Goldmark, D. and Taylor, Y. eds., 2002. The cartoon music book. Chicago Review Press.
This section is written by Ross Care and he explains the "Golden age" of music which refers to the old times when music was first introduced in animations.

Dog designs

I have drawn a few concepts for more steampunk dog ideas. I have mostly used breeds of big dogs rather than small ones to fit the target audience of the museum.

Where do I see myself in 5 years time?

Rockstar North
https://www.rockstargames.com/careers/openings/position/188e83ae

Rockstar North is a famous video game developer company associated with Rockstar Games that develops popular video games with the most popular being the Grand Theft Auto series. This company uses programs and tools that I am already familiar with such as 3DS Max (and the UV mapping procedure), Photoshop and After Effects. These are the reasons I feel this is where I would be in 5 years.

Once Were Farmers
http://www.oncewerefarmers.com
Once Were Famers is a VFX and Animation company for broadcast, films and commercials. They have produced work for clients such as CBBC, BBC, Channel 4, Colgate, Samsung and many more.

https://sundstedt.se/blog/
Sundstedt Animation
This animation company is a small independent creative one. These animations are particually created for commercial use. They specialise in illustration and 2D and 2.5D animation. 2.5D animation consists of 2D animating with a 3D space. I like this idea since I like mixing 2D and 3D together.

http://arcusstudios.co.uk
Arcus Animation Studios
Arcus Animation Studios is a 2D Animation company which creates broadcasts for animation producing work for CBBC and E4. These are not limited to animations for television use, they create animations for music, video games, apps etc. One thing I noticed about this company is that they tend to use 2D vector-like animation something I particularity like and have an interest in.

Here are the 5 rough steps I would consider doing to achieve my goal.

1. Complete the Animation University course. (July 2018)
2. Take an animation course in Masters. (September 2018)
3. Apply for an occupation in the animation company for industry experience. (August 2020)
4. Move up in the industry with the experience. (January 2025)
5. Apply for a higher job such as a major animator or professional VFX artist. (April 2028)

My strengths

• 3D Modelling 
• 3D and 2D architectural structuring (Backgrounds)
• 3D Animating
• 3D Texturing 
• 2D Drawing
• 2D Animating
• Visual Effects (After Effects)

My weaknesses

• Stop motion
• Correct posing
• 3D and 2D character rigging
• 3D Scripting

Ethel & Earnest

Graphic novels and animated films that are based of the lives of two people from 1928 to their deaths in 1971. This was created by an English illustrator named Raymond Briggs. I feel as though this will provide some environmental inspiration for my project. The interiors used are particularly the highlights of the series. The use of patterns really presents how old the wallpaper is. The assets around the room blend in well to the 1940s era. For example, the detailing on the fireplace appears carefully crafted. To the audience, these details may seem trivial but to me, these interiors are a world to explore.

Progress

Scene
This is the scene so far. I think the lighting looks fine. However the lighting conspicuously shows the top of the walls. To fix this problem I will make the walls higher. I could add a ceiling but that would make a darker impact on the lighting and the ceiling does not need to be shown in the project.

Crumpled paper
Cloth is a useful modifier in 3DS Max. It can make an average shape such as a plane more dynamic. This is exactly how I made the crumpled up paper inside the bin of the scenery. I used a sphere and a normal plane using 40 polygons squared. By adding a high amount of polygons, the detail of the crumpled paper will increase. The sphere was used to crush the plane into this shape in the image below.

Chair
The chair was modelled by a method known as box modelling. This is a method in which a standard primitive shape is taken and then merged into a chair shape. When the shape looks like a basic chair with low poly, a smooth modifier is added to increase the poly count making the chair more realistic as shown in the picture below.

Music

Since my entire project is based around music, it is extremely essential that the sound is a priority. I am thinking about using a genuine old music soundtrack from the 1930s since this is around the time period when this film is set. This way, it will give an authentic environment around the project which will make a large influence on the audience.

Drawn to sound

Here is another piece of literature that I have picked up from the library. The title seems reliant to my extended essay.

