INCORPORATING EXPERIMENTAL PRACTICE TO COUNTER NARROW SPECIALISATION AND PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATION, CREATIVITY AND CRITICAL THINKING IN ANIMATION STUDENTS

The early success of the Disney studio is often attributed to the adoption of Taylorism and Fordism to the animation production process, which resulted in a workforce of highly specialised people and the development of an identifiable and consistent house style. The success of Disney naturally led to other studios adopting a similar assembly line approach to animation production which has evolved with contemporary computer animation today. Much has been written about how the industrialisation of animation production and dominance of the Disney Studio has stifled the creative and aesthetic potential of animation. This has extended to the education sector as pedagogical approaches within animation education borrow from these industrialised production processes and visual styles. There is an increasing focus around the world on the development of highly specialised and narrow vocational skills at the expense of experimentation and exploration of new aesthetic or narrative possibilities. The result is students that resist or are challenged by the notion of innovation, creativity and critical thinking in animation. This paper outlines an approach for incorporating experimental animation practice into undergraduate curriculum to promote the development of innovation, creativity and critical thinking in animation students.