This practice-led research One Mind - seeks to represent Korean Buddhist architectural aesthetics and Buddhist spiritual ideas using the animated documentary genre as a form of creative representation. It is intended that the piece be shown either as an installation in a gallery, or within a museum or cultural exhibition context. The key goal is to offer this digital artwork to European audiences, in a spirit of engendering the same feeling state as when present in the real monastery, encouraging an understanding of the sacred, and experiencing a form of transcendence. My art work in some ways functions as a digital restoration of sacred architecture outside its real environment and context, and seeks to document cultural heritage and knowledge. One Mind is different from a classic form of documentary, though, because it does not echo the idea of documentary based on live-action footage as a mode of non-fiction record and expression. I have particularly stressed the suggestiveness of the architectural aesthetics and the philosophic principles embedded in the environment. I have sought to bring my own subjective artistic interpretation to Korean Buddhism accordingly, resisting typical character animation and classical narrative, seeking instead, to encourage the viewer to be part of the environment. I focus on the meaning in Buddhist buildings and the landscape they are part of, and dramatise the environment, using the poetic tone of the voice over performance, the sound track of Buddhist chanting, and the visual effects and perspectives of computer generated imagery. This digital visualisation of the Buddhist s spiritual world is informed by a Buddhist s traditional way of life, but, most importantly, by my own past experience, feelings and memory of the Buddhist monastery compound, as a practising artist. My thesis is categorised into eight chapters. Chapter One offers an overview of the aims and objectives of my project. Chapter Two identifies my research questions and my intended methodology. Chapter Three focuses on important background knowledge about Korea s natural and cultural aspects and conditions. Chapter Four offers an analysis of the issue of the Korean cultural identity, suggesting that a more authentic image of Korea and Korean-ness is available in the philosophy and spiritual agenda of Buddhism. Chapter Five addresses the practical ways in which digital restoration of architecture has taken place, identifying three previous cases which both resemble and differ from my own project. Chapter Six looks at the specific characteristics of Korean Seon Buddhism and architecture, and engages with three theoretical approaches about the spatial composition of the monastery, and the ways it may help in constructing the monastery in a digital environment. Chapter Seven offers an evaluation and validation of my artwork, having adopted the approach of creating an animated spiritual documentary to reveal Buddhist philosophy and experience as a model of Korean cultural identity. Chapter Eight offers some conclusions about my intention, process and outcomes.

Information Technology is an essential part of the National Curriculum in the UK, yet despite the growth of IT in schools that this has generated, there is evidence that children are not to be taken into consideration enough when designing aspects of educational software. The functionality available in education software packages tends to be made available through static icons, yet there are problems with their implementation as they can at times cause confusion for the user in terms of the functionality that they are aiming to represent. In order to make icons in educational software more effective, and to meet the needs of children, of the use of animated icons has been suggested. Animating the function of the icon aims to provide a clarification of its meaning and demonstrate its capabilities, as well as explaining to the user the method of use. However, there is little information available on how to support the design of effective animated icons. Focusing on a target age group of 11 to 12 year olds, this thesis argues that some form of support mechanism should be developed for the design of animated icons to ensure that consideration is being given to the types of object that children find useful and accessible. A set of dimensions where guidance on visual aspects of the icon may be useful are developed through analysis of relevant literature and it is highlighted that they do not provide any insight into what types of object may be helpful in designing the animated icons. This thesis then argues that animated icon design can be usefully informed by psychological theories of learning and that using such theories as a base may provide an understanding of how children identify icon functionality. The thesis introduces and critiques Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology theory, Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory and Leontjev’s Activity Theory, identifying aspects of the theories which may be of relevance to the design of animated icons. By investigating the relationships between the dimensions of animated icons and the concepts from the theories of learning, insights are developed into the impact of visual factors on a child’s identification and understanding of icon functionality. The thesis goes on to report a practical study where the sample is a group of 11 to 12 year old children. The practical study consists of three phases. The first phase gathers data related to the children’s familiarity with computers and the types of software packages that they use. The second phase looks at their use and recognition of static icon functionality. The last phase involves using the findings from phases 1 and 2 to create and evaluate a set of animated icons, the development of which is based on the relationships between the concepts from theories of learning and the identified dimensions of animated icons. The analysis of the evidence from the practical study leads to a small set of design principles being proposed that are aimed to provide advice/guidance on how to design animated icons effectively for this target age group, with an emphasis on the types of object that might be used. The principles are underpinned by the concepts from the theories of learning and presented in a manner that aims to be understandable by, and accessible to, designers.