Page 225, Disney Does Broadway by Rebecca Coyle and Jon Fitzgerald

Animation Showreel

I have collected my key animations and put them into a showreel. I have only selected animations which I am happy with and can fully present without feeling embarrassed about what I'm showing.
Showreel from Jack Vanes on Vimeo.

Group meeting

Today we had a group meeting in which we discuss the essentials on music/sound in animation. We talked about how animation makes an emotional impact on the audience. For example, in Toy Story 2 with the scene where Jessica is explaining her past which the music in the background plays a huge part in. We talked about Steamboat Willie (1928), an early animation that sound plays a huge part in. Tom and Jerry was also mentioned as music in the background corresponds to the emotions of the scenes and there is very little dialogue in Tom and Jerry. We talked about animations that are dedicated to music such as Fantasia. People who are involved in creation for sound in animation were also brought up such as Louis Armstrong, who played music for an animation, Alf Clausen, who composed music for The Simpsons or Carl Stalling, who was a composer for early cartoons. We even talked about the more popular ones such as Allen Menken, who composed scores for Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, Alladin and A Christmas Carol. Finally we talked about the modern ones that feature classically scored music such as Moana, Finding Nemo, How to Train your Dragon and even looked at the modern ones that are dedicated to sound such as WALL-E, which barely has any dialogue.

Lighting test

Default lighting
I have constructed the scenery of the animation project in 3DS Max. The image below shows the default lighting, which I personally do not like. Whilst it presents the essential data needed, it lacks density with no beams or shadows. Not to mention the lighting on the material looks like it's 2D.

Free light
This light certainly makes the lighting from the window visible and it gives a various gradient to the objects. However, it seems still very basic with lack of shadows.

Target light
The target light certainly has the right volume of daylight beaming through the room and the shadows are conspicuous. However the room is very dark and thus this form of lighting makes the setting look like a horror scene.

Daylight lighting
This form of lighting works well. Although it does have minor flaws, it is better than the other form of lighting. I will be using this lighting in the project.

The Cartoon Music Book

I picked up this book from the library. Hopefully, it will provide some suitable material for the essay. I will put down any page that I feel is relevant to my essay.

Page X, Acknowledgements 

"Music and cartoons have gone hand-in-hand since Walt Disney made

Steamboat Willie in 1928. Music wasn't just an accompaniment for that car-

toon, it was what helped sell the movie to the public and to the motion picture

industry. There was virtually no dialogue in that cartoon. What attracted

people in those primitive days of -talkies" was the idea that cartoon characters

 (and even inanimate objects) moved in synchronization to a musical beat.

That was the charm of Steamboat Willie and virtually all the cartoons that followed

for several years from Disney and from his followers and rivals.

It's rewarding to see music coming back to the forefront of cartoons after

all these years." 
- Leonard Maltin

Page 21, Make Walt's Music by Ross Care
"THE STORY OF music in the animated films of Walt Disney, from 1928 until 
Disney's death in 1967, is an involved scenario with a cast including many 
leading and supporting players. The saga also coincides with the early history 
Of American sound cinema, from the first talkies of the late to the 
wide-screen/stereophonic sound epics of the I '50s and 1960s. Yet in spite of 
the continuous exploitation that classic Disney music has received over the 
decades, from the early cartoon and feature songs released on 78 rpm to CDs 
of music found at the now-global Disney theme parks (which also recycle 
music from the studio's very earliest eras), precious little is still generally 
known about the gallery of composers who launched and sustained this 
durable legacy. Thcsc musicians, among many Other artists, labored in relative 
anonymity under the Disney aegis to create an often remarkable body of imaginative
Americana that continues to fascinate in this new millennium. "

