What does the future hold for Disney Animation?

I. Observation or Discovery is made

In my observation, it seems that more and more CGI Animated films are being released since the debut of Walt Disney's Toy Story movie in 1995. Toy Story has changed the face of animation. Up until that point we didn't really have any movies that were full-length animated motion pictures using exclusively all CGI technology. Throughout history the Walt Disney Company has made some Revolutionary changes in terms of how we think about animation.

II. A Question(s) is asked based on that Observation or Discovery

What does the future hold for Disney Animation?

III. How does this question(s) validate as being a "Month Long Question"?

This class is about asking the question, rather than the answer. This class is about making the discovery. This question is very straightforward and I think it really more or less describes exactly what I was going for here. It really doesn't matter which animation is "better" or "valuable". The fact of the matter is this is happening as we speak! CGI is happening right now! What is next? Kind of like what is the next Twitter? This is asking I think what is the next CGI? So I think the better question to ask is; "What future things should we expect from Disney Animation?" or rather simply put; "What does the future hold for Disney Animation?" There are thousands of websites talking about the future of Disney Animation. I plan to research a few of them and see where that goes. Which means it could play into easily as saying this is a "Month Long Question" indefinitely. The question in fact in my opinion can never be completely or fully answered. "Why you ask?" Because the future is ongoing. The ideas and thoughts we have now about Disney Animation or about anything really will change as time moves forward. I really think I have made a break through with this question. I feel really good about this question! I hope you do too! Disney has been always something that has fascinated me ever since I was a kid. Steve had told us to write something that we feel very passionate about and that is what I am doing.

IV. Where has this Observation or Discovery been?

Steamboat Willie was one of the first animated shorts featuring Mickey Mouse that I can remember. When I researched it I found out that the Steamboat Willie classic was actually released on November 18, 1928. It was actually the third animated feature with Mickey Mouse. Somehow I thought it was the first. According to Wikipedia there were two others before this one. They were Plane Crazy (released six months earlier) and The Gallopin' Gaucho. Snow White was actually the first FULL length animated feature, but until then Disney created animated shorts like Steamboat Willie. To read more about Steamboat Willie go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat_Willie



V. Where is this Observation or Discovery at present day?

As you know this summer Toy Story 3 is coming out! In my observations I have noticed if a Disney Animated movie does well they often will come out with sequels. This is the case with Toy Story. It was the original CGI animated classic. They are introducing the character Ken to add to Barbie from Toy Story 2 which I think is cool. So what next a bug's life 2? Monsters, Inc. 2??? Cars 2??? Could very well be a possibility.

According to Disney's Future Animated Projects website http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/04/09/disneys-future-animated-projects-will-they-succeed-under-la/ I was right! They are coming out with a Cars sequel! Ten cartoons are supposed to be released by the year 2012. Toy Story 3 I already knew was coming out this summer in 2010. Something called "The Bear and the Bow" will be coming out through Pixar. I have never heard of this fairytale before. They also will be releasing something called "newt".



VI. Where do you see this Observation or Discovery moving towards?

Reference Link
http://magicneverends.com/blog/five-concept-art-images-from-disney%E2%80%99s-rapunzel/

I made a very interesting discovery today. I found out that Disney is going to produce a new animated fairytale movie called "Rapunzel". It looks as though it is more 2D then 3D or CGI, but that they plan on using the computer and or CGI technology to help with the film. The film that came out last year was called Princess and the Frog. I find this very interesting. Could it be that Disney if finally realizing that they should not totally do away with traditional cartooning? Traditional in a sense like all the other Disney Princess films such as Snow White, Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast. In recent years I have been kind of upset at Disney for producing only CGI films it seems. I always like the more traditional 2D animated films that I grew up with when I was kid. I am wondering what the future holds for 2D animated films. Could it be that they are not on their way out? Could it be that maybe they will not be as many as there were before, but that Disney will still produce them for future generations to come? This sets a whole new way of thinking for me in the aspect of the future for Disney Animation.

VII. What are your opinions about the subject matter?

My own personal prediction of the future of Disney Animation will be that from CGI they will move in on the next best thing. I feel as though Holographic movie making will be the next dimension in animated films as well. Can you imagine seeing Snow White for example as a real life 3D animated character that walks around like she is real in your living room? This is what I am for seeing in the future. If you will take a look at past blogs of mine you will see that I have already done some research in by way of Holographic technology. Please locate my blog entitled "Could Holographic Video be the next Twitter?”. No longer is what you see in Star Wars Science Fiction. It could very well be actual real technology we will be using someday. In fact, experiments are already taking place in this technology.

