This practice-led Ph.D. is comprised of a body of work (hybrid films) and its contextual analysis. Together they constitute a method that aims to understand and re-interpret the dialogical relationship between live action and animation filmmaking. The research argues that from its beginning the art of moving images has presented a struggle between opposed tendencies such as imprint and construction , machine eye and artist s hand , dissection of time and condensation of time that are found between the unstable duality of live action and animation. While mainstream cinema has focused most of its efforts on taming the collisions that occur within the integration of live action and animation, it has also relied on the interface s instability to animate its being. As the interface becomes more invisible in the digital age, this research reconsiders the interaction between live action and animation in moving-image production and the construction of meaning in filmmaking as it incorporates the digital into its languages. In contextualising the double and fluctuating nature of co-presence in live action and animation, my question is How could the integration of the opposing attributes of live action and animation interrupt perceptual realism and produce a sense of estrangement in a meaningful way? Firstly this involves identifying the constantly mobile tension between live action and animation. Secondly integration is informed by ideas of estrangement and derealisation , and methods of interrupting perceptual coherence within the screened world to reveal insights into the world of social relations. Two underlying themes are addressed: (1) the uncanniness of co-presence, and (2) the expression of subjectivity through this co-presence. Interrogating the constructedness of the hybridised figure as it appears on screen by exposing its inherent conflicts, and exploring the aesthetics of estrangement and the expression of subjectivity in hybrid films led to an inquiry about cinematic time and movement. This revealed another dimension to the difference and interrelationship between live action and animation. Being both the source and outcome of these themes as expressed in the written thesis, the practical component of this project consists of three hybrid films: Nothing to Do with Weather (3 50 ), Animating Animator the Animated (2 47 ), and Flying Tunes (8 27 ). Theoretical findings are identified through the analysis of works by other artists and discussion of their concepts, and my own practice contributes to knowledge by inspiring, assessing and demonstrating my ideas on hybridity. My three practices are, to some extent, an allegory about the alienation a Far-East Asian filmmaker may feel in a world seemingly dominated by Western paradigms. The films chart my Far-Eastern Asian independent filmmaker s research as a journey towards an adaptation of the aesthetics and methods of contemporary filmmaking originating in Western culture and philosophy. As a piece of research, the transformation of the researcher through practice may be considered of significance in the formation of theory.

Supportive fan bases in live events are more than casual viewers. They are the result of an active audience who have shifted the power dichotomy between producers and viewers via their range of participation. Drawing from scholars like Jacques Ranciere, Henry Jenkins, and Adam Alston, this essay uses Evermore Park in Pleasant Grove, UT, as a case study to review levels of engagement within spectatorship, and particularly how fandom can lead to audience takeover of immersive spaces. Evermore Park is a unique site that sits at the intersection of all three performance genres--immersive theater, park studies, and live action role-play. It is ripe for takeover as the producers encourage audiences to participate in increasingly liberal ways. This paper specifically focuses on the powerful position of the "fan" to contest producers and take over the space through their influence over the narrative, costume design, and online presence.

This dissertation concerns live action role-playing (larp). Larp may be described as improvised theater without an audience, as participants simultaneously embody both audience and actor in their constant interaction with one another.  Hence, larp can be seen as a participatory culture.  The study is based on participant observation, interviews and online ethnography in Denmark, Latvia, Sweden and Norway. The aim of the thesis is to analyze how bodies materialize, take and are given space in larps. At the heart of the study lie questions on how processes of embodiment are enacted before, during and after the game. Two central concepts - larp chronotope and matrix of interpretation – shape the analysis. The first denotes the specific timespace in which a larp takes place, e.g a Soviet military camp or a fantasy world. The second concept stands for a general matrix of norms that informs participants on how to enact their characters in the larp chronotope. The thesis shows that participants strive to act in ways that are intelligible according to the matrix of interpretation that reigns during the game days. In addition, although game and everyday matrixes of interpretations are always inseparable, while attending a larp the participant’s ordinary lives are temporarily allowed to fade into the background. Thus, larps are complex combinations of objects, spaces and bodies that are given new relations and new meanings. Furthermore, the thesis shows that larp embodiment is conditioned by normative ideas of what it means to be an intelligible live action role player. White male bodies are more likely to access the sphere of larp intelligibility than others, which is evident in many of the stories and made up worlds portrayed in the study. Yet, the collaborative narration of game worlds that take place before larps can include all sorts of bodies. Consequently, larps provide an opportunity for alternative forms of embodiment and experiences.