Page 21, Dawn of the Golden Age by Ross Care
Disney's very first films were a hodgepodge Of silent commercials and ani- 
mated shorts produced during the I '20s, among them the Alice in Cartoon- 
land series, which placed a live actress in an animated setting, and a brief stint 
with the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit character. Disney, however, did not own 
the Oswald copyright and soon lost the series, a setback that, happily, led to 
the creation of Walt's most famous character, Mickey Mouse. 
The Oswald/early Mickey era Of Disney also Saw a key creation in motion 
picture history: over a period of several years in the late 1920s the sound film 
was born. Disney's first Mickey Mouse shorts Were originally planned as silent 

films. When Warner Bros.' The Jazz Singer proved a hit in 1927, the intuitive

(Page 22)
Disney quickly jumped on the aural bandwagon and arranged for what was 
actually the third Mouse short, Steamboat Willie ( 1928), to feature synchro- 
nized music. Disney and a small staff (which included future director Wilfred 
Jackson) essentially developed the soundtrack themselves, using public domain 
tunes and sound effects recorded with a crude system of synchronization that 
Jackson devised through the use of a rnetronome and markings on film. The 
score was recorded in New York with a modest orchestra and a theater con- 
ductor who was dubious of the whole affair. 
Crude as the results seem today, the first sound cartoon created a sensa- 
tion. Like the Warners, whose prime interest in sound film was not that char- 
acters could finally speak onscreen, but that "now we can bring a symphony 
orchestra to every small town in America," Disney's prime concern was also 
musical. Only a few v.'ords Of dialogue are included in Steamboat Willie, most 
of the audio track being a fusion of music and cleverly synched sound effects 
that must have amazed and delighted the first sound audiences. A highlight 
of the short is the Mouse's rather sadistic utilization of various farm animals 
to musical ends (including, in a bit of bawdy barnyard humor exorcised from 
most later prints, a nursing sow). 
Key musical themes in Steam"zr Willie were the title tune "Steamboat 
Bill" (an old Irish folk tune) and "Turkey in the Straw." This same pastiche 
style was applied even more heavily to the Plane Crazy score ( 1928), which 
features a catalog of familiar public domain Ruben," "Yan- 
kee Doodle," "Dixie," "Hail to the Chief—fragments Of which are dizzy- 
ingly stitched together by Carl Stalling in almost Ivesian fashion, and 
sometimes heard in two- and three-part contrapuntal development. Stalling 
would apply a similar musical approach to another manic early short, When 
the Car; Away, in 1929. Both shorts also illustrate how the originally ram- 
bunctious Mouse—Mickey is even guilty of blatant sexual harassment of 
Minnie in Plane Crazy—quickly softened into the less irascible but still 
spunky rodent of Steamboat Willie. 
With the success of the first Mickey films, the Disney studio was defi- 
nitely on its way to a decade that would witness rernarkable strides in both ani- 
mation and the integration of music with animated narrative and mood. 
musical aspects of this amazing decade are framed on one end by the crude 
vitality of The Skeleton Dance (1929) and other early Silly Symphonies of the 
late 1920s, and on the Other by the polished refinement Of the early 1940s, 

in Fantasia and Bambi. This trajectory also illustrates Disney's growing inter- 

(Page 23)
est in classical music and serious original underscoring, both Of which peaked 
in these two pivotal features. 
The Disney organization's first musical director/composer was Carl 
Stalling. who is best known today as the musical genius behind the Warner 
Bros. shorts. Disney had known Stalling in their Kansas City days, during 
which the musician was musical director for the Isis Theater, where he both 
played organ and conducted the orchestra. It was in Kansas City that Disney 
had produced his early films, one of which included a live-musical accompa- 
niment by Stalling. While en route to New York to record Steamboat Willie, 
Disney again met with Stalling and presented him with the first tv,'0 Mouse 
cartoons. Stalling scored both plane Crazy and Gallopin' Gaucho (1928) in 
Kansas City, then joined Disney in New York to record them. After making 
the move to Hollywood, Stalling composed the scores for about fifteen 
Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies shorts for Disney. 
In a published interview, Stalling noted that it was he who suggested the 
concept for Disney's second series, the Silly Symphonies, which were con- 
ceived to showcase more self-contained musical scores. (Due to their plot and 
gag-oriented nature. the "Mickeys" generally subordinated the music to ani- 
mated action). Further details of Stalling's brief career with Disney may be 
found in his 1971 Funnyworld interview, reprinted in its entirety elsewhere 
in this volume, but it might also be noted that the designation "Silly Sym- 
phonies" accurately sums up DisneB overall attitude toward music. While 
always appreciating the audience appeal Of popular music, during the 1930s 
Disney was also increasingly drawn, if always somewhat ambivalently, to clas- 
sical music. (His comments concerning the abstract Bach sequence in Fanta- 
sia describe images that came to mind while falling asleep in a concert hall, 
and in the 1935 Silly Symphonies Music Land, the queen Of the Symphony 
Land is first seen dozing on her throne while a sedate minuet plays.) 

