{Emily's Flip Book}

So, let’s first address the elephant in the blog (trust me, the use of that phrase will be funnier soon): I haven’t written in quite a while. Actually, I’ve started writing, but haven’t completed or published any posts in quite a while. I haven’t been inspired to write because my ideas don’t seem to be the most insightful thoughts lately.

Another piece of this little puzzle is the weather here in good old Central New York. February has been particularly unkind to us this year, with excessive snowfall, below-freezing temperatures everyday, harsh winds and a general lack of sunshine. I am already a wimp when it comes to winter weather, but this year in particular I’m just very tired of it. At first it was fun to joke, “Oh, it’s just like living in Arendelle, and we just have to wait for Elsa to cool off” (or warm up, actually). But it’s too cold and too miserable to drive in – it’s not fun anymore. I can’t even enjoy a Frozen sing-a-long on my daily commute these days.

As part of my internship, I visited my local zoo for an event this afternoon. Following the event, those of us in attendance had about an hour to explore the zoo before it closed. While my first instinct was to drive home and take a nap, I’m really glad that I decided to stay. Originally, I planned to just walk through the indoor exhibits, but since that took me all of about twenty minutes, I then ventured outside. And for a little while, I didn’t notice the cold at all. But I did notice the snow leopards, lynx, wolves, reindeer and more animals that prefer the colder climates.

I’m not sure if it was the sunshine that finally arrived, the fresh air or the near frostbite, but I started thinking clearer and became more excited to write and create. The animals in the zoo reminded me of my favorite animated characters, including this moment from Tarzan:

It also got me thinking about the number of animated films – especially Disney animated films – that take place in the animal kingdom. And certainly many of my favorites do: The Lion King, Finding Nemo, The Aristocats and many more. While I don’t have the artistic abilities of animators, I think I understand just a little bit more why so many stories explore the animal world, because it’s a place that challenges us and excites us as audiences. And it can educate us, when done correctly; I’ve read and watched plenty of behind-the-scenes animated animal films to know that these cartoon representations are researched and inspired by their live counterparts. In fact, real animals are often observed by animators in preparation of such films – The Lion King is an awesome example!

This little adventure made me realize how beautiful winter can be with untouched snow and icicles everywhere. The snowy scenery jogged my memory of a film I haven’t watched in about five years: Bambi. It is such a beautiful film, and we know that Walt and the Disney animators studied real deer to inspire the characters. As simple and overly adorable as it is, Bambi’s exploration of the first snow fall is pretty spectacular sequence. It’s accompanied by an excellent score that I actually listened to in writing this post, and the breathtaking animation still holds up today. Take a look for yourself:

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UPDATE 2/21/14: This morning Disney Studios Careers tweeted on this very topic! Check it out, I absolutely love the photo:

It’s a small victory, but in my book, today was one of the best I’ve had this month. It really is the little things that keep us going when life is stressful, but I needed to be reminded of that. But with a little fresh air, a cute cartoon and a blog post, I’m definitely feeling like this cold might not bother me anyway. Well, at least for today.

Ten years ago, Chris Van Allsburg’s Christmastime children’s book, The Polar Express, was adapted to the big screen in the form of a motion caption computer animated film.

This unique animation technique involves actors portraying characters on film that is used to generated computer-animated visuals (I think some of the most successful examples of this can be found in Middle Earth: Gollum from the Lord of the Rings and Smaug from The Hobbit; honorable mention to the Na’vi in Avatar, but that’s another blog). Motion capture is the modern and technology assisted relative of rotoscoping, which is an animation technique that traced over live footage with hand drawn animation; this was notably used in the creation of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. But I digress.

I first viewed The Polar Express in the 2005 Christmas season, when my family rented the film (back in the good old days of Blockbuster), since I’m sure we had already maxed out on our animated movie theatrical release attendance by November of 2004. So, at the time I originally watched the film, I was 14, and had a pretty average education of animated films. I enjoyed traditional cell animation of my beloved classic Disney films the most, but was warming up to the idea of computer animation, thanks mostly to Pixar. I liked Christmas movies, I liked musicals and I liked other adaptions of some of my favorite children’s books to film.