Animator-producer Paul Houlton Terry has been portrayed as having little passion for the animation he produced and being more concerned with making a profit than producing entertaining cartoons with high production values. The purpose of the dissertation is to re-evaluate Terry‘s legacy to animated cartooning by analyzing his business philosophies, production values, and studio practices. Application of four psychodynamic factors to the early life and career of Terry, 1887-1929, found that his economic decision making was characterized by: an external locus of control, risk-averse financial behaviour, extreme saving behaviour through precaution, and shrewd money management practices. Based on Terry‘s historical responses to twelve major economic, technological, or institutional forces of change for the period 1929-1955, the psychodynamic factors were found to provide accurate explanations for his studio practices and production decisions. There was no evidence to support the conclusion that three early career disappointments undermined Terry‘s intrinsic motivation to create animated cartoons. Rather, Terry‘s lack of risk taking, external locus of control, tight studio production schedule, desire to compete with neighbour studio Fleischer, difficulty in separating financial rewards from creative processes in animation, and practice of undertaking surveillance measures on staff may have undermined his and his studio‘s creativity. Archival research found Terry to possess strong passions for and to have made significant creative contributions to the field of animation. Biographical research found that Terry retained a stable nucleus of highly talented artists who dedicated a significant portion of their working careers to the studio. An analysis of the cel aesthetics of a random sample of animated cartoons produced during the years 1930-1955 found that Terry created animated cartoons with above average cel aesthetics when compared to the other studios thereby supporting an inference that Terry was motivated to producing quality crafted animation. Further research is suggested into the role psychodynamic factors and economic decision-making play in the film production process and a clarification of Terry‘s legacy to the field of animated cartoons.

Robert Louis Stevenson s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) is the starting point for my practice-led research project. Stevenson's Victorian novella enables me to identify core themes which are pertinent to a discussion of the construction of contemporary identities in Korean youth culture. These identities are exemplified in the creation of avatars the virtual characters of animated online games such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). My animation practice is developed by addressing how Jekyll and Hyde provides useful critical and creative tools, such as gothic imagery and detective thrillers, for looking at the double . This concept is used to investigate the case of a young Korean boy, addicted to online gaming, who committed violent acts. My animated drama-documentary draws on research into the real and virtual Korean worlds and employs a visual ethnographic methodology to test my research question: in what ways can the construction of 'identity' (based on concepts drawn from 'Jekyll and Hyde') be identified in contemporary 'virtual' media (i.e. 'MMORPGs'/the 'animated' documentary), and how does this facilitate an address of the specific case of 'Korea' and 'Korean-ness'? The thesis is structured into five chapters: The Idea of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Theorising Identities in a Korean Context, Theorising Visual Ethnography, Theorising Animated Drama-Documentary, and A Film Practice as Animated Drama-Documentary in Visual Ethnography. Evidence of the research process and findings is located in a series of appendices. Theories about the construction of identity are discussed from three different perspectives: sociology, psychoanalysis and bio-culturalism. In my film practice, I look for the connection between the anxious self and Korean social issues, such as modernisation and the 1997 IMF economic crisis, to account for Korean youth s identity formation through online gaming. My research shows that many South Korean MMORPG users construct identity within contemporary virtual media and that this contributes to a very complex Korean-ness amongst Korean youth. Online gaming has both positive and negative consequences. Immersion in the virtual world can lead to addiction and to the violence which is at the core of my film narrative. It can also result in close online friendships, offering kinship not available in many broken families, or families inhibited in their communication by social roles and expectations, or the effect of economic failure and loss. My practice criticises young Korean people's narrow and limited social environment and proves that they desire liberal expression and decision-making for themselves, which can be experienced through the embodiment of animated avatars in MMORPGs. Hence, the online Hyde , though assumed to be a negative or destructive force, is actually a vehicle for varied and numerous social identities for youth culture preferable to those available in real Korean society. The research mounts a critique of the meaning of the online Hyde , not as a misrepresentative and negative representation of Korean-ness, but as a revelation of its contemporary meaning which can be articulated though animation, a tool which has applications within visual ethnography.