Frank Churchchill and Snow White and the Seven Dwarths (Page 26) by Ross Care
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). While hailed as the cinematic 
milestone it certainly is, musically Disneyi first feature is more backward- 
looking than pioneering. Songs are fluidly linked to character and incident, 
yet the mode is still more one of nostalgic operetta than of the American 
musical comedy that was slowly evolving on Broadway during this same 
decade. The arrangements, likewise, were scored for a modest theater orches- 
tra sound, slipping in some mildly jazzy Paul Whiteman—esque touches only 
for some of the up-tempo interludes. The operetta ambiance is reinforced by 
the twittery coloratura soprano of Snow White herself, playing opposite the 
stolid baritone of her prince Charming (with the dwarfs themselves filling in 
as a self-contained operetta chorus). Indeed the first third of the film verges 
on opera, With one musical number following another in rapid succession and 
linked by continuous orchestral underscoring (most notably the Gothic cues 
for the Magic Mirror/Wicked Queen scenes). 

But Disney fusion of high-tech animation and traditional operetta struck 
a chord With late I930's audiences, and the film was a global popular and crit- 
iCal success. Many of tunes made the hit parade and won the com- 
poser one of the top ASCAP ratings up to that time. Snow White also launched 
the first commercially released original film soundtrack ever, a bestselling 78- 
rpm album on RCA Victor, and its songs, particularly "Someday My Prince 
Will Come," one of Churchillk most poignant melodies, continued to be 
recorded by artists such as Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis in the 1950s and '60s. 
Unfortunately, Frank Churchill's musical gifts and popular success were 
not to lead to a Disneyesque happy ending. Troubled by nervous tension and 
alcoholism, Churchill committed suicide on his ranch near Newhall, Cali- 
fornia, on May 1 4, 1942. The music for Dumbo (co-scored With Oliver Wal- 
lace) had just won an Oscar for best score, and Churchill's touching song, 
"Baby Mine," had been nominated for best song. Churchill can be seen in the 
studio tour sequence in The Reluctant Dragon (1941), which he also partially 
scored. Two of his melodies turn up as late as 1949, in The Adventures of Ich- 
abod and Mister Toad (the song "Merrily on Our Way"), and 1953, in Peter 

Pan (the crocodile motif). 

Page 75, Birth of an Art form by Charles. L Granata
What makes Fantasia so special? Why is it revered as a technical and aes- 
thetic milestone? 
Though largely ignored by audiences of its day (and scorned by classical 
music "elitists"), Fantasia was the movie with which Walt Disney stepped 
Eoldly into the unknown. Taking tremendous financial risks while pushing 
every talent at his disposal to maximum capacity, he was hoping to create a 
masterpiece. 
"Fantasia was made at a time when we had the feeling that we had to 
the doors here," Disney once explained. "This medium was something 
felt a responsibility for, and we felt We could go beyond the comic strip 
and do some very exciting, entertaining, and beautiful things with music, and 
picture, and color. So, we just went ahead and tried it out." 
DisneB notion to produce a film marrying animation and classical music 
was born long before Fantasia's raw footage hit the editing desk. In 1929, 
Disney and composer Carl Stalling conceived and produccd a non-Mickey 
short in which music usurped the action. This film (The Skeleton Dance) 
included a snippet of Edvard Grieg's "March of the Dwarfs," and became the 
first in a series called Silly Symphonies. In 1932, a Silly Symphony called 
Flowers and Trees—set to rhe music of Mendelssohn and Schubert—became 
the very first 3-strip Technicolor film. 
Disney purposefully kept Mickey Mouse out of the Silly Symphonies. 
But toward the late 1930s, Mickey's character began to sag, sending Walt 
scurrying to spice up his image. Thinking of the musical shorts, he devised 
an ingenious plan: Mickey would star in an animated version of The Sorcerer's 
Apprentice, a Goéthe fairy tale set to the music of French composer Paul 
Dukas. 
Soon after, Disney accidentally stumbled into a great fan of his car- 
coons—famed conductor Leopold Stokowski. "l first met Walt Disney in a 
restaurant," Stokowski recalled. "l was alone having dinner at a table near 
him and he called across to me. 'Why don't we sit together?' Then he began 
to tell me that he Was interested in Dukas's The Sorcerer's Apprentice as a POS- 
Sible short, and did I like the music. I said I liked it very much, and would be 
happy to cooperate with him." Stokowski went to work immediately, focus- 
ing on the orchestration and recording of Dukas's music. It was a task the 
musical demigod relished. 

