#first image is from chapter 61.5

[miammey]

This may be a stretch, but was this hinting at Jouno’s Ability?

I originally thought it was just a weird affect to make him look like a shadow or something, but looking back on it, it definitely looks similar to his Ability when it’s active

[steffanwilbyba2b]

Working Title

How and why does animation manipulate information and the emotions and what are the implications of this?

Report Type Extended Essay

Word count 5000

Background And The Research Question

The advertising industry has seen serious growth and is expected to continue growing with global spending projected to reach $557.99 billion by the end of the year (Statista, 2018). And within this industry there has been an upwards trend to use more and more animation, for example, from 2012 to 2013 there was 40% increase in the amount of businesses using animation (Animation Career Review, 2016). As a result of animation becoming extremely desirable in the market, the industry is the fourth highest in employing animators (Animation Career Review, 2016). This begs the question of why is animation seeing this kind of demand. Whilst animation has been a part of advertising for a very long time, with the earliest example of an animated tv commercial often been considered the “Botany Lamb” series in 1941 (AdAge, 2003), one of the reasons for this recent growth, other than an increased demand in traditional TV marketing, comes from the internet, in particular social media. One study looking at 900 brands over 5 social platforms found that there was a 61.5% increase in spending on ads from 2016 to 2017 (Morrison, 2017) and other data claims social media advertising now makes up 34.5% of the digital advertising spending worldwide (Statista, 2018). One form in which this has materialised is through the relatively new medium of the animated infographic. Designed to translate data and ideas into easily digestible images, it embodies one of the factors I wish to investigate in the essay. Which is animations ability to simplify complex information in an appealing and memorable way.  

I intend to outline and analyse theories, such as the picture superiority effect and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, in order to try establish how visual imagery can be used to convey information more effectively than just words or audio. Then go on to contextualise it within the modern world of advertising looking at examples and data but also, contextualise it historically with instructional films created by Disney for the US and Canadian military in WW2. As an extension of this, if time and word count permit I may also compare the two in order highlight how the animation techniques have developed as the understanding behind the psychology of media has developed.   

The second factor I intend to explore in my essay is closely linked to the first in that they are both used in tandem to create the largest impact on audiences. Animation can be utilised to manipulate the viewers emotions, guiding them to feel and perhaps even think differently and it’s this that I most want to legitimise through analysis of research like the paper “Emotion and Perception: The Role of Affective Information”, Zadra and Clore 2011. This factor will also be complimented and contextualised with research into animated propaganda and its effects; by breaking down particular propaganda films such as Der Fuehrer's Face, 1943, I hope to identify the theories and techniques which I will discuss throughout the essay in practise. Another area of this I intend to explore is the use of subliminal messaging alongside the hypodermic needle theory and how it fits within the two subjects.  And to conclude this segment of research I will then relate this back to animation in advertising, to hopefully demonstrate if and how the research and techniques are still applicable in modern works.

So to conclude, by looking at both historical instances of propaganda and modern examples of advertising I intend to identify how and why animation is effective at manipulating emotions and information through the analysis and application of psychology theories backed up with market data.

Overall Aims

To investigate the benefits of animation as a device for information communication.

To identify the psychology behind why animation is an appropriate medium for propaganda.

To analyse how both of the above factors are utilised within advertisement industry.

Research Methods

Research will consist of existing market data and industry stats for advertising and in particular animation in advertising, although I have found the statistics for animation in advertising to be significantly fewer than advertising as a whole. I don’t however, believe it’s too limited as not to serve my purpose. The second areas of research will be psychology journals, focusing on memory, emotion and perception. Aspects of concern with journals will be the validity of the studies themselves. I should bear in mind sample sizes, ecological validity, and if the studies have been replicated to ensure that my sources have merit. The last main area of research will be my own analysis of animated films, both propaganda and advertisements. The main limitation of my research will be the reliance on secondary sources and my ability to find valid, relevant ones at that. In general, to avoid some of the issues with relying on secondary sources I will attempt to cross reference sources wherever possible. It is feasible that I could, however, carry out my own survey to obtain some information regarding how animation impacts viewers but I don’t think I could do it a scale large enough to be of any use, plus self-report style surveys tend to have issues with the validity of the information gathered.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Introduce the hypothesis that animation has the ability to do as the essay title suggests

