Nobody Can Afford to Listen to You:
Animation History Barriers
Orrin Scott
Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana
Society of Animation Studies 34th Annual Conference
Rowan University
Abstract
As animation practitioners, it inherently requires access to materials, cutting edge technology and skill-based education. These requirements can be prohibitively expensive and act as a barrier for many. Whether animation boundaries are monetary or skills-based, these obstacles prevent the artform and industry from continuing to grow and evolve to its fullest potential and we all suffer the loss. In my research, I have explored some of the societal and cultural issues preventing accessibility to animation. My goal is to add to the conversation insights into the role U.S. education is serving in our field. Academic resources will be scrutinized for their availability over time. The purpose of my research is to discover some of the unseen ways animation can be inaccessible to new practitioners and students. I will call to action listeners to analyze their own animation environments and contemplate what steps can be made to give animators and researchers the financial, educational, and technological resources required to flourish.
Introduction
The scope of this paper is to analyze the ability for an individual to approach animation from the micro scale to the macro scale. This is done by analyzing the minimum requirements to run industry standard software, the availability of literature over time, and the availability of a formal education on the State and U.S. national scale.
Methods & Results
A sample of three industry standard software was analyzed for their minimum requirements and compared on PC Part Picker, a website designed to compare and contrast compatibility of computer components, their real world cost, and their availability in May of 2023. The three pieces of software include Autodesk, Blender, and Adobe Animate. The minimum requirement amongst the three software was the same. The emphasis has been placed on minimum requirements, and while this would be less than ideal to work within in a practical sense, it would be a functional methodology for producing an animated project. While the computer market fluctuates wildly from year to year (Bajarin, 2022), the minimum price totalled $555, pre-tax. As with most computer builds, a majority of the budget was spent on the graphics card and operating system, two of the most expensive components of any personal computer.
The availability of education is essential to further develop and expand upon animation. Using a combination of resources and a databases available from the National Center for Education Statistics and AnimationCareerReview.com a list of all available secondary educational facilities that offer an animation degree was created. This resulted in a list of 201 schools across the United States. Of the continental 50 states, 40 contain at least one university that offers an animation degree. Of the 201 schools, 72 of them are located in California. A breakdown of the amount featured in each state can be seen in Appendix A.
The United States Government via the Department of Education maintains a database of available degrees offered and earned each year throughout the country on the National Center for Education Statistics website. Animation as a field of study is considered to fall under the Visual and Performing Arts field. In analyzing the degrees earned in 2022, it was found that the Visual and Performing Arts made up 4.4% of all Bachelor degrees, 1.8% of all Masters Degrees, and .8% of all Doctoral degrees, see Appendices C & D. While all nationalities and women have continued to see an increase in attendance in higher education, men, white men in particular, have been fallen consistently for the last half decade (Donadel, 2023).
Discussion
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
-James Clear, Atomic Habits
There has not been a more relevant time for the discussion of animation than the current state of affairs. Decisions made in the 1960’s are playing out in a fight between Florida Governor Ron Desantis and Disney (Narea, 2022). Interactive animation has usurped the second highest grossing animated film of all time with The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Rubin, 2023). We’re also on the precipice of another technological milestone with the utilization and implementation of artificial intelligence in the production pipeline (Idelson, 2023). While the challenges presenting themselves to animation are unique to our industry, the answer to the original question proposed by this paper consists of solutions seen in other industries. If animation is to continue to grow and bring in new perspectives, ideas, and innovations, resources and education need to be made more geographically available.
Appendices (A)
Appendices Continued (B)
Appendices Continued (C)
References
Animate system requirements. Adobe. (n.d.). https://helpx.adobe.com/animate/system-requirements.html.
Animation Career Review, www.animationcareerreview.com/.
Blender Foundation. (n.d.). Requirements. blender.org. https://www.blender.org/download/requirements/.
Bajarin, Tim. “Will There Be a Downturn in the PC Market in 2022-2023?” Forbes, 12 Apr. 2022, www.forbes.com/sites/timbajarin/2022/04/12/will-there-be-a-downturn-in-the-pc-market-in-2022-2023/?sh=5f52b4754b6d.
Donadel, A. (2023). Men are falling behind in higher ed and the trend may not be letting up. University Business. https://universitybusiness.com/men-are-falling-behind-in-higher-ed-and-it-may-not-be-letting-up/
Idelson, K. (2023, June 11). Variety. https://variety.com/2023/artisans/news/elemental-a-i-aided-vfx-1235636902/
“National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, Part of the U.S. Department of Education.” National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education, nces.ed.gov/. Accessed May 29, 2023.
Narea, Nicole. “DeSantis’s Feud with Disney Is Costing Florida - and Possibly His 2024 Campaign.” Vox, 19 May 2023, www.vox.com/politics/2023/5/19/23730119/ron-desantis-disney-florida-investment-2024-election.
Rubin, R. (2023, June 5). Variety. https://variety.com/2023/film/box-office/super-mario-bros-movie-surpasses-frozen-second-biggest-animated-film-1235632448/
Scott, Orrin. “Animation History Bibliography June 2023 Update.” Cartoon Research, 1 June 2023, cartoonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/TAHBUpdate6.1.2023.html.
“System Requirements for Autodesk 3DS MAX 2021.” Autodesk,
www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirements-for-Autodesk-3ds-Max-2021.html.
No comments:
Post a Comment