VIII. Can you back up any of your thoughts?

There is an interesting video on YouTube about Claymation Animation using Holographic Technology. Check this out!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMHvAyRBks8

As I was searching for Holographic Technology I came across an interesting site that pretty much sums things up. It is called Holographic Video and is located at http://holovideo.net/ . It says that Holographic technology is likely to come out in the next 5 years or so. Prototypes are still being made and experiments are being created in laboratories of this technology.

CNN created a Hologram out of a newscaster named Jessica. I guess through different camera angles and cameras talking to each other they are able to produce these forms or images. I ran across this video on YouTube. Check it out!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOxW19vsTg

Here is another related link to a video on YouTube of the same nature
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deoOTqT-SMI

How it works

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRck4hpWRKs&feature=related

Here is something funny! This video is a make believe commercial to buy your holograms. Say you have a loved one that cannot be there or that they are gone. Now you can enjoy people beyond the grave. Sounds farfetched now, or is it? With the way technology is going. Could this funny video actually be a reality some day? Check this video out!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4A_u67EKnU&feature=fvw

David Kelley had a further thought about this concept. He had told me to look up Augmented Reality. I had never heard of it before. Perhaps this might be the future for Disney Animation. When I looked up Augmented Reality at Wikipedia it states that Augmented Reality combines real and virtual together, is interactive in real time, and is registered in 3D. Basically to give you an example of what that means is this. If you watch football on TV you will notice that the football players and field are real. However, the yellow "first down" lines, which are drawn over the image by computers, are not real. This is the virtual reality element that blends in with actual reality. To find out more go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality

Rick's 8 Step Month Long Question Outline Model

I truthfully feel that a month long question is not about answering it in one month. It is about making a discovery or observation and asking a question in the area that you feel most passionate about. That question leads into other questions and so on. I have come up with an outline that I plan to use when asking all of my month long questions. I intend to follow that structure as that is something that works for me. As Steve told us in class what works for one person, may not work for another. Steve is also right we are not in undergrad anymore. We are graduate students. We should set our own rules here. This is what I plan to do.

Rick's 8 Step Month Long Question Outline Model

I. Observation or Discovery is made
II. A Question(s) is asked based on that Observation or Discovery
III. How does this question(s) validate as being a "Month Long Question"?
IV. Where has this Observation or Discovery been?
V. Where is this Observation or Discovery at present day?
VI. Where do you see this Observation or Discovery moving towards?
VII. What are your opinions about the subject matter?
VIII. Can you back up any of your thoughts?

Month Long Question Ideas

Disney Animation

1. It seems that CGI (Computer Animation) has taken over. For example Toy Story 3 is coming out this summer. Toy Story was one of the first computer animated movies of its kind and since then more animated films have followed. Is CGI Animation (Computer Animation) better than traditional cartooning? Is traditional cartooning valuable? Is it just a thing of the past? Is traditional cartooning on its way out?




2. When referring to Disney Animated Movies, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is considered a “G-Rated” movie for kids. Yet, there are some horrible scenes in my opinion that are not suitable for children for example. You might have seen several G-Rated movies yourself that contain language, violence, themes, and images that are not considered acceptable for children. Therefore, one must ask the following: 1) What is the rating system based on? 2) How does one determine what is a G Rated Movie verses a PG-13 Rated Movie? Furthermore, is there a MIC Technology that would allow automated censorship by computer and a pre-determined set of guidelines rather than human observers who could fail in their duties?

Finding a Job

1. How will finding a job of mediated experiences be easier and/or harder in the future? Is there a way to make the finding a job process easier and what would that be?




2. Is it people who define the job or does the job “being designers of mediated experiences” define us?

3. One of my favorite shows on TV is “Undercover Boss” that comes on Sunday Evenings. The point to the show is for CEOs to see the truth in what goes on behind the scenes of their companies. Is society loosing touch with people or human interaction? If so, is there a mediated experience that we could develop in order to fix this problem? OR Is developing mediated experiences such as Facebook the problem? Are we all plugged into the internet and loosing site of more traditional forms of communication? OR Do we define being plugged into the internet as a new way of life and communicating?


