Thesis - Griffith University

Transcription

A Cultural Revolution Revisited: Computer Animation
and Beijing Opera
By Lei Zhang MVA
Griffith Film School
Griffith University, Southbank Queensland
Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of
Doctor of Visual Arts, June 2009
ABSTRACT
This research project focuses on the potential relationship between Beijing Opera (the
traditional cultural heritage) and computer animation (a modern art form). It responds
to the practical problem that Beijing Opera is a national treasure of China with a
history of 200 years, but now it is in decline as popular entertainment. Beijing Opera
(or Peking Opera) is widely regarded as the highest expression of Chinese culture,
being one of the three main theatrical systems in the world. Attempts to keep this
traditional cultural treasure alive have varied, including encouraging positive
appreciation among young audiences and updating Beijing Opera's artistic style and
performance. To further that ambition, this research explores how Beijing Opera's
traditional stage performance can be adapted to a virtual stage by computer generated
imagery (CGI), also known as computer animation. CGI animation has eclipsed other
animation forms and has emerged as one of the most successful film-art forms
(Polchat 2007). The resounding success of Toy Story, the first fully
computer-generated feature film produced by Pixar (The Walt Disney Company) in
1995 and the following continuous release of breathtaking CGI films by numerous
studios in the past decade, informs this project of the potential offered by CGI
animation. This research report argues for the possibility of using computer animation
to present Beijing Opera.
Central to this research is the dynamism of computer animation as an educational tool.
Most importantly, this research considers in what ways can the contemporary appeal
of computer animation be exploited to popularize Beijing Opera with children and to
what extent computer animation can be used to affect a positive response to Beijing
Opera and to revive an interest in it with a young audience. It is claimed that the
findings of this research identify how computer animation, the most popular medium
in contemporary times, could sustain the development of traditional cultural
phenomena.
i
To conduct the research, relevant professional Beijing Opera performers in China
were enlisted to participate by recording their virtuoso performances. Close
observation of their performances and discussion of the plots were undertaken in
order to locate the proper elements to be presented by computer animation. Interviews
with the Director of China Central Television (CCTV) children’s programs,
educationists and parents garnered useful hints on how to design an attractive,
entertaining and educational animated film for children. The findings were applied
and critically assessed by means of a practical project; a nine minute 3D animated
film, Lulu's Opera House, addressed to 7 – 11 year olds and created concurrently with
the wider research. To examine the research findings, Lulu’s Opera House was
broadcast on Shandong Television Station (SDTV) to children in different age groups
and the positive response from young audiences proved that furthering this study
could offer insight into how to introduce Beijing Opera to children through computer
animation.
What follows is an account of the development and context of the project, the
research methods applied, and critical analyses of the findings. The research
concludes that computer animation could create a positive response to Beijing Opera
and popularize it with children.
ii
Statement of Originality
This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university.
To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously
published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the
thesis itself.
Lei Zhang 2010
iii
LIST OF CONTENTS
List of Figures
x
Acronyms and Abbreviations
xv
Acknowledgements
xvi
1. Introduction
1
1.1 Project background and practice problem
1
1.2 Research Aims and Scope
4
1.3 Definition of the Key Terms
7
1.4 Research Methodology
8
1.4.1 Research Methods
8
1.4.2 Summary of the five phases of the study
10
1.5 Structure of the Thesis
13
2. Beijing Opera
15
Literature review
15
2.1 History of Beijing Opera
17
2.1.1 Development (1790 – 1966)
18
2.1.2 Golden Years
19
2.1.3 Decline (1966-now)
20
2.2 The Present Situation of Beijing Opera
21
2.2.1 Current status
21
2.2.2 Efforts to sustain Beijing Opera
24
2.2.3 The importance of developing children’s interest in Beijing Opera 26
2.3 Summary of Chapter 2
28
iv
3. Educational Value of Television on Children
3.1 Educational value of Television on children
29
29
3.1.1 Children’s learning from educational TV programs
33
3.1.2 Positive effects of children’s television program
35
3.1.2.1 Al Manaahil
36
3.1.2.2 Sesame Street
37
3.1.2.3 Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
40
3.1.3 The features of good children’s educational television
3.2 Cartoon Animation and children’s educational Television
3.2.1 The positive influence of cartoon animation on children
41
45
48
3.2.1.1 Animation nurtures children’s linguistic and imitating
capabilities
48
3.2.1.2 Animation satisfies children’s desire for knowledge
and expands children’s knowledge of the world
50
3.2.1.3 Animation promotes the development of children’s
pro-social behaviours
50
3.2.1.4 Animation expands children’s thinking
3.2.2 learning through cartoons
51
53
3.2.2.1 3000 Whys of Blue Cat (China)
53
3.2.2.2 Educational Cartoon Program on WNIT Public Television 56
3.3 Summary of chapter 3
64
4. Lulu’s Opera House in Context: Chinese Animation development
4.1 The history of Chinese animation
68
4.1.1 Early history
68
4.1.2 The golden age
69
4.1.3 The adoption of Beijing Opera in Chinese animation history
76
4.2 Current states of Chinese Animation industry
77
4.3 Obstacles to current Chinese animation development
80
v
4.3.1 Limited thematic range and weak storytelling skills
80
4.3.2 Narrow orientation of audience group
82
4.3.3 Underdevelopment of cartoon industry
84
4.3.4 Lack of brand management awareness
84
4.3.5 The immaturity of animation marketing mechanisms
86
4.3.6 Low distribution fee
88
4.4 Development trend of Chinese animation industry
89
4.4.1 Industrialization and the support strategies from government
89
4.4.2 The compelling achievement from 2004-2008
98
4.4.3 The prospect of Chinese animation market
100
4.5 CCTV Animation INC & China Central Television (CCTV)
Children’s Channel Programs
102
4.5.1 CCTV Animation INC
102
4.5.2 CCTV Children’s Channel
103
4.6 The Development Trend of Global Cartoon Animation
106
107
5. Audience Research
108
5.1 Introduction to Audience Research Process
109
5.1.1 Shandong Television Station Children Channel (SDTV) Follow-up
Survey
109
5.1.2 School Screening Test
109
5.2 The process of Audience Research
111
5.2.1 Sampling Process of SDTV Follow-up Survey
111
5.2.2 Sampling Process of School Screening Test
113
5.3 Questionnaire Design
115
5.3.1 Research Approaches
115
5.3.2 Design of Questions
117
vi
5.3.3 Distribution of questionnaires
5.4 Data Processing and Research Methodology
127
128
5.4.1 Data editing
128
5.4.2 Coding
129
5.4.3 Tabulation
130
5.5 Data Analysis and Conclusion
130
5.5.1 Perceptions and Preferences
131
5.5.2 Audience feedback of Lulu’s Opera House
132
5.5.3 Focus on Beijing Opera learners
138
5.5.4 International interest in Lulu’s Opera House
139
5.5.5 Conclusions
141
6. Studio project
143
6.1 Production Diary 1 - Design of the Studio Project
144
6.1.1 About the animation series
144
6.1.2 How research findings shaped the animation series
145
6.1.3 Design concepts and audience
157
6.1.4 Identification of suitable Beijing Opera repertoire for
children 7 to 11
160
6.2 Production Diary 2 - Project Workflow design
168
6.2.1 What is Lean Production?
168
6.2.2 Applications of Lean Production to Lulu’s Opera House
170
6.2.3 Conclusion
177
6.3 Production Diary 3 - Production of Character Animation
178
6.3.1 Character facial expression animation
178
6.3.2 Character Animation Work Flow
181
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6.4 Production Diary 4 - Environment & Texture Design
184
6.4.1 The making of seamlessly repeatable background pattern
187
6.4.2 The making of Diffuse Map
193
6.4.3 The making of Normal Map
193
6.4.4 Applying three maps in 3D Max
199
6.5 Production Diary 5 – Character Costumes Textures
206
6.5.1 The art of costume in Beijing Opera
207
6.5.2 Rules of costume tradition
207
6.5.3 The categories of Beijing Opera costumes
209
6.5.3.1 The Robes – The Ceremonial Robe (Mang)
210
6.5.3.2 The Ceremonial Robes for Women
214
6.5.3.3 Armour (Kao)
215
6.5.3.4 Helmets and Headgear
221
6.5.3.5 Opera shoes and boots
221
6.5.4 Analysis on the Costumes and Texture of the Cartoon Characters
222
6.5.4.1 Costumes of the Female Beijing Opera Character
223
6.5.4.2 Texture of the Male Beijing Opera Characters
227
6.5.4.3 Band Characters Design and Costumes Texture
231
7. Conclusions
234
7.1 Contributions of the study
234
7.2 Prospects and development potential of the Project
241
7.3 Closing remarks
242
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Appendix
243
Appendix A: Features of Beijing Opera
244
Role types
245
Facial Makeup
249
Melody and instrument
253
Appendix B: Interview transcripts
255
Jing Jia
Shandong Television. Children Channel. Producer
256
Yuejin Guo
Vice President of Shandong College of arts
261
Qihua Cai
CCTV Animation INC. Production Department
Director
Hong Ying
264
CCTV Social and Educational Programming Centre.
Executive Editor
Zhijun Cai
270
CCTV Animation INC. Planning & Creative
Department Deputy Director
Appendix C:
The Questionnaires
277
283
SDTV follow-up survey questionnaire (English)
284
SDTV follow-up survey questionnaire (Chinese)
287
SDTV follow-up survey participant information
290
Data collected from SDTV survey
292
SDTV broadcast certifications
295
School screening test questionnaire (English)
297
School screening test questionnaire (Chinese)
301
School screening test participant information
305
Data collected from School screening test
319
Selected original copy of questionnaires
324
Appendix D: Script of <Lulu’s Opera House>
356
ix
Glossary
373
References
376
Bibliography
399
List of Illustrations and Figures
Figure 1: Detailed Action Research Model
11
Figure 2: Mu Guiying in Beijing Opera play Mu Ke Zhai
17
Figure 3: Monkey King in Beijing Opera play
The Monkey King Makes Hell of Heaven.
19
Figure 4: An 8-year-old participant performs onstage
26
Figure 5: 3000 Whys of Blue Cat
53
Figure 6: WordGirl
56
Figure 7: Sid the Science Kid
59
Figure 8: “Super WHY!” show for emerging readers on PBSs
61
Figure 9: The phonics four: Characters from the “Super Why!”
61
Figure 10: WordWorld
63
Figure 11: The Magic Paint-brush (1956) produced by SAFS
70
Figure 12: The Conceited General (1956) produced by SAFS
71
Figure 13: Piggy Eats Watermelons (1958)
71
Figure 14: Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy (1960)
72
Figure 15: The Cowboy’s Flute (1963)
73
Figure 16: Havoc in Heaven (1962)
74
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Figure 17: The Dreaming Girl produced by CCTV Animation Inc.
83
Figure 18: Audience rating of Shanghai Cartoon Channel from June
93
to October 2006
Figure 19: Beijing opera character 1 – Wu Jing
148
Figure 20: Beijing opera character 2 – Wu Chou
149
Figure 21: Beijing opera character 3 –Wu Sheng
150
Figure 22: Band musician 1 - Erhu player Lin
151
Figure 23: Band musician 2 - Drummer Dong
152
Figure 24: Beijing opera character 1 –Wu Jing (painted-face martial
male) was presented in the pilot short film
153
Figure 25: Beijing opera actress designed by Zhang Lei in 2007
155
Figure 26: Still image of Lulu in animated short film
155
Figure 27: Lin morph targets set up
179
Figure 28: Dong morph targets set up
179
Figure 29: Lulu morph targets set up
180
Figure 30: Female opera actor facial set up
181
Figure 31: Male opera actor facial set up
181
Figure 32: Opera house concept 1
185
Figure 33: Opera house stage concept
186
Figure 34: Stage detail concept
186
Figure 35: Black and white background pattern of curtain
187
Figure 36: To use Filter-Other-Offset Tool in Photoshop to get
a seamlessly repeatable pattern
188
Figure 37: Enter parameters which are half of the materials size
189
Figure 38: Result of offset UV
190
Figure 39: Get a seamlessly repeatable pattern by using offset tool
191
Figure 40: Return the offset to the normal position
192
Figure 41: Overlapping four textures to get the final curtain texture
193
Figure 42: Normal map principle
193
Figure 43: Organic Shrine designed for computer game
194
xi
Figure 44: Normal map produced for the architecture wall
195
Figure 45: Transfer the diffuse map into black and white mode
196
Figure 46: Adjust its black and white contrast gradient to
make stronger contrast effect
197
Figure 47: Click on Filter - NVIDIA Tools – NormalMapFilter.
198
Figure 48: Open NVIDIA Normal Map Filter dialog box and set the
scale parameter as 10
199
Figure 49: Diffuse Map, Normal Map & Specular Map used for
curtain material
200
Figure 50: Assign these maps to the corresponding channel in
3D Max software
200
Figure 51: Assign Normal Map to the Normal Bump property
201
Figure 52: Final render effect of theatre curtain
202
Figure 53: Making Diffuse Map for wallpaper
202
wallpaper material
203
Figure 55: Final render effect of wallpaper
203
Figure 56: Making Diffuse map for copper gong
204
Figure 57: Diffuse Map, Normal Map & Specular Map used for copper gong
204
Figure 58: Making Diffuse map for green wooden board
204
green wooden board
205
Figure 60: The final rendering effect of green wooden board and
copper gong material
205
Figure 61: Embroidered red ceremonial robe for men
211
Figure 62: Circle dragon pattern for emperor
212
Figure 63: Black ceremonial robe with flying dragon pattern for warriors
213
Figure 64: Circle phoenix pattern for empress
214
Figure 65: Embroidered red ceremonial robe for women
215
Figure 66: Male hard armour
216
xii
Figure 67: Male Soft armour
218
Figure 68: Male improved armour
219
Figure 69: Female hard armour
220
Figure 70: Female improved armour
221
Figure 71: thick-soled boots for man
222
Figure 72: Armor for Mu Guiying
225
Figure 73: Costume for Wudan
225
Figure 74: Female actor costume design
227
Figure 75: Flying dragon pattern for male actor costume
229
Figure 76: Male Actor costume design
230
Figure 77: Lin & Dong character design
232
Figure 78: Lin & Dong costume design
233
Table 1: The summary of the five phases of the study
12
Table 2: US TV standard for children 7-12
43
Table 3: Children’s Television Standards 2009 by the Australian
Communications and Media Authority
44
Table 4: Children programming timetable of CCTV in 17 Aug 2004
78
Table 5: Cartoon animation programmes broadcasted in CCTV 2004
79
Table 6: List of four colleges and nine studios in the first group of
national animation centres
91
Table 7: Cartoon animation programmes broadcasted in CCTV
Children Channel during 2007-2008
105
Table 8: SDTV Follow-up Survey questionnaire information list
118
Table 9: School Screening Test questionnaire information list
119
Table 10: Individual question design of SDTV follow-up survey
121
Table 11: Part1 individual question design of School Screening Test
122
123
Table 13: Multichoice questions example in School Screening Test
124
xiii
Table 14: Dichotomous questions example in SDTV Follow-up Survey
125
Table 15: Sample of coding in SDTV Follow-up Survey
129
Table 16: Students who knew about Peking Opera
130
Table 17: How students had heard about Peking Opera
130
Table 18: Audience opinion in Lulu’s Opera House
133
Table 19: The elements students like the most in Lulu’s opera House
133
Table 20: Characters students like the most in Lulu’s opera House
134
Table 21: Students opinion on the story of Lulu's Opera House
135
Table 22: Role types children want to see more in
future Peking Opera animation
136
Table 23: The efficiency of Lulu’s opera House in helping
children understanding Peking Opera
Table 24: Students opinion in developing Peking Opera animation
137
137
Table 25: Figure comparison between before and after
viewing Lulu’s Opera House
141
Table 26: Lulu’s Opera House-Character Animation List
xiv
171
Acronyms and Abbreviations
CGI
Computer Generated Imagery
CG
Computer Graphic
ACTF
Australian Children’s Television Foundation
CCTV
China Central Television
SDTV
Shandong Television
LP
Lean Production
IMVP
International Automobile Plan Organization
TPS
Toyota Production System
ETS
Educational Testing Service
ERIC
Educational Resources Information center
AAP
American Academy of Pediatrics
RAM
Random-access memory
SES
Socio-economic status
NPOTC
National Peking Opera Theatre of China
CTW
Children’s Television Workshop
CTA
Children’s Television Act
BFA
Beijing Film Academy
SARFT
State Aadministration of Radio, Film and Television
CICAF
China International Animation and Cartoon Festival
CITVC
China International Television Corporation
IDMT
Institute of Digital Media Technology Limited
SAFS
Shanghai Animation Film Studio
CNR
China National Radio
CRI
China Radio International
OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer
CNPOC
China National Peking Opera Company
xv
Acknowledgements
With a deep sense of gratitude, the first person I would like to thank is my principal
supervisor, Keith Bradbury. His endless enthusiasm and tireless devotion to research
inspired my own efforts. His invaluable guidance, substantial feedback, stimulating
suggestions and encouragement helped me throughout the research for and writing of
this thesis. Also, I am very grateful to Keith for his support in all other matters related
to my DVA study.
Secondly I would like to acknowledge the support, guidance and patience of my
principal supervisors John Eyley, in assisting in the completion of my studio practice a nine minutes 3D animated short film Lulu’s Opera House. With many discussions,
John provided valuable and detailed comments on the design of stories and animation
productions.
I also wish to thank Jin Jia, Zhijun Cai, Hong Ying and Qihua Cai for their attending
of my interviews and providing helpful information. In particular, I am grateful to
Professor Yuejin Guo for her help with background knowledge of Beijing Opera when
I started my research; Peibei Wang with whom I had discussions about the dialogue
recording for the animated short film; and Zhenhua Xue who composed the music for
the short film which inosculates the traditional Beijing Opera melody with modern
cartoon music. Further, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to SDTV
Children’s Channel, Beijing Itscartoon Studio, Children’s Beijing Opera director
Wang Xiaoxin, and several colleagues from CCTV Animation Inc for their great help
in the audience screening test process. In addition, I am thankful to numerous young
students from Beijing Opera School and Shandong Opera School, their passionate and
precise performances contributed to my collection of first-hand material of traditional
Beijing Opera performance.
xvi
I am very grateful to my husband Shaofang, for his loving support, patience and
understanding that enabled me to complete this work. I also want to thank my parents,
who taught me the value of hard work by their own example.
Finally, I would like to thank all whose direct and indirect support helped me
complete my DVA study successfully.
xvii
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Project background and practice problem
Beijing Opera or Peking Opera is a form of traditional Chinese theater that combines
music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It emerged in the late 18th
century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century
(Goldstein 2007, p.3). The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and
has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China (Mackerras 1976,
p.473). The repertoire of Beijing Opera in its peak period included over 1,400 works,
which were based on Chinese history, true stories, sketches, legends and novels
(Wichmann 1991, pp.12-16). However, during the second half of the 20th century,
Beijing Opera witnessed a steady decline in audience numbers, and had been added to
the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list by the UNESCO1
Intergovernmental Committee in 17 Nov 2010 (Shenzhen Daily 2010). This has been
attributed both to a decrease in performance quality and an inability of the traditional
opera form to capture modern life (Wichmann 1990, pp.148-149). Furthermore, the
archaic language of Beijing Opera required productions to utilize electronic subtitles,
and in the process of translating to foreign languages, inflections and subtleties of
meaning was lost, which all hampered the development of the form and limited its
popularity among young Chinese and foreign audiences. The influence of western
culture also may have left the younger generations impatient with the slow pacing of
Beijing Opera (Diamond 1994, p.114).
1
UNESCO - United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency
of the United Nations, which contribute to promote international collaboration through education,
science and culture (UNESCO 2010).
1
In response to sagging audience numbers, relevant organizations began to attempt
reforms in the 1980s, which included creating a school of performance theory to
increase the performance quality, utilizing modern elements to attract new audiences,
and performing new plays outside of the traditional canon. The spirit of reform
continued during the 1990s. To survive in an increasingly open market, troupes like
the Shanghai Beijing Opera Company needed to bring traditional Beijing Opera to
new audiences. To do this, they have offered an increasing number of free
performances in public places (Wichmann 2000).
In July 2001, China Central Television (CCTV) launched its eleventh national
channel, CCTV 11, dedicated to broadcasting classic Chinese opera and music to all
of the China's thirty-four provinces and autonomous regions. Though its programmers
boast more than two hundred kinds of Chinese musical drama in their broadcasting
repertoire, the genre that dominates CCTV 11's fourteen hours of daily air time is
Beijing Opera (Goldstein 2007, p.1).
In November 2003, a delegation from Shandong College of Arts visited Queensland
College of Art for the purpose of academic exchange. The leader of the delegation,
Vice-president of Shandong College of Arts, Headmaster of Shandong Opera School,
Professor Yuejin Guo is one of the Eight Beijing Opera Masters and an outstanding
Beijing Opera educationist in contemporary China. She was the winner of the Mei
Lanfang Golden Award in 1994 and remains dedicated to popularizing Beijing Opera.
As a part of the exchange, she visited the animation department of Queensland
College of Art and watched the animated short film - “Summer” I produced for my
Master of Arts in Visual Arts (MAVA) degree. Summer adopted 3D techniques to
present animated Chinese ink & wash paintings, which inspired professor Guo with
the idea of presenting Beijing Opera in the form of computer animation to children
and young audiences to motivate their interests in this traditional art. This suggestion
was very creative and meaningful, and aroused my enthusiasm to conduct this
2
research based on the art form from my motherland. The proposal for this research
was also strongly supported by my supervisor, Keith Bradbury, who recognized the
need for this research and defined it as: A cultural revolution revisited - computer
animation and Beijing Opera.