Work process for the production of the short film ÄLGEN (2019); Technical aspects and thematics. Film synopsis: Two animals trying to entertain at a forest zoo get humiliated and decide to run away in search of freedom. At the same time a mysterious shadow haunts the countryside and a national symbol becomes an idol of worship. A short film about national identity, freedom, climate and dancing animals. Graduation project, MFA degree , Konstfack, Stockholm. 2019

The diploma thesis named The Artistic personality of Karel Zeman consists of theoretical and practical part. Theoretical part includes basic information about the artist Karel Zeman and his works. It deals with inspirational influences that had impact on his creations and puts them into the international context. It is also focused on finding the effects of Zeman's work at contemporary cultural environment. The practical part of this diploma thesis consists of three methodical papers which are made for selected films of the director Karel Zeman. These papers are in the concertina book's form, they offer some basic information about the selected film. They also comprise creative tasks and writing assignments to think about. Graphical design of methodical papers was created using vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator.

Atualmente as animações, antes destinadas somente ao público infantil, são sucesso de público inclusive entre adultos. Esses desenhos modernos têm atraído pela tecnologia, pela criatividade e pela mensagem que desejam passar. Crianças e até mesmo adultos são influenciados no imaginário por essas tramas. Raras são as animações que não utilizam animais como personagens principais que interagem com humanos ou que substituem completamente os próprios humanos. Nelas os animais são aproximados dos humanos tanto que até ganham voz e podem ser compreendidos por todos quanto aos seus interesses que, em algumas vezes, são mostrados de forma semelhante ao dos humanos. Adultos costumam compreender essas representações de animais como metáforas de nossas sociedades humanas. Então, nós podemos nos perguntar: antropomorfizar é eticamente correto? O que isso diz sobre nossa cultura? E sobre nossa relação com os animais? Tal dissertação objetiva investigar o que a representação desses animais antropomorfizados diz a respeito de nossa cultura, especialmente sobre o modo como vemos e lidamos com os animais. / Nowadays both, children and adults appreciate animated movies. Families do not need to have children to go to the movies to watch cartoons. These cartoons keep a high appeal due to their technology, creativity and their moral message. People are influenced by these movies in their imagination. It is interesting to note that the main characters of these movies are, usually, anthropomorphized animals. In these animations, the animals are approximated to humans and the animals can be understood by everyone according to their interests. These interests are showed very similar to the humans interests. Adults usually understand these animal representations as metaphors of our society or humanity. So, we can question ourselves: Is anthropomorphizing ethically correct? What does it show about our culture? What about our relationship with other animals? This dissertation aim is to investigate what the animal animated representation tells us about our culture, mainly, about the way that we see and deal with animals.

