Fascination with Animation!

From Mickey Mouse to Japanese Anime, animated films have fascinated us for decades. And, animation is of scholarly interest here at Hopkins in the Film & Media Studies Program. Karen Yasinsky, a recent recipient of the coveted Rome Prize, regularly teaches animation in addition to crafting acclaimed animated films of her own (such as the one embedded in this blog post!). Take a look at the complete list of Film & Media Studies courses to get a sense of what’s generally offered. To see specifically what’s offered in Spring 2012, use the University’s “Class Search” database.

The library has great resources to support the study and creation of animated film. First, of course, you can search the resources on the Film & Media Studies Research Guide for all sorts of information. Second, use the library’s online catalog to find books and DVDs on your topic. You might be surprised at what you find: books about animation production and technique, a growing collection of DVDs representing all types of animation, books and manuals on computer animation. And, there are different types of animation that you might want to investigate, such as stop-motion animation and animatronics. All kinds of cool stuff!

More and more museums are featuring exhibitions about animated film, such as recent shows at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Oakland Museum of California, and New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Actually, you might want to take a look at the Art History Research Guide in addition to the guide for Film, mentioned above. There will be a lot more information about the intersection of animated film and fine arts!

Have fun with animated film – and if you have any questions, don’t forget to ask a librarian!