This Is an introductory set of paragraphs to frame the thesis paper and give it direction.
Some of the works I'll be researching are: Waking life, Appleseed, Kirby Right Back at 'Ya and Ghost in the Shell

Research

Animation is a uniquely American art form. It is unique in that it has its origins in technology and its appeal in art. It is an American art form because its technological roots stem from motion picture advances made in the United States. The medium also came to maturity and has had its golden era in the U.S.A. as well.
In its infancy, animation was crude drawings held together by gags. This was not unlike the newspaper comics of the time. An early business card of Walt Disney had his title as being cartoonist. Even the idea of a cartoon is that it is the preliminary drawing of a painting. This is the beginning of an ear of popular culture that embraced an art form made for mass production for the common consumer not the elite.
Although it wasn’t until the 1960’s that “Pop Art” recognized the comic art medium as art unto itself, animation as art hasn’t ever been widely received. Style has been an integral part of animated films in the late 20th Century; however it has usually been subservient to an art director’s whims and has not been used as a post-modern cinematic tool to further the narrative or theme.
Technology has now allowed for the auteur’s vision to be realized using a variety of computer programs. Few creator driven movies have made it to the big screen. Even less is creator driven animation for the small screen that utilizes technology to further style. These examples will be cited to illustrate the current condition of the animation industry and how the time is now right for the “Auteur Style” of animation for both Television and Cinema.

Man this has been a tough day. I was successful in taking a number of pictures for where the scene takes place in Manhattan with my 5 megapixel Nikon. As I brought the pictures into Photoshop to render them in the style I envision them to be in the final film, I get a technique to work that I cannot later reproduce because the $1,500 software decides not to work. After trying to get the software to repair (causing my computer to give me error messages) I uninstall it and subsequently all of the programs I'm relying on to complete my animatic (After Effects and Premier). I will have to rebuild most of the animatic from scratch but all the pieces are in place.

Script (Revision 3):

Nikky: This sure beats riding the subway!

Jenna: Thanks Nikky. Where did you say this place was again?

Nikky: Right by the West 4th A stop.

Jenna: A as in A train? Do I look like a conductor to you?

Nikky: Ooh Jenna this is the left, turn here!

OSV: Nice drivin’ Jersey!

Nikky: Yo Mama!

Jenna: Nik, you give directions as if the MTA made roadmaps!

Nikky: Well forgive me ‘lil Ms Country, if I didn’t get my license at 12 to help drive the family tractor.

Jenna: I am nobody’s l’lil Miss Country, I grew up in New Jersey.

Nikky: Jersey, country, same thing.

Narrative Overview:

Nikky and Jenna are driving in Manhattan and enjoying one another's company. Jenna realizes that she is not sure where they are headed and Nikky reminds her. The reminder however is not useful to this New Jersey licensed driver and NY driving neophyte, as Nikky is a Native New Yorker and offers the location as; "Right by the West 4th Street A Stop." Obviously put off by the directions due to a lack of prior knowledge regarding where the NY Subways run, Jenna gets a little ticked and then is put over the edge by Nikky's shouting directions at the last minute. Nikky's loud and sudden directives almost gets them into an accident and arouses the ire of NY drivers. Nikky defends her friends honor to the angered NY driver but doesn't realize how she has rattled her friend. In her frustration, Jenna cracks a joke about New Yorkers and their inability to grasp what it is like to drive. Nikky retorts and then Jenna gives a dismissive defense. Nikky gets the last word as the logo comes up and the tagline wipes on screen.

New thesis statement (revision):

I will though research and experimentation find a useful and efficient workflow that will allow me to produce a television cartoon that combines the wide capabilities of Maya with the look of traditional hand drawn animation.

Revised script:

Nikky: This sure beats riding the subway!

Jenna: Thanks Nikky. Where did you say this place was again?

Nikky: On 14th , right by the A stop.

Jenna: D’you mean the A train? Do I look like a conductor to you?

Nikky: Ooh Jenna this is the left, turn here!

OSV: Nice drivin’ Jersey!

Nikky: Yo Mama!

Jenna: Nik, you give directions as if the MTA made roadmaps!

Nikky: Well forgive me ‘lil Ms Country, if I didn’t get my license at 12 to help drive the family tractor.

Jenna: I am nobody’s l’lil Miss Country, I grew up in New Jersey.

Nikky: Jersey, country, same thing.

Revised Thesis statement.
I will though research and experimentation find a useful and efficient workflow that will allow me to produce a television cartoon that combines the wide capabilities of Maya with the look of traditional hand drawn animation.

September 23rd to October 9th - that seems like a long time. Well it has and it hasn't since I posted last. I immediately went to drawing the boards after recording the slug track (rough voices for timing purposes) and had them drawn and enlarged for class last week. I presented the drawings in a quasi-pitch style and couldn't wait to get started on the animatic. I finished the rough animatic yesterday, and promptly brought it into After Effects to give it some movement. Truth be told, a lot of the prep work was done in Photoshop last week.

After scanning the drawings I made layers out of all the elements that were supposed to move. That took about 4 hours total. Then, I had a little difficulty pipeline-wise. I wasn't sure if I should bring the layers into After Effects or Premier first. After I did it in Premier, it was then easier to use the avi file created from that project and use it as a timing guideline for the moving effects shots. That took about four hours. To speed the process I didn't render the After Effects project with the sound and brought it into Premier one final time to render it with the sound. It might have taken just as long, as I think about it, but I also added black to the beginning and end of the animatic to allow it to play better (it reads better with the black leader first because the opening happens so quickly).

I guess that brings us to the heart of the matter. The animation gives the boards a sense of dynamism but some of the timing is wrong. I haven't decided how fast they should be driving (the movement of the buildings in the backgrounds and the actual car in the first and last shots). I also didn't get involved too much with the key poses and as a result we really don't get a feel for the acting yet. I can't say that I'm too worried about these elements because they will get resolved. I want to begin the production designs and the set designs at this point. I have some style frames that I will bring to class in addition to the animatic. I had completed these for another class and the final style frames will incorporate the 3D models. In addition to needing help with the rigging of those models, I will need some help with posting the animatic so everyone can see it on my blog. I will post the storyboards and the style frames in a subsequent post.