Alondra Arias

Professor Brian Graves

LANG 120

13 April 2017

Multimedia Integration

Each first year writing course at any college or university has its own way of teaching

students how to begin to learn to write at a collegiate level. Though the main purpose of these

courses can vary, it is reasonable to believe that they can help a student learn the foundations of

writing skills which can be utilized for a students respective discipline. In this case, animation is

the subject matter. Art such as animation is often viewed at face value while writing is viewed as

a completely separate entity. Throughout the years, art has evolved into multiple mediums which

have been overlooked or set to the side in academia. In light of this, I will draw from David

Russell who describes how writing should be a tool that conforms to various types of genres. The

mindset that these types of first year writing courses can set you up for any other writing students

may encounter is unrealistic due to the fact that there is no set formula on how to write (Russell,

1995). I propose that multimedia arts, specifically animation, could be considered as a form of

writing or language. Learning rhetoric that considers things such as audience, purpose, context,

genre, etc. will factor in future animation students work. By intertwining art and language, we

begin to expose the possibility of rethinking the way first-year writing courses are taught with

the inclusion of the arts as a new method of learning.

Though FYW courses focus on context and rhetoric surrounding a chosen topic, they

follow conventional forms of writing that could be more beneficial to the fields that have been
drilled into students ever since middle school. The very idea of FYW courses follows an

unrealistic premise that assumes there is actually a way to teach students how to write anything

that a university throws in their direction. Russells piece read by our class highlights this idea.

He argues that these general skill writing courses need some sort of reformation. There is not one

way of teaching writing that fits into every field (Russell, 1995). If we continue to follow this

unrealistic trend, a false notion on what true writing is continues to be planted in the minds of

these students. This in turn can lead to the rejection of other forms of writing that are not taken

note of. This is often due to the publicity that writing in other favored fields receive. Introducing

art into the writing mix can be the first step to acknowledging the divide between these fields.

Writing can help an artist know how to present art in a way that could most empathize with the

audience. It can also aid in teaching others in new ways that have not yet been practiced.

That being said, in the broader scope of things, writing has already made its way into the

animation field. In animation, aspects of storyboarding, character design, and even parts of

marketing/advertisement can be influenced by the foundations that are being taught in first year

writing courses. During an interview with Christopher Oakley, he describes how writing skills

are used throughout his career. Christopher Oakley is a former stop motion and Disney animator

and is currently a professor in the New Media department at the University of North Carolina in

Asheville. During the interview, Oakley talks about how animators should know how to project

the story they have in their minds out into the world of animation. Understanding story structure

and language are key elements to the creation of a movie or television show. He says that,

Animators should make sure theyre not only showing a series of events but are also creating

character development... (Oakley, 2017). The aspects of writing that Oakley mentions are all
factors that FYW courses tend to highlight. Learning how to use rhetoric to effectively tell a

story is something that these courses use to teach students how to write. While one course

probably will not lead to an expert writer in every field, animators can definitely learn to be

conscious of the language used based on their target audience and purpose they are trying to

fulfil.

Another example of how animating incorporates foundation skills learned in FYW

courses is evident in the increase of sales when animated personas are advertised to the public.

Due to the efforts of clay animation for the California Raisins, their products became an instant

success. This popular technique became an industry standard and soon many companies were

joining in on the success of this by advertising with other animated personas (Callcott, Margaret

F., & Wei-Na Lee, 1994). In order for this to have occurred, animators should have the skills to

create a completely fictional character and somehow have the audience empathize with it.

Animating now becomes a way of trying to communicate with your audience. This is much like

creating a character in a book series or essay. An animator would be creating a characters story

but they would also have to take into account the actual marketing aspect. There is a script and

story behind the character that makes it relevant to the viewer. Understanding how to create this

connection is vital in several fields which is why it seems to be a staple lesson in first year

writing courses.

Even though the foundations learned in first year writing courses have proven beneficial

to those in the animation field, there could be a way for these courses to include art either in a

direct fashionwhat is art and how it could be considered a form of writing with examples of

this or an indirect fashionteaching writing with the inclusion of art in a multimodal way that
could include anything from lectures, presentations, illustrations, videos, etc. I am suggesting

that there be variety in the way these first year concepts are presented to a student. By doing this,

we could unlock new potential in both faculty and students.

Making this possible is something that is not often thought of because art is struggling to

even have a place in schooling systems. Its inclusion in other disciplines is often minute. The

arts are becoming a scarce field in areas that are not very populous. Though most schools have at

least some type of art and music education, the arts as a whole have become an underappreciated

and underfunded field. Math and literature become the main focus for students and are still being

drilled into curriculums in order to prepare for standardized tests. Even further, schools in

underprivileged areas with minorities are not only struggling with the education in core subjects

but have an almost nonexistent arts program compared to other middle class areas (Spohn, 2008).

Art and writing courses seem to be completely separate entities, but both fields have

similar qualities and can stand to gain important resources from each other. Writing is a form of

communication that can be applied to any field. In the same way that writing becomes a form of

communication, art also communicates through visual senses. When Professor Oakley was asked

if he considered art a form of writing, he states Yes, of course. Youre expressing thought.

Things like paintings come from your imagination. So do writing and animating and they should

have your own voice in them (Oakley, 2017).

Art has evolved from traditional media such as sketches, paintings, and sculptures to a

more digital age that includes 2D and 3D designs. This can include photography, animation, and

even virtual reality. Art can also be anything more than just paintings. Just as art can also be

music, art can be writing. It is clear that art has evolved drastically throughout the generations,
yet the contexts used for academic writing have become stagnant. Most first year writing courses

have been taught the same way for years and students as well as professors keep running into the

same problems. The inclusion of art in writing may not be a complete solution to these problems,

but it can be a gateway into a new form of learning. Students often may forget the skills they

learned in these courses soon after taking them. The traditional style of teaching through

textbooks and worksheets has been replaced for the more favored instruction of watching videos

or powerpoints that give the student a visual and keep them entertained. Even a change in

communicating the same thing could produce better results for students. The ideas are all there

they are just being presented in a different format. Again, with this variety, whether it may be

with media such as pictures, music, animation, or any other form of art, it could lead to many

possibilities within multidisciplinary learning.

Callcott, Margaret F., and Wei-Na Lee. "A Content Analysis of Animation and Animated

Spokes-Characte." Journal of Advertising, vol. 23, no. 4, 1994, pp. 1, ProQuest Central,

http://0-search.proquest.com.wncln.wncln.org/docview/236568902?accountid=8388.

Oakley, Christopher. Personal Interview, 23 March 2017.

Russell, David. Activity Theory and Its Implications for Writing Instruction. Reconceiving

Writing, Rethinking Writing Instruction. Ed. Joseph Petraglia. (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum,

1995): pp. 51-76.

Spohn, Cydney. "Teacher Perspectives on no Child Left Behind and Arts Education: A Case

Study." Arts Education Policy Review, vol. 109, no. 4, 2008, pp. 3-11, ProQuest Central,

http://0-search.proquest.com.wncln.wncln.org/docview/211019212?accountid=8388.