My research project was conceived in the context of the explosive growth of
computer techniques and their application, which strongly influenced the transition
from traditional two-dimensional (2D) animation to three-dimensional (3D) animation
in the film industry. Increasingly both adults and children are attracted by the
breathtaking 3D worlds created by the Walt Disney release of Pixar’s Finding Nemo,
The Incredibles and Ratatouille, all of which have enjoyed box office success in
Australia and overseas (AFC 2007). Imaginary and fictional worlds come to life
through the illusionistic power of computer animation.
The first fully computer-generated feature film created was Toy Story, produced by
Pixar Animation Studios in 1995. It was a resounding commercial success, and could
be a vital milestone in the timeline of computer-generated imagery. After that,
additional digital animation studios such as Blue Sky Studios (Fox), DNA
Productions (Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.), Omation studios (Paramount
Pictures), Sony Pictures Animation (Columbia Pictures), Vanguard Animation (Walt
Disney Picture, Lions Gate Films and 20th Century Fox), Animal Logic (Warner
Bros.) and Pacific Data Images (Dreamworks SKG) all went into production, and
existing animation companies such as The Walt Disney Company began to make the
transition from traditional animation to CGI. Following Toy Story (1995), Antz (1998)
was the second fully computer-animated feature, preceding the release of Disney's
all-CGI insect epic A Bug's Life by seven weeks. This was also the first CGI film to
feature over 10,000 individually-animated characters in various crowd scenes (The
Greatest Films, n.d).
3
Between 1995 and 2005, computer-generated imagery became the dominant form of
special effects with the average effects budget for a wide-release feature film
skyrocketing from $5 million to $40 million (Edward 2007). According to Hutch
Parker, president of production at 20th Century Fox Film, as of 2005, more than half
of feature films have significant effects and CGI has made up for the expenditure by
grossing over 20% more than their real-life counterparts (Thompson 2005). All these
astonishing facts indicate that now is the time of computer animation.This galvanized
my interest in the possibilities of reviving an interest in Beijing Opera by producing a
CGI animation. This is the primary significance of this research project.
1.2 Research Aims and Scope
The primary aim of this study was to utilize a combination of research and studio
practice to identify in what ways the contemporary appeal of computer animation can
be exploited to popularize Beijing Opera with children. Locating the answers to this
question is vitally necessary and helpful to restore interest among children and
thereby keeping traditional culture alive. A literature search found no references that
consider how to employ computer animation for Beijing Opera. This highlighted the
need to conduct field research at selected institutes as the most effective way to get
first-hand materials and resources. Four objectives were set for this project to signpost
the research journey.
1. Although it is one of the three main theatrical systems in the world, Beijing
Opera has experienced a fall from prosperity to decline in the past two
centuries. Understanding why this has happened needed to be researched for
the purpose of proposing CGI as a means to arrest that decline.
4
2. The repertoire of Beijing Opera includes over 1,400 works with plots related
to history, love, folklore and acrobatics. The archaic language and
comprehensive systems of Beijing Opera make it difficult to understand and
be accepted by younger people (Diamond 1994). The second objective,
therefore, is to identify which repertoire would be suitable for showing
children through interviews with Beijing Opera educationists, performers and
children’s program directors within selected institutions in China. From this a
simpler and clearer conceptual framework of the important features of Beijing
Opera was attempted.
3. The third objective is to produce a 9 minute computer generated film based on
Beijing Opera as the pilot for a TV series. As my target audience is 7-11 year
olds (refer to section 6.1.3 for audience orientation analysis), my film needed
to be informed by an understanding of children’s and TV animation as
television can have positive as well as negative effects on children's learning.
To achieve this I collected, collated and tabulated select data concerning the
impact of television and cartoon animation programs on children's life in
America and China.
4. Finally, as my film is primarily intended for a Chinese audience, I needed to
identify current trends in China’s animation industry and analyze several
successful animated series and their extended products to gauge the potential
for using CGI to excite interest in China’s traditional culture.
My studio practice was an integral part of this study as it researched the production of
a nine minute CGI animation, Lulu’s Opera House, produced in 2006-2008. Studio
practice also constitutes one of the components that students must complete to fulfill
the requirements of a DVA program. Lulu's Opera House tells a story from the
viewpoint of a 6 year old girl called Lulu and focuses on presenting Beijing opera
performance, roles, facial makeup and stage decoration in a lively and entertaining
5
way. The process of script development, animation production and problem solving
established the studio project as research.
The aims of studio practice reflected the broader objectives of the research stated
above, but specifically were to:
1. select which aspects of Beijing Opera would be suitable to be expressed by
computer animation, and apply current western animation principles to create a
product that not only appeals to a Chinese audiences as well as western audiences
(objective 2 above) ;
2. contextualize the 3D computer animation workflow within wider educational,
industrial and historical research (objectives 1,3,4 above);
3. documenting the process involved in creating Lulu’s Opera House, including
the tools utilized and specific problem solving (objective 2 above)
4. further test the validity of my concepts by screening the pilot to both a Chinese
and a western audience (objective 4 above).
The research methodologies and strategies that were utilized in this study are outlined
in section four: Research Methodology.
To summarize, this project will offer an understanding of to what extent computer
animation can be used to encourage a positive response to Beijing Opera, and thereby
contribute to developing ongoing interest in it with younger audiences. This research
will also give some indication to how computer animation could influence the
development of traditional cultural phenomena, like Beijing Opera.
6
1.3 Definition of the Key Terms
Key terms used throughout this project are defined below and additional definitions of
proper names, technical terms etc. used in this text are provided in the Glossary.
1. Beijing Opera:
"Beijing opera" or "Peking opera" is the English term for the art form; the Oxford
English Dictionary's earliest record of the term is from 1953. In China, the art form
has been known by many other names in different times and places. The earliest
Chinese name was a combination of the Xipi and Erhuang melodies, and was called
Pihuang. As it increased in popularity, its name became Jingxi or Jingju, which
reflected its start in the capital city-Jing, and the form of the performance-Xi. From
1927 to 1949, Beijing was known as Beiping, and Beijing opera was known as Pingxi
or Pingju to reflect this change. Finally, with the establishment of the People's
Republic of China, the name of the capital city reverted to Beijing, and the formal
name of Beijing theatre in mainland China was established as Jingju. (Oxford English
Dictionary 1989)
2. 3D computer animation:
Sometimes referred to as CGI (Computer Generated Imagery or computer-generated
imaging), this is animation that has been produced entirely by computer using 3D
animation software. Pixar studio’s Toy Story (1995) is an example of CG animation.
3D computer animation combines 3D models of objects and programmed movement.
Models are constructed out of geometrical vertices, faces, and edges in a 3D
coordinate system. Objects are sculpted much like real clay or plaster, working from
general forms to specific details with various sculpting tools. A bone/joint system is
set up to deform the controllers and handles for controlling movement. Animation
data can be created using motion capture or keyframing by a human animator, or a
combination of the two. The computer animation has the advantage that the digital
7
equivalent of a camera is weightless, sizeless, and can be moved along any desired
path. Each frame of the 3D scene must be rendered: a view is chosen and the 3D
model is projected as a 2D shaded image (Rogers & Earnshaw 1990, p. 237).
1.4 Research Methodology
1.4.1 Research Methods
In choosing a research strategy for this study, several requirements were
accommodated. The aim of this study is to research how to recreate the spectacle of
Beijing Opera in a digital world and make it attractive to the young audience. To
realize this aim I needed to devise a production strategy, implement that strategy,
review that strategy and improve that strategy. Further, a digital version of Beijing
Opera is grounded in the realisation that Beijing Opera is a live performance. The
practical project Lulu’s Opera House is a digital version of those performances and so
the principles of acting and characterisation apply equally to both.
Based on these concerns, rather than locating one specific methodology to follow, this
study utilized the relevant aspects of two models: action research and grounded theory.
These are not mutually exclusive approaches; in this instance action research provides
the overall framework of the inquiry and grounded theory informs the way the data is
collected, compiled, and analyzed.
Action research can be graphically depicted as a cyclical process of change. It is a
form of reflective inquiry which enables practitioners to incorporate newly acquired
knowledge in their practice (Hart & Bond 1995). The term was first coined by Kurt
Lewin in about 1944, and it appears in his 1946 paper “Action Research and Minority
Problems”. In that paper, he described action research as “a comparative research on
the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to
8
social action” that uses “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of
planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of the action,” (Kurt 1946, pp.
34-46). Put simply, action research is “Learning by doing” – a group of people
identify a problem, do something to resolve it, see how successful their efforts were,
and if not satisfied, try again. O’Brien describes the role of the action researcher as a
planner, leader, catalyser, teacher, listener, synthesizer, facilitator, designer, observer
and reporter (O’Brien 1998, p.2).
In addition, according to Martyn Denscombe, action research is usually focused on
delivering outcomes to improve practice for others. He once stated, action research
requires a reflective practitioner who uses research techniques to enhance and
systematize that reflection. Action research provides a role for the practitioner in
research and maintains a respect for the practitioner’s knowledge (Denscombe 1998,
p.125). It describes the way in which professionals and practitioners learn from their
experience and seek development and change. By drawing from past examples and
precedents and transferring them to new situations, they generate a cycle of creating,
learning, applying, and reflecting on their methods of practice (Wisker 2001, pp.
95-96).
Grounded theory is most accurately described as a research method in which the
theory is developed from the data, rather than the other way around. This is an
inductive approach, meaning that it moves from the specific to the more general. The
method of study is essentially based on three elements: concepts, categories and
propositions, or what was originally called “hypotheses”. Strauss & Corbin defined
grounded theory as follows: “the grounded theory approach is a qualitative research
method that uses a systematic set of procedures to develop an inductively derived
grounded theory about a phenomenon” (Strauss & Corbin 1990, pp. 24). The primary
objective of grounded theory, then, is to expand upon an explanation of a
phenomenon by identifying the key elements of that phenomenon, and then
9
categorizing the relationships of those elements to the context and process of the
experiment.
In this study, grounded theory is mainly used to collect the acting and characterisation
principles of Beijing Opera live performance. In turn these principles are transcribed
and coded for the production of a digital version performance. Data collection,
analysis and theory formulation are integrally connected in a reciprocal sense.
1.4.2 Summary of the five phases of the study
Gerald Susman gives an elaborate listing of action research model in 1983. He
distinguishes five phases to be conducted within each research cycle (Figure 1).
Initially, a problem is identified and data is collected for a more detailed diagnosis.
This is followed by a collective postulation of several possible solutions, from which
a single plan of action emerges and is implemented. Data on the results of the
intervention are collected and analysed, and the findings are interpreted in light of
how successful the action has been. At this point, the problem is re-assessed and the
process begins another cycle. This process continues until the problem is resolved
(Susman 1983, p.102).
10
Figure 1: Detailed Action Research Model (adapted from Susman 1983)
Susman’s research model is instructive. Using this framework, this study involved
Identifying (identify, investigate and analyse the problem), planning (hypothetical
solution and data collection and analysis), acting (surveying Beijing Opera and the
animation industry regarding my design concept and implementing findings),
consolidating (collect evidence through literature reviews, organizing and analyzing
of data) and reflecting (access outcomes, re-planning) and starting the spiral again.
The summary of the five phases of the study is as follows.
11
IDENTIFY
﹡Identify the problem area – Beijing Opera as an intangible culture is
declining.
﹡Investigate, information gathering and analyse the reasons for decline.
﹡Preliminary investigation – Observing, gather the information and
PLAN
interview selected industry experts in the area of Beijing Opera and
the animation industry.
﹡Analysis of the education value of TV animation programs and
prospect of animation industry.
﹡Hypothesis and proposed solution – A computer animation series –
Lulu’s Opera House for broadcast TV.
﹡Devise a production system based on the realistic assessment of funds,
manpower, technological equipment available and an efficient design
of the work flow.
ACTION
﹡Action Planning – orientation of audience group, develop story,
concept and characters for the studio project - Lulu’s Opera House.
﹡Propose solution – connect Beijing Opera and CG animation from
collected information.
﹡Development – investigate how a computer animated series can be
designed to cultivate an interest in Beijing Opera among young people
and thereby further efforts to revive this traditional art
﹡Develop and implement audience testing of film
12
CONSOLIDATE
﹡Observing, collecting, organizing and analysing information
gathered from the theoretical and studio works and from the
audience testing data
REFLECT
﹡Reflect on information and project. Analyse the evidence gathered to
develop a strategy that acts as a way to revive traditional culture.
Evaluate the effectiveness of that strategy and implement further
development, research and revisions in response to the findings of this
evaluation
Table 1: The summary of the five phases of the study
1.5 Structure of the Thesis
The remainder of this thesis is structured as follows:
Chapter 2 (Beijing Opera) gives an introduction to and provides a literature review for
Beijing Opera. This mainly includes a general framework of history, factors of decline,
important features, and current status of Beijing Opera. The related efforts to rescue
this traditional art and the importance of developing children’s interest in Beijing
Opera will also be discussed.
Chapter 3 (Education value of TV on children) scrutinizes and analyzes the
educational value of television on children, especially evaluate how children learn
from educational programs and cartoon animation programs by researching successful
examples in both America and China. The research conducted in this chapter
13
indicated cartoon animation has positive effects on children’s learning and can be
used as an educational tool in the television era.
Chapter 4 (Chinese cartoon animation development) provides an overview of the
Chinese animation industry; its history, unique artistic style, and discussion of current
states of and obstacles impeding Chinese animation development. Moreover, this
section analyzes the development trends of the Chinese animation industry by
presenting government support strategies, the achievement in the last four years and
the favorable prospect of the animation market.
Chapter 5 (Audience research) presents two audience research surveys conducted for
the studio project Lulu’s Opera House, and explains how these were designed,
implemented and analyzed, and concludes with a summary of the principal findings.
These findings not only show the effect of the broadcast, but also inform future
development plans for the Peking Opera animation program.
Chapter 6 (Studio project) introduces and details the conceptual development process
of the studio project, Lulu’s Opera House. A general introduction to the project
including plan, the orientation of audience group and development of the story is
given, followed by what production system was adopted based on studio experience, a
realistic assessment of the funds, manpower and technological equipment available.
Lastly, the key production procedures are documented with a production diary, which
covers four main areas of the work flow; character animation, environment design,
character and costume design.
Chapter 7 (Conclusions) closes the thesis by presenting a summary of the
achievements of the research as well as suggesting areas for future work.
14
Chapter 2
Beijing Opera
This research project arose from the practical problem of how to redress Beijing
Opera’s decline in popularity particularly with the younger generation. The
understanding of Beijing Opera’s nature and status, historically and currently formed
an important background to the development of this research project. This chapter
outlines the development of Beijing Opera and its decline, as a consequence of
influential social patronage that was withdrawn during the Cultural Revolution. Such
information will be the foundation of later research used for the production of the
practical project. Though Beijing Opera is sometimes referred to as Peking Opera I
use Beijing Opera for the purpose of this research project.
Literature review
Mackerras (1983) describes the formation of Beijing Opera in the late Qing dynasty
as the most widespread regional style of Chinese opera, and gives an account of its
peak period in his journal article ‘Theatre and the Taipings’ (1976). His writings
provided an historical perspective onto Beijing Opera.
Joshua Goldstein (2007) described the rise of Beijing Opera and its re-creation as the
epitome of the Chinese national culture in Republican era China. More so than
Mackerras, Goldstein provides a fascinating look into the lives of some of the opera's
key actors; the nature and content of performances; audience make-up; and the larger
relationship between Peking Opera and Chinese nationalism.
15
Equally important for this project has been the work of Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak.
While carrying out the field research for her doctoral dissertation, Elizabeth
Wichmann-Walczak became the first non-Chinese to perform Beijing Opera in China
in 1980. Since that time she has written and published on the performance structure
and aesthetics of Chinese theatre, and has translated and directed one modern and
three classical Beijing Opera plays at the University of Hawai'i. Dr.
Wichmann-Walczak is the first non-Chinese honorary member of the Chinese Opera
Institute, and the member of many such as Theatre Artists Associations of Shanghai
and of Jiangsu Province. Many honors were given to her. She is a recipient of the
National Opera Music Association's Kong Sanchuan award for her excellence in
research, creation, and performance, as well as the Second National Festival of
Beijing Opera Golden Chrysanthemum Award for outstanding achievements in
promoting and developing Beijing Opera (University of Hawaii 2009). Within the
general area of Beijing Opera, Wichmann-Walczak’s research focuses on
contemporary creative practices, performance structure, movement, music and voice,
and affective meaning. Her publications include Traditional Theatre in Contemporary
China (1983), Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Beijing Opera Performance
(1990), Listening to Theatre (1991). Elizabeth Wichmann’s book and journal articals
on Beijing Opera offer an excellent opportunity to explore some of the issues I raise
in this research. In Listening to Theatre (1991), she described the role types, the plays,
language, music system, voice and the orchestra of Beijing Opera in detail. In journal
articles published in 1990 and 2000 respectively, Wichmann discusses the situation of
Beijing Opera in the latter half of the 20th century and the innovations made for the
survival of this traditional art. The outstanding feature of Elizabeth Wichmann’s work
is the author’s adoption of the Chinese point of view and theoretical representation
(Bell 1993, p.77). Her research is complemented by Xu Chengbei (2003), who is a
Researcher in the Chinese Art Academy, Member of Chinese Writers' Association, and
Commissioner of Traditional Opera Committee; Professor Daniel S.P.Yang (1971);
and Professor Huang Jinpei (1989). The above material provided a rounded
perspective on the development of Beijing Opera, its historical and social contexts,
16
performance, costume, makeup, actors and theaters, unique style and distinctive
melodies. See Appendix A. for a fuller account of Beijing Opera than the following.
2.1 History of Beijing Opera
Figure 2: Mu Guiying in Beijing Opera play Mu Ke Zhai.
Beijing Opera is known as one of the three main theatrical systems in the world, and
has enjoyed profound appreciation by Chinese people in the past centuries. Existing
for over 200 years Beijing Opera is widely regarded as the highest expression of
Chinese culture combining traditional Chinese music, poetry, singing, recitation,
dancing, acrobatics, and martial arts, all blended into one great theatrical art without a
trace of affectation (Xu 2003).
17
2.1.1 Development (1790 – 1966)
Beijing Opera arose in the late 18th century (Goldstein 2007, p.3). In 1790 for the
eightieth birthday of Qianlong (1736-1796), Emperor of the Qing dynasty, four
theatre troupes, Sanqing, Sixi, Chuntai and Hechun from Anhui province were invited
to the capital city Beijing to participate in celebratory performances. These Anhui
troupes were performers of the styles Erhuang and Xipi (two main melodies of
Beijing Opera detailed in Appendix A). Since these two collectively form the basis of
the Beijing Opera even today, the year 1790 (the first that they were heard on the
Beijing stage) has come to be popularly regarded as the birth of Beijing Opera
(Mackerras 1983, p103). In 1828, some famous Hubei troupes came to Beijing. They
often jointly performed with Anhui troupes and from this emerged Beijing Opera’s
main melodies. By 1845 Beijing Opera reached a peak of excellence following joint
performances of Anhui and Hubei troupes in the court of the Taiping Heavenly
Kingdom that had been established during the Taiping Rebellion2 (Mackerras 1976,
pp473-501; Goldstein 2007, p.3). Thereafter, Beijing Opera which had been
developed from an assortment of rural shows had a wide range of audiences and
enjoyed popular success with the royal family, officials and scholars, as well as
merchants, townspeople and handicraftsmen. Beijing Opera gradually became a
townspeople-oriented, popular, performing art (Xu 2003, p.15).
2
The Taiping Rebellion was a large-scale revolt conducted from 1850 to 1864 by an army led by
heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan. He established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom namely
Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace with capital Nanjing and gained control of significant parts of
southern China, at its height ruling over about 30 million people (Reilly 2004).
18
2.1.2 Golden Years
Figure 3: Monkey King in Beijing Opera play
The Monkey King Makes Hell of Heaven.
After 1860, mobile performances by opera
companies, hastened the popularity of
Beijing Opera all over China (Xu 2003,
p.16). Beginning in 1884, the Empress
Dowager Cixi3 became a regular patron of
Beijing Opera, cementing its status over
earlier forms like Kunqu4 (Mackerras
1976). From that time on, a great number of talented actors and actresses such as Mei
Lanfang, Tan Xinpei, Wang Yaoqing, Yu Shuyan and Yang Xiaolou popularized
Beijing Opera throughout mainland China. Most notably, in 1919, Mei Lanfang, the
Beijing Opera master actor who enjoyed unrivalled fame then and is revered today,
went to Japan with his theatrical company to stage performances (Xu 2003, p.17).
This inspired an American tour in February 1930 (Rao 2000, p.135). Beijing Opera
troupes have since frequently staged performances in foreign countries. People in the
rest of the world regard Beijing Opera as the representative of the traditional Chinese
theatre (Xu 2003, p.17).
3
Empress Dowager Cixi (November 29 1835- November 15 1908), popularly known in China as the
West Dowager Empress, was from the Manchu Yehe Nara Clan. She was a powerful and charismatic
figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing dynasty, ruling over China for 48 years from
her husband’s death in 1861 to her own death in 1908 (Laidler 2003).
4
Kunqu is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and
dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Kunqu boasts a 600-year history and is
known as the “teacher” or “mother” of a hundred operas, because of its influence on other Chinese
theatre forms, including Beijing Opera.
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2.1.3 Decline (1966-now)
There is a general belief that China’s performing arts including Beijing Opera suffered
a twenty-five year setback during the Cultural Revolution decade (1966 – 1976).
