TVR Motion Graphics, Animation and 3D

This guide is a pathfinder to books, articles, DVDs and websites.  Why research in the pre-production phase?  To research the lives and artistry of master filmmakers (inspiration), film techniques, and current trends .  You can also research contemporary news for story ideas "ripped from the headlines" or base your film in myths or fairy tales.


Description from the Library of Congress, "Although this is not an animated film, the origins of animated film can be glimpsed here. J. Stuart Blackton, then a cartoonist for the New York Evening World, is photographed in Thomas Edisons New Jersey 'Black Maria' studio performing a vaudeville routine known as the 'lightning sketch,' supplemented by stop-camera tricks that bring the drawn objects to life. Copyrighted in 1900, it was probably filmed three or four years earlier."

Use the library catalog, reference resources, and library databases to research an artist or film-maker, classic stories (myths, fairy tales, and fables), and film criticism and reviews.

Library Catalog

• Library Catalog: Try searching the artist of film title for book and videos.
• Film tab:  Use to browse new films or to search for films

Search encyclopedias and directories to find background on an artist or film:

• Biography in Context + Complete Marquis Who's Who
  Biographical information on people worldwide throughout history across all disciplines.
• Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television
  REF PN2012 .W52
  A who's who and who was who of individuals in all areas of theatre, film, and television, updated annually.
• Encyclopedia of Television
  Published by the Museum of Broadcast Communications, this resource includes nearly 1,000 entries covering all aspects of television. Articles are signed and contain photos as well as bibliographic references.
• Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2007
  McFarland, 2009.
  
• History of the Mass Media in the United States: An Encyclopedia
  Taylor & Francis, 1998 via Communication & Mass Media Complete.
• Hollywood Creative Directory
  REF PN1998 .A1 H58
  A directory of the motion picture industry including producers and directors. Current year only.
• IMDB Internet Movie Database
  Provides background information on motion pictures, television shows, and series.
• Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film
  Provides a comprehensive introduction to film and film studies, covering topics such as production, national traditions, studios, genres, critical theory, and film history. Approximately 200 entries cover specific topics, including acting, censorship, editing, lighting, career profiles, etc. 
  
• Television cartoon shows: an illustrated encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003
  2nd ed., McFarland & Co., 2005.

Library databases contain many trade journals that can keep you abreast of what is new and provide you with current news that may provide a story idea.  Also search scholarly journals for criticism.

• Academic Search Premier A multidisciplinary database that includes some of the most popular magazines, journals and newspapers.
• America: History and Life   Use this to find articles on the history of animation.
• Business Source Premier (Original Interface)   Use this to find articles on the business aspects of animation (industry and company news).
• Communication and Mass Media Complete (CMMC)   Use this for scholarly treatment of animation by scholars in the field of communications.
• Film Literature Index (Print)(1973-2004) REF PN1993.A1 F4
  International coverage of film, television and video journals from 1973-2004
• Film Literature Index (Archive) Online (1976-2001)
  Index to backfiles of citations of film literature including international film, television and video. Citations from 1976 to 2001. There are no plans to update this online resource.
• JSTOR
  Complete backfiles of core scholarly journals, searchable by journal or discipline. Files do not include the latest 3-5 years. The content is delivered as page images.
  
• LexisNexis Academic   Use this to find news and reviews (10 to 15 years worth or so) on recent releases.
• MLA international bibliography of books and articles on the modern languages and literatures (ProQuest)
  The MLA International Bibliography is a classified listing and subject index of scholarly books and articles on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics which has been compiled by the Modern Language Association of America since 1926.

Here are generic searches from an EBSCO database search. I combined some of these EBSCO databases: America: History & Life, Newspaper Source, Alternative Press Index, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Business Source Premier.

• ANIMATED FILMS
• MOTION GRAPHICS
• THREE-dimentional and Broadcasting

You will be prompted to authenticate yourself as being at Ithaca College; to do this type your email (Netpass) user name and password.  Try focusing the search by adding additional search term (ex. Burton AND corpse) in the second and third boxes.  Broaden your search by changing the start date in the box to the left of the screen.