Chapter one: Context

Outlining both the growth in advertising and the growth of animation within advertising

Chapter two: Contemporary examples and theories

Examine recent animated advertisements in relation to picture superiority effect and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning and then through this establish and analyse animations ability to manipulate information

Chapter three: Analysis of propaganda films

Examine Disney animations from WWII in relation to the relevant theories in order to establish and analyse animations ability to manipulate emotions with regards to contemporary examples Conclusion

Conclude findings - application of the knowledge gathered

Bibliography

Potential Outcomes

The information gathered and analysed in the essay will hopefully lead to a better understanding of how to effectively use visual language in animation, mainly in the context of advertisement but ideally also, the theories could be extended into all areas of animation. The intent of this essay is for it to benefit my own understanding of animation but due to the research being quite broad and based in theory it should be applicable for any animator.

Bibliography

Adage.com. (2003). Animation. [online] Available at: http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/animation/98320/ [Accessed 8 May 2018].

Animationcareerreview.com. (2018). Animation in Advertising: How Important Is It? | Animation Career Review. [online] Available at: https://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/animation-advertising-how-important-it [Accessed 8 May 2018].

Childers, T. and Houston, M. (1984). Conditions for a Picture-Superiority Effect on Consumer Memory. Journal of Consumer Research, 11(2), p.643.

Der Fuehrer's Face. (1943). [film] Directed by J. Kinney. United States: Walt Disney Productions.

Gavin, M. (2017). Influencing America through Animation – WWII Propaganda Cartoons: Part Three: Walt Disney | Inside the Magic. [online] Inside the Magic. Available at: https://insidethemagic.net/2017/01/influencing-america-through-animation-wwii-propaganda-cartoons-part-three-walt-disney/ [Accessed 8 May 2018].

Ívansson, K. (2011). Intersections of Modernity: Nationalism, The History of Animation Movies, and World War II propaganda in the United States of America. [ebook] University of Akureyri. Available at: https://skemman.is/bitstream/1946/9520/1/Intersections%20of%20Modernity%20Nationalism%2C%20The%20History%20of%20Animation%20Movies%2C%20and%20World%20War%20II%20propaganda%20in%20the%20United%20States%20of%20America.pdf [Accessed 8 May 2018].

Mayer, R. and Moreno, R. (2002). Animation as an Aid to Multimedia Learning. [ebook] Plenum Publishing Corporation. Available at: http://ydraw.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Stop-Motion-Aids-Multimedia-Learning.pdf [Accessed 8 May 2018].

Morrison, K. (2017). Social Media Advertising Spend Was Up 60% Year-Over-Year in Q1 (Report). [online] Adweek.com. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/digital/social-media-advertising-spend-was-up-60-year-over-year-in-q1-report/ [Accessed 8 May 2018].

Ovans, A. (2014). What Makes the Best Infographics So Convincing. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2014/04/what-makes-the-best-infographics-so-convincing [Accessed 8 May 2018].

Sphancer, N. (2017). The Con of Propaganda. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/201702/the-con-propaganda [Accessed 8 May 2018].

Statista. (2018). Digital advertising: social media spending share 2017 | Statistic. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/271408/share-of-social-media-in-online-advertising-spending-worldwide/ [Accessed 8 May 2018].

University of Twente. (2018). Mass Media | Hypodermic Needle Theory. [online] Available at: https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/communication-theories/sorted-by-cluster/Mass%20Media/Hypodermic_Needle_Theory/ [Accessed 8 May 2018].

www.statista.com. (2018). Topic: Global Advertising Market. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/990/global-advertising-market/ [Accessed 8 May 2018].