Future Technologies

1. As things are rapidly changing each day there seems to be a new set of rules for things; Is there an easier way to learn future technologies?





2. In today’s world there seems to be a lot of different gadgets doing a lot of different things. Where do we draw the line? How do we juggle all of these gadgets to suit our needs? How does one pre-determine what is the appropriate gadget for he or she? What are consumers of today looking for and what will they be wanting in the future? Where is technology going in
terms of advancement?

Mediated Experiences / Pop Culture

1. What defines a Mediated Experience and could virtually anything be considered a mediated experience?

2. In terms of pop culture and mediated experiences what makes an idea or fad cool and/or popular? What makes something catch on fairly quickly?

Multimedia Fusion 2.0 / Vex Robotics

OMG!!!! Kids are making their own video games now! Why buy the games, when you can create them yourself? This puts a whole new perspective on things! Back in my day I was just happy with Mario Brothers. This is super cool! Check it out!!!

http://www.clickteam.com/eng/mmf2.php

OMG!!!!! Kids are making their own machines now!!! Why buy the remote control car when you can create one yourself? You can create your own Wall-E Even!!!

Hello Class! I need your thoughts! I am excited! I have an opportunity to maybe be a teacher for the University of Michigan. I will be teaching summer courses there from June - August 2010. It will be a Summer Day Camp Program in which I teach Elementary and Middle School Students basic New Media principles. Lessons will be done for you. All I have to do is learn them, then teach them. I have never lived outside of Indiana or never really had the college experience away from home. So this will be a new experience for me if I get the position! I feel like it would be a perfect opportunity for me. Perhaps this is my calling to get my foot in the door! You never know right? You know it is all about networking! My boss from my weekend job told me about it. I went through my first interview and it was a success! Now I will be going through a 2nd interview!

In addition to teaching web stuff and flash animation they want me to teach something called Multimedia Fusion 2.0 and Vex Robotics. Does anyone know anything about this? All I know is from what I have researched from Google. My topic could also translate into some "Mediated Experience" disscussions. What is Vex Robotics? What is Multimedia Fusion 2.0? From the videos I can't believe that kids are doing this! It should be simple for us adults right? It looks very complex, but at the same time maybe once I get the hang of it, it will be easy! Vex Robotics looks very cool! Looks like they have some competions in schools. Looks like that these kids are putting parts together and making a robot out of them. Very Cool! They just might be the next inventors of space technology or the colonization of Mars. You know I wrote about a guy who invented an alternative power source. He use to work for NASA. He used his invention, originally for Mars, and applied it to what we need here on Earth. I am not sure if people even knew we needed this. It reminds me of the cell phone. People didn't realize they needed it until they started using it. More and more as I walk past people now I have such a new perspective on life and technology. The cross between people and technology is a blur for me now! I think this is what Steve has been trying to tell us. It is all starting to make sense to me now! I see people constantly on their mobile devices. Technology is constantly changing! If someone could fill me in on this Multimedia Fusion 2.0 and Vex Robotics I would appreciate it. I think from researching it I have some idea of now what they are. This is too cool! Very Awsome! What do you think of my discovery? Any Comments would be most appreciated.

My Card Game Idea

I never got a chance in class to express my card game idea. One of my favorite games that we usually will play at family get togethers is Taboo! For those who do not know the rules of the game or how it is played go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboo_(game). I was thinking that you could play with a deck of cards much similar. For example, if you had a 2 of Clubs in your hand. You would be trying to make your partner say the card that you are holding without he or she seeing your card. However, you would have to explain what card you had in your hand without saying 2 of Clubs, Clover, Black, etc. This would make the game more challenging! My idea would be a relationship builder game. My idea would be for example married couples to work on communication, maybe a marriage counceling thing. The idea is to communicate with your partner.

As for a mediated experience I would say that we could design an application that would help improve marriages. As you know most marriages die out in the first year or at least people do not stay married like they once did. I think this might help re-kindle a relationship. I also see it as an on-line dating thing. I have even thought about making the way we search for jobs more fun! What about making a profile much like you would do if you were dating. Then employers or companies could also make a profile, much like your facebook fan pages and the two could unite. Basically instead of matching two people together to form a relationship. You would be matching an individual with a company to form a work relationship. A lot of people have the skills, but not really sure how to network. Companies maybe looking for someone in particular, but they are not sure how to find these people. I also see it as a way to connect people in the housing market. How about doing the same idea with connecting an individual or family with a home. Both finding a job and finding a home can be time consuming and a pain. Why not make it fun? Just something I am thinking about right now. Like Taboo is fun! So why not make job hunting or finding a home fun?

