Rough Presentation Notes

The following is my rough presentation notes for my presentation tomorrow. As I was putting the presentation slides together I realized that the information I needed was in my head, and to write out too detailed a script would likely hinder me come presentation time. The slides will prompt me well enough to stay on topic, and these rough notes will refresh my memory before I begin.

The notes:

Introduction

What is the uncanny?

For this study, I will be looking at the uncanny in narrative, and how artists and filmmakers have explored uncanny themes visually.

I will be looking at the following uncanny tropes:

1.Inanimate objects mistaken as animate (dolls, waxworks, automata, severed limbs, etc.)
2.Animate objects behaving as if inanimate or mechanical (trances, epileptic fits, etc.)
3.Being blinded
4.The double (twins, doppelgangers, etc.)
5.Coincidences or repetitions
6.Being buried alive
7.Some all-controlling evil genius
8.Confusions between reality and imagination (waking dreams, etc.)
9.Cannibalism

I will not be looking into such uncanny aspects as deconstruction, teaching, the nature of language and its relationship to the self or a deep analysis of the Uncanny valley. Where relevant these topics will be touched upon briefly, but they are too vast to be approached with depth in this study.

I will not be looking at this topic to create new insight in the areas of psychology, psychoanalysis, robotics, computer graphics (I.e. the avoidance of the uncanny valley), or literature analysis.

Instead, my approach is from the perspective of the creative looking to create narrative works in the realm of the uncanny. To this end my research will focus on the analysis of the subject matter, and analysis of the works of other creatives in the field. I will also be conducting some practice led research through analysis of my own creations in order to improve the work I create as much as possible, and to explore the uncanny tropes of narrative in as much detail as I can.

My productive work this year will encompass a collection of thematic narrative and artistic experiments, alongside an uncanny narrative picture book. This picture book will consist of an uncanny narrative told through limited words, and through picture as much as possible in order to open it up to an international audience. All the images in this book will be full 3d graphic renders.

My intent with this picture book is to get it published after I have finished university, and to use it to attain funding to turn it into a full 3d animated short, as all the assets will be fully prepared for a team to set up and animate.