According to Lu (2004, p.115), Chairman Mao’s view that art must serve the interests
of the workers, peasants, and soldiers and must conform to proletarian ideology made
traditional operas appear feudalistic and bourgeois and were consequently banned
during the Cultural Revolution. This situation is further elaborated by Yang (1971,
pp.258-261), who claims that after the Chinese Civil War, Beijing Opera became a
focal point of identity for both involved parties. When the Communist Party of China
came to power in mainland China in 1949, the newly formed government moved to
bring art into line with Communist ideology, and "to make art and literature a
component of the whole revolutionary machine". To this end, dramatic works without
Communist themes were considered subversive, and were ultimately banned during
the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). The plays eventually retained during that time
were eight model plays which all have communist or revolutionary themes.
Performances of works beyond these eight model plays were allowed only in a
heavily modified form. The endings of many traditional plays were changed, and
visible stage assistants in Beijing Opera were eliminated (Yang 1971, p 259).
Due to the disappearance of traditional plays and the break down of the education
systems during those 10 years, a generation of young Chinese lack historical and
literary knowledge on which Beijing Opera is based. As a consequence audiences
declined and after the Cultural Revolution it was mainly old people, who were
children when Beijing Opera was at its peak, that had appreciation for and knowledge
of Beijing Opera.
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2.2 The Present situation of Beijing Opera
2.2.1 Current status
Beijing Opera today is facing extinction fuelled by a lack of audience support and
shrinking demand for performance. The 200-year-old art form enjoyed enormous
popularity in the past, requiring 40 opera houses in Beijing alone. Most of the opera
houses are now closed amid declining audience numbers, and only Chang An Grand
theatre still stages traditional opera. China Daily (10 August, 2004) reported in
‘Ancient Opera the Arts Struggle to Survive’, that the Guanghe Theatre had a history
that dates back at least 350 years, and was regarded as Beijing’s oldest opera theatre.
But according to Li Kaijun (2004), manager of Guanghe, no actual opera
performances were staged in the theatre between 1996 and 2000. Facing a shrinking
opera performance market, Guanghe theatre had to rely more heavily on sidelines,
such as screening movies, holding dances and video games from the late 1980s, in
order to survive. The once famous opera theatre had become a theatre without opera
and finally closed in 2000.
This downturn in popularity is underlined by the fact that when the Chinese
government gave free tickets to an opera performance at the Great Hall of the People,
40% of seats were filled (Glionna 2007). In 2004, China had 90 Beijing Opera troupes,
but they perform only about 100 of the more than 1,000 librettos owing to the loss of
original scripts. Their combined income was less than $6 million, and they were all
massively subsidized by the state (Coonan 2007). The dwindling audiences have
made it difficult for companies to survive, and the government also can no longer
afford to subsidise Beijing Opera performances as it once did (China Daily 2004).
In addition, Chinese youth, comprising more than 50 percent of the country's more
than one billion population, prefer just about anything else to traditional art forms, as
long as it is modern. Painted faces, lifted eyes and eyebrows, traditional clothes,
21
high-pitched singing, orderly gestures and a lot of noise, these it seems are the
attributes of Beijing Opera in the eyes of many young Chinese (Nicholas 1990). Qiu
Jirong, a Beijing Opera actor voiced his concerns by saying: “Young people are
turned off by these performances, if we do not prop up the opera, then it will fall,”
(Glionna 2007). Goldstein believes: “Once you start preserving an art form, it's like
declaring it dead. Without state support, it will suffer the fate of classical music and
opera in the West where the elite keep it afloat,” (Glionna 2007).
Perng argues that key characteristics of Beijing Opera fail to engage contemporary
audiences:
The archaic language has created a dependency on subtitles projected
on screens to help both Taiwanese-born and mainland-born spectators
alike, a stopgap solution that inhibits proper development of the
form; the music-now that many audience members are more familiar
with Western music, they find the sounds of the Beijing orchestra too
raucous and unappealing; the arias, emphasized at the expense of
dramatic content, no longer sustain the audience’s interest; and, most
seriously, Beijing opera appears irrelevant to the modern world, embodying
as it does an older morality and worldview (Perng 1989, p.132).
Another consideration is that the simple stage design seems unsuited for modern
Chinese people’s aesthetic requirements (Guo 2008). Beijing Opera stages have
traditionally been square platforms and divided into two parts by an embroidered
curtain called a shoujiu. According to Wichmann (1991, p.6), in line with the highly
symbolic nature of Beijing Opera, the traditional stage is bare and utilizes very few
props. The only scenery used is one or more tables and one or more chairs as we see
in Norman McLaren’s animation A Chairy Tale. Although recent years have seen the
advent of more elaborate scenery and certain technological innovations including
22
lighting and sound effects in the performance of some plays, the staging of Beijing
opera remains fundamentally quite simple.
This simple staging reflects seven centuries of Chinese performance tradition (Perng
1989, p.135). The presence of large objects is frequently indicated through
conventions. The table and chair can be turned through convention into such diverse
objects as a city wall, a mountain, a bed, or a throne (Wichmann 1991, p.6).
A final consideration and one that follows on from comments regarding simple
staging is the impact of modern popular culture and its imperative to entertain (Pallavi
2008). Currently there are many home entertainment products, like movies and games,
which enrich people's lives, often through spectacular visual effects compared with
the simple staging of Beijing Opera. The rise of special effects animation as a
production unit within most animation houses now and the resources devoted to
writing computer programs for special effects further suggest this. Director, Chuck
Russell stated that we are at the point where almost every major studio picture has a
budget for computer enhancements (Daly 1995). Eberts and Gisler (1998, p.109) also
pointed out that computer-generated special effects are widely used in movies. “In
Hollywood, a great number of small firms are emerging to meet the demands of
filmmakers who want to put the extra zing of special effects into their movies. Even
the giant studios are setting up in-house departments to develop new film techniques”.
By comparison, traditonal Beijing Opera cannot compete with such technological
ingenuity, and how to create enthusiasm for this traditional art among the youth of
modern China is the daunting challenge of this project.
23
2.2.2 Efforts to sustain Beijing Opera
From the 1990s, relevant Chinese authorities commenced a campaign to sustain
Beijing Opera’s future. In 1995, China held the first triennial Beijing Opera Art
Festival in Tianjin. Sponsored by Ministry of Culture and Beijing Opera Art
foundation, the festival offered the local audience a series of performances by the
country’s most renowned Beijing Opera artists, and exhibitions displaying the history
of one of China’s cultural icons. Beijing Opera Art Festival has been staged four times;
in Tianjin, Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai respectively. According to Ji Xiaolan, a
member of the festival’s organizing committee, the festival is an ideal platform on
which to unveil new productions and to discover talented performers. It’s also an
opportunity to boost the popularity of Beijing Opera (Guo 2004).
Other initiatives include the opening of a new opera house, the Mei Lanfang Grand
Theatre in Dec 2007. Located in downtown Beijing, the new theatre cost $ 14.7
million, and was named after the legendary Beijing Opera star Mei Lanfang. It is the
first of its kind, a specially designed facility for Beijing Opera performances in China.
The theatre was designed to hold 1,100 people because authorities wanted to lower
the cost to enable more audiences to watch quality performances for less money
(Coonan 2007). The theatre can also exhibit the artworks of Beijing Opera during the
day. According to Wu Jiang, the president of the China National Peking Opera
Company5, the new opera house will serve as a museum of Beijing Opera, to teach the
young generation more about the national opera (Crienglish.com 2007). The mandarins
of Beijing Opera want to revive the appeal of this ancient art form and attract more
audience by way of running a series of splendid performances, hoping that the
multimillion-dollar opera house can reverse a trend of dwindling attentions.
5
China National Peking Opera Company (CNPOC) is one of the national ensembles of performance
arts directly under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture, People’s Republic of China. It was
founded in January 1955, with Mr. Mei Lanfang as the first president in its history. Now, it possesses
three troupes, the Zhang Huoding Drama Studio and the Stage Center.
24
The latest government effort to promote Beijing Opera in February 2008 was to start a
pilot project in the new semester for 200 schools in 10 provinces, municipalities and
autonomous regions throughout China. The project added 15 pieces of Peking Opera,
both classical and modern, into music courses to promote the traditional Chinese art
(Tootoo News 2008). Teachers were asked to not only teach students how to sing and
perform but also tell them the storylines and background information so as to help
children develop an understanding of and taste for traditional culture. This pilot
project, Wu Jiang, president of China National Peking Opera Company, thinks is not
aimed to foster Peking Opera artists or fans, “It just opens a door to children, giving
them a chance to develop interests in traditional culture. If children are not interested,
at least they are getting to know something about it” (Song 2008).
Other efforts to revive interest in Beijing Opera have seen a revision in terms of
costumes, music, lighting and stories as well, to fit the modern people’s taste.
However, Professor Yuejin Guo, Beijing Opera master, mentioned CGI during an
interview conducted by the author in February 2008 by saying, “Wrapping up with
modern technology does bring joy to the audience, and is thus very important to the
enhancement of the art of Beijing Opera. But we can never forget that the key to the
prosperity and development of the art of Beijing Opera lies in the education of the
children.” The next section argues the importance of cultivating children’s interest in
Beijing Opera and how that might be done.
25
2.2.3 The importance of developing children’s interest in Beijing Opera
Figure 4: An 8-year-old participant performs onstage during a children’s Peking Opera
competition in North China's Tianjin municipality July 31, 2007 (picture sourced from
enorth.com.cn).
The Chinese government has encouraged a vigorous development of Beijing Opera
based on the education of the children, stressing we should develop children as
audiences as well as children as actors and actresses. According to a questionnaire
conducted during the fourth China Beijing Opera Art Festival in 2004, 66% of the
Beijing Opera audience developed their interest in the opera when juveniles (Guo
2008).
Professor Yuejin Guo believes education about Beijing Opera does not simply mean
to ask the children to watch the opera, or to learn the performance, but to instill
positive knowledge of the basics of the art of Beijing Opera, which hopefully will
develop their appreciation and aesthetic taste (interview with Yuejin Guo, 16 February
2008).
As to the methods used to cultivate children’s interest, Bin Wang, China Central
26
Television children’s programmes editor and expert in child psychology, stated: “All
interests lie in nurturing and influencing, and the children and young people in their
fast-growing period, are the best audience for nurturing and influencing” (phone
conversation with author on 4 March 2008). Yuejin Guo argued that another
characteristic of children is that they don’t stay still for a long time, not to mention in
front of the slow-going Beijing Opera; therefore, more emphasis should be laid on the
visual expression of Beijing Opera shown to children. The performance should elicit
children’s emotions through fun and play rather than giving tedious lessons. We
should try to interest children in and to display the essence of Beijing Opera in
children’s fun and play, so that the opera may seize children’s attention, to encourage
understanding and hopefully encourage them to like the opera (Yuejin Guo, 16
February 2008).
Professor Guo further suggested, the attraction to children rests with the martial arts
performance. Children love to see action; the acrobatics, dances, and martial arts. “It
would be quite impossible to have the children sit for two hours just listening to
singing, which better suits those who can appreciate and love the opera,” (Guo 2008).
Therefore, children’s understanding of Beijing Opera should begin with the martial
arts performance.
In general, Beijing Opera educators like Yuejin Guo have always been exploring and
looking for ways that may nurture children as audiences and thus sustain the Beijing
Opera performance and appreciation in the future. For example, during the 4th China
Beijing Opera Art Festival held in Shanghai (1-15 December 2004), four plays
specially designed for children were performed. The plays accommodated children’s
aesthetic preferences in terms of stories, arias and body actions. Nursery rhymes-style
lyrics were added in, and the characters were played by teenage actors and actresses.
These are all new experiments compared to traditional Beijing Opera. Another way
Professor Guo suggested was to integrate Beijing Opera performance into cartoon
stories which children might find more interesting and easy to accept.
27
This chapter gives a brief history of relevant Beijing Opera’s features for my project,
and its current status. Clearly, Beijing Opera, as the highest expression of Chinese
culture, is at its low ebb for a variety of reasons. This traditional art is facing a serious
challenge to encourage a positive appreciation among young people. To promote this,
one means is to rethink Beijing Opera’s artistic style and performance form. With the
considerations of children's nature, Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) animation
could be an attempt in reviving Beijing Opera, and the following chapters argue this.
28
Chapter 3
Educational Value of Television on
Children
3.1 Educational value of Television on children
Television entered the western home in the 1950s and the Chinese home in early
1980s. Today most families possess at least one television, and in urban areas some
families even possess of two or three television sets. Without a doubt, television is the
central and principal form of mass communication in many people’s lives. Children
are television’s largest audience. Roberts, Foehr & Rideout (2005) estimated that on
average, more than 20% of children in American spend nearly 5 hours a day watching
television, and over half 2 to 18-years-olds have a TV in their bedroom. In China,
according to the result of Chinese Children’s Centre’s questionnaire based on survey
of 12418 children in 30 provinces and cities in February 2002, most children watch
TV for more than 1.5 hours everyday. At evening prime time, the audience rating of
CCTV channel one among children who are 4-14 years old was 3.5%, which would
increase during the holiday period (Wang 2007). It is accepted that television is a
pervasive medium which is readily available to nearly all children (Gunter & Mcaleer
1997, p.72).
Television has played an important role in many children’s lives and its viewing has
been a favorite activity for many of them. In the past decades numerous studies such
as Kinder (1991), Gunter & McAleer (1997), Singer & Singer (2001), Evra (2004)
and Pecora, et al. (2007) have debated the effects of television on children. Wilson, et
al., (1997), Roedder (1999), Kunkel (2001) argued that viewing television has a
negative impact on children, particularly violent television or persuasive advertising.
29
Sparks (2001, p.75) writes that:
According to these most recent content studies, nearly 60% of all television
programing contains some violence. One third of all programs contain nearly
10 violent interactions. These statistics confirm what we knew from earlier
research… How realistic are the portrayals of violence? The newest data
show that in over half of all violent interactions, no character is depicted as
experiencing pain. And fewer than half of the violent interactions result in
negative consequences for the perpetrator of aggression. There is ample room
for concern about the lessons that media violence might be teaching to TV
audiences.
Opinions on effects of TV violence vary. Albert Bandura, famous psychologist of
Stanford University, holds the theory of “rewards and punishment” (Sparks 2001,
p.77). Sparks (2001, p.77) explains Bandura’s theory as:
According to Bandura, if a child watched a person on TV who seemed very
attractive and who received rewards for acting aggressively, then the child
would be more likely to imitate that character’s behaviour. On the other hand,
if a child saw a character who received punishment for acting aggressively,
then the child might refrain from acting out any aggressive impulses in real
life. Bandura’s theory was not just about TV. It was a general theory about
the way people learn behaviours. The basic principles could explain how
children learn to help people as well as hurt them.
Bandura’s studies helped researchers to understand a number of things about
TV violence and children. First, viewing TV violence could cause children to
behave more aggressively, particularly if the violent characters were
30
attractive and received rewards for their actions.
Second, in many of these studies, the effects emerged most strongly for boys
- not girls. Many researchers interpret this finding in the context of biological
differences between the sexes. Throughout the animal kingdom, nature has
programmed the male of the species with a predisposition to behave more
aggressively than the female.
In Leonard Eron and Rowell Huesmann’s study on 800 children under the age of 10,
they found that: ‘there was a tendency for those children who watched higher levels of
TV violence to also have higher scores on the ratings of aggressive behaviour,’
(Sparks 2001, p.79).
Besides, a specific statement on this topic needs to be mentioned as Sparks writes that
“it is important to recognize that content does not equal effect” (2001, p.75). There is
also an interesting viewpoint, the Catharsis Hypothesis, which was developed by
Seymour Feshbach. Sparks (2001, p.81) explains：
Fashbach thought that viewing TV violence could actually be therapeutic for
a person filled with anger or frustration. TV could help purge those pent-up
emotions. He borrowed this idea from the ancient Greek. The idea of
catharsis goes back to the Greek culture, which thrived on good drama. The
Greeks believed that a person could get rid of grief and misery by going to a
play that featured other characters that were grieving.
Children can also gain a lot of positive things from television. For example,
educational television viewing can foster children’s creative thinking skills (Schmitt et
al., 1997; Valkenburg 1999); children can learn about words and their meanings or
31
extend their understandings of familiar words from television programs (Naigles et al.,
1995; Rice et al., 1990; Singer & Singer, 1998); moderate amounts of television
viewing were found to be beneficial for reading and positively impact specific early
literacy skills (Moses 2008); and television viewing may also cultivate children with
friendly, prosocial interactions including sharing, donating, offering help and
comforting (Mares & Woodard 2005; Forge & Phemister 1987; Rushton 1982).
In Beijing Opera, fighting gestures have been modified to be more a dance performed
with acrobatic skill. There is no blood, physical injury or realistic harm imaged.
According to Huesmann and Eron’s study (1986), less violence leads to less
aggressive behaviour, which means that fighting gestures in Beijing Opera potentially
are less stimulating of children’s aggressive behaviour. Action scenes in Lulu’s Opera
House depict this balletic “violence”.
While television is used primarily for entertainment, it is also a source of information
(Gunter & McAleer 1997, p.72). Fisch (2005, p.1) argues that:
Often, far less attention has been paid to the positive effects that educational
television programmes can hold. Yet, if we believe that children can learn
negative lessons from television, then it stands to reason that they can learn
positive lessons, too. The same medium through which children learn product
information in commercials should also allow them to learn science concepts in
an educational programme. And the same medium that can influence children to
act more aggressively should also be able to motivate them to co-operate with a
friend.
Research has shown that all of these propositions are true (Fisch 2005). Television has
a positive side, it can be entertaining and educational, and it can open up new worlds
32
for children, giving them a chance to travel the globe, learn about different cultures,
and gain exposure to ideas they may never encounter in their own community. To
illustrate this point, let’s consider several examples of studies that demonstrate
children’s learning of academic and pro-social content from educational television
programmes.
3.1.1 Children’s learning from educational TV programs
Thakkar, Garrison & Christakis (2006 pp.2025-2031) stated that, educational
television programs are successful in broadening young children’s knowledge,
affecting their racial attitudes and increasing their imaginations. Their findings were
based on a systematic literature search in January 2005 and identified a total of 376
articles dealing with children and television. Of these, 12 conducted between 1973
and 2000 met the criteria of being a controlled trial. Their focus was specifically on
television content viewed by children under the age at 6 and its impact on learning,
racial preference, aggression, pro-social behavior, self-regulation and imagination. Dr.
Dimitri Christakis (Seattle Children’s 2006) concluded regarding these trials that “The
bottom line is that content is key - high-quality educational programming can have a
positive effect on children under the age at 6”. He identified Sesame Street and Mister
Rogers’ Neighborhood, as programs that help young children acquire not only general
knowledge but also inform them an overall cognitive knowledge. Christakis also
reveals that children’s imaginative performance is positively related to television
content, and educational programs about diversity can improve children’s racial
attitudes (Seattle Children’s 2006).
Furthermore, a number of investigations support the presence of connections between
viewing prosocial lessons on television and the adoption of prosocial behavior by
young children (Mares & Woodard 2005). For instance, studies in both laboratory and
naturalistic settings have demonstrated that viewing prosocial television can lead to
33
increased generosity, cooperation, adherence to rules, delay of gratification,
friendliness, and decreased fear (Rushton 1982). In a study of children’s
understanding of moral lessons that were included in regular TV programming,
Rosenkoetter (1999) found that the majority of children in first, third, and fifth grades
understood moral lessons in a Cosby Show episode, and many of the first- and thirdgrade children also could identify a moral lesson in a Full House episode. In addition,
viewing prosocial situation comedies was positively correlated with frequency of
prosocial behavior, especially in children who show understanding of the lessons in
the sitcoms and are likely to imitate such behavior (Rosenkoetter 1999). Prosocial
behavior can be obtained by observing models. According to Hoffman (1970),
children show increases in altruism, sharing, helping, delay of gratification, and
setting high standards of performance after exposure to models of these behaviors.
Following a series of tests with 93 preschool children correlating behavior and
television program content, Frienrich (1973) confirmed a correlation between viewing
television programs containing aggressive material and anti-social behavior. These
differences were especially pronounced for children with above-average intelligence.
Another study by Johnston and Ettema (1982) revealed significant reductions in
gender stereotypes among 9 to 12 year olds after children watched 26 episodes of
Freestyle (an educational programme in the United States). These effects were
strongest when viewing was combined with follow-up classroom discussions among
viewers and their teachers. So viewing pro-social television programmes produces
significant positive changes in children's social behavior across several domains:
friendliness and positive interactions in general, altruism and cooperation, self-control
and delay of gratification, and reduction of stereotypes.
Fisch (2005) has shown that television is neither inherently good nor bad for children.
Rather, the effects of a television programme depend on its content. Fisch synthesized
34
over 30 years of research on the impact of educational content on TV. In his 2004
publication, Fisch writes that: “at its best, educational television can provide children
with enormous opportunities. Educational television can serve as a window to new
experience, enrich academic knowledge, enhance attitudes and motivation, and
nurture social skills” (Fisch 2004, p.1). Apart from this research, studies like Fisch &
Truqlio (2001), Huston, et al. (2007), and Schmidt & Anderson (2007) on educational
television demonstrate that such programming can hold significant benefits for its
viewers. The evidence of children’s learning from educational television has been
critical for the evolution of public policy regarding children’s television.
3.1.2 Positive effects of children’s television programs
Palmer (1987) states that, the advent of children’s television shows in the 1940s and
1950s in the U.S. offered children pure entertainment and very little smart education.
There were a few shows that did teach children values and morals, but the true
educational television shows especially for children did not appear until the late 1960s.
Today, from Sesame Street on PBS, to the Disney Channel, to Mr. Rogers'
Neighborhood', to the programs on the Nickelodeon network, many educational
programs have been developed with youngsters in mind. Realizing the rapid growth
of children’s television in 1990, American Congress enacted the Children’s Television
Act (CTA) to increase the amount of educational and information programming for
children available on television. In the 1990 Children’s Television Act, policy makers
stated that programs would meet requirements for children’s educational or
informational content if they “further the positive development of the child in any
respect, including the child’s cognitive/intellectual or emotional/social needs”
(Federal Communications Commission [FCC] 1991, p.2114).