Essay example readings

Van Norris
Touching cloth...

Considering Satire and the Clergy in Popular Contemporary British Animation

This essay constructs an analysis on the influence of satirical mainstream media shows. The key show mostly utilised in particular being Popetown, which formulates mockery of the Catholic faith and stereotypes. The author uses quotes from Vincent Nichola, a fan of the Pope as evidence of the negative disapproval of the show Popetown. This has provoked a high proportion of criticism from the Catholic church. The author has used comparisons between The Simpsons satire and South Park satire, which completely differ as South Park satire is more provocative. Another media mentioned is Monkey Dust, which is also a satire show known for its dark humour like South Park.


Colleen Montgomery
Woody’s Roundup and Wall-E’s Wunderkammer
Technophilia and Nostalgia in Pixar Animation

This essay explores the critique of how technology has replaced human labour in the media which replicates the same replacement in real life. Albeit the author of the essay does acknowledge Princess and The Frog, a 2D DIsney animated film. A notable example the author used for the technology replacement concept was Toy Story series, which has a key plot of replacement for all movies. Toy Story 3 in particular demonstrates the technological replacement as Andy grows into an adult going to college and Andy's little sister, Molly isn't even interested in the toys either despite being the target demographic for them. Instead Molly is interested in her MP3 player and Andy's old computer and video games.

The author also proposes the technology replacement in WALL-E. WALL-E being the last of his kind and all the other technological replicates of him are no longer working. EVE's advanced technology caused problems and was her downfall. The author notes that this is a criticism of modern technology's problems and scepticism. 

María Lorenzo Hernández
Through the Looking Glass

The Self-Portrait of the Artist and the Re-Start of Animation

This essay is about self-portrayal of the creator. The author begins with self-portraits of artists during the early times when there was no cameras to visually get proper portrayal and thus were only confined to mirrors. The author explains that during The Ressanance times, artists such as Durero and Hans Holbein made a living off painting customers in a way that reflects their clothing or occupation. This idea of self-portrait extended into media during Little Nemo made in 1911, where the creator Winsor McCay is the protagonist of the film. 

Essay structure

Media trends

Cutout animations are an extremely early style of animation dating back to 1918 when an Italian Argentine animator named Quirino Cristiani created El Apostol. However, in popular media they are still relevant today as they are still being made with popular shows such as South Park, albeit this show has changed from doing it from stop motion to digitally over the years.

One thing I have noticed about the cutout animation style is that they tend to be used in fantasy or historical medias. An example of cutout animations explaining historical events is from the popular children's historical series Horrible Histories. Horrible Histories is known to be popular with kids as it is educating them with the use of basic understandings, humour and the use of using modern trends to demonstrate the historical times that children can relate to. Although cutout animations are not the key salient methods used in Horrible Histories, they are used frequently during the title sequence of the specific genre of history.

I think cut out animation would be ideal for this project as they seem to be trending in franchises that are about historical education, and the project is aimed at Enguinity, an iron factory museum.

CrashCourse is a YouTube channel series by The Green Brothers which is targeted towards educating children about historical events and science. This series shows basic digital cut out-like animations to support the narrative of the subject.

 

 

 

An additional set of media that uses cutout animation are The Monty Python movies. Like Horrible Histories, these are also based on historical events and use comedy. Like Horrible Histories, the cutout animations act as a minor part in the series and are not used as the main outlet. Unlike Horrible Histories and CrashCourse, The Monty Python series are not entirely historically accurate as they are not for educational purposes and they are not intended for children.

