Release date: November 7, 2022
Over the course of my career, several private sector and public sector companies have asked me to consult or conduct research to help them develop animation on topics ranging from banking to relationship skills. Each time, the justification these companies gave for wanting animation was, “kids like cartoons.” I also have conducted research with parents and found that many of them would prefer that their children not watch animation because they felt that, as a medium, it was somehow less healthy than live action. As a result of these divergent experiences, I crafted this episode to explore what animation is and who and what it is good for. My guest is Mark Collington. Mark is a Senior Lecturer in Animation Production at the Arts University Bournemouth and the author of Animation in Context: A Practical Guide to Theory and Making, which is, in my opinion, the definitive book on this topic. More information about Mark can be found below.
Biography of Mark Collington
Mark Collington is an animator, author and educator, who has been working in the field of animation for twenty years (or thirty years, since he was a child when his father set him up with a Super-8 ciné camera and some Lego in the attic). From his own research, teaching and practice, Mark believes that understanding storytelling across a multitude of art forms is key to understanding how animation can empower children to explore the world around them, and express themselves in a safe space through practical skills and methods from contemporary genres such as animated documentary. Mark published the book Animation in Context, A Practical Guide to Theory and Making with Bloomsbury in 2016. He lives in London, and is proud to be the son of the famous 'Mind the Gap' voice.
Links
Animation in Context: A Practical Guide to Theory and Making