However, children’s television programs could not be didactic “spinach television”
that no one would watch, it needs entertainment to keep its audience glued to the set
35
(Fisch 2004, p.7). Patterson (1996) states that, whether it be through zany cartoons,
silly costumed dinosaurs, or saving the world, children will only watch the show if
they enjoy watching it no matter what its educational value. So if children’s programs
are entertaining, how do we know if what they are watching is actually educating
them? The following reports indicate that entertaining children’s television shows
with an educational bias can have a positive effect on children.
3.1.2.1 Al Manaahil
Between April 1985 and January 1988, the ETS (Educational Testing Service)6
evaluated the effects of an Arabic educational program called Al Manaahil which
aimed to increase children’s reading ability (Murphy 1988). This TV series produced
by the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) and broadcast in Jordan, contained 65
half-hour shows in Modern Standard Arabic for children in grades 1 through 4. More
than 5,000 children in Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia who saw this show were tested in
the evaluation to see what impact the show would have on their test scores compared
to those who had not seen the show. The results of the testing showed a positive
impact on children's reading skills, and the positive results were similar for boys and
girls who claimed they liked the series. In addition, around 54% of teachers reported
that the series had a positive or very positive effect on their teaching. The results from
this study showed that educational programming for children can definitely affect the
literacy of children.
6
Educational Testing Service (or ETS) is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and
assessment organization founded in 1947. It is presently headquartered near Princeton, New Jersey, in
the United States. ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually - including
the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® General and Subject Tests and The Praxis Series™
assessments - in more than 180 countries, at more than 9,000 locations worldwide. In addition to
assessments, they conduct educational research, analysis and policy studies and develop a variety of
customized services and products for teacher certification, English language learning and elementary,
secondary and postsecondary education (ETS 2010).
36
3.1.2.2 Sesame Street
Perhaps the most celebrated and certainly the most extensively researched example of
a children’s educational television series remains Sesame Street. First broadcasted in
1969 in America, it incorporates puppets, animation, stories, parodies and numerous
other formats to entertain and educate children. The program was designed by
producer and founder Joan Ganz Cooney to address the gap between children who
had access to preschool and other economic advantages and those who did not (Fisch
& Truglio 2001). In Cooney’s words, “It’s not whether children learn from television,
it’s what they learn” (Knowlton & Costigan 2006).
Since the show’s inception, the designers of Sesame Street have used child
development experts as consultants in the creation of their programs. A curriculum
carefully designed to prepare children for school was adopted, and production
techniques designed to maximize visual attention were employed (Bickham, et al.
2001, p.113). Unlike most educational television programs in other cultures, Sesame
Street was designed to speak directly to the child, acting as the teacher. Its running
time (60 minutes) was three or four times the length of the typical educational TV
program elsewhere, which was intended to introduce or illustrate a teacher’s work
with a class. Yet its outstanding, entertaining style and its inventive teaching ideas
were very influential (Moss 2003, p.45).
The earliest evidence of the educational power of Sesame Street came from a pair of
experimental studies conducted after the first and second seasons of production (Ball
and Bogatz 1970; Bogatz and Ball 1971). Each study found that, among 3-to
5-years-olds, heavier views of Sesame Street showed significantly greater growth in
an assortment of academic skills related to the alphabet, numbers, body parts, shapes,
relational terms, sorting and classification. The areas that showed the greatest effects
were the ones that had been emphasized the most in Sesame Street (e. g., letters).
37
These effects held across age, sex, geographic location, socio-economic status (SES),
native language, and whether the children watched at home or in school. These effects
also found parallels in several subsequent evaluations of international co-productions
of Sesame Street. Significant differences in cognitive skills (often focused on literacy
and mathematics) were found between viewers and nonviewers of Plaza Sésamo in
Mexico (Diaz-Guerreo and Holtzman 1974), Susam Sokagi in Turkey (Sahin 1990),
Rua Sésamo in Portugal (Brederode-Santos 1993), and Ulitsa Sezam in Russia (Ulitsa
Sezam Department of Research and Content 1998).
More than 25 years later, the immediate and long-term effects of Sesame Street were
confirmed in a 3-year longitudinal study named the “Early Window Project” of 2-to
5-year-old children from relatively low-income families. The Center for Research on
the Influences of Television on Children investigated the long-term effects of
children’s educational television on achievement and school readiness (Bickham,
Wright, & Huston, 2001). The researchers found a positive relationship between
watching children’s educational TV-Sesame Street in particular-and tests of
achievement and school readiness. “Overall, viewing Sesame Street and other similar
programs at ages 2 and 3 predicted higher scores at age 5 on measures of language,
math, and school readiness” (Bickham et al., 2001, p.114). This finding was also
mentioned by Wright et al., (2001).
A second study, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Household Education
Survey in 1993, correlated data from approximately 10,000 children. Results
indicated that preschoolers who viewed Sesame Street were more likely to be able to
recognize letters of the alphabet and tell connected stories when pretending to read. In
addition, first and second graders who had viewed Sesame Street were more likely to
be reading storybooks on their own and less likely to require remedial reading
instruction (Zill 2001). Finally, the longest-term impact of Sesame Street was found in
a “re-contact” study that examined high school students who either had or had not
38
watched educational television as preschoolers. Results showed that high school
students who had watched more educational television - Sesame Street in particular as preschoolers had significantly higher grades in English, Mathematics, and Science
in junior high or high school. They also used books more often, showed higher
academic self-esteem, and placed higher value on academic performance (Anderson
et al., 2001; Huston et al., 2001).
Beyond academic skills, Sesame Street is credited with expanding children’s broad
prosocial messages about cooperation and positive interactions. Bankart and Anderson
(1979) reported that four episodes of Sesame Street shown over a 4-day period
significantly reduced boys’ and girls’ aggression. Gorn, Goldberg and Kanungo (1976)
assessed the effects of Sesame Street on children’s tolerance for playmates of different
ethnic and racial backgrounds, and found that children who watched 12 minutes of
Sesame Street programming with multicultural inserts would rather play with the
nonwhite children than those who did not see the inserts. Moreover, Ball and Bogatz
(1971) conducted longitudinal studies of children exposed to Sesame Street and
reported that children’s attitude toward members of other races were significantly
changed and became more tolerant after 2 years, which indicates that viewing
prosocial programs is beneficial to build children’s worldviews in the long term.
The research on Sesame Street provides ample evidence to suggest that young
children can learn skills from viewing the TV program, and that these skills will
contribute to their early educational success.
39
3.1.2.3 Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is an American children's television series that was
created and hosted by Fred Rogers (Millman 1999). This series is the longest-running
children's program on public television. It was first broadcast in 1962 as Misterogers
on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
This gentle PBS7 television series attempted to help children understand the world
and themselves. Live-action host Fred Rogers guided viewers through each episode,
with the episode typically divided into two main parts. One, set largely in Mister
Rogers’ home, consisted primarily of Mister Rogers talking one-on-one with the
viewer and, at times, an on-screen visitor or two. The other part was set in the
Neighborhood of Make-Believe, in which puppets and live-action cast members
encountered a socioemotional issue related to the topic that Mister Rogers had
discussed (Fisch 2004, p.106). Compared with the other commercial television
programs, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is as unique as its content; Fred Rogers
simply talks with his young viewers, and he viewed himself as an adult who takes
time to give children his undivided attention rather than as an entertainer. Although
his program provides a great deal of information, the focus is not upon teaching
specific facts or skills but upon acknowledging the uniqueness of each child and
affirming his or her importance (Suzanne 2009). As Mr. Rogers often stated in the
programs, “I like you just the way you are. There's only one of you and there will
never be another one of you. You are very special, just the way you are.” (Kastelic
1998, p.96).
Emotional skills have long been connected by researchers to children’s future school
learning, family life, and their success in the workforce. Studies confirm that Mister
7
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American non-profit public broadcasting television
service with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. PBS is the
most prominent provider of programming to U.S. public television stations, and its headquarters are in
Arlington, Virginia (PBS 2008).
40
Rogers’ Neighborhood helps children develop pro-social skills. For example,
Friedrich & Stein (1975) found task persistence, acceptance of rules, tolerance of
delay, co-operative play, emotional understanding and a willingness to talk about
emotions were encouraged by viewing the program. Friedrich & Stein 1973; Coates,
Pusser, & Goodman (1976) found that by watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,
aggressive behaviours in children reduced, including biting, name-calling, giving
commands and tattling, which lead to uncomfortable feelings and isolation from other
group members. In a study conducted by Tower, Singer, Singer, and Biggs (1979)
researchers found that when less imaginative children viewed Mister Rogers’
Neighborhood for two weeks, their levels of imaginative play increased.
Professor of Education Kastelic (1998, p.96) concluded Mister Rogers’
Neighbourhood in his article Mr. Rogers and the Neighborhood As a Model for
Understanding Human Behavior as:
While other programs may place emphasis on presenting and learning the
alphabet or numbers, this program places emphasis on being in control of
one's feelings and learning how to live appropriately in the complex world we
live in.Viewers could learn a lot from Fred Rogers. They could learn how to
be better neighbors, have better manners, be in control of our feelings, and
learn how to like each other, just the way we are.
3.1.3 The features of good children’s educational television
All of the previous examples and research clearly demonstrate that children can, and
do, learn from educational television. Consequently, identifying children’s television
as an appropriate site for instruction about traditional culture and specifically Beijing
Opera is well founded. Yet, that is not to say that all children’s television programmes
are equally effective, or have an equally strong impact on their audience. What causes
41
some programmes to be more powerful than others? Looking across research on a
wide variety of children’s educational television series, Fisch (2005, p.4) identifies a
number of features that have contributed to the effectiveness of the existing series.
These features included:
● Engaging children via the use of appealing elements such as humor (with the
caveat that children find different kinds of humor funny at different ages),
mysteries, and games, among others.
● Choosing age-appropriate topics (for both stories and educational content) that
are inherently interesting to children and relevant to their lives.
● Presenting content via age-appropriate language and at levels of difficulty that
are tailored to children’s knowledge and developmental level.
● Handling educational content in ways that are clear, direct, and explicit.
● Focusing an individual episode or segment tightly on conveying a small number
of ideas.
● Reinforcing concepts by repeating them over the course of an episode or
segment.
● Drawing explicit connections among conceptually related segments, to
encourage children to see how similar concepts can be applied to different
problems or situations.
● Using engaging or action-filled visuals rather than static visuals or “talking
heads”. Including characters whom viewers see as complete and intelligent, and
with whom they can identify.
● Encouraging children to actively engage in the educational content themselves
through viewer participation, (e.g., during a game show, or by attempting to
solve a problem before the on-screen characters solve it).
This list is by no means exhaustive, it illustrates just a few of the many ways that
children’s television programmes can be educational. But by identifying these features,
it will enormously benefit the production of Lulu’s Opera House to make it attractive
42
and as educationally powerful as possible. The design of Lulu’s Opera
House attempted to interpret the above features in the following ways.
First, to effectively attract young audiences, Lulu’s Opera House created appealing
elements such as a mysterious adventure story and humorous cartoon characters
around traditional Beijing Opera. Second, the age-appropriate topics and features of
Beijing Opera were carefully selected in terms of the mental and esthetic requirements
of 7-11 year olds (refer to section 6.1.4 for details) and TV rating systems. There is no
official TV rating system in China, so U.S. and Australian children’s television
standards were referenced, as listeod in the following tables.
TV-Y: (All Children - This program is designed to be appropriate for all
children.) Whether animated or live-action, the themes and elements in this program
are specifically designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 2-6.
This program is not expected to frighten younger children.
TV-Y7: (Directed to Older Children - This program is designed for children age 7 and
above.) It may be more appropriate for children who have acquired the developmental
skills needed to distinguish between make-believe and reality. Themes and elements
in this program may include mild fantasy or comedic violence, or may frighten
children under the age of 7. Therefore, parents may wish to consider the suitability of
this program for their very young children. Note: For those programs where fantasy
violence may be more intense or more combative than other programs in this
category, such programs will be designated TV-Y7-FV.
(Federal Communication Committee 2009)
Table 2: US TV standards for children 7 – 12.
43
A children’s program should be a program that:
(a) is made specifically for children or groups of children; and
(b) is entertaining; and
(c) is well produced using sufficient resources to ensure a high standard of
script, cast, direction, editing, shooting, sound and other production
elements; and
(d) enhance a child’s understanding and experience; and
(e) is appropriate for Australian children.
Note: Children means people younger than 14 years of age in the definitions of 2009
Australian Children’s Television Standards
(Australian Communications and Media Authority 2009)
Table 3: 2009 Australian Children’s Television Standards for children 0-14.
Third, the main character Lulu was designed to be a six years old girl on the cusp of
the US TV-Y7 audience group. Four, in episodes related to the male Peking Opera
characters and fighting scenes, they involve only mild fantasy violence. Five,
traditional Beijing Opera includes comprehensive activities and disciplines such as
singing, dancing, acrobatics, dialogue, role types, facial makeup or costumes. To keep
the educational content as clear and explicit as possible, Lulu’s Opera House is
designed to only focus on small bytes of information and attempts to reinforce this
information by repeating that in an entertaining plot. For example in the studio pilot
animation, two role types are introduced and one Beijing Opera play is performed. Six,
action-filled visuals such as dancing, acrobatics or martial arts predominate rather
than singing and dialogue. Futher details about these aspects will be given in chapter
6.
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3.2 Cartoon Animation and Children’s Educational Television
In the above sections, it was shown that children’s educational television has positive
effects on children’s learning. Programs such as Sesame Street and Mister Roger’s
Neighbourhood are primarily live action shows, so can we assume that television
cartoon animation will prove equally or even more effective in education? This is an
important question because Marshall Karp, co-executive producer of ABC’s “Baby
Talk” once indicated that: “It’s been proven true over the years that in general cartoon
shows beat live action shows,” (Berarducci 1971, p.11). Furthermore, the results of a
Chinese questionnaire survey conducted by Zhejiang Institute of Media and
Communications in four kindergartens in 2008 also revealed among all the children’s
TV programs, children’s animated cartoon, including 2D, computer animation and
puppet show, were the most popular at 97.11%, followed by other programs such as
children’s live TV shows, literature, sports, news, and science (Lin 2008). Certainly,
entertaining cartoon animation is the most favoured program form by Chinese
children. The rest of this chapter provides a critical survey of children’s TV cartoon
animation with a focus on Chinese examples.
The new medium of television began showing cartoons in the late 1940s (Maltin &
Beck 1987). One of the very first images in the U.S. to be broadcast over television
was that of Felix the Cat, which was a cartoon character created in the silent-film era.
His black body, huge white eyes and giant grin were instantly recognized worldwide
after its broadcasting (Canemaker 1991). As watching TV became cultural
phenomenon compared with going to movie theaters, many people chose to stay at
home watching TV instead of going out. Many children’s television programs
included showing theatrical cartoons to their audiences. The configuration of
animation moved from theatrical era to a television style. The pioneer was
Hanna-Barbera (Wells 2003, p.15), the producer of The Flintstones, made history with
the introduction of prime time animated series in the United States during 1960-1966.
It was a prelude to the television’s first animation boom, enlightening a variety of
45
themes and settings to both prime time and Saturday morning cartoons. During the
1961-1962 seasons, there were seven animated series programmed by networks in
prime time, a record showing for the cartoon genre. The boom was in conformity with
a programming trend of the 1960s (Mittell 2003, p.46). Mittell (p.47) found that
although The Flintstones provided a fitting finale to a brilliant prime time in 1966.
However, industry concluded that adult audiences showed less interest of the cartoon
program. Then cartoon programs gradually faded out of the line of sight of people
from prime time and moved to Saturday morning, sparing prime time for adult to
watch what they were interested in. Woolery (1984-5, pp.13-16) attributes this shift
equally to Fred Silverman around 1963 for his insightful originality to interest toy and
confectionary manufacturers in funding the production of cartoon animation programs.
Since then, watching television animation on Saturday morning was flourished and
became a weekly ritual. Millions of American kids established habit to getting up
early every Saturday morning to watch animation.
By 1981, Singer, J. & Singer, D. (1981, p.126) claimed that, “Children today are
growing up on television in an environment that never existed before in human
experience.” In the era when television is everywhere, the cartoons, as the main part
of children’s television programmes, are no doubt the partner of every child in
growing up. Sun Lijun, the Dean of Animation School of Beijing Film Academy,
stated that children are naturally sensitive to colors and sounds, thus the cartoons,
combining splendid colors, exaggerating images, and lovely music, naturally become
children’s favorite (Sun 2008, telephone interview). Moreover, in an interview with
Hong Ying (2008), an Executive Editor in China Central Television (CCTV)
educational programs, it was claimed that toddles acquire 80% of their information
through visual and audio channels, and therefore animation as a visual and audio art
provides a much stronger stimulus to the senses than pure text. With its unique
features of visualization, entertainment, and instructiveness, animation potentially
46
could provide children with plenty of dynamic visual and audio joy and thus be highly
entertaining.
Two studies of college age students have also shown that those students who viewed
animations that supplemented their texts scored higher on tests than did students who
studied static visuals or no visuals at all (Lilienfield & Broering, 1994; Spotts &
Swyer, 1996). His finding confirms what Apostol (1991, pp. 29-44) concluded, that
visualization is even more effective when the images are in motion. The idea that
animation might be helpful in education appears to gain further support from Ju &
Cifuentes (2002), who believe that: “The dynamic features of animation can cue
students' attention to meaningful elements of visuals. Specifically, animation can be
an effective tool or aid to improve learners' performance on visual learning tasks. The
variety of colors and motion in animated presentations can add realism and stimulate
students' interests in concepts under study” (Ju & Cifuentes 2002, p.46). Other
advantages of animation over live action shows to attract children Berarducci (1971,
p.11) claims is the fast action, since live action film does not have as much rapid
action as a cartoon, as live action has to introduce other elements to keep the film real.
Animation can follow the most bizarre pace because it is often not based on reality. In
addition, Berarducci (1971) found that children overwhelmingly favor fantasy over
reality when viewing television. Cartoon animation is more consistently fantastical
than live action shows as there are few limitations in fictitious cartoon worlds. This
raises a pertinent question. What influence on children’s physical and mental health
does the fantasy worlds of animation effect, according to research?
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3.2.1 The positive influence of cartoon animation on children
Education plays a critical role in shaping children’s personality, mind, psyche, and
behavior and the TV cartoon program potentially is one of the most important
growing-up partner to children and renders the strongest influence, when there is a
“lack” in the communication among children. Xianghong Hao, the Secretary General
of Chinese Children and Adolescent Academy acknowledged the effectiveness of TV
cartoon animation in education by stating that:
Children are particularly susceptible to the effects of television because their
minds are growing, developing and learning much faster than those of adults.
Therefore, television could be used as an educational tool for children, especially
cartoon and animation works. It is our duty and responsibility to innovate the
educational manner for children and adolescents by adopting this (Hao 2008,
telephone interview).
The following is a detailed exploration on the positive influences of animation on
children.
3.2.1.1 Animation nurtures children’s linguistic and imitating capabilities
The brain acts as a single entity. Our brain, like the rest of our anatomy, is made up of
two halves, a left brain and a right brain. The left side of our body is "wired" to the
right side of our brain, and vice versa. Each and every mental skill supports and
compliments the other. The left brain functions includes using logic, detail oriented,
facts rule words and language, math and science and knowing etc, while the right
brain functions includes uses feeling “big picture” oriented imagination rules,
symbols and images, philosophy & religion and believes etc. Our personality can be
thought of as a result of the degree to which these left and right brains interact, or, in
some cases, do not interact. We can identify "left brain" types who are very analytical
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and orderly. We likewise certainly distinguish the artistic, unpredictability and
creativity of "right brain" types (Eden 2006). Therefore building vocabulary through
animated drawing targets a whole-brain approach in problem solving jointly (The
Language Workshop For Children 2008).
According to a research concerning cartoon animation and children’s development
conducted by Chen & Liu in 2007, animation has remarkable positive effects on
children’s linguistic and imitating capabilities. The study claims that children acquire
a language by listening and imitating speech after listening. Animation expands
children’s vocabulary by providing them with visualized language, and trains their
skills in communication and listening. After viewing an animated film, children tend
to communicate with others to confirm their feelings. Through mutual communication,
telling the story to their partners, and sharing the funny scenes with others, the
linguistic capability of children is enhanced. Chen & Liu (2007) claim when children
try to clearly describe the changes in the plot, they must think carefully about and
arrange the story, in the process of which their integrity and rigour in thinking are
exercised.
Merely imitating speaking, however, does not make children actually speak, and its
role in linguistic capability development is limited. Therefore besides imitating,
Staples & Moncrieff (2007) states that children should also be encouraged to express
themselves flexibly. For instance, based on the original language example, children
can change the plot of the stories by putting the animation background in their real
life. Their interests to express new meanings and to speak are triggered. This process
requires children’s memory, imagination, local thinking, and verbal expression. All
these fundamental language ability are formed. By practicing so, they not only
improve a rich vocabulary and syntax, but also cultivate the capability to create and
solve problems (Staples & Moncrieff 2007).
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3.2.1.2 Animation satisfies children’s desire for knowledge and expands
children’s knowledge of the world
Ackermann (2004) states when baby begins to walk, the physical development that
takes place in this period is gradual and significant, and it opens the way to a whole
variety of new activities for them. They are stimulated to a great deal of learning
about world, self, and others with the help of newfound mobility and the interest of
manipulating whatever they come across. They are absorbing knowledge from the
circumstances and conditions around them (Ackermann 2004, p83). Animation is one
of the media that attracts children’s attention most, watching animation program can
satisfy children’s desire for learning (Marsh 2006). The subjects of animation convey
a variety range of universal information, form the technology, to the things around
him, form colorful world to emotional feelings. These basic elements of life can be
delivered to children through vivid and lively pictures and characters. Five examples
are discussed in detail later in section 3.2.2 Learning through cartoons.