This study has analysed the dialogue in two of the oldest Disney animated movies with a princess in the lead role, Cinderella from 1950 and Sleeping beauty from 1959 and compared them with their new live action remakes, Cinderella from 2015 and Maleficent from 2014, from a gender perspective. The purpose was to find out if there has been a change in the way the princess was shaped based on their personality and their relation with the prince. Selected scenes have been transcribed from the four films and through a qualitative content analysis they have been coded based on a code scheme.   The analysis has been based primarily on Rönnberg's theory of feminine role types in film and Yvonne Hirdman's gender contract. Davies 'previous research on stereotypes in fairy tales and England, Descartes and Collier-Meek and Hine´s et al. study about gender in Disney movies through the ages also support the interpretations of the analysis'. The results show that both of the older animated films portray the princesses based on a more stereotypical image of women and from a perspective where men are superior and the heroes in the story.   In the live action movies, the stereotypical feminine image of the princesses has developed. In Cinderella, the main character develops during the film. At first the main character Ella shows similarities with the classic Cinderella which is very gender stereotypical. During the film, the character of Ella changes and in the end, she finally dares to stand up for herself which is a big change compared to the classic movie. In Maleficent, on the other hand, Princess Aurora is portrayed in a completely different way compared to classic Sleeping Beauty. This movie shows a side that is not as stereotypically feminine. Aurora is not saved by a prince, she is curious and dreaming of taking over the magical land that Maleficent comes from. The change you can see in the result indicates a social change in the way of how men and women are viewed. The live action movies show a world where women are allowed to take more space, be strong for themselves and have dreams that do not involve a prince. / Den här studien har analyserat dialogen i två av de äldsta animerade originalfilmerna från Disney med en prinsessa i huvudrollen, Askungen från 1950 och Törnrosa från 1959. Därefter har de jämförts med deras nyutgivna spelfilmer, Berättelsen om Askungen från 2015 och Maleficent från 2014, ur ett genusperspektiv. Syftet var att undersöka om det skett en förändring i hur prinsessans personlighet och hennes relation med prinsen gestaltas mellan filmerna. Utvalda scener har transkriberats från de fyra filmerna och genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys har de kodats utifrån ett kodschema.     Analysen har därefter baserats framförallt på Rönnbergs teori om feminina rolltyper i film samt Yvonne Hirdmans genuskontrakt. Davies tidigare forskning om stereotyper i sagor samt England, Descartes och Collier-Meek och Hines et al. studie om genus i Disneyfilmer genom tiderna stöttar också analysens tolkningar. Resultatet visar att båda de äldre animerade filmerna gestaltar prinsessorna utifrån en mer stereotyp bild av kvinnor samt utifrån ett perspektiv där männen är överordnade och hjälten i historien.   I de nya spelfilmerna har den stereotypa feminina bilden av prinsessorna utvecklats. I Berättelsen om Askungen utvecklas huvudkaraktären under filmens gång. Huvudkaraktären Ella visar till en början stora likheter med den klassiska Askungen som är väldigt könsstereotypiska. Under filmens gång får man följa en förändring i Ella och i slutet vågar hon äntligen stå upp för sig själv vilket är en stor förändring i jämförelse med den klassiska filmen. I Maleficent däremot, gestaltats prinsessan Aurora på ett helt annat sätt i jämförelse med klassiska Törnrosa. Filmen visar en sida av Aurora som inte är lika stereotypiskt feminint. Aurora blir inte räddad av en prins, hon är nyfiken och drömmer om att själv ta över det magiska landet som Maleficent kommer ifrån. Den förändring man kan se i resultatet tyder på en samhällelig förändring i hur man ser på män och kvinnor där kvinnor tillåts ta mer plats, vara starka i sig själva och ha drömmar som inte involverar en prins.

This thesis examines how trans people explore gender in live action role-playing games (hereafter: larps). It asks how larps function as spaces for gender exploration, in what ways trans people explore and express gender in larps, as well as how they make sense of, and articulate, this exploration and expression. In addition, the thesis has the secondary aim of exploring the use of larp design as an embodied data collection method. The research design consisted of the larp (Lost and) FOUND which was designed for the participants to play as part of the study, followed by a focus group interview as well as individual semi-structured interviews. The materials used in the thesis are the transcribed interviews as well as the larp. Four trans larpers from Europe participated in the study. They were all part of a specific larping tradition called Nordic larp. Through the design of the larp (Lost and) FOUND, as well as the theoretical and methodological work that underpins it, this thesis develops the method Research with Design, and situates it in relation to other research methods that include design practice. It argues for the method’s applicability beyond this study for research projects where participants’ recollection of and reflections on the research subject is of interest.  The analysis of the interview data suggests that the framing produced by the magic circle of a larp under the right circumstances can support trans larpers in exploring gender in larps. In addition, the thesis argues that validation from other larpers is important for positive experiences of gender exploration, and that such validation is intricately tied to matters of intelligibility. Finally, it illustrates the implications of larping being an embodied activity, by discussing how this simultaneously provides certain opportunities for gender exploration, while complicating others.