Green Sky Media - 03/01/10

March 1, 2010 - 10am, Company: Green Sky Media ( http://www.greenskymedia.com/ ), Presentation - Small company, Up to 15 students, Target: Video Production & Photography

On my birthday (March 1st) I decided to go job hunting! LOL ha ha Actually there was yet another student tour from IUPUI going to Green Sky Media. So I thought to myself why not go? My career advisor always tells us the best way to find a job is through networking. Sometimes just going on these student tours, job shadowing, or getting your foot in the door is key. It is all about developing relationships with people. People in your field. Perhaps you might not get the job, but perhaps they might know someone that might lead into a different job.

We went to Green Sky Media today! It was awsome! There website is http://www.greenskymedia.com/. They have some pretty interesting things. You should check it out! I was impressed! They not only do photography such as weddings, graduations, senior photos, etc. They also develop advertisements. One of the ones that cracked me up was a stop animation of limes with swords against salt pepper shakers. It was really cute! I always loved stop animation. I loved some of the Holiday Classic TV Specials growing up as a kid like Rudolph. I am hoping to maybe get a job there. If not, maybe some freelance work. If nothing else I really had a great time meeting the folks that work there. They are based in Carmel, IN.

Student Group Tour - 2/26/10

February 26, 2010 - 10am, Company: Bluefish Wireless ( http://www.bluefishwireless.net/ ), Presentation & Tour (approx 1-2 hours), Up to 15 students, Target: Informatics & Media Arts Science - Developers

February 26, 2010 - 2pm, Company: Innovative i ( http://www.insidethei.com/ ), Presentation & Tour (includes a view of a Screen Room)

Up to 15 students, Target Students: Media Arts & Science

Today was awesome! I got to go on a student group tour to Bluefish Wireless and Innovative. As you know Beth Haggenjos is our IUPUI Career Advisor. She has been organizing these trips for us. It is all about networking! I am ready to graduate! I am only 2 months away from graduating from my Masters Degree in New Media Arts & Science. It is time to find a good paying job! It is time to get my life started! I met with several other students on campus. Our first stop was a company called Bluefish Wireless Management. It was founded in 2001. They started out as a retail store for cell phones. Then they moved to their corporate offices in 2002. They work with a company called Sprint. They make their money off of commissions. I found that very interesting. They also work with other famous companies like IBM, Kellogg’s Cereal, Government Agencies, CISCO, etc. The guy there told us about a system they developed in which they called "Chuck Norris". They said Chuck Norris kicks butt and this system does too! LOL Most of the interns there that became full time employees told us a lot of interesting things. One you have to get your foot in the door somehow. That is key! You got to network! The best way to do this is to enter into an internship. That is what I have been doing, but haven't had much luck of landing a full time position. So far I have been in 3 internships. One of the guys said that most of your learning happens on the job site. School can only teach you so much. I have heard that before. I can't wait to finish school! Can you believe it? Me, Rick J. Morris will have a Masters Degree. Now how many people can say that? I am planning on having a big open house!

The next big company we went to was a company called Innovative. The outside of the building was not as fancy as bluefish, but the inside was pretty cool. They showed us the latest informatics new media projects they have been working on. They have been developing projects such as video promotions for the 2011 and 2012 Super Bowls. As you know Indy (Indianapolis, IN) We are going to be hosting the Super Bowl in 2012. I think that is awesome! Just think Our City is going to be going to converted into a Football Paradise. I got to see first hands the big plans of how all the streets downtown are going to be turned into what reminds me of a carnival. They are going to have rides and everything. The buildings even are going to be decorated in Football decorations. They even made videos for our Indiana Pacers Basketball Team. They told us always beware you might think the project kicks butt, but the client however might have other ideas. They had developed a pin ball machine advertisement for the Pacers. The client didn't get it so they had to redo the whole project. They went with the monster basketball players downtown playing a little b ball and them crashing down on Conseco Fieldhouse. It was awesome! I see why they chose that one over the other. We got to go on a tour of both places. This company in particular had cool offices. They had little toys on their desks and on shelves. They even were the designers of some of the Children's Musuem Exhibits. I had a blast! It was fun! On my birthday this coming Monday March 1st I will be going on yet another tour.