3.2.1.3 Animation promotes the development of children’s pro-social behaviors
Pro-social behavior refers to "voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit
another individual or group of individuals" (Eisenberg & Mussen 1989, p.3). This
definition refers to consequences of a doer's actions rather than the motivations
behind those actions. These behaviors include a broad range of activities, such as
sharing, comforting, rescuing, and helping.
Since the 1920s and 1930s, many Chinese and overseas psychologists have conducted
research on children’s pro-social behaviors, such as sharing, cooperating, and
donating (Eisenberg & Mussen, 1989; Damon et al., 2006; Spodek & Saracho, 2006).
The research shows that at 2 to 7 years old, children’s cognition is self-oriented and
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the pro-social behaviors are rare. Real cooperation appears at around 7 years old when
children gain the capability to think from others’ position. According to Chinese
psychologist Dan Li’s Experiment Research on the Development of Children's
Pro-social Behavior (1989, p.5), “under any circumstances, children display a low
level of pro-social behaviors, compared to a much higher level of self-regard
behaviors. Therefore, developing children’s pro-social behaviors has been an
important part in children’s education. Apart from good family environment, the
popular media play a key role, among which animation shoulders a major part of the
task due to its popularity among children”.
Forge & Phemister (1987) examined the effect of prosocial cartoons on 40 preschool
children. They discovered that prosocial cartoons would elicit more prosocial
behavior than neutral ones. The television animated series Arthur (PBS Kids), The
Magic School Bus (Scholastic), the Jetsons (Hanna-Barbera Productions), Winnie the
Pooh (Disney), the Get Along Gang (Nelvana Limited), Madeleine (DIC
Entertainment), The Flintstones (Hanna-Barbera Productions), and Dragontales (PBS
Kids) all highlighted modesty, cooperation, sharing, and helping, serve as industry
examples of pro-social behaviors that children can imitate and learn.
3.2.1.4 Animation expands children’s thinking
In 2007, the first level nursery school in China, Wuhan - Decai Nursery School,
conducted a study about the impact of animation on children’s thought development.
It is claimed that in terms of form and contents, animation has its own characteristics,
which make it easy to be accepted by children, and render positive effects that cannot
be neglected in expanding children’s thinking. The study elaborated that not limited
by the real object, animation images are designed and produced according to human
imagination, which allows them to be created, schematised, exaggerated, and
transmuted. In a way, animation positively exceeds the limits of real time and space.
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Cartoon characters normally are based on prototypes in real life, reserving some
features and characteristics of the prototypes while not limited by them. Palmer (1947
p.26) claimed that, ‘Fundamentally, the live-action camera represents the physical eye,
and the animation camera represents the mind’s eye. Live action will reproduce
anything that can be seen; animation, anything that can be imagined’. Palmer further
elaborated that live action can show superbly how things look, whereas animation can
show what they mean. To children, it does not matter what the thing is, but what the
thing means to them; therefore, in the children’s world, the real form of objects can be
changed at will to realize certain functions. Cartoon animations perfectly satisfies
such needs of children; in order to fly humans may have wings, heroes may have
magical weapons to win, animals and beasts may display human expression and will.
Due to the great freedom in cartoon visual image design, children experience a strong
feeling of change and freedom which brings them boundless joy as well as wider
imagination (Decai Nursery School 2007).
Other features of animated films that the study praised was the use of clear themes
upon which the plots are revealed one layer after another, which is simple but
rhythmic. The heroes are relatively stable with clear characteristics and behavioral
logic and consistency, thus leaving deep impressions with children. As well, the study
claimed that animated films with no conversations provide good training in children’s
thinking as well. For example, Disney’s Tom and Jerry is a cartoon loved by both
children and adults. There is very little conversation, relying rather on lively action
and humorous sight gags.
Finn Cragg, an Australian animation studio conducted a series of trials during 2005
and 2006 to explore the potential of animation in primary and early childhood
education. One of their trials involved a three minute animation Emu and The Flying
Doctor. It has two animation choices that can be played – the “Country” and the
“Club Mix”. Both have the same animation but different soundtrack (with no
character speaking). Viewing these animated stories enabled wide interpretative
52
possibilities for the students (Hawkins 2008), generating rich classroom discussion,
oral expression and new vocabulary. It was found that students exposed to these
animations improved their understanding of the nature of these texts, and prepared
them for exploring these avenues for their own storytelling while developing their
emerging critical skills (Hawkins, 2008).
It is clear that animated drawings are entertaining and can be a positive and effective
learning tool for children. Next, I will discuss five examples of children’s television
animations which educate through entertainment, to further prove that the television
cartoon animation can certainly be a learning tool for children.
3.2.2 Learning through cartoons
3000 Whys of Blue Cat, WordGirl, Sid the Science Kid, Super Why? and WordWorld
exemplify my claim of learning through cartoons.
3.2.2.1 3000 Whys of Blue Cat (China)
Figure 5: 3000 Whys of Blue Cat (Pictures sourced from CCTV.com 2007)
53
In May 2007, a 3000-episode cartoon series stood out from more than 50 cartoons
from many other countries at the 3rd International Animation Expo held in Hangzhou,
China. This cartoon, 3000 Whys of Blue Cat, was produced by SunChime Cartoon in
Hunan province. As the first large-scale science cartoon series in China, it succeeded
with a new cartoon genre, “knowledge cartoon”. Along with the adventure of Blue
Cat and its friends and problems they face, the film provides children with knowledge
of astronomy, biology, humanism and history. Thus, it is regarded as an “Animated
Encyclopaedia” (Blue Cat 2008).
The 3000 Whys of Blue Cat consists of seven main series, which are Classical Blue
Cat, Star War, Dinosaur Times, Ocean World, Living Olympics, Adventure in Space,
and Safety. Being the very beginning of the Blue Cat series, Classical Blue Cat
consists of episodes of independent short stories which take place in children’s
everyday life and depict children’s life from a variety of aspects. With these short
stories, knowledge on subjects ranging from astronomy, geology, to humanism and
philosophy are conveyed to children. For example, how did the Earth come into being?
Why do stars blink? What is the life of polar bears? Why do people need sleep?
The second series, Star War, against the background of alien invasion of Earth,
comprises stories of Blue Cat named Taoqi, and other space warriors who unite in
opposing the alien invasion. This series promoted the importance of humans joining
hands in protecting the Earth’s natural environment. In the third series, Dinosaur
Times, Blue Cat leads friends travelling back in time to the age of dinosaurs, and
through dangerous challenges and crises, they learn about dinosaurs. The fourth series,
Ocean World, describes an unprecedented crisis faced by human beings - the
deterioration of the natural environment and the shortage of life-sustaining resources.
In this context, humans hope that the ocean, rich in resources, will provide a solution.
Shouldering human’s hope, Blue Cat and friends set up an investigation group and
dive deep into the ocean to look for resources. This series tells children that nature
does not belong to humans, but humans depend on nature. In the fifth series, Living
54
Olympics, children are led by Blue Cat to learn about the Olympic events and their
rules. The sixth series, Adventure in Space, introduces the mystery of the universe and
the last series, Safety, focuses on increasing awareness of safety knowledge and
self-help capabilities in children through vivid stories.
Yan Guo (Sunchime Cartoon Group 2006), Vice President of SunChime Cartoon
Group, states that ever since the Blue Cat series’ initial broadcast by Beijing
Television Station in June 1999, the cartoon has been played by over 700 television
stations in China, with a stable audience of 80 million per day in mainland China, and
has won 9 awards including the China Animation Special Honour Award. From June
2005, America’s Disney channel in Asia started playing the 3000 Whys of Blue Cat
series in the Chinese language. Jing Jia, editor of Shandong TV’s children
programmes, said, as the only educational animation focusing on providing
knowledge in contemporary China, Blue Cat has enjoyed huge success (Jing Jia 2008).
Since 2001, the SunChime Cartoon Group has developed a whole series of children
products based on the image of Blue Cat, including children’s garments, schoolbags,
stationary, baby carriers, children’s shoes and food, beverages and electronic
appliances. Currently, there have been more than 2,400 exclusive shops of Blue Cat
products covering the metropolitans as well as medium and small cities in China,
forming the largest animation product sales network in China (People.com.cn 2006a).
It is no doubt that the Blue Cat has become the largest cartoon brand in China. In the
case of educational animation such marketing would help fund the expensive and time
- consuming animation processes.
With the Japanese and Korean animation taking the dominant position in the Chinese
animation market, what is the foundation for the success of Blue Cat, and by
extension for a series educating children about Beijing Opera? To answer this
question, many experts on animation and its market have carried out their research on
the Blue Cat subject. Wang Hong, the director of Blue Cat believes it is because of
good topics and original stories (CEO 2005), while Jing Jia (2008) and Zhao
55
Wenjiang, vice director of CCTV Children’s Channel (Sunchime Cartoon Group 2004)
considers it is the success of marketing and publishing. The SunChime Cartoon Group
summarizes the success of the Blue Cat brand as the combination of entertainment
and knowledge in animation, in the integration of animation and science (Xinhuanet
2006).
3.2.2.2 Educational Cartoon Program on WNIT Public Television
A review of the children’s programming on WNIT Public Television8 which is
dedicated to educate and to entertain communities underlines the fact that cartoon
animation is a popular mode of address. There are numerous animated series designed
to educate children on diverse topics as science exploration, literacy, and mathematics
as well as pro-social behaviour. These programs are briefly discussed below and
information is largely sourced from PBS Kids and WNIT Public Television (2008).
●
WordGirl
Figure 6: WordGirl (Pictures sourced from PBS Kids 2008)
8
WNIT is the PBS member television station for South Bend, Indiana. Its studios are located in
Elkhart. The station has been serving Michiana Public Broadcasting Corporation since February 1974.
The Michiana Public Broadcasting Corporation is an essential community - based organization
dedicated to the educational power of television (WNIT Public Television, n.d.).
56
“WordGirl’s focus is on great stories, characters, and animation. If all those elements
are working, then you can hook a child who may come looking for laughs but leave a
little smarter” (Harvard 2007).
WordGirl is a children’s animated series produced by Soup2Nuts9 (a division of
Scholastic Media) for PBS Kids10, which is aimed at children 6 to 8 years old and is
designed to teach an expansive use of the English language (PBS Parents 2008). It
tells the story of Becky Bostford, WordGirl, a gentle girl in fifth grade, who is a secret
super heroine from Lexicon. When she was a baby, there was an accident on her
spaceship so she landed on the earth and was adopted by Tim and Bostford. She has
superpowers like flying at sound velocity, super strength and a vast vocabulary. When
there is trouble in the big city, she transforms to WordGirl by touching her signal on
her shirt and saying “word up”. In every episode WordGirl fights against her enemies,
such as Granny May, The Butcher, Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy and Dir.
Tow-Brains, with her friend the monkey and Captain Huggy Face’s help.
WordGirl is designed to enrich children’s vocabulary, instil a love of language and
foster better reading comprehension. Linda Simensky, Senior Director of PBS
Children’s Programming said that “through this animated series, early elementary
school kids will continue to learn new vocabulary and build literacy skills with
WordGirl as she defends the proper use of words in the most hilarious scenarios ”
(Scholastic 2007). Scholars hold the view that WordGirl contains a solid basis of
curriculum, referring to “Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction” by
Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown and Linda Kucan from the University of Pittsburgh
(Jensen 2007). Each 11-minute episode in the show’s half hour time slot begins with
9
Soup2Nuts, a division of Scholastic Media, is a cutting-edge animation production studio offering
full-in-house production services including the development of original series, writing, recording,
music composing, character design, animation, and post-production (Bynum 2007).
10
PBS Kids, for preschoolers, and PBS Kids Go! for early elementary school kids, are committed to
providing the highest quality non-commercial content and learning environment for children across the
United States (Bynum 2007).
57
the instruction to look for two words which will be used throughout the plot of that
episode. The words (examples include “diversion,” “cumbersome,” and “idolize”) are
chosen according to academic guidelines. The theory is that children are able to
perceive words like “cumbersome” with the explanation “big and heavy and awkward
(Jensen 2007). In this animation, producers aim to adopt relevant stories and
background information in the definition process of a term. Dorothea Gillim, the
program’s Executive Producer comments that “this strategy is that youth viewers have
figured out the definition of a word before it is revealed well into the episode”. The
context of a word will better help children to understand the meaning of the term
(Bynum 2007).
WordGirl premiered in September 2007 as part of the late afternoon PBS KIDS GO!
programming block, and it instantly became a hit. Dorothea Gillim, self-claimed
“Language geek” stated that “development of educational materials and production of
animation has opened up the possibility to develop and produce an animated series
that humorously introduces challenging vocabulary to its youth audience” (Bynum
2007).
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●
Sid the Science Kid
Figure 7: Sid the Science Kid (Pictures sourced from PBS Kids 2008)
“Sid the Science Kid” is a half-hour PBS Kids series that debuted on September 1,
2008 (Ivory 2008). Aiming at the children 3 to 6 years old, every episode is based
around Sid and begins with a new question like ‘Why are my shoes shrinking?’ or
‘Why do bananas get mushy?’, and starts an interesting day of seeking answers (PBS
Kids 2008a). Sid’s day is very adventurous. “He gets a kick out of putting rolie polie
bugs under his magnifying glass or asking lots of questions with his hand-held
microphone. Through his adventure, Sid encourages preschoolers to think about how
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to get answers to their own questions by exploring the world around them” (WNIT
Public Television 2008).
The 40 half-hour episodes, aim:
·To encourage children to think, talk and work the way scientists do by building
on preschoolers' natural curiosity about the world.
·To show that science is all around us - we all interact with and are capable of
learning about scientific concepts.
·To contribute to school readiness by fostering children's intellectual skills,
motivation to learn, and confidence in themselves as learners.
·To support children's learning by partnering with parents and teachers to create a
"climate of curiosity" for children.
(PBS Kids 2008b)
According to PBS Kids, Sid’s content is based on “national science learning
standards, cognitive learning theory, and on the preschool science curriculum,
Preschool Pathways to Science” (PBS Kids 2008b). Employing these principles, the
Sid production team designed the animated series to allow children to have repeated
opportunities to think about a specific scientific ideas and encourage them to "do"
their own science, not just read about and discuss what others have observed. Every
week the animation will discuss one science subject with the Friday show designed to
review, reinforce and summarize the central concepts of the week (PBS Kids 2008b).
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●
Super WHY!
Figure 8: “Super WHY!” show for emerging readers on PBSs (Picture sourced from PBS Kids
2007a)
A third example of learning through cartoons is Super WHY!. The program is a 2007
CGI animated television series, aimed at children from ages 3 to 6 to teach key
reading skills such as the alphabet, rhyming, spelling and reading comprehension
through interactive storybook adventures (PBS Kids 2007a).
Figure 9: The phonics four: Characters from the “Super Why!” (Picture sourced from New York
Times 2007)
61
This series follows the adventurous experience of four friends, superheros
transformed from children’s fairytales: Pig from The Three Little Pigs to Alphy Pig
with Alphabet Power; Red from Little Red Riding Hood transformed to Wonder Red
with Word Power, Princess from The Princess and The Pea transformed to Princess
Presto with Spelling Power, and Whyatt, the curious younger brother of Jack from
Jack and The Beanstalk transformed to Super Why with the Power to read. Together,
they are the “Super Readers” (WNIT Public Television 2008).
According to the storyline introduced on PBS Kids (2007a), in every fantastical
episode of Super WHY!, the adventure starts in Storybrook Village, a magical 3D
world behind the bookshelves in a real children’s library, the place where characters
reside. One of them will meet a “Super Big Problem” and with another character they
solve the problem using their preschool social skills, and superpowers to fly into the
books to find out how well-known fictional characters dealt with similar problems. In
this way they figure out the answers to their own problems.
Samantha Freeman Alpert, executive producer and co-creator of “Super Why!” stated,
“All kids really want to feel empowered, and superheroes bring that to you” (Jensen
2007). Through this 3D animated series, characters with super powers together with
young audience engage in reading adventure and interactive games. During the
process, the young viewer will become a fifth superhero - Super You - with the power
to help (PBS Kids 2007a).
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●
WordWorld
Figure 10: WordWorld (Picture sourced from WordWorld 2008)
A final example of cartoons that educate is WordWorld. The program is a
computer-animated cartoon series produced by WTTW Chicago, Illinois for PBS
Kids. Funded in part by the United States Department of Education, it is targeted at
nursery school children aged three to five, with their main goal being to “inspire a
love of words and reading” (PBS Kids 2007b).
WordWorld is a colourful, vibrant, word-rich place where friends have fun and meet
challenges through word play. In WordWorld, words are truly the stars of a show.
Each episode is a fun story about WordFriends (WNIT Public Television 2008). Every
character has their own traits. Shy Sheep loves acting and pretending; Frog is smart
and skilled in vocabulary; Duck is somebody who is impulsive and still working on
letters and social skills; sociable Pig lives for the now; Dog is the best friend and
always ready to play the word game (PBS Kids 2007b). WordWorld revolves around
WordFriends and WordThings, characters and items made of the letters that spell them,
in the correct order:
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So, for example, a barn is made out of the letters B-A-R-N, and a pie out of
P-I-E, shaped so that they actually look like a barn or pie - with this rule
extending to the animals who are the sentient characters in the show.
(PBS Kids 2007b)
The WordThings can be put together and pulled apart during the show by the
characters, who use the items in their adventures and to solve their problems. In this
animation, WordFriends ask audience to involve in their adventures, solving problems
by reassembling the right word. Reassembling words is a special moment for children
when they see the whole process. According to Jensen (2007), co-creator Don Moody
was first inspired by the study result in which it showed that children paid less
attention to words than characters. Moody stated that, WordWorld's use of characters
that physically resemble the letters that make up their names may cause children to
pay more attention to words. “If children want to look at the character, then the words
have to be the character,” he said (Jensen 2007). In this 3D animated series, “Word
building reinforces the pre-reading concept that letters make words, and that words
have real meaning and power” (NJN Public Television and Radio 2010).
3.3 Summary of chapter 3
In this chapter, I have researched the educational value of TV cartoon animation for
children. The research highlighted the vital, positive influence of television on
children’s emotional and intellectual growth and development. The findings showed
the positive effects of TV on children’s learning and animated programs especially
because of their unique characteristics; as a visual and audio art they provide a much
stronger stimulus to the senses than pure text or live action film (Lilienfield &
Broering, 1994; Spotts & Swyer, 1996; Apostol 1991; Palmer 1947). They have the
advantage of fast action and ability to create fantasy worlds, in addition to splendid
64
colors, attractive stories, and entertaining plots (Berarducci 1971). In interviews with
Hong Ying, the Executive Editor of CCTV Educational Programming Center, and
Jing Jia, the Children’s Program Producer of Shandong Television, both mentioned
the importance of entertaining while educating children (see Appendix B) and
animation it has been argued does that.
To further understand the nature of television cartoon animation, several educational
animated series of PBS Kids such as WordWorld, Sid the Science Kid, WordGirl,
Super Why！and 3000 Whys of Blue Cat by the Chinese SunChime Cartoon Group
were analyzed. The analysis confirmed that cartoon animation can be effective in
cultivating young viewers with literacy, math, science or pro-social knowledge. The
study helped me to understand three points. First, combining cartoon entertainment
with educational material opened up the possibility of producing an animated series
that introduces knowledge to children humorously. Second, a television animation
series has one major advantage compared with animation films screened in cinemas.
Children have very easy access as long as there is a TV in the home as most
children’s animation series are broadcast at the same time each day. In addition,
because children will become familiar with the characters in a television animation
series through repeated viewing, the development of educational merchandising is
easier (Jing Jia 2008). Thirdly, a successful educational cartoon in modern times
generally possesses several common features including:
●
Using CGI (computer generated imagery) techniques to create vivid environment
and characters. This point is very obvious because the world is using the
technique to foster animation producing. It is a computer-based animation age, in
which large amounts of excellent animation works speak for the new technology,
such as Mulan, WordGirl, and Super Why.
65
●
Attractive adventure stories. Examples such as WordGirl, WordWorld,
SuperWhy well support this point. Adventure stories will arouse children’s
interest and attention, leading them to a brand new world with imagination.
●
A series of lovable characters with distinguishing personalities. In WordWorld,
characters can transform into different WordThings, which also are given
distinguishing personalities. In a famous Chinese animation Pleasant Goat and
Big Big Wolf, every goat has a very different personality; lazy, lively, beautiful,
or pleasant.
●
The main character is often a superhero and possesses a kind of super ability
such as math, reading or spelling. When they meet challenges, this character
will solve the problems by using their super abilities, as in WordGirl and
WordWorld.
●
Clearly orientation towards the audience group, mostly children within a
three-to-four year range. This narrow gap ensures the educational content is
appropriate and suitable for all the target audience at a similar level. For
example, WordGirl aims at 6 to 8 years old, Sid the Science Kid is targeted at 3
to 6 years old, and WordWorld aims at 3 to 5 years old.
●
Curriculum and learning theory underpinning the animation series; WordGirl
supported by the curriculum of “Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary
Instruction” and Sid the Science Kid, underpinned by national science learning
standards, and cognitive learning theory.
●
Comedy to facilitate learning for young audiences. There is no doubt that
children will have a greater interest in comedy, rather than dull lectures.
Children learn best and most when they enjoy what they are doing. Using animation
as a tool to encourage and develop children’s learning is not only fun but effective. By
using animation children develop skills and competencies in visual communication,
66
cognition, observation, concentration and problem-solving (VIA 2009). As to my
research project, the findings of this section verified that to develop and produce an
educational television animation series which aim to present knowledge of Beijing
Opera through entertainment can gradually foster children’s understanding and
interests in this traditional art, and be advantageous to Beijing Opera’s development.
