contextual research

1. FMP Contextual
Research
Amy Watson

2. Genre to which I intend to focus on
Animation

3. Practitioner No.1
Ray Harryhausen

4. Ray Harryhausen
Harryhausen was an American animator well known as the
mastermind behind the creation of Dynamation: a form of
animation embedded in the stop motion model animation
legacy.
Most of Harryhausen’s animations involved special effects that
brought more of the stories to the screen, and his work has
become one of the most inspirational legacies in the world of stop
motion.
After his death in 2013, he has been recognised as one of the
mainly inspiring legends of the genre in the minds of those who
wished to pursue a similar career.
His characters for the animations have been made in full detail to
make them more realistic looking, possibly to tell the story in
more detail.
From Animation Art (2005): ‘It came at the impressionable age of 13 when he walked into Grouman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to see some ‘ape picture’ he knew little about. That movie was the 1933 smash hit King Kong and it
would set Harryhausen on the path to becoming the ‘father of modern visual effects’’.
From his school times, Harryhausen conducted experiments, which led to him gaining an opportunity to show his work to his idol, O’Brian
When he became 18, he landed his first professional job as working on the Puppetoons shorts that George Pal was producing at that
time for Paramount pictures .
‘
‘

5. Dynamation Harryhausen’s most popular innovation was known as Dynamation. It
was a term used for a stop motion technique that involved animated
models that were integrated into live action sequences. This
technique conducted more convincing and interesting composites
such as Cyclops giants and fighting skeletons. This effect was also
successful because it managed to transform a whole different form
of animation into a new format that totally changed the world of
animation. For generations, his technique has become something of
an inspiration, and that his impact and industry shall be remembered
forever.

6. Practitioner No.2
Nick Park

7. Nick Park
Nick Park is an animator working for the famous
Aardman company, who are the masterminds
behind most of the best animations today. Nick
is even the mastermind for some of Aardman’s
most iconic productions: Wallace & Gromit,
Creatures Comforts and Shaun the sheep, all of
which are highly success full, and that Creature
Comforts and two of the stories of Wallace and
Gromit achieved oscars for best animated film in
1990, 1994 and 1996.
Before working for Aardman, Park began
the production for A Grand Day Out but only
in 2 years he managed to make the first 10
minutes. When Park began looking for a job,
Aardman hired him and offered to help him
complete his production whilst he worked on
other projects. Overall, the film took 6 years
to make, and was broadcasted on television
in 1989. To everyone’s amazement, both A
Grand Day Out and Creature Comforts were
nominated for an Oscar for best animated
film in 1990.

8. Techniques on Wallace and Gromit
In order to make it a smooth animation, to match
Wallace’s mouth movement with the flexibility of
the vocals for the character, Park worked with
something called ‘Dope Sheets’ which broke
down the speech of the recordings in a frame by
frame fashion. This helped him to know exactly
what what kind of sound was being made by the
character at any point in the shot.

9. Practitioner No.3
Art Clokey

10. Art Clokey
Clokey was the mastermind behind one of the
most unforgettable stop motion characters ever
made: Gumby. Similar to Morph, Gumby was a one
coloured simple designed character with not a lot
of detailed features, and that the character
resembles like that of a person.
Clokey also created some experimental and inventive
short clay animations for adults, including his first
student film Gumbasia
In 1995, Clokey and another
animator teamed up to make
Gumby: The Movie, however it did
not succeed at the box office and
was widely panned by critics.

11. More about Gumby
Gumby is the little green humanoid character who appears in most episodes of
his show with his pet horse Pokey, who is voiced by Clokey himself. Their
nemesis is the G and J letter blocks, and there is a whole other variety of
characters that join Gumby on his wacky adventures.

12. Theories
Audience Theory
As a whole, this form of entertainment would effect a Mass audience because it would
be shown globally in cinemas and big screens, plus it would appeal to a wide range of
audiences. As these are referred to as a ‘Broadcast’ audience, they would watch this
because most animations are based on reality, but presented in a different way.
Uses & Gratifications
As this theory analyses the thought of reason for watching these films, the most likely
reason would be the idea of Diversion (escapism). This is because of the partial realistic
moments found within these films, such as The Wrong Trousers, where Wallace and
Gromit have a lodger come to stay with them, but the lodger is a criminal, and that at the
beginning, Wallace has to deal with financial problems. So when they reel in the criminal
at the end and gain the reward money, it solves their problems. Throughout the film, the
key parts such as the robbery and the ending with cheese seems realistic and in a way
some people may do in the world. However, some parts are considered not realistic such
s the fact that the criminal is in fact a penguin, and it is not normal everyday for a
penguin to rob a museum. This proves that this genre of entertainment has both sides of
reality within and that animators use both sides to create unique plots.

13. Reflection
What elements will I be including within my product?
I will include similar techniques and character features to my project in order to make
it smooth and simple. Also, I will make the elements within it seem funny and comedic
because I am aiming to make it a family friendly video.