representation, and integrating it with existing knowledge."
"Figure 1 summarizes the cognitive theory of multimedia learning. Narration enters via the ears, so the learner selects some of the words for further processing in the verbal channel, organizes the words into a cause-and- effect chain, and integrates it with the visual material and prior knowledge. Animation enters via the eyes, so the learner selects some of the images for further processing in the visual channel, organizes the images into a cause-and-effect chain, and integrates it with the verbal material and prior knowledge. According to this theory, the cognitive process of integrating is most likely to occur when the learner has corresponding pictoral and verbal representations in working memory at the same time. Instructional conditions that promote these processes are most likely to result in meaningful learning. As you can see, this theory predicts that multimedia presentations (such as narrated animation) are more likely to lead to meaningful learning than single-medium presentations."
"The first principle is that students learn more deeply from animation and narration than from narration alone. The theoretical rationale for this principle is that students are better able to build mental connections between corresponding words and pictures when both are presented (i.e., animation and narration) than when only one is presented (i.e., narration) and the learner must mentally create the other. In each of four experiments, adding a pictoral explanation (i.e., animation) to a verbal one (i.e., narration) resulted in a substantial improvement in learners’ problem-solving transfer performance."
"In six of six experimental comparisons, involving explanations of how lightning forms, how brakes work, and how plants grow, students were better able to transfer what they had learned to new problems when animation was accompanied by spoken words (narration) than by printed words (on-screen text)."
"This review shows that animation has great potential to improve human learning—especially when the goal is to promote deep understanding."
The Animated Text: Definition
By Raz Greenberg
"But the second part of the definition does point to a stronger distinction between animation and live-action, a distinction that extends beyond the mere practice of making animation. This distinction is empha- sized by another definition provided in Wells’s book, quoting British animation producers John Halas and Joy Batchelor: “. . . animated film is concerned with metaphysical reality—not how things look, but what they mean”."
"According to this definition, what unites the works commonly referred to as “animation” is not their contents or style (as in genre), or the way in which they are consumed by the audience (as in medium), or even the method in which they are made (or coded)—it is their basic meaning, their ability to convey concepts, rather than objects. This ability gives us a separate category for animation: animation is a text—aimed at producing meaning, shared by both the producer and the reader."
"An initial definition for the animated text, as defined in this article, therefore is “the process of movement or change, performed by an artificially-created text-specific object.”"
Humorous Subversions: Animation as Cultural Critique
By Kelly L. Richardson
"Jones articulates here the importance of remembering that representation drives animation. While he is discussing the creation of specific characters, the point easily leads those interested in this eld to re ect on the “of”s” of contemporary animation and the kinds of images that animators are “imbuing with life.” While often overlooked because of its popular culture appeal, today’s animated programming is actually offering its viewers increasingly provocative examples of humor reflecting and responding to contemporary society."
Storytelling Through Animation
By Mike Wellins
By Richard E. Mayer & Roxana Moreno
"When used mainly as a form of entertainment, an animation can be called a cartoon, but in this review we focus on the potential of animation as an educational tool. Does animation promote learning?"
"The consensus among media researchers is that animation may or may not promote learning, depending on how it used. For these reasons the search for media effects has been called off. In its place is a search for the conditions under which various media, such as animation, affect the learning process. Taking a learner-centered approach, we aim to understand how animation can be used in ways that are consistent with how people learn. Instead of asking, “does animation improve learning?” we ask “when and how does animation affect learning?”"
"An alternative idea is that meaningful learning occurs when students mentally construct coherent knowledge representations. The cognitive theory of multimedia learning is based on three assumptions suggested by cognitive research: (1) dual-channel assumption – the idea that humans have separate channels for processing visual/pictorial representations and auditory/verbal representations; (2) limited capacity assumption – the idea that only a few pieces of information can be actively processed at any one time in each channel; and (3) active processing – the idea that meaningful learning occurs when the learner engages in cognitive processes such as selecting relevant material, organizing it into a coherent representation, and integrating it with existing knowledge."
"Figure 1 summarizes the cognitive theory of multimedia learning. Narration enters via the ears, so the learner selects some of the words for further processing in the verbal channel, organizes the words into a cause-and- effect chain, and integrates it with the visual material and prior knowledge. Animation enters via the eyes, so the learner selects some of the images for further processing in the visual channel, organizes the images into a cause-and-effect chain, and integrates it with the verbal material and prior knowledge. According to this theory, the cognitive process of integrating is most likely to occur when the learner has corresponding pictoral and verbal representations in working memory at the same time. Instructional conditions that promote these processes are most likely to result in meaningful learning. As you can see, this theory predicts that multimedia presentations (such as narrated animation) are more likely to lead to meaningful learning than single-medium presentations."
"The first principle is that students learn more deeply from animation and narration than from narration alone. The theoretical rationale for this principle is that students are better able to build mental connections between corresponding words and pictures when both are presented (i.e., animation and narration) than when only one is presented (i.e., narration) and the learner must mentally create the other. In each of four experiments, adding a pictoral explanation (i.e., animation) to a verbal one (i.e., narration) resulted in a substantial improvement in learners’ problem-solving transfer performance."