Based on these findings, it made Lulu’s Opera House can be appealing,
age-appropriate, and educationally powerful as possible. For an account of how this
research has shaped my studio project see chapter 6 of this thesis.
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Chapter 4
Lulu’s Opera House in Context: Chinese
Animation development
4.1 The history of Chinese animation
This chapter provides an overview of Chinese animation development as another
context in addition to the previous chapters for which the development of my film
Lulu’s Opera House can be understood. The information about the history of Chinese
animation is primarily sourced from Cartoons: One Hundred Years of Cinema
Animation written by Giannalberto Bendazzi in 1994, and Animation in Asia and the
Pacific edited by John A. Lent in 2001, supplemented by online material. Both books
provide a detailed history and critique of cinema animation produced in China by
presenting the works and careers of pioneering animators. This chapter also draws on
comments of Jin Guoping, former Director of the Shanghai Animated Film Studio and
President of China Animation Association, and Zhang Songlin, former Deputy
Director of Shanghai Animated Film Studio. Their comments are sourced from the
interview made by staff reporter Zhang Xueying of China Today in 2006 for the
newspaper article ‘Creating an Animation “Dream” Factory’.
4.1.1 Early history
The history of Chinese animation began in 1918 with the arrival in Shanghai of the
Fleicsher Studio’s animation Out of the Inkwell. Wan Laiming pioneered animation in
China producing the first animation in a cartoon advertisement for the Shuzhendong
Chinese Typewriter in 1922 (Bendazzi 1994). In 1926, Wan Laiming and Wan Guchan,
the Wan brothers, produced the first animation short Uproar in the Studio, running 10
to 12 minutes long in black and white (Bendazzi 1994). Then in 1941, Wan Laiming
created China’s first animated feature film, Princess with the Iron-Fan, the third of its
kind in the world (after Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Fleischers' Gulliver's
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Travels) (Clements 2002). Princess Iron-Fan received great acclaim throughout China
and Asia, and laid a foundation for the later development of a Chinese animation
style.
In 1936 the Wan brothers stated their animation goals in an article, “Talking about
Cartoons”, published by the Mingxing Production Company journal. They praised
American animation for its entertainment value and its efficient means of production,
German animation for its artistic qualities, and Soviet animation for its educational
goals. The brothers affirmed the value of educating the audience at the same time they
were entertaining them but stressed the need to develop an animation style that was
uniquely Chinese (Quiquemelle 1985). This rigid philosophy stayed with the industry
for decades, and animations produced around this period were essentially an extension
of other facets of Chinese arts and culture, drawing content from ancient folklores and
legend (ForeignerCN.com 2007).
4.1.2 The golden age
In the period between the 1950s and the 1980s, China entered a golden era of
animation. Between the late 1950s and early 1960s, the famed Shanghai Animation
Film Studio11 produced nearly 100 films in the decade (Li 2003). A unique art style
of Chinese animation evolved. Inheriting Wan brothers’ goal, Chinese pioneer
animator Te Wei promoted that Chinese animation should not only absorb the essence
of Soviet animation, but should explore films that would reflect the Chinese national
spirit (Ehrlich 2001). Two films that best illustrate these goals were the puppet film
The Magic Paint-Brush (1956) directed by pioneer animator Jin Shi and The
Conceited General (1956) directed by Te Wei. The Magic Paint-Brush won the First
11
Shanghai Animation Film Studio, founded in April 1957, is the largest animation production base in
China. It is a comprehensive film & animation institution, capable of developing and managing the
production and distribution of animation and children’s films; the publication and marketing of
animation books, magazines and other media formats; as well as commercialising intellectual property
rights (IPR) and handling the merchandising of clothes, toys and stationary based upon animation
designs (SAFS 2008).
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Prize for Children's Entertainment Films at the 8th Venice International Children's
Film Festival. It was the first time a Chinese animated film won an international prize
(Ivana 2008). The Conceited General is widely regarded as a landmark of Chinese
animation incorporating characters in Peking Opera makeup and costumes. This film
portrays a general who has won many battles but who becomes conceited as a result.
He drops his guard and is finally vanquished. It reflects a traditional Chinese
philosophical concept: “Pride leads to loss, while modesty brings benefit” (Bendazzi
1994). Jin Guoping, former Director of the Shanghai Animated Film Studio and
president of China Animation Association (2006) claimed that “The Conceited
General” was a hiatus in Chinese animation production encouraging a national
animation style, different from the United States, the former Soviet Union and Eastern
Europe (Zhang 2006b).
Figure 11: The Magic Paint-brush (1956) produced by SAFS (Picture Sourced from Xinhuanet
2004).
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Figure 12: The Conceited General (1956) produced by SAFS (Picture Sourced from Xinhuanet
2005b).
By the late 1950s animation experiments combining traditional Chinese paper cut
work and ink and wash paintings began. China has a long history of various folk arts
like drawing, sculpture, architecture, finery, folk dramas, folk music, scissor-cut,
shadowgraph and New Year paintings, which provided distinctive sources to create a
distinctive Chinese animation. In 1958, China's first paper-cut film, Piggy Eats
Watermelons, directed by Wan Guchan, added a new form to Chinese animated films
(Ivana 2008).
Figure 13: Piggy Eats Watermelons (1958) (Picture sourced from China Culture.org 2003).
71
Two years later, the ink-and-wash animated films, Tadpoles Searching for Mother and
Cowherds Flute were produced in China. Tadpoles Searching for Mother used the
style of Qi Baishi’s ink sketch while Cowherds Flute used the style of Li Keran’s
brushwork (Ehrlich 2001). The desire to create a distinctively Chinese animation form
at this time is exemplifed by these films (Encyclopedia Britannica 2008).
Qi Baishi (1864 –1957) is celebrated as the most contemporary Chinese painter for
the whimsical, often playful style of his watercolour works. The subjects of his
painting include almost everything but commonly animals, scenery, figures, toys,
vegetables, and so on. He theorized that paintings must be something between
likeness and unlikeness. In 1953, he was elected to the President of the Association of
Chinese Artists (Tsao & Bardoff 1993). Li Keran (1907 – 1989) was a painter and art
educator prominent in 20th – century Chinese Art. He developed a personal style of
landscape painting that was based upon the emulation of both ancient and
contemporary masters.
Figure 14: Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy (1960) (Picture sourced from China Culture.org
2008).
72
Both films were acknowledged as significant achievements in China and abroad.
Tadpoles Searching for Mother received the Best Animated Film Prize at the First
Hundred Flower Awards in Beijing in 1962, as well as won awards in Annecy
International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival and Switzerland Locarno
International Film Festival (Ehrlich 2001), while Cowherd’s Flute was awarded the
Golden Prize at the Odense International Fairy Tale Film Festival in Denmark in 1963,
and subsequently used as teaching material in the United States, becoming a
demonstration film for American students (ChinaCulture.org 2008).
Figure 15: The Cowboy’s Flute (1963) (Picture sourced from China Culture.org 2008)
Other films produce during this time include The Golden Conch (1963) and Havoc in
Heaven (1962). Chinese animation can truly said to have come of age with the
production of Wan Laiming’s Havoc in Heaven, which he produced with seven other
animation artists from 1957 to 1962. The ‘star’ of the film was the Monkey King and
from that time on, similar to Mickey Mouse in America, the image of the Monkey
King became popular among Chinese audiences. The Monkey King, Sun Wukong,
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with As-You-Will Gold-Banded Cudgel in his hand, who can travel a hundred and
eighty thousand miles in one flip, like the gods, spirits and magic described and
depicted in Chinese myths, fairytales, folk stories, paintings and literature is totally
aboriginal (Farquhar 1993). Making strong use of Beijing Opera motifs, particularly
in music and movement, Havoc in Heaven won Special Interest Award at the 13th
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in Czechoslovakia in 1962, and the
outstanding film award at the London International Film Festival in 1978 (Xinhuanet
2005a). In 1983, Havoc in Heaven was shown in 12 cinemas in Paris, and within a
month, the audience reached 100,000. French newspapers called it “a genuine
masterpiece of animated film” (Zhang 2006b). In it, five colors – green, red, yellow,
white and black – are used to create different roles, such as the Monkey King, the
Jade Emperor and the God of the Earth. The images are exaggerated and in
well-rounded shapes. “It absorbed the expression method of Chinese murals and New
Year paintings”, said Zhang Songlin, former Deputy Director of Shanghai Animated
Film Studio in 2006 (Zhang 2006b).
Figure 16: Havoc in Heaven (1962) (Picture sourced from Xinhuanet 2005a).
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A report written by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio in 1987 states that the period
from 1957 to 1966 was the heyday of Chinese animation films. With the policy of
“Let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend”, the
artistry of Chinese animation films was brought into full play, displaying an even
more mature and perfect national style (Shanghai Animation Film Studio 1987).
However, during the “Cultural Revolution” (1965-1976), the Chinese animators were
forbidden to make films, and many of them were scattered across the countryside and
forced to "re-educate" themselves by working on farms. Shanghai Animation Studio
was also closed down by the Red Guards from 1965 to 1972. The creation of Chinese
animation remained stagnant for nearly 10 years until the fall of the Gang of Four in
1976 (Bendazzi 1994). The decade after 1979 is acknowledged as the second
renaissance of animation creation in China (Zhang 2006b). During this period, three
long animated films, Ne Zha Conquers the Dragon King, The Golden King Conquers
the Evil, and Secrets of the Heavenly Book were created, and the ink-and-wash
animated films Deer’s Bell, Snipe-Clam Grapple and Feeling from Mountain and
Water were produced. In addition, more than 200 short animated films including
Three Monks and Snow Child were made (Ehrlich 2001). According to Jin Guoping,
“The works created during this period were more mature. Progress was made in
character portrayal, plot arrangement and cinematography, but still, Chinese
characteristics were maintained” (Zhang 2006b).
The film Ne Zha Conquers the Dragon King, in particular, is outstanding with more
than 100 shots showing waves, all using methods of traditional Chinese painting and
totally different from the sea depicted in the films of Walt Disney. “Many viewers said
they could instantly see that the scenes of the sea waves were created by Chinese
artists,” Jin Guoping said. “Many people don’t know that Ne Zha Conquers the
Dragon King was the film for the opening ceremony of the 1980 Cannes International
Film Festival. That was the most courteous reception ever accorded to Chinese
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animated film” (Zhang 2006). Chinese animation has won more than 70 international
awards and 200 local prizes with its unique artistic style based on ancient Chinese
paintings, colorful folk arts, including puppet shows and paper-cuts (Ivana 2008).
Other films produced at this time that referenced traditional Chinese culture were ink
and wash painting animations like Deer’s Bell (1982) and Feeling from Mountain and
Water (1988) in their appropriation of Chinese ink and wash sketches of flowers, birds
and natural scenes. As well traditional cartoons like Ne Zha Conquers the Dragon
King (1979) and Secrets of the Heavenly Book (1983) referenced ancient frescos in
China’s Buddhist and Taoist temples. Scissor-cut animations like Fishing Child
(1988), The Scalper’s Grievance (1989) make use of the forms of Chinese
shadowgraph and folk scissor-cut while Mr. Nan Guo (1981) and Fire Child (1984)
embody the vigorous style of Han Dynasty stone and brick reliefs. Of especial
relevance for my studio project is Three Monks (1980), The Conceited General and
The Doctor and The Emperor (1991) which variously incorporate the style of Chinese
traditional opera in their design of actions, characters, music, and facial makeup.
4.1.3 The adoption of Beijing Opera in Chinese animation history
In the 80 year history of Chinese animation, there are five well-known animated films
that adopted Beijing Opera elements in their creations; The Conceited General (1956),
Uproar in Heaven (1962), Nezha conquers the Dragon King (1979), Three Monks
(1980), and Doctor and Emperor (1991). The Conceited General and Doctor and
Emperor based their character design on Beijing Opera makeup, while the other three
adopted Beijing Opera melody in their musical compositions. No other commercial purpose Chinese animated film integrates Beijing Opera in its subject - matter (Jing
Jia, Qijhua Cai, 2008). Qihua Cai, the production department Director of CCTV
Animation Inc. proposes that Beijing Opera is very rarely the subject of animated
films, because from the point of view of the director, such a subject requires a very
solid Beijing Opera background for design and directing. He emphasized that most
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animation directors do not possess such knowledge so it delays the development of
Beijing Opera animations. Thus, this subject if explored more fully in animated form
can contribute to the tradition of producing distinctively Chinese animation.
4.2 Current status of the Chinese Animation industry
Chinese animation today faces severe competition as the international industry is
dominated by massive Japanese and US animation output. Very few quality domestic
animation films were produced during the 1990s. That was especially so after 1993
when China opened its animation film industry to the outside world. From 1993 to
2003, the average production amounted to 4,700 minutes per year (Shanghai Daily
2006).
China, with its 370 million children, is considered one of the world’s largest
animation markets. The Quatech Market Research Company12 surveyed youngsters
aged between 14 to 30 in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in 2005, and found that
over 1.3 billion RMB (about US $163 million) was spent on cartoons every year, but
more than 80% of the revenue flows straight out of the country (ForeignerCN.com
2007). China is becoming the world’s largest import country for animation products.
People gradually detected that more and more Chinese children are fascinated by
Transformers, Dragon Ball, Garfield as well as Snoopy; a glance at one day’s
children’s programming timetable of CCTV (Chinese Central Television) in 2004 Aug
will prove this (See Table 4).
12
Quatech Market Research Company is the first management consultant firm that is engaged in the
marketing quantification management service in China. It helps Chinese enterprise to formulate the
marketing link quantification management system, and at the same time, it provides the world leading
marketing quantification management advisory service and helps Chinese enterprise enhance its
competitive power (Quatech 2008).
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Channel
CCTV – channel 4
CCTV – channel 6
CCTV – channel 7
Program
Animation World
(Overseas): 229
Animation series: Ninja
Turtle (47)
Animation World :271
Chinese Animation:261
Broadcast Time
10:15 am
7:08 pm
8:35 am
9:05 am
3:30 pm
(Repeat)
CCTV – channel 12
CCTV - Children
channel
Pinwheels:305
(Repeat)
Animation series: 314 The
Spirit Huidou (9-10)
Animation series: 314 The
Spirit Huidou (9-10) Repeat
Animation World:269
Pinwheels: 306
Cartoon Animation Valley:
4:15 pm
8:47 pm
10:10 am
5:00 pm
6:00 am
6:50 am
9:00 am
304
Animation World: 269
Chinese Animation: 273
Chinese Animation: 273
(Repeat)
Pinwheels: 306 (Repeat)
Cartoon Animation Valley:
304
Tangram: 143
Music Express: 206
10:00 am
11:00 am
3:00 pm
3:50 pm
5:00 pm
6:30 pm
7: 45 pm
Table 4: Children programming timetable of CCTV in 17 Aug 2004 (CCTV.com 2004).
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From this timetable, we can see around 15 hours of children’s programmes are shown
from 6am to 9pm through 5 channels everyday, and 10 hours out of those are cartoon
animation programmes, which include following animation series:
SpongeBob
Made by America
Anne of Green Gables
Made by Canada
Puppet animation Yao Ma Wu
Made by China
Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
Made by America
Doraemon
Made by Japan
Olympus Guardian
Made by Korea
Friends of the Earth
Made by China
Blue Sparkle
Made by Japan
Calimero
Made by Italy & Japan
The story of Andersen
Made by Denmark
The mole
made by Czech
Lisa and her friends
made by America
Catdog
Made by America
Astroboy/Tetsuwan Atomu
Made by Japan
Mysterious Island
Made by China
Dingding
Made by America
The Arabian Nights
Made by America
Kim Possible: So the Drama
Made by Walt Disney
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Made by Walt Disney
The Spirit Huidou
Made by China
Ninja Turtle
Made by Japan
Table 5: Cartoon animation programmes broadcasted in CCTV 2004.
Only four of the 21 animation series broadcast were produced in China. Among the
popular animations, about 60%, are from Japan, 29% are from Europe and USA, but
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only 11% are Chinese original animation (Hong Kong and Taiwan Included)
(ForeignerCN.com 2007). In 2004, overall domestic animation product totaled 29,000
minutes which equates to 0.0012 second per person in China. In Japan the average
yearly ratio per person is 5-6 minutes (Research in China 2006). GoGo Top, the first
weekly Chinese animation magazine, carried out a survey in 2004, showing that of
Chinese youngsters’ top 20 favorite cartoon characters, only one, the Monkey King, is
a Chinese product (Qiao 2005).
Consequently, it is necessary to look at the main obstacles for a further development
of distinctively Chinese animation.
4.3 Obstacles to current Chinese animation development
4.3.1 Limited thematic range and weak storytelling skills
According to John Lent (2001), Professor of Communications in the Department of
Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Mass Media at Temple University in the US, a
shortfall in technical expertise may not be the primary holdback for China’s producers.
“I have no doubt that the technical skills in China are beginning to rival those of
Hollywood or Europe.” But, he says, “One of the problems I hear coming out of
China and many other places in the Far East is the storytelling” (French 2004).
In 2005, the Chinese animation industry achieved an important milestone with the
production of Jean Giraud's Thru the Moebius Strip in Shenzhen. Thru the Moebius
Strip was the first 3D animated feature film, and fully rendered in China. To premiere
at the Cannes Film Festival, the film received good reviews for the quality of its
animation. However, Mobius was regarded as more of a graphical accomplishment
than a storytelling achievement.
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Storytelling in Chinese animation remained a problem for Kevin Geiger, President
and CEO of Animation Options LLC, and the jury of the 4th China International
Animation and Digital Arts Festival in 2007. He said during the festival: “There were
standouts in the program that clearly demonstrated an abundance of technical and
artistic ability in China. The biggest problem at present seems to be a lack of
compelling storytelling,” (Geiger 2008). Lent and Geiger are not alone in pointing out
the storytelling problem of Chinese animation. Famous Japanese cartoonist Chiba
Tetsuya in his interview with China Today in 2005, said: “Chinese cartoonists are as
good as Japanese ones, if not better. But a good cartoon requires not only good
drawings, but also an interesting plot. Chinese cartoonists need to spend more time on
creating adventure story lines and on upgrading their storytelling skills,” (Qiao 2005).
Why has storytelling remained a problem for Chinese animation? The remarks of
acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou (Raise The Red Lantern, Hero) can perhaps
give us some insight. “When the Chinese have a good story, they want to make a
live-action motion picture from it, not an animated film,” (Geiger 2008). Whether
made in jest or in seriousness, this comment indeed speaks to the dated general view
in China that animation is only a medium for children, their understanding and
requirements in storytelling is assumed to be lower than adult audience. This notion
lead to the emergence of many didactic animation works which mostly concentrate on
education and incentive, but lack enjoyable emotive storylines.
The above point can be shown by many recent animations aimed at children which are
produced in China. New Biography of Shajiabang (2009), adapted an historical story
to parallel the present national revolutionary spirit of young Chinese audiences while
Legend of Yueyun (2009) also drew on Chinese history, and depicted the story of
Yueyun, a young national hero in Song dynasty. Educational series, like The Summer
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Holiday of Nunuduo (2009), were built around solving science and nature questions in
each episode, adopting a simple pattern of answering questions without emphasizing
the plot. Certainly, there are still some excellent storytelling animations in the market,
such as Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf produced by Creative Power Entertaining in
2005. However, looking at the big picture, the patter of answering questions is more
frequently used by animation producers than storytelling. Character and plot in such
animation works are subjugated to an instructional imperative. This makes cartoon
characters in education-purposed animation rigid and lacking a sense of fun. As a
result, such uncreative animations gradually lose their domestic market and are
unsuitable for international markets (Geiger 2008).
Sun Lijun, Dean of the Animation School of the Beijing Film Academy, considered
that compared with Chinese cartoons, foreign products are far more original and
entertaining. They interpret the instincts and problems that children have as in the
case of South Park, The Simpsons and Drawn Together. To compete with them,
Chinese animation should update storytelling skills, to dwell in the realm of dreams,
the imagination and the human spirit, rather than restrict itself to time-worn political
and educational territory (Li 2003).
4.3.2 Narrow orientation of audience group
American and Japanese cartoons and animation products are mainly aimed forwards
children and teenagers. There is also a rich range of audience groups from adults to
seniors. However, in China, most of the domestic cartoons are aimed at the young
children and pre-schoolers, and very few (excepting The Dreaming Girl produced by
CCTV) are developed for adolescents or adults due to a limited budget. As a result,
criticism by Qu Jingfang, designer of the cartoon image of Afanti (Beijing Review
2007) and Lu Shengzhang, professor of the CUC Animation School (People.com.cn
2008) favour cartoons from abroad.
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Figure 17: The Dreaming Girl is based on the best-selling comic books of the same name by
author Yao Feila. It is the first animated television series aimed for adolescents and high school
students produced by CCTV Animation Inc in 2005 (CCTV.com 2005).
To investigate this problem further, I interviewed Qihua Cai (2008), Director of
Production Department of CCTV Animation INC in 3 March 2008. He stated: “In fact,
we also wish to produce some animations for young people, however, the situation is
we only have limited funds, and can only take care of our major audience group,
which is young children around 3 to 7 years old. This is a very real problem we are
faced with”. (Refer to Appendix B for the whole interview).
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4.3.3 Underdevelopment of cartoon industry
In China, in addition to animation, discussed above, cartoon, including caricature, is
an exotic art from the west and remains a sunrise industry, though the first cartoon
magazine Comic’s King was published in 1993. The most common genres of cartoon
products are fairy tale, adventure, science fiction, history and reality. There are only 5
or 6 major Chinese cartoon magazines – Comics World, King of Cartoon, Cartoon
Fans, Cartoon Party and A Shuai Online. Few cartoons in a cartoon book store are
original domestic creations (Donban.com 2007). The cartoon fans are used to reading
Japanese and Korean works since these cartoons have wonderful stories updated by
speedy sequels.
