PROBLEM SOLVING
LO3 3.1 - 3.2

PRACTICAL & TECHNICAL ISSUES

During the production stage, I will have to choose either to animate my short video with Adobe Animate or the Procreate app. Using Animate would take up a lot more of my time because it is a software that I have never used before, so I would have to learn how to use it.

In contrast, Procreate is an app that I have used many times before, including my Unit 5 animation. It is also a lot more accessible to use because I can take my iPad and Apple pencil around with me and easily set them up to work, making sure that I charge them beforehand. If I used Adobe Animate, I would have had to borrow a graphics tablet from college and transfer my updated save files every day so I could work on it at home.

Unfortunately, I do not think there is a way to back up Procreate files, so I have to be careful to export my progress instead.

I have also had issues with running out of storage on my iPad due to only having 64GB of storage. To solve this problem, I had to go through my photo gallery and apps and see what was taking up the most storage space that I didn't need to keep.

In order to get the foley sounds that I need for my animation, I will have to visit a quiet location to get the clearest sounds possible. This means I'll have to ask my parents to drive me to somewhere more remote such as a forest. This will be a good place to record the sound of birds in particular. I have the equipment to achieve this goal even if there is wind disruption, because I have a fluffy mic windshield.

There is minimal cost within this part of the process, as I have not had to buy any hardware involved.

I would really like a Japanese narrator for my film, there are options online to pay someone to read my narration script, but I do not have a budget for this. To solve this issue, I will have to ask friends and family if they know anyone who can speak Japanese.

THEORETICAL PROBLEMS

Uses and Gratifications

Blumer and Katz (1974) played a major role in the research of media uses and gratifications. This theory states that audiences are a diverse group of people who choose the media texts that best satisfy their needs, meaning media consumers actively choose what they watch in relation to their cultural and social environment.

This indicates that audiences favour watching shows that make them feel good, such as comedies and dramas, or that provide them with information they can use, such as news or details about new products or the world in general.

I would like to make my animation to entertain the audience, as well as providing escapism from everyday life.

Representation and ideology

Because I am creating an animation based in Japan, considering bringing diversity into my animation is important. Early on in my film I plan to set the scene by explaining that my film is set in Japan which makes it clear to the audience that the ethnicity of my warrior character is East Asian.

Considering Laura Mulvey’s ‘Male gaze’ theory, which states that women are reduced to objects for the gaze of the protagonist and male audience. The Male Gaze.

I wanted to portray strong female characters in my animation. I deliberately chose two female protagonists for both my fox and warrior.

I have taken inspiration from Studio Ghibli particularly with their depiction of female characters.

Princess Mononoke: Hayao Miyazaki

NARRATIVE & CHARACTER

Media narratives shape facts and experiences into a framework that is meaningful, making the audience believe in the reality that they see on screen. Media narratives

Some common narratives in media are:

Good vs. evil
Love
Redemption
Courage and perseverance
Coming of age
Revenge

I think that my concept encompasses the majority of these narratives. Covering courage and perseverance most frequently.

Investigating specific character theories, such as Vladimir Propp's work on the relationship between characters and narrative. This is a theory that I will use to shape how my characters act and develop throughout the story, as well as the consequences of their actions.

Propp categorised the following character archetypes:

Hero
Villain
Donor
Helper
Princess
False hero
Dispatcher

The fox character will initially fit in the hero category with the child being the princess. This archetype refers to the person or thing that the hero must find in order to complete their mission. Towards the end of the animation, the child will take on the role of a helper by working with the fox to destroy the demon who is the villain.

According to the structure proposed by theorist Tzvetan Todorov, I believe my animation fits into the standard story arc, often known as a linear narrative. I may consider changing it to fit the Kishotenketsu four-act narrative, which is typical in Asian storytelling.

In 1958, Claude Levi-Strauss proposed the theory of binary opposites. Binary opposites are two related concepts with opposing meanings. The words "up" and "down" are two examples. Based on this theory, my animation will follow the archetype of good versus evil.

I will be mindful to not promote any harmful stereotypes in my animation. Creating a warrior character that is a woman when typically they may have been male will resolve this problem.

Roland Barthes, a French literary theorist, created a number of symbolic codes. One of these codes denotes the deliberate use of different colours. For example, the colours red and black are commonly associated with horror, and I intend to use red frequently in my animation.

GENRE

The genre I would like my animation to be is fantasy action. In order to achieve this, I will include supernatural elements such as the kitsune spirit fox, as well as the demon. I will explain through the narration.

I looked into the fantasy genre during the research stage. This was useful because it allowed me to determine which fantasy sub type my animation belonged to.

SOUND & IMAGE