Companies
Use the following databases to search company and industry information:

• ABI/INFORM databases
• Business and Company Resource Center
• Business Source Premier (Original Interface)
• LexisNexis Academic   Click on "Company" in the tab to the left and then "Company Dossier"

Industry

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
• Animation World Network (AWN)
  Animation-related publishing group providing that provides news to those in the animation industry.  They publish theAnimation World Magazine.
  
• European Association of Animation Film (CARTOON)
  Based in Brussels, Cartoon supports the European animation industry.
  
• FMX Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Interactive Media
• IBC Conference (entertainment and news content distribution)
• IEEE
  "The leading provider of technical information, community services, and personalized services to the world's computing professionals"  IEEE has a Computer Society, Broadcast Technology Society  and an Emerging Fields network amongst others.
  
• National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)
  Trade association of television and radio broadcasters founded in 1923
• PromaxBDA
  International association for entertainment marketing professionals.  Promax, an organization of marketers working in broadcasting, combined with the Broadcast Design Association (BDA) in 1997.  They provide conferences and events to members.
  
• Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE)
  Technical society founded in 1916 to advance theory and development in the motion imaging field.  They publish the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal.  Ithaca College library keeps the current 2 years in the Popular Periodical section of the library (2nd floor, Gannett Center).  Archives are on the SMPTE site.
  

• Bound by Law?: Tales from the Public Domain / Keith Aoki, James Boyle, Jennifer Jenkins (2006). Available free online
• Clearance and copyright : everything you need to know for film and televsion / by Michael C. Donaldson. (2008, 3rd rev ed.)
• Copyright Watch: A repository of links and resources connected to the changes in copyright law across the world.
• Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use / Center for Social Media handbook
• Getting permission : how to license & clear copyrighted materials online and off / by Richard Stim. (2010, 4thed.). General Stacks. KF3002 .S75 2010
  
• Local Educational Institutions / Ithaca College & Cornell University's pages associated with copyright & piracy
• The pocket lawyer for filmmakers [electronic resource] : a legal toolkit for independent producers / by Thomas A. Crowell. (2011, 2d ed.). Available online through Ebrary.
• Society for Cinema and Media Studies' Statement on Fair Use  Their are best practices for fair use, teaching & film stills.

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Use Biography in Context to find  biographical entries and articles on:

• Saul Bass
• Paul Rand

Here is an entry on film Credits in the Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film .

Finally, here are a couple articles to read:

• Heller, S. (1997). Thoughts on Rand. Print, 51(3), 106.
• Poynor, R. (2011). Saul Bass, a life in pictures. Creative Review, 31(11), 39-48.

Click here to see a selected list of animated films held by Ithaca College library (& a few classics from YouTube).  Don't see the one you need?  You can recommend a purchase and / or try and borrow one by filling out an Interlibrary Loan request.

Computer Software vendor sites:

• Adobe After Effects
• Autodesk (Maya)
• Blender
• Final Cut Studio
• Maxon: 3D for the real world
• Processing

Free Online Training & Resources

• Video Copilot
  Video Copilot offers free After Effects Basic Training and other free tutorials.
  
• Creative COW
  Peer-to-peer support group for media production professionals. The Tutorials tab is especially useful.  For AE 6  & Mylenium's AE6: Building a Better Grid: using Expressions in AE
• Gray Machine
  Site for the motion design community.  It includes After Effects tutorials.
• Cool Text: Graphics Generator

Fee-based Training

• Lynda.com

Selected Manuals:

• Fry, B. (2008). Visualizing Data. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
• Reas, C. (2007). Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
• Shiffman, D. (2008). Learning Processing: A Beginner's Guide to Programming Images, Animation, and Interaction. Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann/Elsevier.
• Wohl, M. (2010). Final Cut Pro 7 Advanced Editing: [real-Time Editing and Effects]. Apple Pro training series. Berkeley, Calif: Peachpit Press.

