Fill in the blanks with the words from the list below.

1) The final version of the movie, as it is going to be seen in the theaters, or in other words ____________, is approved by the ____________ and the Director of Photography.

2) The work of the animator consists in using the ____________ to draw images on computer in special software. Among other things he works on the ___________, rough pictures of characters, which depict their appearance or emotions.

3) The list of actors starring in the film can be found in the ___________ right after the name of the director.

4) According to the critics that ___________ of the famous novel ‘ The Painted Veil ’ was really accurate and followed the book up to the last word.

5) Watching the film in the cinema I couldn’t but notice the cameraman’s love of ___________, those shots made us see clearly the spectacular acting of the main character.

6) Before an actual animated movie is created, the artist works out a ___________, which consists of small drawings of the main scenes.

7) I’m not a big fan of ___________, but this time the plot was so gripping, aliens coming to wipe out the mankind, I had actual goose bumps. Of course I had high expectations, especially after watching that dynamic ___________, which included some parts of the film used to advertise it.

8) Unfortunately ___________ seldom get enough funding, thus they don’t have a lot of money to have a crowd scene, somebody beside the main actors in the film.

9) In this feature film we can see that lots of scenes were shot on location and the person responsible for choosing the sets, __________, have done a good job.

10) The new cartoon was made in 3D, so no action of the film was drawn frame-by-frame, that is why the __________ was well timed and the voice of the character corresponded to the movement of the lips. To crown it all, the __________ skillfully expressed the emotions of the character.

List of words: final cut, credits, trailer, director, Production Manager, a close-up, independent film, screen version (of the novel), science fiction film, lip synch, storyboard, sketches, tablet, voice actor.

Reading

7. Read 4 parts (A-D) of Text 6 carefully. Single out the most important sentences in each paragraph.

8. Look through Text 6 once again. Find at least 3 metaphors.

9. Find the following words and word combinations in Text 6. Give the English definitions and translate them into Russian.

Hand-drawn animation; a chief creative officer; to ditch; an exodus; a tax break; incentives; to compete on a level playing field; revenue stream; to be in a bid to; conducive; renowned; a trend-setter; to toil; to churn out; to allocate.

TEXT 6. CURRENT STATE OF ANIMATION INDUSTRIES AROUND THE WORLD

A. THE USA

Disney, the Hollywood titan which brought the world classics such as Bambi and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, has admitted it has no current plans to make hand-drawn animated films. “ To my knowledge we’re not developing a 2D or hand-drawn feature animated film right now, ” said chief executive Bob Iger. “ There is a fair amount of activity going on in hand-drawn animation but it’s largely for television at this point. We’re not necessarily ruling out the possibility of a feature but there isn’t any in development at the company at the moment. ”

The news upset fans of traditional hand-drawn animation, who had been cheered by the revival of the form under John Lasseter, the Pixar boss who also became Disney Animation’s chief creative officer (CCO) in 2006. Lasseter told a London audience for a 2009 screening of Bolt (a CGI animation) that he had re-hired many of the animators who were ditched by the previous regime because of the emergence of computer-generated technology in the 1990s. “ Unfortunately, 2D became the excuse for poor storytelling, ” said Lasseter. “ The general consensus was that audiences did not want to watch hand-drawn animated films, which is of course completely ridiculous. ”

(http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/mar/07/disney-hand-drawn-animation)

B.THE UK

Leading UK animators are warning against an exodus of talent if the industry does not get tax breaks like those enjoyed by animators in other European countries like Ireland and France. “ It’s genuinely impossible for us to compete against the rest of the world with all the incentives they’ve got, ” said Oli Hyatt from Animation UK, an industry lobby group. While the UK film industry enjoys state support, there is no such money available for producers of animated TV series. Many other European countries support their animation industry, providing at least 20 percent of production costs. Hyatt says that makes it impossible for UK animators to match their output. “ All we’re looking for is for the government to give us the tools for us to compete on a level playing field with the rest of the world. ” He said.

