Report about the 14th Society for Animation Studies Conference, September 2002, Glendale, USA
As individuals we are a single image but together we are a movement
All too often animation is addressed in the media only in regard to popular children’s media or to realistic feature film special effects, but the range, scope, and impact of animation is much greater than that. We are entering an era where animation has become a part of our everyday existence. We still see animation in movies, on television, and video games, but animation is increasingly appearing on the internet, on cellular phones, on palm pilots, in advertisements everywhere, and even in the classroom. As the world is becoming less dependent on printed media animation is becoming one of humanity’s primary means of expression, yet humanity is still treating it with “kid gloves”. This is why the Annual Conference for the Society of Animation Studies is so important. SAS is one of the few scholarly groups addressing the serious cultural, social, artistic, historical and psychological implications of animation. And we get to watch cartoons.
The 14th Annual SAS Conference took place from September 26th to the 29th in Los Angeles, California and it was a tremendous success for everyone involved. The conference offered a unique opportunity for artists, animators, theorists, professors, students, and fans to learn about animation through listening, speaking, questioning and even practicing animation.
The opening reception took place at Cartoon Network on the evening of Thursday, September 26 and was arranged by Cartoon Network’s Brian Miller. The reception gave old acquaintances a chance to meet and eat while welcoming new members and first-time conference-goers. Professors, students, and scholars came from countless universities across the globe to represent themselves and their schools. People from the fields of fine arts, film criticism, sociology, psychology, music, cultural studies, , education, film/television production, and animation production flew in for a weekend of animation studies. The reception was very relaxed as folks admired the collection of Tiki Art while others hung out in the reception room. After a brief welcome by President Ton Crone and Conference Chair Harvey Deneroff, folks grabbed their Cartoon Network souvenir bags and headed back to their homes and hotel rooms.
Friday morning at Brand Library event coordinator Earl Sherburn did an excellent job of getting people registered, fed, caffeinated, and ready for the first panel of papers. Gary Schwartz of Single Frame Films captured made actors and directors out of the innocent conference attendees to create the first scene of our weekend-long pixillated animation shoot. The completed film was very successful -complete with Neighbors-esque flying, sliding, and disappearing actors.
The first panel was chaired by Pierre Floquet from ENSEIRB and focused on Disney and various aspects of their production methods. Sharon Wu spoke about the changes occuring in the animation and the impact of CGI animation on Hollywood 2D character animators. Doug Nichols came down from Pixar to talk about the History of Computer Animation at Walt Disney Feature Animation. This self-proclaimed “animation geek” discussed his experiences in the industry and the history of the relatively young art of CGI animation. Susan Ohmer then gave a fascinating talk about Fantasy, Gender, and Industrial Production in Peter Pan. This paper included a great deal of information gathered from the Disney archives.
The second panel of the morning: Childhood, Culture, and Identity was chaired by animation historian Tom Knott. Starting off the panel educator Wendy Jackson Hall gave her Analysis of Comprehension of Animation Logic in Children paper. She discussed her experiences in Seattle teaching animation to young people. Mariano Prunes of Yale University discussed the Miyazaki film My Neighbor Totoro and its unique approach to discussing adult themes through the subjective point of view of the child. Laura Wheeler, just in from her recent travel in Russia, discussed her research on Childhood in Pre- and Post- Soviet Russian Animation.
People then gathered for lunch and discussion at the Japanese Tea Garden on the library grounds. Over lunch the discussions about animation continued in small groups. In one such group, Doug Nichols shared his knowledge about breaking into the animation industry with many of the curious animation students attending the conference.
The Friday afternoon panels focused largely on gender issues in animation with a focus on Japanese Anime and Manga. The first panel was lead by Joanna Bouldin of UC-Irvine, who has presented several papers at previous SAS Conferences. Hilary Neroni presented her paper “Was Betty Boop a Feminist?: Changing Gender Roles and other Subtexts which sparked a lively discussion among the many Fleischer aficionados in the audience. Kukhee Cho discussed the popular Japanese animated series Fruit Basket and the reemergence of conservative womanhood. Marian Quigley from Monash University in Australia shared her knowledge of Australian Woman Animators. She also discussed the unique obstacles female Aussie animators face in the animation industry today.
Friday’s final panelists all came from Loyola University in New Orleans and focused on the issues surrounding childhood, gender roles, and Japanese Anime and Manga. It was moderated by Professor Mary Mackay. Alexis Franks presented her paper: “Defining Gender Roles in childhood in Manga and Other Japanese Cartoons”. Weston D. Probst delivered a paper entitled “Children of the Porn: Homosexuality as Childhood in Yayoi and June”. Mary Mackay presented examples from Miyazaki’s Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke to illustrate her research on Anime’s integration of the child and the adult.
After the first day of panels were completed, the conference moved across Brand Park to the gazebo outside of the Doctor’s House. Food and beverages were provided by the Glendale Arts and Culture Commission and everyone enjoyed themselves until the sun went down. Afterwards some folks headed out for the evening while others headed home to rest up for the next day of the conference.