But I did not like The Polar Express. I actually remember saying that I hated it about halfway through the film. And then confirming with my family that I indeed hated it very much by the end of the film. Of course this was a rather strong opinion, but do 14 year olds really have weak opinions? I had three main arguments to support this review:

1. The characters were very confusing. Only Santa Claus identified with a name from the beginning of the film. The boy is never named, nor is young girl who becomes his friend. However, halfway through we learn the name of a secondary character, Billy, and the protagonist’s sister, Sarah, at the end of the film. The nameless characters were consistent with the book, but I thought that if they wanted to name some, they should’ve named them all, especially in the case of the extended plot.

2. There was a lot of liberty taken with the plot, which resulted in a film that felt really long. The first time I saw it, I swore The Polar Express was three hours long. It’s not. It’s 100 minutes. But when I first watched it, I found the extended sequences on the train and in Santa’s factory to be unfaithful to the book and unnecessary.

3. The character animation was creepy. Something about the characters’ faces – especially their eyes, was just off. They looked somewhat like a cross between Sims characters and Old Navy mannequins, which was a far cry from the cute and cuddly Pixar characters I was accustomed to.

This evening, I returned from a holiday party with family friends to watch the final 20 minutes of Home Alone on ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas (more on this later). When I saw that The Polar Express was up next, I shared with my friends that I did not like the film. They were outraged and insisted that I give it a second chance. And I’m really glad I did, because I definitely enjoyed it more this time. So here’s my revisions to those original three points:

1. The names or characters, of lack thereof, were really not that noticeable this time around. Perhaps I knew to expect this, and tried to ignore it, but I found the characters engaging and well-emoted so much so that names probably wouldn’t have changed this. I also further appreciated the six characters portrayed by the amazing Tom Hanks.

2. Even with ABC Family’s promotions and commercials, the film was only 2 hours long. I ridiculously exaggerated the length of the film and probably elongated it even more over the last 9 years. And this time, I loved the extended scenes – they added action, excitement and innovation to a simple story. Also, my theme park imagination was going off the charts with excitement at the possibility for a train of the tracks roller coaster, a series of slides from Santa’s worksop and a fast ride inspired by the mail-like shoots throughout the North Pole.

3. The character animation is still not my favorite. Motion capture has definitely improved over the last 10 years, so the style does feel out dated and still a little off. However, I previously overlooked the value of the scenery, which is awesome animation! The exterior of the frosty landscape during the train journey is perfectly chilling in every way, and the North Pole is a colorful and creative adaptation of the famous location.

Overall, I’m really glad that I gave The Polar Express a second chance. It’s an inventive retelling of the classic story, and still carries the wonderful Christmas message of believing. It definitely made me feel the holiday spirit!

Happy holidays, everyone!

It is officially winter here in Central New York. And my favorite way to cope with the snow is to watch Frozen. Nine months ago, I received my Collectors Edition Frozen Blu-ray and DVD combo pack. And I was just a little excited to say the least:

I watched the movie immediately and was then eager to view the special features, including the making of the film and deleted scenes. Unfortunately for me, these special features were only on the Blu-ray disk, and as I am still stuck in 2007 with my hip DVD player, I was unable to watch the bonus content. The next day, I noticed that all of the special features promised to the Blu-ray and DVD were available on the Walt Disney Animation Studios YouTube channel.

It was all there.

Deleted scenes:

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Extended scenes:

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And behind the scenes:

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This was the first time in forever that I had seen Disney release its bonus content directly to its YouTube channel. I would have expected the company to keep the material exclusive to the Blu-ray and DVD to drive sales. But I proved myself wrong nine months later in developing a research paper on the subject of public relations and YouTube. I selected Disney’s YouTube presence as a case study for the subject. And I’m happy to report that Disney is definitely doing it right and keeping its publics (before profits) in mind with its video content.

