DMS 218: History of Animation
Fall 2007

Course Info

When: Monday/Wednesday 1:00 - 2:50 pm
Where: CFA 112

Instructor: Dave Pape
e-mail: depape@buffalo.edu
Office: CFA 250
Office hours: Wed 12-1pm; Tues/Thurs 1-2pm

Website: http://resumbrae.com/ub/dms218/

Course Description

This course will explore the history of both commercial and experimental animation, with particular focus on the mid-twentieth century (1930s-1970s). It will survey many of the major styles and creators of animated films. An important goal of the course is to familiarize students with a number of people who are considered historically very significant within the field, but whose work is not often seen in mainstream venues. Techniques of production - the many ways that animation can be done - will also be covered; these include cel animation, stop-motion, computer, and several other unique methods.

Text

There is no textbook that you are required to purchase. Instead, I will be selecting readings from several different books; the readings will be available via UBLearns. Some texts that I expect to use, and which you might want to read further, are:

Draft Schedule

Aug 27/29 Overview, Emil Cohl, J. Stuart Blackton, etc
Sep 5 Winsor McCay
Sep 10/12 Ladislas Starevich, Otto Messmer
Sep 17/19 Walt Disney, Lotte Reiniger
Sep 24/26 Fleischer Brothers, Berthold Bartosch
Oct 1/3 Termite Terrace, Oskar Fischinger
Oct 8/10 UPA, John & Faith Hubley
Oct 15/17 Mary Ellen Bute & Ted Nemeth, Dwinell Grant, Norman McLaren
Oct 22/24 Norman McLaren
Oct 29/31 National Film Board of Canada
Nov 5/7 Alexander Alexeieff & Claire Parker, Jiri Trnka
Nov 13/15 Jan Svankmajer, Quay Brothers
Nov 19 Hayao Miyazaki
Nov 26/28 John Whitney, Larry Cuba, etc
Dec 3/5 Pixar, other computer work

Course Grading





Other details

E-mail

I will send any e-mail relating to this course to your official buffalo.edu address. Be sure that you check this address. Do not ask me to send e-mail to another address instead - if you don't want to use the buffalo.edu mail system, forward your mail from there to whatever system you do use.

Also, be warned that mail from free services like Hotmail or Yahoo has a strong chance of being caught by spam filters. Hence, I recommend not sending me e-mail from such an address, if you want to be certain that I'll receive it.

Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability (physical, learning or psychological) which may make it difficult for you to carry out the course work as outlined, and/or requires accomodations such as recruiting note takers, readers, or extended time on exams and assignments, please contact the Office of Disability Services, 25 Capen Hall, 645-2608, and also your instructor during the first two weeks of class. ODS will provide you with information and will review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accomodations.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is literary theft and a betrayal of trust. The term is derived from the Latin word for kidnapper and refers to the act of signing one's own name to words, phrases, or ideas which are the literary property of another. Plagiarism comes in many forms, all to be avoided: outright copying, or paraphrase, or a mosaic or disguised use of words and phrases from an unacknowledged source. To avoid plagiarism, make it your habit to put quotation marks around words and phrases, or to isolate and indent longer passages, that you are using from someone else's writing. And be sure to cite the source, in a footnote or endnote, or within parentheses in your text. The penalties for plagiarism can be severe: from an F for the particular assignment, to an F for the course, to referral of the case to the Dean of Undergraduate Education for administrative judgment. If you are unsure about how to use and document sources, please consult with your instructor.