Timothy Jones

Beyond Outsourcing: Indian Animation Education and Transnational Aesthetic Exchange

Abstract: Indian animation has historically been tied to transnational exchange. This paper examines how the form of this exchange has impacted instructional institutions, and ultimately animators. Building upon outsourcing successes, domestic animators have made strides in local production, supported in part by the National Institute of Design. The first decade of the 21st century has marked a crucial period of expansion, with far-reaching aesthetic and economic and political consequences. Recent NID graduates have played a disproportionate role in generating local animation culture, and their transnational collaborations suggest a growing complexity of the animation industry relating to international antecedents.

Biographical statement: As a Project Administrator at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, I develop cognitive simulations for education that integrate cutting edge computer animation. My theoretical work complements this academic practice. This paper is the first result of a larger research effort addressing animation in South Asia, also including the rise of new media distribution technologies and complex relationships with forces of international cultural exchange. I received my Masters degree in May, 2008 from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, concentrating in animation studies. Accordingly, this paper is also part of an exploratory effort for future dissertation research.

Hannes Rall

Tradigital Mythmaking-New Asian Design Ideas for Animation

Abstract: The paper will give an overview of Southeast Asian animation and explore how to create content for the multi-cultural puzzle. Singapore, with its vibrant multi-cultural society, provides an ideal springboard for such explorations. The research investigates how to develop new design ideas for animation from Asian art and mythologies.

Biographical statement: The German filmmaker Hannes Rall came to Singapore to join the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University as an Assistant Professor in 2005. His films have been shown in over 100 film-festivals, exhibitions and screenings worldwide and won multiple awards. These films are informed by the artistic intention to create animation in a genuinely German design style. In his research projects in Singapore he is continuing the approach of creating animation, which is strongly informed by cultural identity. He is exploring new Asian design styles for animation, which are not derived from Western or Japanese concepts.