"In six of six experimental comparisons, involving explanations of how lightning forms, how brakes work, and how plants grow, students were better able to transfer what they had learned to new problems when animation was accompanied by spoken words (narration) than by printed words (on-screen text)."
"This review shows that animation has great potential to improve human learning—especially when the goal is to promote deep understanding."
Paul Wells, The Animated Bestiary: Animals, Cartoons, and Culture. A Review
By Chris Pallant
"Wells works to establish a theoretical framework that can be used throughout the study, hoping to ‘extend the parameters of representational analysis into a model where animated animal narratives are viewed as vehicles for progressive, transformative agendas’ (p. 11). Underly- ing this is a desire to confront the fallacy that renders ‘human and animal as absolutely separate’ (p. 27), and to highlight the ease with which animation blurs this boundary."
"Here, Wells adopts a more practice-orientated approach, focussing predominantly on strategies of anthropomorphosis, and using the work of Warner Bros. luminaries Tex Avery and Chuck Jones to provide key case studies. Unlike Disney’s animation, ‘Avery’s approach to creating gags was rarely rooted in character comedy or situation, but in the comic tensions between the textual and the subtextual, the literal and the ambiguous, and the exploitation of the visual freedoms afforded through animation."
"If, as a director, I could train a live coyote and a live roadrunner to act, I would use them. I am an animator and an animation director; therefore, I look for characters that cannot be done in live action. That is what animation is all about; it is an extension beyond the ability of live action motion pictures. Second, as said, it is easier to humanize animals than it is to humanize humans."
By Chris Pallant
"Wells works to establish a theoretical framework that can be used throughout the study, hoping to ‘extend the parameters of representational analysis into a model where animated animal narratives are viewed as vehicles for progressive, transformative agendas’ (p. 11). Underly- ing this is a desire to confront the fallacy that renders ‘human and animal as absolutely separate’ (p. 27), and to highlight the ease with which animation blurs this boundary."
"Here, Wells adopts a more practice-orientated approach, focussing predominantly on strategies of anthropomorphosis, and using the work of Warner Bros. luminaries Tex Avery and Chuck Jones to provide key case studies. Unlike Disney’s animation, ‘Avery’s approach to creating gags was rarely rooted in character comedy or situation, but in the comic tensions between the textual and the subtextual, the literal and the ambiguous, and the exploitation of the visual freedoms afforded through animation."
"If, as a director, I could train a live coyote and a live roadrunner to act, I would use them. I am an animator and an animation director; therefore, I look for characters that cannot be done in live action. That is what animation is all about; it is an extension beyond the ability of live action motion pictures. Second, as said, it is easier to humanize animals than it is to humanize humans."
The Animated Text: Definition
By Raz Greenberg
"But the second part of the definition does point to a stronger distinction between animation and live-action, a distinction that extends beyond the mere practice of making animation. This distinction is empha- sized by another definition provided in Wells’s book, quoting British animation producers John Halas and Joy Batchelor: “. . . animated film is concerned with metaphysical reality—not how things look, but what they mean”."
"According to this definition, what unites the works commonly referred to as “animation” is not their contents or style (as in genre), or the way in which they are consumed by the audience (as in medium), or even the method in which they are made (or coded)—it is their basic meaning, their ability to convey concepts, rather than objects. This ability gives us a separate category for animation: animation is a text—aimed at producing meaning, shared by both the producer and the reader."
"An initial definition for the animated text, as defined in this article, therefore is “the process of movement or change, performed by an artificially-created text-specific object.”"
Humorous Subversions: Animation as Cultural Critique
By Kelly L. Richardson
"Jones articulates here the importance of remembering that representation drives animation. While he is discussing the creation of specific characters, the point easily leads those interested in this eld to re ect on the “of”s” of contemporary animation and the kinds of images that animators are “imbuing with life.” While often overlooked because of its popular culture appeal, today’s animated programming is actually offering its viewers increasingly provocative examples of humor reflecting and responding to contemporary society."
Storytelling Through Animation
By Mike Wellins
Wellins, M. (2005). Storytelling Through Animation. Hingham, MA: Charles River Media.
"Telling a story can be a complex for of communication" (Page 24)
"Telling stories is a sharing of experiences on a very simple level; shared experiences allow people to place themselves in their groups and judge and measure their lives and positions in the world. So strong is the need to tell stories and communicate that stories are now in every facet of our society." (Page 25)
"What actually makes someone laugh is intangible and as unique as a fingerprint. Humour is mysterious, but creating a setup where humour can grow isn't as ethereal. A person's view of the world, age, experience, and beliefs all factor in on a person's sense of humour." (Page 48)
"Homage is the retelling of something familiar or recognisable with a new spin or twist; it's an almost reverent compliment, or it can be a total lift of someone else's idea. Parody is similar, but an homage can be once removed and instead mimic a style or a technique; a parody pokes fun at the recognisable or familiar event, technique, or style." (Page 51)
"One of the simplest ways for creatures to communicate, emote, and create humour is to speak, and a huge amount of animation has its roots in talking animals and creatures." (Page 60)
"Every single thing a character does should re-enforce their personality." (Page 358)
"Every movement, motion, or reaction that is glossed over and not considered is a lost opportunity to improve the character and to better tell the story." (Page 358)