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La presente tesi di dottorato ha come oggetto la trasposizione televisiva di tre romanzi character driven: Heidi, Pippi Calzelunghe e The Story of Tracy Beaker. Questi, analizzati soprattutto dal punto di vista della protagonista femminile, sono stati studiati, così come i relativi adattamenti, utilizzando un modello metodologico di analisi che poggia le sue basi teoriche sia nell'estetica della letteratura per ragazzi sia nelle teorie dell'adattamento e della sceneggiatura. Il mercato audiovisivo e la tipologia di spettatori cambiano rapidamente e ciò rende necessaria un'attualizzazione non solo tematica, ma anche stilistica dell'opera originaria, alla ricerca di un compromesso tra la fedeltà al testo iniziale, necessaria per permettere al target l'immediata riconoscibilità dell'opera e dei personaggi, e l'esigenza di rispettare le richieste della contemporaneità. A livello accademico, lo studio degli adattamenti della letteratura per l'infanzia si è concentrato quasi esclusivamente in ambito cinematografico e non televisivo, nonostante quest'ultimo fornisca molti spunti di riflessione tanto sul processo di adattamento in sé quanto sulla serialità. Il presente lavoro si propone perciò di andare a riempire il gap teorico sull'argomento, ponendosi necessariamente a cavallo di due ambiti, -la letteratura e l'audiovisivo. Di conseguenza, l'approccio privilegiato è più letterario che pedagogico e si interseca con gli studi sull'adattamento e sull'industria audiovisiva. / This PhD dissertation investigates the adaptations from children's novels into television series, with a focus on three character-driven stories: Heidi, Pippi Longstockings and The Story of Tracy Beaker. Starting from the original novels, investigated mostly from the point of view of the female protagonist, the study then analyses the corresponding television adaptations, whether animated or live action, through a methodology that has its theoretical basis both in the aesthetics of children's literature and in the screenwriting theories. Nowadays, the audiovisual market and therefore the public are changing rapidly, making it necessary to update the thematic and the stylistic features of the original works from which the adaptations are drawn. Actually, adaptation is often a compromise between the contemporary market demand and the fidelity to the content, necessary to fulfil the expectations of the target audience. Surprisingly, there is a scarcity of critical literature on children's television adaptations, even if they represent a very rich topic as they raise specific issues both on the adaptation process itself and on serialisation. The present work, therefore, aims to fill the existing gap in the field of children's adaptations, placing itself where two critical areas, literature and media, meet. Consequently, the primary narrative approach intersects with studies on adaptation and audiovisual industry.

[pt] O propósito deste trabalho é demonstrar como opera o mercado de animação nacional, dentro disso que se denomina o Boom da animação brasileira, incluído aos ditames do capitalismo flexível e da indústria criativa. Para tal, nos distanciamos da noção de gênio criador, em proveito de uma visão da animação como um universo onde os saberes e procedimentos são coletivos. Inicialmente nos aprofundamos na definição disso que é animação, relacionado-a à hibridação dos meios de produção e as consequências da evolução das técnicas digitais em relação ao conhecimento e prática dos animadores. Em seguida, utilizamos farto material empírico, através de entrevistas com animadores das mais diversas posições dentro do Campo da Animação brasileira. Priorizando a voz do animador mediano, que luta anonimamente no mercado de trabalho. Acreditamos que assim, conseguimos retratar como opera a animação nacional, além do que é mostrado ou dito pelos agentes privilegiados do Campo da Animação. Revelando: i) a precarização do trabalho como prática comum entre os estúdios de animação no Brasil; ii) uma produção nacional voltada a atender às necessidades dos canais exibidores, seguindo suas convenções estilísticas, o que denominamos estilo internacional; iii) a fragilidade das empresas brasileiras produtoras de animação, dependentes de incentivos governamentais e com graves problemas financeiros e administrativos. Assim, passamos à limpo os mitos que regem a profissão de animador, mostrando como e com quais ferramentas trabalham os animadores brasileiros, como são recrutados, treinados e como são remunerados. Também discutimos os resultados práticos realizados por este arranjo produtivo (Boom). / [en] The purpose of this work is to demonstrate how the market of the national animation operates, in which one denominates the Boom of Brazilian animation, including the precepts of flexible capitalism and of the creative industry. To do so, we distance ourselves from the notion of the genius creator, to give preference to a view of animation as a universe where the skills and procedures are collective. Firstly, we will examine the definition of that which is animation, relating it to the hybridization of the means of production and the consequences of the evolution of digital techniques in relation to the knowledge and experience of the animators. Subsequently we utilize a vast amount of empirical material, through the interviews with animators of the more diverse positions within the Field of Brazilian Animation. Prioritizing the voice of the average animator, who struggles anonymously on the work market. We believe that in this way we ll manage to describe how the national animation operates, beyond what is shown and said by the privileged agents of the Field of Animation. Revealing: i) the job instability/insecurity as a common practice between the animation studios in Brazil; ii) a national production aimed at attending the needs of the exhibiting channels, following their stylistic conventions, which we call the international style; iii) the fragility of the Brazilian companies, producers of animation, which depend on governmental incentives and that has serious financial and administrative problems. In this way we put an end to the myths that dominate the profession of animation, showing which tools the Brazilian animators work with, how they are recruited, trained and how they are remunerated. We also discuss the practical results that a realized by this productive arrangement (Boom).