YouTube is a major site for sharing video content, which comes from a variety of channels, including entertainment companies, news agencies, individual vloggers, musicians, and more. It is a direct and essentially free way to share video content with the world (besides the advertisements, but viewers don’t really “pay”for those directly). The responsibility to handle YouTube as an effective tool for communications falls to the public relations professionals.

In Disney’s case, YouTube is being used to create brand identity and loyalty to the characters, stories, music, and memories all Disney fans love. And now, fans can access this content whenever they choose. The company has over 20 YouTube channels that each display a specific genre of content, including movies, music, theme parks, television, theater, and more. Each of these channels appeal to niche audiences that together form Disney’s entire public. Disney uses YouTube to communicate with viewers in the comments and receive feedback from the number of views, likes, and shares.

As discussed in my Big Hero 6 blog post, Disney’s YouTube channels are also one of the most effective ways that the company promotes its movies. Teaser trailers for Big Hero 6 and Frozen were released nearly six months before the movies hit theaters, but weren’t seen on regular television until the final weeks before the releases. This is a smart choice for Disney and other movie makers, because YouTube videos are more shareable, and can likely capture more views than traditional televised trailers since many people are watching their computer, tablet, or smartphone instead of the television. Disney also combines YouTube with its other social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) to ensure that the content will be seen by those who do not subscribe to the YouTube channel.

And the best thing about YouTube as a tool for entertainment public relations is that everyone wins. The publics are happy because there is more content readily available to them that they can like, comment, and share with their friends. They feel more involved in the process of a new film coming out or a theme park attraction being built. Audience members want to connect with brands they enjoy over social media, and enjoy connecting with the community of other fans as well. The organizations create a stronger brand identity, receive instant research and feedback, listen to its publics, build a better reputation and illustrate synergy among various aspects of the company.

YouTube is still relatively young, along with other social media, and it will certainly continue to change. But with its boundary spanning, strategic planning and synergy, Disney is well prepared to lead the way. With this case study in mind, I believe professionals can make better use of YouTube as a tool for public relations and achieve better communications with publics.

And when they do, they can celebrate with a #BaymaxFistBump

1. This blog.

2. The fact that this is my fifth successive year of attending college and taking finals. And this is entirely voluntary.

3. While the above is incredibly stressful, I’m still enjoying it because I really like school.

4. In addition to being a student, I’m also an instructional assistant (IA, though more commonly known in other university programs as a TA). And I love it. It may be my favorite job, second to Disney of course. But I seriously really enjoy preparing lessons and helping the students with assignments, exams and papers.

5. And, now, for the grand finale: as my students are preparing their final papers this week, I decided to post this on my office door:

That’s right. This is not the first, not the second, but the third Big Hero 6 post. But this time, I’d like to apply some of that public relations graduate education I’m investing all my time and money in. And, today, we’re going to take a look at Disney’s use of social media for the promotion of Big Hero 6.

Big Hero 6 is undeniably an awesome animated film. Based on the Disney name, the Marvel connection and the world’s love for an adorable robot, the movie had very good odds of becoming a hit. But even I was surprised to see it beat Interstellar in the box office opening weekend by $6.2 million. And I think that the audience interactivity on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube helped Big Hero 6 come out on top.

Disney created the Big Hero 6 Facebook Page in May of 2013 – a year and a half before the film hit theaters. Since then, it’s gained 475,001 likes, and posted dozens of photos and videos:

including the Baymax Photobomb application:

Disney is smart to recognize the selfie-obsessed generation, and to create a way for them to interact with the Baymax and the rest of the Big Hero 6 characters that they can share.

Hashtags were used on Twitter and Instagram to encourage fans to tweet about seeing the film with #MeetBaymax and to share images of their Big Hero 6 Toys reenacting moments from the movie with #toyography.