 

 

 

 





 

Interior ideas and gramophone

Interior sketches
I have made a rough sketch of how I would view the interior of the place. I did not add any objects or excessive furniture because the purpose of it was to get a basic idea rather than the finished result. This is not set in stone as they would most likely be changed as the project progresses.

Gramophone
This gramophone model is based off the gramophone in the Enguinuity iron factory museum that I recently went to on a trip. I took some pictures of it with my phone, one from the front angle and one from the side. I will obviously not copy the exact model of the gramophone but I will use it as reference.

Charactershop

Charatershop is a company based in Birmingham which has created over a hundred different characters for clients and for a wide audience. These digital characters have been used for animation in the media including commercials, television and film. This brought my attention is the use of 3DS Max, which is a digital computer-generated image tool that I am most familiar with.

Here are Charactershop's images rendered and animated from 3DS Max.

Link: http://www.thecharactershop.co.uk/

Museums

Geffrye Museum

This is a museum opened in 1914, it shows the home interiors from the 1600s and onwards to the present. These types of interiors could be useful for my project as I am aiming for an interior that is set in the 1940s albeit some of the interiors are from the 1930s or below.

Here are some interiors that are from the 1930s -1940s era.

I like the lighting of the interior on the left. It even shows a gramophone on the drawers. Though I do think the walls are a bit plain and the room colour itself to be simple.

I like the tone of this interior. It has simmered brightness emitting from the lights. The fireplace looks fine as well with the detail. The one thing I like the most is the texture of the chairs, which looks very decorative.



Not exactly one of my favourite interiors. However, I do like the texturing on the floor and the design/decoration of the chairs. The wooden objects in the room appear to be shiny and clean as well.

Land of Lost Content
This is a museum which contains old everyday objects from the old times. The museum is owned by Stella Mitchell.
Link: http://www.lolc.co.uk/

This room is full of props that could be useful for inspiration putting props into my project. The interior itself looks like a standard 1930s - 1940s interior.

Here is a few signs from the past. The one that caught my eye was the one on the top left hand corner of the screen which replicates the noire style from the 1940s. These signs could be used as posters in my project.

The History of Sound in Animation

I found this online article about sound in animation. It explains that in the 1928, Walt Disney produced Steamboat Willie which introduced sound being synchronised to animation. This is where the term "Mickey mousing" originated which is a term for a technique used in film where the actions on the screen are matching with the music in the background.

The article explains that during the 1920s to 1930s era, recording equipment was unable to be taken outside of the studio, thus the crew had to create sound effects from inside the studio.
In one instance, the sound effects would be simulated by a musician during a music recording session.

Article: https://www.boomboxpost.com/blog/2015/11/8/the-history-of-animation-sound

Character ideas

Iron guy
I got this idea from the uniform behind the glass near the entrance of the museum. The aesthetics of the uniform is symbolic of history, which is what the museum is all about.

Alternative sketch to Iron guy.

Steampunk dog
This dog concept came from the idea of Rusty who is also a dog already portrayed in the museum as a guide. The steampunk idea came from the various mechanisms that can be found in and around the iron factory. The idea of steampunk is science fiction which gives enhanced technology in the 1800s. This is the reason I like this idea as the iron factory is a museum which is based around that time frame.

The Talking Piano
This was probably an obvious idea but an idea none the less. I came up with this concept of a anthropomorphic piano with the key notes as eyes and the keys themselves as the mouth. This piano can be found in the museum near the back.

I recently picked up a book named Furnature & interiors of the 1940s by Anne Bony. This could provide some material for the objects used in the animation project.

I am thinking about changing the scenery of the animation project. 

Article on visual music

https://blog.animationstudies.org/?p=738

This article explains animators who have created visual music and sound presented in animation which shows a kind of dance as if the animation is manifested into the sound. However, these visual music animations have direct graphical images that form shapes responding to the rhyme of music. These images are created in conjunction with free space theory, which do not restrict open cognition on the objects. This is similar to my project as I am also working on a project with involves the significance of sound and animation.

Here is an example of Norman McLaren's animated visuals to sound/music.