Cheng Jin, Proprietor of Cartoon Fans, maintains that, at present, China has a paucity
of cartoon artists, because of the underdevelopment of the industry. Most cartoon
enterprises lack economic strength and so cartoon artists changed their careers, since
companies were unable to provide good working conditions and excellent
remunerations for their services (Zhong 2007). This has been a problem since the
1990s and further explains the decline in cartoon animation production and quality in
China.
4.3.4 Lack of brand management awareness
Keller claimed that in his 2001 report, building a strong brand is seen as providing a
host of possible benefits to a firm, and has become a vital goal for many organizations.
Indeed, modern management requires a brand (Zhongman.com 2007) and the Chinese
animation industry has lacked that. For instance, Pixar – the world’s most popular
animation enterprises - has a recognisable brand. Pixar’s works are full of human
kindness and emotions, publicizing orthodox values evident in The Incredibles,
Finding Nemo, and Ratatouille. Brands help orientate the viewing public. Likewise
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Dream Works has its brand features; Shrek represents subversion, rebellion, weirdness,
good triumphing over evil. Brands constitute a company’s strength. If we compare the
business field to the battle field, a distinctive brand would be the most powerful
weapon the company possesses. To adhere to the brand is to compete with strength,
ensuring success (Zhongman.com 2007).
Analysing Pixar’s brand Keller (2001) identified four primary steps in brand building:
establishing breadth and depth of brand identity; creating the appropriate brand
meaning through strong, favourable, and unique brand associations; eliciting positive,
accessible brand responses by a ‘pull’ effect of the quality of their work; and lastly by
forging brand relationships with customers that are characterized by intense, active
loyalty. Chinese cartoon companies such as Miaoyin Studio, Sky Vision Studio and
∏ Frame Studio are aware of the importance of brand identity and have started to
build their own studio brand. However, developing brand identities for Chinese
animation companies remains an issue as does a merchandising profile.
In 2006, Hongwen Yang, General Secretary of China Child and Adolescent Culture
and Art association claimed:
At present, there are two main animation production bases in China, Shanghai
Animation Film Studio (SAFS) and CCTV Animation Department. As the result
of the system, they live on the government’s funds, thus do not need to chase
profits, which leads to low awareness of brand developing and lack of
enthusiasm to develop derivative products of cartoon animations. We can hardly
see any derivative cartoon product authorized by CCTV Animation Department
or Shanghai Animation Film Studio (Focal Talk Online 2006).
The veracity of this comment was confirmed by Qihua Cai in interview who stated
that in the earlier years TV stations like CCTV did not aim to make profits out of
these cartoons, and the channel’s broadcast and production were supported by the
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government and income from advertising (Qihua Cai 2008). Moreover, Jin Guoping,
former Director of Shanghai Animation Film Studio stated, in 1999, the Studio spent
RMB 21 million (about US$ 2.54 million) on producing Lotus Lantern. The animated
film earned a box office income of more than RMB 20 million, but failed to capitalize
on any related products (Qiao 2005). Compare this with the American cartoon
Transformers, which broadcast free on Chinese television, but subsequent profits from
toy sales amounted to RMB 5 billion; and Lion King, an animation made by the Walt
Disney Company in 1994 which brought in RMB 5 billion worldwide, and its
derivative products brought in an impressive RMB 13.4 billion. Here, we lag far
behind the foreign animation companies.
Historically, in other countries, animation manufacturers pay great attention to
developing a distinctive brand. They start to consider the toy development even when
they are producing the animations, and most of the industry’s revenue comes from the
sale of related merchandise or multimedia products (Qiao 2005). Comparatively, lack
of brand management awareness is common in China’s animation industry, which was
influenced by the planned economy, and has this become a great barrier in the
development of the Chinese animation industry.
4.3.5 The immaturity of animation marketing mechanisms
The prosperity of an industry is dependent on a scientific and effective marketing
mechanism. As one of the largest animation exporters, Japan has a
precisely-structured industry chain and mature operating mechanism, which has
successfully positioned its animation product in the international market. By
comparison, Jin Guoping considered that the animation previously made by the
Chinese animators and managed by the government had been only for the local
audience, never for trade and profit (Lent 2001). He stated that the biggest problem
facing the Chinese animation industry is a lack of good marketing mechanisms, which
resulted in Chinese animation companies having no idea how to promote their works
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(Chung 2008).
Echoing other such comments, Yan Dingxian, former President of Shanghai
Animation Film Studio, stated that the cartoon market is still immature in China.
Producers don't pay enough attention to promotion of their cartoons as well as
marketing spin-offs of cartoon characters and related items - foreign producers are
particularly skilled at this kind of marketing. Statistics show that in general a
successful cartoon makes two-thirds of its money through cartoon-derivative products
rather than screening of the film itself (Shanghai Daily 2006).
Wang Ying, General Manager of the CCTV Animation INC, further confirmed the
marketing problem:
The difficulties we face are that the number of animated films is not small, but
few are able to enter the market. There is an over-emphasis on original creation
and a neglect of market operations. The animation industry should be an
industry chain made up of upper, middle and lower reaches. The upper reach is
the creation of content, the middle reach is the filmmaking, and the lower reach
is the broadcasting and derivation products development. In China, the three
links have not formed a good cycle, they are isolated from one another (Zhang
2006b).
Aimed at this problem, in Mar 2007, CCTV converted the former Animation
Department into CCTV Animation Inc.. The new company added two new
departments: the Marketing Department and the Development Department to meet the
needs of the market. (As one of the biggest production base and representatives of the
Chinese animation industry, a more considered account of CCTV Animation Inc. will
be given in section 4.5)
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4.3.6 Low distribution fee
The low distribution fee of TV stations is another main barrier for the development of
the whole industry. Xu Ling, General Manager of the Institute of Digital Media
Technology Limited (IDMT) in Shenzhen, cites less-costly 2D animation TV series as
an example. Producers have to spend RMB 10,000-15,000 yuan (US $ 1,207-1,811)
for each minute of production generally. But the best price a TV station will offer is
only about 3,000 yuan (US $ 362.3). That means the producers would lose at least
7,000 yuan (US $ 845.4) for every minute (Chen 2005).
“The low distribution fee is a disaster to the industry, and scares away investors.” Xu
said (Chen 2005). In addition, Qu Jianfang, General Manager of Afanti International
Animation Co, sums up the awkward situation in China’s cartoon and animation
industry with a joke: “If you want your boss to kill himself, ask him to shoot cartoon.”
(Chen 2005). The 71-year-old artist, who created and directed the popular image of
Afanti, the champion against evil-doers, also suggests the Chinese Government
should support the cartoon animation industry by greatly increasing distribution fees.
The financial return on merchandising also needs to be considered (Chen 2005).
China’s animation industry faces numerous problems if further development is to
occur. The six points presented above – limited thematic range and weak storytelling
skills, narrow orientation of audience target, underdevelopment of the Chinese
animation industry, lack of brand management awareness, immaturity of the
animation marketing mechanisms and low distribution fees - are major, basic
elements while lack of a more supportive system of industry policy, poor original
creation capability, the incomplete industry chain, and a shortage of human resources
all hinder its growth (CCID Consulting 2007a).
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4.4 Development trend of Chinese animation industry
As my film will be marketed in China as well as abroad it is useful to understand the
current Chinese animation market. During the 1980s and 1990s, China formed the
largest production base for European, American and Japanese animation companies,
due to the country’s low labor costs and high quality artists. In 2003, fee-for-service
work for international animation studios reached 30,000 minutes, including such films
as The Lion King, and Mulan, while domestic Chinese animation totaled only 4,700
minutes (Focal Talk Online 2006). Compare this with the other countries such as UK
and Japan where in 2004, the animation industries became the biggest industry in the
UK and the second biggest in Japan (Research and Markets 2005). There is no doubt
that China’s cartoon and animation industry has been underdeveloped. Eighty percent
of Chinese animation enterprises were not initiated locally as core domestic activity
(ChinaCulture.org).
4.4.1 Industrialization and the support strategies from government
As previously stated, Chinese authorities viewed animation as being mainly of
educational and artistic value for children. According to Zhijun Cai, the Deputy
Director of Planning and Creative Department of CCTV Animation INC., in the past,
under the traditional planned-economy systems, the operational model was mostly
state-financed animation production, which meant production funds were limited, and
that has impacted on the diversity of subjects depicted and the quality of productions
(Zhijun Cai 2008). Jin Guoping, former General Manager of the Shanghai Animation
Film Studio (SAFS) also claimed, before 1993, whatever you made was decided by
Beijing. The government decided how much product you would make and how much
income you would have (French 2004).
However, in 2004, China’s central government were convinced that a cartoon and
animation industry could represent one of the major components in the state’s income,
and consequently mandated, by way of a new State Administration of Radio, Film and
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Television (SARFT)13 regulation, that a new high-technology animation and cartoon
industry be established. This made it possible for the Chinese animation industry to
enter international markets and grow in circulation and thereby benefit the whole
domestic animation sector (Zhijun Cai 2008).
To coincide with the industrialization of cartoon and animation, in the same year,
SARFT officially put in place new policies to encourage and accelerate cartoon and
animation production. The first group of national animation centres was authorized on
December 2004, comprising four colleges and nine studios (China.org.cn 2004). See
following table:
SARFT falls under the direct supervision of State Council. It is in charge of the country’s radio,
television and film industry and directly supervises China National Radio (CNR), China Radio
International (CRI) and China Central Television (CCTV). The administration consists of the following
departments: the General Office (the Legal Department), the General Editorial Office, the Film Bureau,
the Broadcasting Affairs Supervision Department, the Personnel and Education Department, the
Planning and Finance Department, the Science and Technology Department, the Foreign Affairs
Department and Security Department.
13
90
●
Nine studios:
Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS)
China International Television Corporation (CITVC)
San Chen Cartoon Group
China Film Group
Hunan Jin Ying Golden Eagle Cartoon Company
Hangzhou High Tech Development Zone Cartoon Park
Changzhou Film and Cartoon Industrial Company
Shanghai Xuedong Cartoon Cable TV and Media Entertainment Company
South China Cartoon Program Union Studio
●
Four academies:
Communication University of China
Beijing Film Academy
China Academy of Art
Jilin Arts College and Cartoon College
Table 6: List of four colleges and nine studios in the first group of national animation centres
These institutions and studios aimed to produce cartoons with depth and refinement to
form an animation industry chain. Their establishment is a major step in accelerating
development of the whole industry. According to Xu Guangchun, Director of the State
Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) in 2004, SARFT intended to
support the development of animation films and coordinate with the Ministry of
Finance and the State Administration of Taxation to grant the centres favourable
financial and tax policies. Local broadcast authorities were required to give full
support to them (China.org.cn 2004). In 2006, SARFT advocated standardization of
TV broadcasting in a bid to protect the domestic animation industry by stating:
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From 1st September 2006, all the channels about animation, children and youth
at CCTV and regional TV stations would neither broadcast, present nor
introduce foreign animation works during the period from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.
All channels must broadcast animation works made in China and among all
animation works broadcasted, Chinese animation must be over 70%.
(People.com.cn 2006b)
This strategy was inspired by the Korean experience where the Korean cartoon
animation and video games became one of the six biggest industries in Korean by
2006 (21CN.com 2006). This accelerated demand for domestic animation especially
that produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio especially when in 2008, the
three-hour period was extended to four (Associated Press 2008).
.
However, Chinese TV stations experienced two major concerns. First there is a lack of
Chinese animation material. Channel Xuedong Cartoon Shanghai voiced this concern:
If domestic animation cannot be produced constantly, the "Daily 3 hours Domestic
animation” would be very a big demand (CHINA.com.cn 2006). Second, audience
rating of most Chinese commercial TV relies highly on broadcasting overseas
animation works. The statistics collected by Shanghai Cartoon Channel from June to
October 2006 on audience rating exactly proved their worries. The Figure 18
demonstrates a sharp decrease in the audience rating among September and October,
especially in prime hours.
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93
From this graph, it is clear that the months with highest audience rating are July and
August which was the period of school holidays. The audience rating for June is
lower since this month is examination period of semester 1 for most Chinese schools.
However, the drop in audience numbers for September and October coincides with the
implementation of the restriction on broadcasting overseas animation programs during
5:00pm-8:00pm. Therefore, solely blocking foreign cartoons in prime time will not
improve the Chinese animation industry markedly. The most important thing is to
raise the production quality and quantity, especially the progress on both techniques
and originality. As well, aimed at these demands, more policies have been formulated
in the last few years to cultivate animation talents, support the growing of domestic
animation studios, and enhance the production quality of the Chinese animation
industry. Six aspects were targeted:
●
Establishing an animation industry base
An animation industry circle has been set up with 8 animation industry bases in such
places as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Sichuan, and Shandong as
centres. These eight animation industry bases will play an active role in shaping a
favourable industrial chain of Chinese animation, and they integrate multiple
functions, such as intensive development of leading business; accommodate and
nurture viable new animation firms; talent education and training; technical research
and development; technical services; and international economic and technological
cooperation (Ai & Wang 2008).
● Preferential
policies and monetary incentive
Monetary incentives to stimulate the growth of the animation industry have helped
establish two animation industry bases In Shandong province. The cartoon companies
staying there are subsidized by the government with RMB 30,000 yuan each (Jing Jia
2008). In the Zhifu district of Yantai City, Shandong, cash awards for
two-dimensional cartoons shown on TV are offered to local enterprises. The awards
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provide RMB 1,500 per minute for screening on CCTV, RMB 800 per minute for
screening on provincial channels, and RMB 200 per minute for screening on Yantai
TV. 3D cartoons even get double the award, with the maximum cash value not
exceeding RMB 1 million (Zhu 2008). In Zhejiang province, the local authorities
offered a monetary incentive of RMB 1 million yuan annual bonus for the production
of its own animation brand (Li 2005b). The Hanzhou municipal government also
established an “encouragement fund” for original works, RMB $1,000 will be offered
for every one minute of animation produced, and if the program is broadcasted by
CCTV, the funding is even higher (HKTDC 2006).
● Training of
animation talents
The shortage of original animation and comic artists is one of the major development
constraints facing the Chinese animation industry. At present, the demand for talent in
the cartoon and animation market is estimated at 150,000, while that of video games
market about 100,000. However, by the end of the 20th century, only one college in
China had courses in animation, and merely about 300 local graduates in these fields
join the workforce each year. There are less than 10,000 practitioners currently
working in the industry. The number is about one-third that of South Korea (Tian
2006).
The statistics underline the urgency of grooming talent in cartoon and animation art.
In mid-September 2006, fifteen (15) Ministries (including the Ministry of Education,
Ministry of Culture and SARFT) jointly launched the Digital Art Talent Project in
Beijing. The joint effort aimed to lay a foundation for the development of the digital
entertainment industry in China, including creative talent in animation and comics
(Tian 2006). In 2008, one of the associated members of the project, Shanghai CIA
(College of Interactive Art) had already cultivated more than 2000 talents for the
Chinese animation industry (Zhongman.com 2008).
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Moreover, a growing number of major art schools began to offer programs in
animation, while many universities on the Chinese mainland have set up animation
and comic development workshop for students. In terms of the Tian (2006) report, the
Renmin University in Beijing began to offer the first post-graduate course on
animation research and productions in 2006. All these attempts can definitely help the
industry draw a constant supply of bright young talent. However, as the animation
market increasingly expands, China still needs more skilled employees in this field to
continue the development of its animation industry (Chai 2008).
●
Broadcasting Policy
With over 200 different animation programs on the air all over China today, television
stations are also encouraged to broadcast animation with additional commercial time
incentives. Meanwhile, for every minute the Children’s Channel broadcasts
domestically produced animation, the State pays a subsidy for it, which is also an
encouraging policy from the government (Jing Jia 2008)
●
Establish a Children’s Channel and cartoon channel
To respond the growing demand for suitable programs for young viewers, in
December 2003, CCTV launched China’s first exclusive Children’s Channel,
allocating 30% of the contents for animations (More details are provided in section
4.5). Following that, in May 2004, every province and municipality in China is
required to set up a local children’s channel. These channels will use some CCTV
content but must also produce local programming, include broadcasting domestic
animation products.
By 2008, four specialist cartoon satellite TV channels were authorized and established
by SARFT in Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha and Guangdong to further accelerate the
growth of cartoon and animation. The four channels include Guangdong Jiajia
Cartoon TV, Hunan Gold Eagle Cartoon Satellite TV, Shanghai Xuandong Cartoon
Satellite TV and Beijing Kaku Animation TV (Zhu 2008). Using Golden Eagle
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Cartoon Channel as an example, it opened on 29 April 2004. From the beginning of
the planning phase, it has placed “publicizing China’s traditional culture” as its
channel’s mission. Among all the programs of the channel, 75% are cartoon animation
films, and four cartoon theatres were programmed for different audience groups. In
the spirit of “braveness, wisdom, and happiness”, the channel nurtures domestic
animation products (Greatdreams Cartoon 2004).
●
Hold Animation Festivals
In May 31 2005, China’s first International Animation and Cartoon Festival (CICAF)
was held in Hangzhou. Co-sponsored by SARFT and Zhejiang provincial government,
the week-long carnival takes the theme “cartoon and animation make life wonderful”.
The festival attracted more than 10 countries with 110 professionals and celebrities
coming from the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and other
countries and regions of animated cartoon industry. It featured a lively series of
industry lectures and panels, and aimed to enable cooperation, competition and
development between cartoon organizations from China and abroad.
The festival’s activities included a five-day animation industry exposition, composed
of a two day summit forum, animation contest, Cosplay (costume play) show; a
weeklong screening of classic Chinese animations; meetings of animation businesses;
merchandising and a job fair in which over 60 colleges and enterprises sought more
than 1,500 new talents (Li 2005a). With 1.2 million attendees recorded (Geiger 2008),
these activities added more impetus to the whole industry, and enhanced public
awareness of the importance of establishing and protecting original animation brands
(Li 2005a).
With several years’ growth, in 29 April 2008, the 4th CICAF was successfully staged
in Hangzhou with these results:
●
672000 people took part in all kinds of the activities of the festival in only 6 days.
●
On May 1, over 140000 tourists visited the Cartoon and Animation Industry
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Exposition, where the sales totalled RMB 785 million yuan and 23.71 million US
dollars. (Hangzhou.Gov.Cn 2008)
Undoubtedly, the festival has already become a vital platform for communication,
cooperation and propagation. It will effectively enhance the development of the
domestic cartoon and animation industry.
Through the powerful support outlined above, the government is providing a
favorable and agreeable environment for animation, and the animation industry is
regarded as a sunrise industry in China now. All of these initiatives work in favour of
my strategy to revive knowledge of Bejing Opera utilising a computer generated
animation TV series.
4.4.2 The compelling achievements from 2004-2008
In 2006, a slogan was brought forward by the Chinese animation industry
which is: “Bring new cartoons to children everyday”. That is to say,
everyday we need to bring kids a new episode of originally made
animation. In 2008, this target was reached and is going to be
exceeded (Zhijun Cai 2008).
Thanks to active efforts made by competent departments, local governments, and
concerned enterprisesin the last few years, at the end of 2007, China had 5,473
animation enterprises, 34 Children Channels and 4 animation TV channels. The
domestic animation production amount is increasing year-to-year with 42,700 minutes
and 70,000 minutes in 2005 and 2006 respectively (Tian 2006). Further, in 2007,
altogether 186 domestically produced animations with the total broadcasting time of
101,900 minutes were produced in China’s 16 provinces and China Central Television
(CCTV). The official statistics show that the production amount increases 23%
annually, according to the SARFT (Chung 2008).
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The animation production institutions in Hunan province ranked first in China in
terms of production output. All the year-on-year growth margins for the volumes of
domestic television animations produced in such provinces and municipalities as
Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Chongqing also amounted to over 20%
respectively. Thirty four TV channels for children and four animation channels have
become a major platform to promote the healthy development of the domestic
animation industry with a total animation broadcasting time of around 8,000 minutes
each day. The CCTV Children’s Channel spent 65,000 minutes on the first broadcast
of domestically produced animations each year with fast growth of the channel’s
viewership proportion (Ai & Wang 2008).
International models of animation industries have helped forge Chinese animation
businesses especially in the field of comprehensive development of derivative
products. For example, when the TV animation series Hongmao And Lantu, created
and produced by Nanjing Xinghongmeng Cartoon Co., Ltd. was broadcast in
September 2006, the sales volume of related books amounted to 16.54 million and the
sales revenue added up to RMB150 million yuan, hitting a record high in the
distribution of books for children. Incomes from videos added up to RMB58 million
yuan, those from brand authorization amounted to RMB30 million yuan in 2007, and
more than 470 kinds of derivative products were developed. It was estimated that its
brand value would continue to increase in 2008 (Ai & Wang 2008).
Referring to the Internet, up to 2007, there are 15,000 cartoon websites out of 840,000
websites in China, making up a 1.8% of the total. The number has increased by more
than 4000 compared to the same period in early 2006, with an approximate growth of
36%. Cartoon web pages counted up to 57,000,000 with a growth of around 50%. In
2006 the online cartoon market volume exceeded RMB10,000,000 with around 25%
growth, and is anticipated to reach RMB25,000,000 in 2008 with a 150% growth (I
Research 2007).