We have ebooks, for example:

Braha, Y. (2011). Creative Motion Graphic Titling for Film, Video, and the Web. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Focal Press.

Find books in the library by subject:

• Adobe After Effects
• Animated films--Technique
• Animated films
• Animation (Cinematography)
• Cinematography--Special effects
• Computer animation
• Computer art
• Computer drawing
• Computer graphics
• Experimental videos
• Final cut (Electronic resource)--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
• Maya (Computer file)
• Motion pictures--Editing--Data processing.
• Motion pictures--Titling.
• Processing (Web site development technology)
• Three-dimensional display systems.
• Walt Disney Productions.

Prof. Sinclair recommends:

• Barbican Art Gallery. (2011). Watch Me Move: The Animation Show. London : London ; New York: Barbican ; Merrell.
  "Watch Me Move: The Animation Show is the most extensive exhibition ever mounted to present the full range of animated imagery produced in the last 150 years. It brings together industry pioneers, independent film-makers and contemporary artists including Etienne-Jules Marey, Harry Smith, Jan Svankmajer, William Kentridge and Nathalie Djurberg alongside the creative output of commercial studios such as Walt Disney, Aardman, Studio Ghibli and Pixar. Presenting animation as a highly influential force in the development of global visual culture, Watch Me Move: The Animation Show explores the relationship between animation and film and offers a timely insight into the genre as a cultural phenomenon. Cutting across generations and cultures, the show features over 170 works, from iconic clips to lesser-known masterpieces. Taking the viewer behind the dream-world of the finished film, it includes puppets, stage sets, storyboard drawings, wire-frame visualisations, cel and background images. The exhibition opens at Barbican Art Gallery, London, on 15 Jun 2011."

TV trade journals
The first links are to access through the library (which will extend further than the publisher's website).  Consider signing up for alerts or RSS feeds for the latest industry news.

• Broadcasting & cable  /  B&C website
• Variety / Hot Topic: 3D / Hot Topic: Animation
• The Hollywood reporter  / THR 3d / THR Animation
• Mediaweek (New York, N.Y.)/ Mediaweek website

There are a few publications that may be of particular interest:

• Animation magazine
• Animation World Magazine (AWN)
• Animation Xpress
• Communication Arts
• Journal of Visual Communication & Image Representation
• SMPTE motion imaging journal

Browse all online TV or Film journals (scholarly and trade)

• Television
• Film

Archives

• The Library of Congress has a site called, "Origins of American Animation" that contains about 21 films between 1900 and 1921.  You can also view the playlist on their YouTube site.
• Prelinger's Moving Image archive has over a 1,000 items under its "Animations & Cartoons" tab.
• Research Guides: Public Domain Material /compiled by Jenny Strickland

Blogs & Websites

• Motion Graphics  & Animation: Class blog
• Art of the Title
  The site compiles examples of title design from global television and film sources.
  
• Topics in 3D
  Blog for TVR 30600-01.
• Motionographer  Place to share work.
  
• Redefinery
  Blog by Jeff Almasol that offers tips and scripts for using motion graphics software such as Adobe After Effects.
  
• Design Your Way
  Versatile design magazine that includes coverage of motion graphics topics.

Directory 

• IMDB Internet Movie Database
• List of 3-D films (Wikipedia) An A-Z list
• List of Animated feature films (Wikipedia) A list by year

Reviews

• metacritic.com

• How can I find a cd's playlist or a dvd's cast in the Library Catalog?
• How do I find screen plays in the library's collection?
• How do I renew an item I have checked out?
• What does CORE in the call number for a Multimedia item mean?
• Where are the Rod Serling scripts, such as those for Twilight Zone, housed?
• Where can I find box office grosses for films or Broadway shows?
• Where can I find film or entertainment reviews?

• Art (Jenny Strickland)
• Film (Jenny Strickland)
• Television
• Visual Communication

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