Animating Shakespeare: To Thine Own Self Be True

Alright. So after discussing in class yesterday about how we should be trying to incorporate our interests and majors into our studies of Shakespeare, I decided I would try to make some specific goals. I definitely want to bring my knowledge of animation and film into how I study Shakespeare. But how can I do this, specifically?

I liked how there were people who used their interests to really drive their blog as they analyzed Shakespeare. So I've decided I will do the same. Animation and film is all about characters, settings, timing, and cinematics. Perhaps if I focus on each of these aspects at different times in each of Shakespeare's plays, I can find something more personal to me and my interests.

And, let's face it. I'm an artist. All things can be improved with visuals. Hence, perhaps illustrating this blog would make it much more enjoyable to me and to those who are reading. I think I will try to bring in illustrations and doodles as I study Shakespeare's works. That is always the best form of interpretation for me. I think this will fulfill the learning outcomes of "Engaging Shakespeare Creatively" and "Sharing Shakespeare Meaningfully". This is the best way I know how.

This brings me to my choice in title for my blog. I feel like it needs some explanation. "In-between" is a term that is used in animation. When you are creating a sequence of motion, you start by drawing (or modeling) the highest points of the motion. For example, if a person is jumping, you'd probably start with them bending their knees on the ground, then have when they are halfway in the air, and then completely up in the air. After you have those, you go back and fill in all the drawings of where the movement would be in between each of those. So you'd have four or five more drawings that are just subtle changes from the point when the person left the ground to when they are in the air. I want to fill this blog with my "in-betweeners", my thoughts on the subtleties that create the real movement of the play. Maybe then I can take Shakespeare even further.

Well, I'm off to begin some doodling and see what I come up with.