Not only does this inspire users to purchase Big Hero 6 merchandise, but it encourages them to show their own innovation and creativity, two values that are prominent in the film.

Finally, videos shared on YouTube were very popular among fans. Up until the week of Big Hero 6’s release, there were very few trailers or advertisements for the film seen on cable television. But Disney Animation Studios’ YouTube Channel has been sharing teasers, trailers and bonus content for nearly 6 months. This was very smart of Disney, because YouTube reaches more viewers than any cable network. The platform also makes it simple for fans to share and comment.

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My personal favorite is the Drawn to Animation Playlist that teaches fans to draw the characters from the film:

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So, what have we learned? Big Hero 6 appeared early on social media, and posted often on a variety of platforms to interact with fans. This created a community forum for the film, and made all of us feel involved with the film before and after its release. Well done, Baymax!
“I am satisfied with my care.”

Have you seen Big Hero 6 yet? Even if you haven’t you’ve certainly seen something on social media about the film! What do you think of Disney’s social media presence?

As mentioned earlier, I had the great joy of seeing Disney’s Big Hero 6 in theaters this weekend! It was a wonderful film, and yet another success by Walt Disney Animation Studios.

I was so excited to share my thoughts on this film right away, and I really wanted to start a conversation about it. So, in addition to blogging about my favorite aspects of Big Hero 6 below, I also made a vlog, in which I (very enthusiastically) share my initial reaction:

Read More

And I loved it.

More to come soon!

It’s November 6, 2014. Tomorrow is the official release of Disney’s newest animated film Big Hero 6 in theaters. I was preparing for the excitement and anxiety this will cause me all week, and I was doing very well. And then this happened:

And all of the world’s Disney, Pixar and animation fans lost their minds. Including me.

This is HUGE news, and the timing of this announcement is very surprising what with Disney’s holiday movie season, including Big Hero 6 and Into the Woods. I think many were also shocked to have such big news made over social media instead of a press conference or something more official. But considering the unconventional nature of Pixar, perhaps we should’ve seen this coming.

In February of 2013, Bloomberg created a short documentary called Inside Pixar. The documentary is available on Netflix and also on Bloomberg’s website. Anchor Carol Massar visited the Pixar headquarters in California and interviewed key creators to learn about the history and vision of the animation studios.

The film opens with an introduction of the Pixar offices, which in my opinion put those of Google and Microsoft to shame. The employees ride scooters around the “campus,” play games and are surrounded by life-size replications of the characters of the Pixar films.

And let’s not forget the 29 Oscars that the studios have earned, which are proudly displayed in the lobby. This playful atmosphere is “all in the hopes of creating ‘the next Toy Story’” and as we now know, they are.

We then learn about John Lasseter, the chief creative officer at Pixar and Disney Animation Studios. Lasseter grew up in California, just a half an hour from Disneyland, which he fondly calls his favorite place in the world. As a young boy, he saw Disney’s The Sword and the Stone and decided then that he wanted to be an animator for Walt Disney. To achieve this goal, he enrolled in the California Institute of the Arts in character animation. Lasseter secured a job in Disney animation after graduating, but he was fired after a short time for going around leadership and trying to make a film with 3D backgrounds.

Lasseter then turned to the computer animation sector of Lucasfilm, where he found his risk-taking was more encouraged. In 1984, Lasseter created The Adventures of Andre and Wally B, a short animated film featuring new technology. Shortly after, George Lucas sold the computer animation studios of Lucasfilm to Steve Jobs, and the studio was renamed Pixar. John Lasseter remained part of the studio from this time, and has since seen 13 successful animated films.

Disney was originally the distributor of Pixar films, beginning in 1991, when Pixar signed a $26 million distribution deal with Disney to produce three computer animated films. The first of these films was Toy Story (1995), which was a huge gamble for the studio. Luckily for Pixar, Toy Story grossed $358 million, over 12 times what it cost to make.

