Web Animation: New Content, New Applications, New Audiences.

Abstract

There is currently much interest in the ways in which new technologies intersect with, and impact on traditional media. Not only has digital technology facilitated new aesthetics in animation, it has opened up many possibilities for animation in the way of applications, distribution and exhibition. My research explores these possibilities and assesses the extent to which the potential of the web for animation has been realized, making proposals for further applications and more diverse content. While the potential of the web as a platform for diversity, creative expression and democratic access is yet to be more fully realized, one aspect of animation that is already being reshaped in this new location is authorship and the nature of producer-audience relations. New models of authorship as developed through web animation enable social and cultural roles that are not addressed by conventional modes of animation exhibition. This paper will address these themes with reference to web-site examples and the commentary of writers such as Nicholas Mirzoeff and Lev Manovich. Particular reference will be made to a customized web animation project currently underway for my DVA research. The project aims to encourage and initiate new content and collaboratively built narratives so as to offer exposure for grass roots and marginal expression, and to explore and showcase the unique possibilities offered by new media in production, distribution and exhibition.