The social internet environment has given rise to new ways of engaging and critiquing animated video. In this democratic environment, criticism is no longer exclusive to a few select recognised professional critics and there is no real distinction between professional and non-¬professional critics. The coexistence of both types of critics within the same space results in more dynamic engagement with the subject and creates the conditions for learning. Developments in technology which include cellular phones in particular but also include other devices such as tablets have allowed viewers and potential critics to access online video from any location, broadening accessibility and the scope for critical engagements. New online tools and increased internet connectivity have resulted in an explosion of animated video and critics of all kinds are needed to cater to the growing demand for criticism. This suggests that greater significance needs to be placed on self-proclaimed critics and other opinionated users of the web. This paper sets out to examine and assess the value in criticism by the new expanded audience of non¬‐professional critics. It explores interactive social tools in detail, including blogs, twitter and particularly video‐based websites to understand the manner in which they affect the reception of animated videos as well as the subsequent criticism of these videos. The main question to be addressed is whether or not valuable and relevant criticism can be accessed from various online social platforms attached to newly accessible sources for animation.

The primary objective of this creative project was to explore and analyze the centuries old technique of animation. The investigation of the material included both text and also visual material such as existing films, videos and interviews.This body of work consisted of a variety of animation techniques combined into one film, a zoetrope with five hand-drawn strips and various forms of merchandise (stickers, bumper stickers and a t-shirt) based on the animation.The goal for this project was to convey the idea that animation is an unlimited field that is always open to new and exciting innovations. The author wanted to express the technique, rather than a plot or some concept to the viewer, with the intent that the viewer will be inspired to also experiment with animation. / Department of Art

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Mater of Arts in Digital Arts: 3D Animation by Coursework and Research Report, 2017 / During the colonial era, stereotypes of Africa were created and normalised in order to gain, maintain and justify colonial power. Europe during the colonial era, defined itself, using binary thinking (stemming from the Enlightenment period), against the "Other". This was used to establish a definition of the savage against which Europe was defined as civilised; Europe, deeming itself rational, used nineteenth-century African ways as an opposition by which the binary of rational against irrational could be expressed (Loomba 45). Colonial depictions of Africa often overlooked complexities and distinctions and represented the continent as a homogenous land and created oversimplified representations of the people and places (Harth 14). From the repeated production of imperial imagery, a regime of representation was created portraying Africa as a primitive wilderness, inferior to Europe, and as a site of colonial adventure. More recently, Triggerfish Animation Studios, based in Cape Town, created the films Adventures in Zambezia (2012) and Khumba (2013). This research argues that both films contain colonial stereotypes that conform to the regime of representation depicting Africa as a homogenous land of animals and landscapes, and repeat the colonial single story of an Edenic Africa. Khumba (2012), although still containing colonial stereotypes, offers a less stereotypical depiction than Adventures in Zambezia (2013). / XL2018