People fought hard against the bitter cold of the Brand Library air conditioner to attend Saturday’s panels but the payoff was well worth the fight. The first panel was chaired by Harvey Deneroff of Animation Consultants International and focused on technology and animation. The first presenter was Tom Klein who shared with us his experiences as a traditional 2D animator who has successfully made the switch from animating with a pencil to animated using a digital stylus and a tablet. He also addressed his predictions for the future of 2D animation production. Karin Wehn came from the University of Leipzig in Berlin to present her discussion of Animation on the World Wide Web. Her presentation included humorous examples like the Joesterizer and a PSA about using cartoons responsibly. Bob Rehak of Indiana University discussed the Aesthetics of digital acting, motion-capture, and Synthespianism. Alison McMahan presented her work on the transition from Stop-Motion and Animatronics to CGI Animation in Hollywood Films, which included an interesting historical survey of these distinct animation methods.
Saturday second panel included several SAS Conference veterans who engaged the audience with The Body, Freakery, and Virtual Porn. Executive SAS Conference Committee member Irene Kotlarz moderated this panel. Joanna Bouldin returned to the podium to present a thought-provoking argument about virtual pornography and censorship. Her paper discussed the various political, societal, and psychological issues raised by this sensitive subject. Animation author and educator Michael Frierson presented his paper titled Celebrity Deathmatch: Liminality and the Carnivalesque with his usual sensitivity and insightfulness. Mark Langer capped off the panel with a return to the subject of Rotoscoping and Freakery. As a foremost authority on Fleischer animation, he addressed the aesthetic issues and psychological impact of viewing rotoscoped images in their films.
Roger Palmer of La Trobe University in Australia moderated the first panel of the afternoon and continued our interesting discussion of Disney Studios. Daniel Brod covered the struggle for ownership of the The Rite of Spring between Disney and Stravinsky and discussed his extensive research in the Disney Archives. Gene Wals came down from Canada to discuss cuteness in his paper Thinking Cute: Neoteny and the Evolving Image of Disney Children and Animals. Kristen Hanson gave a psychoanalytic analysis of The Lady and the Tramp. M. Thomas Inge presented a fascinating comparison of the Brothers Grimm and Disney’s story of Snow White.
The final panel of the day: Nation, Culture, and Identity was moderated by Ton Crone of the Netherlands Institute for Animation Studies. Takao Hagiwara discussed Hayao Miyazaki’s Work in the context of East meets West. He showed examples from both films to highlight his argument. John Lent then presented the audience with his knowledge about the work of Juan Padron and Cuban Animation. He discussed his experience travelling through Cuba and also presented a screening of rare examples from this Cuban animation master.
The highlight of the conference was undoubtedly our Keynote Speech and reception at Dreamworks’ Studio. Through the generosity of Frank Gladstone, Dreamworks’ Studios provided us with an unforgettable animation studies event. Some of the folks arrived early for the event and found themselves admiring the artwork on the walls and enjoying the pleasant atmosphere the studio. Once again the catering was fantastic and everyone enjoyed themselves before the main event. Frank Gladstone jokingly encouraged everyone to drink up before “having to listen to Crafton talk”. People found their seats in “Jeffrey Katzenberg’s personal screening room” and settled in for what turned out to be an amazing keynote presentation by animation historian and author Donald Crafton.
The Keynote Address entitled Performance in and of Animation asked the audience the question: Is animation a performance art? Mr. Crafton presented his research of this relatively new area of study in an academically rigorous yet thoroughly entertaining manner. His research included looking at films as representations of human performance and focused mainly on American films and culture of the 1930s. He illustrated his points with excellent examples of performance in live-action and animated films including an excellent 35mm print of the Warner Brothers classic cartoon One Froggy Evening. Based on the success of this presentation we hope to continue the tradition of having a keynote speaker for future SAS conferences.
The people who recovered from Saturday Night’s festivities and woke up for the morning panels were not disappointed. Both panels were on Theory and Criticism in animation art. All of the papers were extremely interesting, well-researched and thought provoking.
Christine Panushka, chair of the Department of Animation and Digital Arts at the University of Southern California, moderated the first panel. Erik Patrick presented an important study about Animated Documentaries and Non-Fiction Animation. His paper focused on the concepts and structures used in this unique branch of animation and his presentation included several video clips. James Tobias of the University of Michigan presented the findings of his research on the structure of music and non-narrative animation art. Dan McLaughlin spoke about movement in film and then screened a film he animated and directed entitled Gymnastics. Alan Cholodenko from The University of Sydney presented his Nutty Universe of Animation paper in a poetic manner that was thoroughly engaging.
Susan Ohmer from the University of Notre Dame moderated the final panel which started around eleven in the morning. Jonathan Frome presented his research paper on a relatively unexplored area of study entitled Critical Reception of Animation before 1940. Former SAS President Richard J. Leskosky gave an insightful paper on The Prince of Egypt; an in-depth comparison of the Dreamworks’ story in comparison to previous incarnations of this story in film and print. Janeann Dill of the University of Hamburg took us on a Journey in Art History and Animation Theory.
Following this panel, the conference officially ended with sincere thanks and parting words from SAS President Ton Crone and Committee Chair Harvey Deneroff. We on the Conference Committee were very pleased with this year’s conference and the exciting events that took place over the course of the weekend. We look forward to seeing you all at next year’s conference in Annecy.
Brian Oakes