Peihang's 3D computer animation Blog

Throughout the term, we focused on how animation communicates meaning through visual language, narrative structure, space, and atmosphere. Topics such as animated documentary, mise-en-scène, composition, and staging made me more aware of how images, movement, and environments shape the audience’s understanding of a scene. Over time, this changed how I watch animation, as I began paying more attention to visual details rather than just story content.

The course also introduced basic academic research and writing skills. While working on my essay, I learned how to narrow down a topic, work with specific examples, and organise ideas more clearly. Reading and using academic sources helped me connect theoretical ideas with film analysis. Although writing took up a smaller part of the course, it supported my understanding by allowing me to apply what we learned in class in a more focused way.

In Week 12, I revisited Spirited Away and Kiki’s Delivery Service with my research focus in mind. Watching the films again after narrowing down my topic felt very different from previous viewings, as I was paying more attention to details rather than just following the story.

When rewatching Spirited Away, I became more aware of how the spaces and environments shape Chihiro’s experience. The bathhouse, in particular, feels overwhelming at first, and the way it is presented visually reinforces the character’s sense of being lost and pressured. Small moments that I had not noticed before, such as changes in lighting and pacing, stood out more clearly during this viewing.

Rewatching Kiki’s Delivery Service felt much quieter in comparison. The film focuses more on everyday routines and emotional shifts rather than dramatic events. I noticed how Kiki’s loss of confidence is shown through subtle changes in behaviour and atmosphere, rather than through explicit conflict. This made the film feel more grounded and personal.

Looking at the two films side by side helped me see how similar themes are expressed in different ways. Both films deal with growth and adjustment, but they use very different settings and rhythms. This week helped me move from a general interest in these works to a more detailed and focused way of analysing them.


Reference List 
I also began collecting a few references on Miyazaki’s films, mainly as background reading to support my later analysis.

Cavallaro (2006), The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki

Iwabuchi (2002), Recentering Globalization: Popular Culture and Japanese Transnationalism

Lamarre (2009), The Anime Machine: A Media Theory of Animation

Napier (2018), Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art

In Week 11, I spent more time refining my research topic and narrowing down the focus of my project. After thinking about my earlier ideas, I decided to concentrate on two films by Hayao Miyazaki: Spirited Away and Kiki’s Delivery Service.

At the beginning, my topic was still quite broad and included different forms of animation and cultural contexts. As I continued researching, it became clear that this approach would be difficult to manage within the word limit. Focusing on two specific films allows me to look more closely at details rather than making general statements.

I chose these two films because they both centre on young protagonists and experiences of growing up, but present them in different ways. While Spirited Away places the character in a highly unfamiliar and symbolic environment, Kiki’s Delivery Service focuses more on everyday life and emotional change. Comparing these two films gives me a clearer framework to explore recurring themes without expanding the scope too much.

Another reason for this decision is that both films have been widely discussed, which makes it easier to find relevant academic sources. At the same time, there is still room to develop my own interpretation by focusing on specific elements such as narrative structure and visual atmosphere.

This week helped me realise that narrowing a topic is not about limiting ideas, but about making the research more focused and workable. Having a clearer direction also makes the next stage of research feel more manageable.

Week 10 was mainly about academic writing and structure, especially how research is organised and presented in a critical report. The session made me realise that writing is not only about what you say, but how clearly the reader can follow your thinking.

In class, we looked at the overall structure of a critical report, including sections like the introduction, literature review, main discussion, and conclusion. Seeing the structure laid out helped me understand how each part has a different role. The literature review is not just background reading, and the main discussion is where my own ideas should be more visible.

We also spent time on writing approaches, such as summarising, paraphrasing, and synthesising sources. I realised that I often understand the reading, but translating that understanding into my own writing is more difficult than I expected. It is easy to fall into describing what an author says without clearly connecting it to my own argument.

Another important point was how referencing supports the structure of writing. Referencing is not just about avoiding plagiarism, but about guiding the reader and showing how ideas are connected. This made me think more carefully about how and why I use sources, rather than adding them at the end.

This week made academic writing feel more concrete. Instead of seeing it as one large task, I started to see it as a series of smaller decisions about structure, clarity, and how ideas are supported.

This week’s class was mainly about research and referencing. A lot of it was quite practical, and honestly a bit overwhelming at first.

We talked about how sources should be used in writing. Not just books and articles, but also images and visual material. I didn’t really think about images as something that also needs referencing before, especially film stills or animation frames. It made me realise that visual research needs to be treated more carefully.

Another thing that came up was citation and paraphrasing. It was clear that simply repeating what an author says does not really count as analysis. The idea is to use sources to support what I want to argue, not to let them speak for me. This is something I still need to practice, because it’s easy to rely too much on other people’s words.

We also looked at literature reviews. Instead of listing texts one by one, the focus was on grouping them by themes or ideas. This made more sense to me, especially for my own topic, because some texts talk about similar issues from different angles.

After this class, I started to see research as something more structured. It’s not just about collecting material, but about deciding what is actually useful and how it fits into the overall direction of the project.

This week’s session focused on developing and refining our research proposals. We discussed titles, research questions, and how to narrow down a topic so that it is both researchable and meaningful.

During the feedback session, I realised that my original research idea was still quite broad. I was interested in how social and cultural factors influence animation, but the scope was too wide to handle effectively. The discussion made it clear that instead of trying to cover animation in general, it would be more practical to focus on a specific context, creator, or body of work.

