Radio/Tv/Film Authorship (321-0-70)

Topic

Disney

Instructors

Scott Curtis

Meeting Info

Northwestern Qatar Room 1-244: Mon, Tues, Wed, Su 2:30PM - 4:30PM (AST)

Overview of class

In both popular culture and animation history, Disney Studios is highly regarded as the premier producer of animated media. Yet Disney's innovations in animation are best understood not on their own, but in relation to its competitors and to the demands of the media environment at the time. New animation technologies, especially, played a key role in differentiating Disney products from those of other studios. Even these innovations, however, often came on the heels of similar attempts by competitors. Indeed, Disney Studios' twin drives to mimic the successes of its rivals and to differentiate its product extended throughout its history to areas beyond animation technology, including television programming, popular music, and musical theatre, especially Broadway. This course will explore the history of Disney's animated films in relation to their industrial contexts: what conditions in the animation and entertainment industries prompted innovation in, for example, character design, voice acting, the depiction of depth, the use of live-action, the choices of song and musical structure, or the use of CGI in Disney animated films? Assessments will be based on vocabulary quizzes, written assessments, and an in-class presentation.

Registration Requirements

Prerequisites: None

Open to sophomore and above

Satisfies Film and Design Minor

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved for sophomore, juniors, and seniors only.