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo geral avaliar como propriedades técnicas particulares, e aspectos afetivos, expressivos e culturais contribuem para a vitalidade, apropriação e criação de novos usos para o GIF animado, considerando as limitações e defasagens dessa tecnologia. O referencial teórico divide-se em três partes: na primeira, são tratadas questões referentes às propriedades técnicas do formato GIF, suas vantagens e limites, e seu histórico de usos e aplicações; na segunda, são explorados fenômenos culturais que podem ter implicado nas apropriações do GIF animado; e na terceira, o GIF animado é investigado a partir de seus aspectos afetivos e expressivos. Na investigação empírica, recorreu-se à seleção por bola de neve para identificar sujeitos que usam intensamente GIFs animados em suas práticas cotidianas. Foram realizadas dezesseis entrevistas qualitativas semiestruturadas, a partir das quais foram feitas a análise e discussão dos resultados. Em termos gerais, concluiu-se que a vitalidade do GIF animado deve-se a uma combinação de questões técnicas inerentes às materialidades da tecnologia, demandas de consumo próprias da cultura contemporânea e, também, ao surgimento de espaços adequados para sua circulação e proliferação. / This study aims primarily to evaluate how specific technical proprieties, and affective, expressive and cultural aspects contribute to the vitality, appropriation and creation of new uses for the animated GIF, regarding its technical restrictions. The theoretical part is divided in three chapters: in the first one, we deal with the matter of the technical features of the GIF format, its advantages and limitations, and the history of its uses and applications; in the second chapter, some of the cultural phenomena that made the appropriations of the animated GIF possible are scanned; finally, in the third one, the animated GIF is investigated from its affective and expressive aspects. To develop the empirical research we identified, through snowball selection, subjects who use animated GIFs intensively on their daily practices. Then, sixteen qualitative interviews were conducted, from which emerged the analysis and discussion of results. In summary, we concluded that the vitality of the animated GIF was made possible due to a combination of technical and material aspects, intrinsic to this technology, consumption demands typical of the present-day culture and, also, to the emergence of spaces suited to its circulation and proliferation.

Researchers and educators have always strived for creating appropriate instructional tools and resources that help students to acquire knowledge. Animated pedagogical agents (APAs) embedded within multimedia learning settings are one of the emerging technologies that provide a powerful and supportive learning environment. According to previous studies, APAs can effectively promote learning and support social interaction with learners (Johnson & Lester, 2016; Lane, 2016). However, APAs also may cause cognitive load without providing motivational benefits in some cases and distract learners during the learning process. In other words, the results of previous studies on APAs do not provide enough evidence to argue that APA may be able to decrease cognitive load, promote motivational effects, or facilitate meaningful learning. The lack of enough evidence in the research findings seems to be variable depending upon the APA’s features, the learners, and the difficulty of the learning materials (Schroeder & Adesope, 2014). By focusing on these factors, this study provided new considerations related to embedding an APA’s role that facilitates “Word Parts” for adult students who speak English as a Second Language (ESL) with concentrating on their cognition, motivation, and vocabulary acquisition. Presenting two APA’s roles (expert model and peer model) differently influenced ESL learners’ motivation, specifically their satisfaction feelings. In addition, ESL learners’ prior knowledge affected their intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load, motivation, and vocabulary acquisition. The two different APA’s roles and their effects on ESL learners’ perceptions and learning outcomes serve as a media comparison research. Further, examining APA as a model to teach ESL students vocabulary acquisition skills serves a Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) research.

This thesis is focused on the worthwhile lessons learned while creating a short animated film. The conventional way of teaching related to practice is to have students work on projects and learn from their own experience. This thesis strives to save the reader some of the pain, time, and effort required of this learning style, by presenting the hard learned lessons from this project. An overview of the project is provided, along with a reconstructed time-line. Also, each member of the team recounted their own dilemmas and successes on the project, and proposed potential solutions to problems encountered along the way. The findings are presented in the spirit of a post-mortem analysis, which acts to collect the knowledge obtained by those involved with a project in order to increase productivity for the next time a similar task is attempted. The postmortem approach was found to be effective in identifying, illuminating, and articulating the lessons learned concerning general, practical, team-related and problem solving issues encountered while working on a short animated film.