One important suggestion was to ground the research in a clear cultural background. Rather than comparing too many countries or animation industries, it would be better to look closely at one cultural context and explore how it shapes animation style, themes, and storytelling. This helped me understand that cultural influence is not something abstract, but something that appears through concrete details such as narrative focus, visual design, and recurring themes.

We also talked about the difficulty of measuring audience experience, especially emotional response. This made me realise that not every interesting idea can be easily researched. It is important to choose a direction where analysis is possible, using existing texts, case studies, and visual analysis, rather than relying on vague impressions.

After this session, I started thinking more seriously about focusing on a specific director and cultural background, particularly within Japanese animation. Looking at one creator’s work could make it easier to discuss how social and cultural conditions influence animation in a more focused and realistic way.

Overall, this week helped me understand that refining a research topic is part of the process. Being more specific does not limit the research, but actually makes it clearer and stronger.

In Week 7, the class focused on how to develop a research topic and build a clear argument. The session was mainly about understanding how academic research is structured and how ideas are shaped into a focused investigation.

In class, we looked at how a research topic gradually becomes a research question. One thing I learned is that a good question needs to be specific and manageable, rather than too broad or too obvious. Choosing a topic is not just about personal interest, but also about whether it can be researched properly and supported with relevant sources.

We also talked about the idea of argument in academic writing. I realised that an argument is not just an opinion, but a position that needs to be supported by reasons and evidence. Seeing examples helped me understand how a piece of writing is built around one main idea, with each part contributing to that central point.

Another important part of the lecture was the role of research and sources. We discussed the difference between simply collecting information and actually engaging with it. Reading critically and understanding different viewpoints is important, especially when trying to find gaps or unanswered questions in existing research.

This week made me think more clearly about how my own research might be developed. It helped me understand that research is a process, not something that is fixed from the start. Refining questions, adjusting focus, and thinking about structure are all part of building a stronger piece of academic work.

This week’s class looked at how visual language works in film and animation. We focused on mise-en-scène, composition, and staging, and how these elements affect the way a scene is understood.

In the lecture, we talked about mise-en-scène as everything placed in front of the camera. This includes the setting, props, costume, lighting, and where the characters are positioned. These elements can already give the audience a lot of information about the scene, even without dialogue.

We also spent time on composition and screen direction. Seeing the examples in class made it clearer why movement direction and spatial consistency matter so much. If screen direction changes unexpectedly, it can be confusing to watch. In animation, this needs to be planned early through storyboards and layout, because it is difficult to fix later.

Staging and blocking were another important part of the session. The idea that stayed with me is that every movement should have a purpose. Characters do not move randomly. Their position in the frame and their distance from each other can show relationships and emotions quite clearly.

This week made me more aware of how scenes are constructed. Small decisions in layout, lighting, and movement can change how a scene feels and how the audience reads it. It was useful to think about these elements as part of storytelling, not just technical choices.

This week’s lecture focused on how animation can be used within documentary practice to represent real experiences and social themes. We discussed how animated documentary challenges the traditional idea that documentary must rely on live-action footage to present reality.

In class, we explored how animation can be used to visualise memories, emotions, and lived experiences that are difficult to capture directly through filming. This helped me understand that documentary truth does not only come from photographic realism, but also from the way experiences and perspectives are communicated.

Another point that stood out was that animated documentary often makes its constructed nature visible. By doing so, it reminds viewers that documentary works are shaped by creative decisions, encouraging a more reflective and critical way of watching.

This topic also connects to my interest in lighting and visual atmosphere. In animated documentary, lighting can be used to shape mood and meaning. Through light, shadow, and colour, animation can suggest memory, tension, or reflection, supporting the narrative without relying on direct explanation.

Overall, this week helped me see animated documentary as a valid form of non-fiction animation, expanding how real experiences can be expressed through visual language.

In Week 4, the class introduced me to abstraction and experimental animation, which expanded my understanding of what animation can be beyond traditional narrative and dialogue-driven storytelling.

One important thing I learned is that abstraction in animation does not mean randomness or a lack of meaning. Instead, it often focuses on form, movement, rhythm, colour, sound, and timing as the main way to communicate ideas and emotions. Meaning can be created through visual relationships and sensory experience, rather than through clear plot or dialogue. This challenged my usual way of thinking about storytelling and made me more aware of non-linear and implied narratives.

We also explored how many experimental works are driven by a personal or independent vision, rather than commercial or mainstream expectations. These works often break conventional rules and use alternative processes or techniques, such as working without dialogue, using repetition, metamorphosis, symbolism, or focusing on the relationship between sound and image. I began to understand that in experimental animation, the process itself can become part of the message, not just a method to reach a final result.

Another key topic this week was the idea of the auteur in animation. I learned that authorship in animation is complex, especially because animation can be highly collaborative but also allows individual creators to control many aspects of production. This made me reflect on how a consistent personal vision, recurring themes, or approaches to form can shape an animator’s identity, even if their visual style changes between projects.

Overall, this week encouraged me to think more openly about animation as a medium. Instead of always asking how to tell a clear story, I started asking how images, movement, and sound can communicate on a more sensory and emotional level. This perspective is especially useful for my own practice, as it allows more freedom to experiment and to explore ideas visually rather than relying only on narrative structure.