Animation production in the UK has fallen by more than 50 percent in the past seven years according to Animation UK, and it is already becoming harder for new animators to find jobs. Last year Aardman Animations, the giant behind Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit, announced they were considering moving abroad due to the UK’s relatively high production costs. “ We have in the past been a source of export – The Teletubbies exported all over the world, ” said Anne Wood. With each major show moving abroad, the country loses another revenue stream, she argued.

(http://www.dw.de/uk-animation-industry-in-crisis/a-15807779-1)

C. RUSSIA

Russian theater chain operator Luxor and film company Argus Entertainment are joining forces to create a new animation studio, LA Studio, in a bid to make films that can compete with US and European fare. “ Hollywood and European projects are dominating the Russian market, and only a handful of well-known Russian companies are able to compete with them, ” the two companies said in a statement. “ But competition is conducive for the market’s development, pushing up the quality of films that are produced. So LA Studio comes as the market’s natural development. ”

LA Studio is to focus on the production of 2D and 3D animated films for theatrical release and television, and it also plans to launch a film school for animation. Although LA Studio plans to center on computer technology, some of the company’s projects are to be based on drawing animation, a tradition in Russia from Souyuzmultfilm (Nu, pogodi!, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Musicians of Bremen, etc). Special attention is to be paid to films based on Russian folklore and fairy tales. The first major project by LA Studio is to be a feature-length animated film based on Ruslan and Ludmila, a poem by renowned Russian 19^th century poet Alexander Pushkin.

(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/russian-film-company-exhibitor-launch-628924)

D. JAPAN

Japan’s stylized animation that has become hugely popular around the world, helped reshape the country’s image as a cultural trend-setter. But behind the scenes, things aren’t so rosy. Japan’s animation industry is struggling. Anime workers are unhappy, toiling long hours at low pay. Sales have been declining. On top of that, there is fast-growing competition from across Asia. Studios in China and South Korea now churn out high-quality anime-style programs, helped by cheaper labor and, in some cases, government subsidies.

Even the president of Telecom Animation expresses some dismay about the state of the anime world. “ The industry has become decadent and fatigued, ” says Koji Takeuchi, president of Telecom Animation. The Japanese government says it is trying to support the industry, with plans to increase spending on education and training young animators and allocating more funds toward film marketing. But nurturing home-grown talent has become more difficult as Japanese companies increasingly outsource anime drawing to studios in China, South Korea and Vietnam, where labor costs are lower. Osamu Yamazaki, a 47-year-old director of anime films, worries that moving the production process overseas will diminish Japan’s ability to cultivate creative talent. “ People have tremendous power by just being young, ” he says. “ Without young blood, we’ll lose our ability to think flexibly and creatively. ”

(http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748703819904574551834260925714)

10. Read the following sentences. Which part (A-D) of Text 6 gives these pieces of information?

1) Animation studios in this country face the financing problems.
2) A revered corporation rejects the basic kind of animation.
3) They’d like to play by other countries’ rules.
4) Some companies are discouraged by the competition but they don’t give up.
5) The exhausting work can’t be matched by the salary.
6) They exclude the idea of cell animation for full-length films.
7) The revival of animation in this country will be performed by 2 corporations.
8) The studio announced the return to the origins and then changed its mind.
9) Animators are going to leave for another country because of their being in the red.
10) The directors are discouraged by the competition as it’s difficult to surpass the rivals’ advantages.
11) They are planning on using both 2D and 3D animation with flying colours.
12) The head of the company disliked the idea of complete abandoning traditional animators.
13) They’re pulling a lot of strings to retain control over the market and young specialists.

11. Complete these sentences with the information from Text 6. Try not to look into the text!

1) Disney has admitted ____________.

2) Disney Animation’s chief creative officer told a London audience that he ____________ in the 1990s.

3) According to Disney CCO’s opinion, 2D ____________.