In 2006, Disney’s new CEO, Bob Iger, bought Pixar for $7.4 billion. Lasseter then became Creative Principal Advisor of Walt Disney Imagineering, which involves creating new attractions for the Disney theme parks. This role is a dream come true to Lasseter who says, “Everything I do in my life is because of Walt Disney and how he entertained me.”

Over the past 20 years, Pixar has created 13 more hit animated films, all of which earned the No. 1 spot in the box office on their opening weekends. This has included A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Brave and Monsters University. In 2010, Toy Story 3, referred to as Pixar’s “crown jewel” earned more than $1 billion, and became the highest grossing animated film ever (a title it held onto until a little movie called Frozen shattered box office records in 2013).

Lasseter and the rest of Pixar’s animators and creators value each production as an opportunity to learn and discover new techniques in computer animation. Brave was the first period piece, and the studio’s first challenge to make the history and location believable. The studio was successful in conquering the many obstacles, and Lasseter said he congratulated the staff as he always does by saying: “because of what you did it’s so brilliant, the audience will never notice because it’s so believable.”

The documentary closes with the promising Pixar creations to come and a final quote from Lasseter: “I have the best job in the world. I get in my car. I drive to Pixar. And I know everyday I’m going to see something that I’ve never seen before in my life and no one has.”

And, as we learned today, this “something” just so happens to be Toy Story 4.

What do you think? Are you excited for Toy Story 4? What do you think Pixar can do with the story and characters this time?

Hey, there fellow millennials. I know at least a handful of you glance at this blog of mine every now and then. And today, I have a very important issue to share with you: VOTING!

I know, I know what you’re thinking: “My vote doesn’t matter,” “I don’t have time,” “It’s only the Midterm Election.” All of those excuses translate into: “I don’t care about my democratic right to have a say in my country.” And the fact that this is the overwhelming opinion of eligible voters under 25 is awful! Our generation has the education (and student loans), the technology, the skills and the enthusiasm to make a difference in this country. But we can’t do that if less than a quarter of our demographic shows up to the polls!

Nerdfighter and Vlogger Hank Green does an awesome job discussing this issue in this video, so please check it out! Here today, I’m going to do what I do best: talk about cartoons.

I’ll admit, I think the campaign process these days turns off a lot of young voters. With all of the political slander, accusations of extreme acts, booming voices and obnoxiously large type, it’s almost impossible to learn who a candidate really is from an advertisement that only negatively addresses his or her opponent. And I also think that this negative campaigning culture discourages young adults from pursuing factual information about the candidates and real issues.

Now, I’m not saying that airing animated, cheery commercials with catchy songs would automatically increase awareness and action to vote – but I’m also not saying that wouldn’t help! I’m just using this platform to share 5 cartoons that should remind you of what’s awesome and important about voting this year!

1. Schoolhouse Rock “Rock the Vote” – This is one of two videos that I recommend from Schoolhouse Rock because it is simple, fun and addresses the importance of voting!

2. Ted-Ed “Does Your Vote Count? The Electoral College Explained by Christina Greer” – The Ted-Ed series is really awesome and I am so glad I discovered it today! These are slightly more “grown-up” animations and info graphs, and they are very thorough in supplying information.

3. Ted-Ed “The Fight for the Right to Vote in the United States with Nicki Beaman Griffin” – This may be the most important video I share, because it reminds us that U.S. citizens have fought for our right to vote today. And as a special note to any young women reading this: women did not have the right to vote less than a century ago. So, please, show your appreciation to those who fought for this right by voting!

4. Schoolhouse Rock “I’m Just a Bill” – True, it’s not exactly about voting, but it is a classic!

5. You’re Not Elected Charlie Brown – If these elementary school-aged cartoon characters value the electoral process and voting, shouldn’t you? Plus, this also displays one of many excellent speeches by Linus.