Discussion question for Tuesday

There will again be no new reading for Monday. The deadline for responding to the discussion question will be Tuesday at midnight. The question is:

Discuss the difference, in terms of materiality, between reading a superhero comic book (such as Promethea) and watching a CG-animated superhero movie (such as The Incredibles or Iron Man). In what ways do the aesthetics of superhero comics depend on the physical properties of paper and ink? How do these aesthetics have to change when superhero stories are adapted for CG film?

Extra credit assignment

For extra credit: Attend up to two* sessions of the Future Digital Studies conference, the program for which can be found here. Write a 100-300 word comment in response to this post. In the comment, explain what you learned from attending the session and how it relates to the issues we’ve been discussing in this class. For example, if you attended a panel, then briefly summarize what the speakers (or one particular speaker) said, and how their remarks are relevant to the topics we’ve discussed this semester.

You may do this twice. Obviously, you are encouraged to attend more than two sessions, but you will only get extra credit for writing two comments to this blog post.

Reading for Friday

The reading for Friday is “The Definition of the Superhero” by Peter Coogan. This essay is available in its entirety in the Google Books edition of A Comics Studies Reader, which can be found here. Pay particular attention to Coogan’s claim that iconicity is a central part of the superhero’s identity.

Discussion question for Monday

There’s not going to be any new reading for Monday; we’ll continue discussing Monsters Inc. and the readings for last week. However, please consider the following discussion question. Due to my lateness in posting this question, I will extend the deadline to Tuesday at midnight, but please come to class prepared to discuss this question as it relates to Monsters Inc.

Where, if anywhere, can we locate “expressivity” in a film like Monsters Inc. or The Iron Giant? Where, if anywhere, can we locate “materiality”? How do these terms relate to each other?

Reading for Friday, February 20

The reading for tomorrow is “Animated Expressions: Expressive Style in 3D Computer Graphic Narrative Animation” by Pat Power.

To read the article, search the UF library catalog for “Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal.” Then click the link that says “Click here for full text options.” Then click the link that says “Sage Premier.” This will take you to the website for the journal. On this page, click the link for “Select an Issue from the Archive,” then click on the July 2009 issue. The Pat Power article is the first one in the issue.

Please note that in order to do all of the above successfully, either you must be on a UF computer, or you must log on remotely to the UF library website, which you can do at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufproxy.html .

Reading and discussion question for Monday

The reading for Monday is “Writing on Complex Surfaces” by John Cayley, which can be fonud here. Please also take a look at the two poems by Cayley that he discusses in his article: overboard, which is here, and translation, which is here.

The discussion question is: Reflect on the concept of a “complex surface” of writing. What is the “simple surface” to which such a complex surface is opposed? What effects are possible with a complex writing surface that aren’t possible with a simple surface?

Reading for Friday

The reading for Friday is “Principles of traditional animation applied to 3D computer animation” by John Lasseter. Here is how to access it:

1) If you are not on a UF computer, then log into the library remotely via this link.

2) From the main catalog page, click the Databases tab. On the page that appears, use the search box to search for ACM.

3) Click the link that says “ACM Digital Library (ACM)”.

4) On this page, use the search box at the top of the page to search for “Principles of traditional animation applied to 3D computer animation”.

5) The first search result will include a PDF link. Click on that to open a PDF file of the article.

Reading and discussion question for Monday

The reading for Monday is “The Materialities of Maya” by Casey Alt, which can be found here.

We’re going to try something slightly different for the discussion question. This time I’ll ask you to reflect on an issue related to the reading for next week, not this week.

The question is: What does Alt mean by “materiality”? How is his understanding of materiality similar to, or different from, the other concepts of materiality we’ve encountered this semester? What does this suggest about the differences or similarities between print and digital materiality?

Reading for Wednesday 2/3

The reading for next time will be “Movements within Movements: Following the Line in Animation and Comic Books” by Paul Atkinson. This article appears in Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal, volume 4, issue 3.

To read the article, search the UF library catalog for “Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal.” Then click the link that says “Click here for full text options.” Then click the link that says “Sage Premier.” This will take you to the website for the journal. On this page, click the link for “Current Issue.” This will take you to a page where you can download the PDF of Atkinson’s article.

Please note that in order to do all of the above successfully, either you must be on a UF computer, or you must log on remotely to the UF library website, which you can do at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufproxy.html .