4) Leading UK animators are warning against ____________.

5) Animation production in the UK has fallen ____________.

6) Anne Wood argued that ____________.

7) Luxor and Argus Entertainment are going to create LA Studio in a bid to____________.

8) LA Studio is to focus on ____________.

9) The first major project by LA Studio is to
be ____________.

10) Things in Japanese animation aren’t so rosy as ____________.

11) Studios in China and South Korea now churn out ____________.

12) The Japanese government says it is
trying to ____________.

12. Make up 5 questions based on the information given in Text 6 for your group-mates to answer.

13. Prepare a summary of 4 parts (A-D) of Text 6 (see Appendix 1):

- mention the names in bold;

- try to use the new vocabulary as much as possible;

- find some additional information on the Internet about another country.

The rest of the group will evaluate your summary and choose the best speaker according to this table:

Text info.	New info.	Active voc.	Grammar	Structure

The maximum score is 25, thus, the maximum for each column – 5 points.

14. Translate the sentences below from Russian into English:

1) Само собой разумеется, что на сегодняшний день Америка – законодатель мод в области анимации. Вместо того чтобы массово выпускать мультфильмы, другие страны лучше бы ввели какие-либо средства поощрения для талантливых и творческих молодых людей. 2) С появлением компьютерной анимации анимационная индустрия серьезна поменялась. Технология покадровой прорисовки мультфильма была заменена созданием графики при помощи компьютерных программ. 3) В довершение ко всему этот печально известный главный креативный директор объявил, что производство анимации в данной стране снизилось на 50 процентов в последние семь лет, в тоже время молодым аниматорам все сложнее найти работу. 4) При создании раскадровки определяются основные движения персонажа, план с которых впоследствии будет снята та или иная сцена. Раскадровку можно делать как вручную на листке бумаги, так и набросок, или при помощи графического планшета на компьютере. 5) Кроме всего прочего, в сфере анимации быстро растет конкуренция. Студии других стран предлагают лучшие условия работы: государственные поощрения, субсидии и короткий рабочий день. 6) Промежуточные кадры в анимации также важны, как и ключевые кадры, именно за счет них создается движение, а анимация становится плавной. 7) Все аспекты анимации – создание персонажа, его анимация, добавление аудио дорожки, содержащей голос актера, озвучивающего нарисованного персонажа – должны быть выполнены до процесса «рендеринг».

Video

VIDEO 4

(‘Paperman’, by Walt Disney Animation Studios)

Watch a 2012 award-winning black-and-white 3D hand-drawn computer animated romantic comedy short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Discuss the following questions with your group-mates.

1) Did you like the short film?

2) What emotions did it evoke in you?

3) To your mind is there anything unconventional about this short?

VIDEO 5

(‘ Paperclips’, by Walt Disney Animation Studios)

16. Now you are going to hear an interview with the director of ‘Paperman’ John Kahrs, where he explains some of the ideas he had when creating the short. Read the following information before watching Video 5:

- John Lasseter –is an American animator, film director, and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

17. Decide whether the following statements are true or false, explain your choice:

1. The idea for ‘ Paperman ’ goes back to the time when John used to live in New-York and travel to work through the Grand Central Station, sometimes seeing some connection with a person there.	T/F
2. John wanted to find a way for artist’s pre-production drawings to work with the CG.	T/F
3. According to John in the Golden Age of CG stylized photorealism is the only way that CG can look.	T/F
4. John wanted the world of the film to be three dimensional, not super flat, for the audience to have a feeling that this world from the short exists somewhere out there.	T/F

Writing

18. Make a written report about your favourite cartoon character. Describe his/her personality, appearance, his/her voice actor, etc. Don’t mention his/her name or the title of the cartoon – the rest of the group should guess who he/she is. Use the active vocabulary!

LESSON 5. «THE WIZARD OF OZ» – AN AMERICAN NATIONAL TREASURE

PART I

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04