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The substantial increase of the production and trade volume of domestically produced
animations has not only enriched the program contents of the TV channels in various
places but also met teenagers' demands for TV programs to watch. Meanwhile, both
the creation level and the art standard of domestically produced animation products
have matured noticeably. In 2007, SARFT recommended 33 excellent domestically
produced animations to TV broadcasting institutions within China by four groups
(SARFT.gov.cn 2007). Among those 33 animations, Fuwa's Olympic Travel, Sanmao,
Super Chef-Little Fugui, and Fuwa excelled in terms of scenario creation, originality
and conception, character design, production skills, and industrial development. All
have assembled a favorable viewership when being broadcast by TV stations at
various levels. Some domestically produced animations have out-rated some overseas
animations in the same broadcasting period. For instance, when the TV animation
series The Journey to the West made by CCTV Animation INC was shown, the
audience rating was 4.9%, which exceeding the historical audience rating of Donald
Duck and Mickey Mouse (Zhijun Cai 2008). According to Zhijun Cai, the data did not
mean the domestic animation production is perfect; rather that Chinese children are
eager to see their own original cartoons and tend to favour domestic animations. This
is a great encouragement for Chinese animation producers and for my project.
4.4.3 The prospect of Chinese animation market
In recent years, markets for animations in China expanded. In 2006, the Cartoon Arts
Committee of China TV Association estimated that there are 3175 TV broadcasting
units in China. According to the compulsory stipulations of National Broadcasting and
TV General Bureau, each TV station must play 10-minutes or longer cartoon
animation programs every day. Then suppose 600 urban TV stations broadcast 10
minutes every day, the market demand for animated films in China has been estimated
at 268,000 minutes every year (Research in China 2006).
Buoying the industry is the fact that China has 370 million children and teenagers.
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They are the potential driving force for the development of a cartoon and animation
industry. Specifically, they will ensure China has a promising market for animation
derivative products. According to the China Animation Industry Report made by
Research in China in 2006, its annual sales of stationery totaled RMB 60 billion;
children’s food, RMB 35 billion; toys, RMB 20 billion; children’s garments, RMB 90
billion; and children’s audio-visual products and books, RMB 10 billion. Based on
these statistics, some calculations suggest that the animation industry and its
derivative products could grow into a RMB 100 billion market in 2009.
The continued development of the animation industry will also bring about a profound
impact on TV program markets. China-made animation programs will reach 70% of
the overall Chinese TV animation market by the year 2009 (Research and Markets
2005).
Data from 2007-2008 Annual Report on the Development of the Global Animation
Industry indicates that the annual output value of animation products and their
derivative products in the United States, the largest exporter of entertainment products
in the world at present, has amounted to over US$5 billion. Japan's annual turnover
from the commercial portfolio of animations, cartoon books and electronic games has
amounted to over US$9 billion (Internet Industry Research Centre of CCID
Consulting 2008a). As demonstrated in the 2007 Report on the Analysis of China's
Animation Industry, the global output value of derivative products related to the video
game and animation industries has amounted to over US$500 billion; China's
animation industry has just emerged and thrived; the market capacity of which will be
at least RMB100 billion yuan and all of the 370 million minors will become a
potential consuming group for the animation industry (CCID Consulting 2007a).
The above research demonstrates that an environment conductive to the development
of the Chinese animation industry has been securely formed. Although the industry is
still in its infancy now, the industry chain is becoming increasingly mature. It will
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start developing rapidly after several years of adjustment. Optimism about the future
of Chinese animation was voiced by Mr. Tiezheng Fu, the Secretary General of
Chinese Cartoon Industry Forum when he said that 2006 to 2016 would be a "Golden
Decade" for Chinese Animation Industry (Wang 2006).
4.5 CCTV Animation INC and China Central Television (CCTV)
Children’s Channel Programs
As one of the biggest animation production bases in China, CCTV Animation Inc. can
be discussed as representative of the current Chinese animation industry. This section
will give a detailed description on its production, operation, policies and programs.
The information of this section is mainly sourced from the interview with Zhijun Cai,
the Deputy Director of CCTV Animation Inc, Planning & Creative Department and
Qihua Cai, Production Department director (Full interview records are attached as
Appendix B).
4.5.1 CCTV Animation INC
The CCTV Animation INC was developed from the Animation Department of CCTV
in March 2007. This department was turned into a company to meet the needs of the
market (Zhijun Cai 2008).
The CCTV Animation Department, founded under the planned economy, was the
earliest TV animation producer in China, aiming to meet CCTV’s demand for
animated films. Like other state-owned units, its production was dictated by a plan,
and its funds were allocated by the government. “In the past, we did not need to worry
about cost, or to consider market conditions. We were concerned more with the art of
animation, and the educational functions of animated films. We never considered their
commercial value,” (Zhang 2006b). In the more than 20 years of the CCTV
Animation Department’s existence, it was created more than 3,000 episodes of
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animated series and films on a variety of themes. However, with the industrialization
of cartoon and animation production, the traditional operational forms could not adapt
to the market demands. In 2007, CCTV has converted the former Animation
Department into CCTV Animation INC. In doing this it was hoped that Chinese
animation could grow favourably in circulation making it larger and stronger (Zhijun
Cai 2008).
According to Zhijun Cai, the most notable characteristic of CCTV Animation INC is
original Chinese animations and a cutting edge cartoon brand evident in the three
full-length cartoon series: The Journey to the West, The Legend of Nezha and Little
Carp’s Adventure. Market return did not occur when the first cartoon The Journey to
the West was shown but the second cartoon The Legend of Nezha, and its related
books, audio and video products almost gained the production cost of RMB 36
million. Moreover, its books sales had exceeded Harry Potter in the Chinese market
in 2003 (Zhijun Cai 2008).
Zhijun Cai claimed that in 2007, CCTV Animation INC produced 6000 minutes of
animation: approximately 10 series with 26 episodes each. Apart from broadcasting
on CCTV Children’s Channel, the series sold to the other Chinese TV stations and
exported abroad. As the market demand is growing with the number of channels
increased, more quality animations will be developed in the next few years (Zhijun
Cai 2008).
4.5.2 CCTV Children’s Channel
The CCTV Children Channel is also known as CCTV-14. It was opened on 28
December, 2003, and mainly focuses on animations, for children’s and youths’
information and entertainment. Intending to establish a benevolent kingdom where all
the Chinese children and youths may grow up happily, CCTV Children’s Channel is
the first state-level professional children’s channel broadcasting in mainland China.
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With more than 10 programmes, the channel allocates 30% of the contents for
animations (Qihua Cai 2008)
The source of the domestic animations broadcasted by CCTV Children’s Channel can
be divided into three parts. One is original creation by CCTV Animation INC. The
second source is cooperative production, which means that CCTV provides the story
and the script, co-invests and co-produces Chinese original animation with other
producers throughout China, and then shares the profit and copyright with them. The
third source is to purchase animations developed by other companies. This purchase
can be done in two ways: one is that a producer proposes a plan before development,
for CCTV approval; the other is to buy a complete production which passes the
CCTV censorship (Zhijun Cai 2008).
The total amount of domestic animation shown on the Children’s Channel was more
than 40,000 minutes. Calculation from the rollouts, which occupies 70% of all the
animation broadcasted (30% are imported animation products). This can be compared
with 2004 where only four of twenty one were domestic animations, this ratio has
now been reversed. An animation broadcast list of CCTV Children’s Channel from
Dec 2007 to June 2008 is presented in table 4 to certify this.
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Big Ears Tutu
Little Carp’s Adventure
The Powerpuff Girls
the Legend of Nezha
FuWa
Martin Morning
Kekekexin’s Family
The Journey to the West
Shen Bing Kids
Shaolin Kids
Doraemon
Popeye
SpongeBob
Lilo & Stitch
Zhu Bajie Dropped from
Heaven
Happy Father and Son
Snoopy
Super Chef-Little Fugui
Sports Panda
3000 Whys of Blue Cat
Hero Diqing
My life as McDull
Calabash Brothers
Smart Ikkyu San
Pleasant Goat and Big
Big Wolf
Charlie and Lol
The Series of Ma
Xiaotiao
Mr Bean
Cookie Master
GG Bond －Warrior in
Future World
Winter of Three Hairs
Rainbow Cat and Blue
Rabbit and Seven
Swordsmen
Released 29th Dec 2007
Released 31st Dec 2007
Released 31st Dec 2007
Released 8th Jan 2008
Released 21st Jan 2008
Released 21st Jan 2008
Made by China
Made by CCTV
Made by America
Made by CCTV
Made by China
Made by China & France
Made by CCTV
Made by CCTV
Made by China
Made by China
Made by Japan
Made by America
Made by America
Made by America
Made by China
Released 1st Feb 2008
Released 1st Feb 2008
Released 22nd Feb 2008
Released 28th Feb 2008
Released 6th Mar 2008
Released 1st Apr 2008
Made by China
Made by America
Made by China
Made by China
Made by China
Made by China
Made by China
Made by China
Made by Japan
Made by China
Released 8th Apr 2008
Made by United Kingdom
Made by China
Released 21st Apr 2008
Released4th May 2008
Made by United Kingdom
Made by China
Made by China
Released 4th June 2008
Released 5th June 2008
Made by China
Made by China
Table 7: Cartoon animation programmes broadcasted in CCTV Children Channel during
2007-2008.
105
The table substantiates the progress of the Chinese animation industry from 2004 to
2008. There are 9 imported animation series and 24 domestic animation products
where in 2004 there were 21 imported animation series and only 4 domestic
productions (See table 5 on page 79 of this chapter). These developments have created
a favourable production environment for my project.
4.6 The Development Trend of Global Cartoon Animation
This section gives an overview of the current global computer animation industry. My
studio project Lulu’s Opera House is intended to be developed as a series for TV
distribution both in China and internationally and so some understanding of the
international market is necessary.
In 2004, the global production value of gaming, animation and derivative products
reached over $500 billion (Research and Markets 2005). According to the 2007-2008
Annual Report on the Development of Global Animation Industry, the situation
improved in the following years. In 2007-2008, the animation industry in Europe and
the U.S became one of the pillar industries, worth tens of billions and even hundreds
of billion USD annually. In Japan, the animation industry ranks the sixth in the
national economy, and the output value of animation products exceeds that of steel.
South Korean is second only to the U.S. and Japan by the output value of the
animation industry, which has become one of the six pillar industries in South
Korean’s national economy. In Britain, the digital entertainment industry has become
the country’s biggest sector, with annual output value accounting for 7.9% in its GDP
(Internet Industry Research Center of CCID Consulting 2008a).
106
This chapter gives an overview of the history, current state and development trends of
the Chinese animation industry. China is in the process of building its domestic
animation industry, especially from 2004 to 2008. With this development, China’s
new generation of animation filmmakers have expressed themselves with distinction
on the world stage by producing animations based on Chinese culture, and have
received increasing support and encouragement from the government that is gradually
warming to the value of such expression. Using Beijing Opera as the subject matter of
my pilot animated series Lulu’s Opera House continues the tradition of distinctively
Chinese animation albeit in a popular contemporary medium. The arguments made in
this chapter regarding production trends, the appeal of CGI animation, government
support, Chinese audience preferences, all further substantiate my premise that a CGI
series based on Beijing Opera could succeed commercially and artistically while
promoting knowledge of this traditional art form.
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Chapter 5
Audience Research
The preceding chapters argued from secondary sources the viability and positive
potential, on balance, of producing an animated, CGI, children’s television series as
an educational tool for learning about Beijing Opera. This chapter details two
audience research surveys and explains how these were designed, implemented and
analyzed, and concludes with a summary of the principal findings. These findings also
inform future development plans for this production as the surveys not only tell about
broadcast effect but also product design (Churchill & Iacobucci 2004). Included also
is an indication of the international interest in Lulu’s Opera House.
Lulu’s Opera House has been successfully broadcast twice by Shandong Television
Station (SDTV) in its “Child Idol” program on the Children’s Channel. According to
Jia Jing, director of Children’s Channel of SDTV, the audience rating for animation
programs they broadcasted is between 1.1% and 3.4%14. In her opinion, Lulu’s Opera
House rated relatively high with an audience rating at 1.8% and had performed quite
well. The recorded rating, however, fails to explain the whole story. In addition to the
ratings information that was supplied by SDTV, a larger and more extensive audience
testing was conducted which provided further insight into the impact of Lulu's Opera
House on child audiences. Through this testing, I attempted to ground the claim of a
positive effect of computer animation on Chinese children’s learning about Beijing
Opera.
14
The audience rating data Of SDTV are offered by CSM Media Research (CVSC-Sofres Media)
which is a joint venture between CTR Market Research and the Kantar Media established in 1997 in
Beijing. CSM offers reliable and uninterrupted rating information for Hong Kong SAR and China. Up
to October, 2010, CSM delivers data from 180 TAM panels (1 national panel, 25 provincial panels, and
154 city panels including Hong Kong SAR) which provide data independently, measuring the viewing
of 1,240 unique TV channels all day, every day of the year (CSM Media Research 2010).
CSM will release the last week’s audience rating data for national and provincial TV channels in its
Sina blog per week (SINA Blog 2010).
108
5.1 Introduction to the Audience Research Process
The two research surveys conducted on Lulu's Opera House utilize sample survey
methods in media effects research. These methods are used to measure audiences’
responses towards program content and production.
5.1.1 Shandong Television Station Children’s Channel (SDTV) Follow-up
Survey
On March 12 and 13, 2008, Lulu's Opera House was broadcast on Shandong
Television Children's Channel. Before the broadcast, staff of SDTV contacted 25
previous participants of other programs on the Children’s Channel, aged from 6 to 12,
and received 20 confirmations - 10 girls and 10 boys (refers to Appendix C for
panticipants’ informations). The other 5 could not participate in this survey because
the broadcast time didn’t fit their schedule. The copies of the questionnaire, which
contains 17 questions, were mailed to the children’s home one week before the
animation was broadcast, with a detailed supervision guideline for their parents.
These 20 children watched the program and completed the survey with their parents’
help. All finished questionnaires were delivered back to SDTV for analysis. SDTV
conducted the survey on our behalf.
SDTV Children's Channel routinely conducts follow-up surveys of many broadcast
animations to obtain audience feedback and market direction. The aim of the
questionnaires is to collect data regarding the audience’s reactions and opinions
towards the program, which is beneficial to SDTV when making decisions regarding
further animation purchases and scheduling.
In the case of the survey conducted by SDTV for Lulu's Opera House, the main
objective was to:
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Firstly, find out the basic attitude and interest of child audiences towards the Beijing
Opera featured in the animation Lulu’s Opera House;
Secondly, to discover the commercial value and potential market of Lulu’s Opera
House;
Lastly, to determine its effectiveness in popularizing traditional Beijing Opera
amongst children.
5.1.2 School Screening Test
The School Test Screening was conducted by me with the assistance of Wang Xiaoxin,
a children’s Peking Opera director of China National Peking Opera Company
(CNPOC). It was conducted on a total of 196 students, gathered from the China
National Peking Opera Company and from 3 Beijing Primary schools (refers to
Appendix C for panticipants’ informations). The students' ages ranged from 6 to 13
years old, and were separated into groups according to which school grade they
belonged to. One additional group represented all students who were currently
studying Beijing Opera. The students in this particular group were not separated into
grades depending on their age, and they were surveyed as one cohesive group. They
received the same questionnaire as the other 6 groups. The proportions of female to
male students in each group were approximately equal. Twenty-two questions were
included in the questionnaire, which were designed to reveal the attitudes of children
towards Peking Opera both before and after viewing the short film Lulu's Opera
House.
The statistics provided by this questionnaire became one of the primary mechanisms
on which this research project and future development of the Lulu's Opera House
television concept was shaped.
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5.2 The Process of Audience Research
In this section, I will describe how the two research surveys were implemented and
conducted, including the sampling process and field procedures.
5.2.1 Sampling Process of SDTV Follow-up Survey
Sampling plans could be divided into two categories, probability sampling and
nonprobability sampling. In probability sampling, every member of target audience
has the equal chance to be included in the sample. In contrast, in nonprobability
sampling not every member of target audience has this chance. Common
nonprobability methods involve convenience sampling and judgment sampling.
Convenience sampling is the method in which researchers take advantage of
convenient circumstances to select candidates. For instance, candidates may be
chosen as volunteers, through interpersonal relations with researchers, or by street
encounter. Judgment sampling is mainly based on personal judgment to decide who
will or will not be included in the sample. In judgment sampling, candidates are
picked because they are expected to be representative for the whole target market. The
concern is that in many cases nonprobability sampling cannot be persuasive because it
is difficult to prove the representativeness of the sample (Churchill & Iacobucci 2004,
pp326-328). Research with nonprobability sampling should particularly put emphasis
on proving the representativeness of the sample and avoid sample errors.
The sampling plan adopted in SDTV Follow-up Survey involves nonprobability
sampling, convenience sampling and judgment sampling. The premise is that
researchers are well experienced with a good understanding of the target audience.
Nonprobability sampling is thought to be ambiguous and limited in generalizing the
research result. In this case, however, it proves to be a feasible and rational method.
First, the investigators, and program producers with previous experience in animation
investigation, made an in-depth study on the target audience of Lulu’s Opera House.
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They are able to judge who is representative and select the right candidates through
their expertise, which can minimize errors in the sampling process.
Second, convenience sampling is employed due to the limitations of financial and
personnel constraints. It is impossible to undertake large-scale random sampling
because the Children’s Channel was on a tight budget at that time. The most feasible
approach is the list of previous participants of other programs in the Children’s
Channel. The research quality is required to be as high a standard as it could reach
under fixed financial support. For this purpose, previous participants are most suitable
because they are more likely to take the survey seriously. In this way, every response
given back should be viable and persuasive.
The sample size was determined to be 25 in the beginning, which was cautiously
selected from the list of previous participants of the Children’s Channel. The age
range of 25 candidates meets that of the target audience, from 6 to 12 years old. The
sample size is relatively small owing to the required quality of the research and
limitations of finance and personnel. After the initial contact with 25 candidates, 5 of
them could not cooperate with this survey because of the schedule conflict, while 20
of them showed their willingness to take part. The male to female ratio of 20
candidates is 1 to 1. The parent’s feedback showed that most children were excited to
participate in this survey and well prepared before the animation was broadcast.
Parents of the 20 candidates were informed one week before Lulu’s Opera House was
broadcast. Then a survey package with questionnaire and guidance was mailed to
every candidate’s home. The survey was taken in their own home following the
broadcasting of the animation on March 12, 13 2008. The candidates’ parents took on
the role of assisting with their children’s viewing and response process to ensure
children candidates understand the questions correctly and give effective answers.
Afterwards, all 20 questionnaires were delivered back to SDTV Children’s Channel.
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5.2.2 Sampling Process of School Screening Test
The School screening test was on a larger scale than the SDTV follow-up survey. It
involved a larger sample size and more financial and personnel support.
Nonprobability sampling was the main sampling method adopted. We tried to take
into consideration every aspect to ensure accuracy and representativeness in the
sampling plan.
First, the test was assisted by Beijing Itscartoon Studio15, which has experience in the
marketing research of animation pre-planning, audience ratings and feedback. Their
assistance increased the test’s credibility. Itscartoon has several contract schools as
their partners in animation marketing research. The three schools they selected are
long-term partners with Itscartoon and experienced in previous marketing research.
Moreover, the school teachers were highly supportive and willing to cooperate. The
relative concentration of sample candidates helps to decrease financial expense and
personnel work.
Second, considering the variety among the sample candidates, stratified sampling
methods were blended in this test to ensure representativeness. The candidates were
separated into several groups according to their school degree, so every age, from 6 to
13, was equally covered.
Third, an additional group was included in which candidates were all Beijing Opera
learners from China National Peking Opera Company (CNPOC). This group is a
15
Established in 2002, Beijing ITS Cartoon Studio is one of the biggest Chinese animation company
that is engaged in the creation of original 2D and 3D animation TV series, short film and Flash MV.
ITS is the abbreviation of “Imagination can be Turned to Substantiality”. From 2002 till now, ITS
Cartoon Studio won more than 30 Chinese and Asian Awards in animation creation and productions.
Their representative works included Happy Stuff (2004), Peculiar Kin (2007), and Pistachio (2009). It
is presently headquartered in China, Beijing (ITSCARTOON animation 2010).
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sample of a special subgroup among the target audience in which the children are well
equipped with the knowledge of Beijing Opera. The purpose of the sample is to
acquire additional information from the point of view of those young Beijing Opera
“experts”.
The purpose of the school screening test is to analyze the animation’s components and
evaluate its effect in promoting the Beijing Opera. The sample size should be larger
than the SDTV Follow-up Survey to increase representativeness. Regarding the three
schools selected, the sample size chosen was 168, which was categorized into 6
groups. Another group contains 28 candidates from the China National Peking Opera
Company (CNPOC). The total sample size is 196, which is large enough for the
purpose of the test.
The test on the group of Beijing Opera learners was conducted on 16 May 2009. It
was particularly chosen to take place on Saturday to fit in with the children’s schedule.
The 28 candidates were from different schools and at different ages from 6 to 13. The
test was taken at the Chinese Beijing Opera Theater under the assistance of Wang
Xiaoxin, director of the children’s section of the Chinese Beijing Opera Theater.
The test on the other 6 groups was held on May 18, 19, 24, 25 and 28, 2009. All
groups were invited to a small screening room in the Production Center of the
Itscartoon Studio under the leadership of their teachers. The size of the screening
room is suitable for 20 to 30 children. The tests were mainly taken after 3:00 pm,
when most classes were over and extracurricular activities had started. The duration of
every group’s test was 1.5 to 2 hours. The test process was administered by me and
co-workers from Itscartoon. We were in charge of sending and receiving
questionnaires, broadcasting the animation and answering test-related questions.
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5.3 Questionnaire Design
In this section, I will introduce the research approaches, questionnaire design and
distribution methods of both the SDTV Follow-up Survey and School Screening Test.
5.3.1 Research Approaches
Descriptive research was used for the audience research of Lulu’s Opera House. Liu
Yannan (2003), professor of the Communication University of China, states that
descriptive research is often used for dealing with questions of the “what it is” type. It
focuses on description of situations, conditions and effects, including the effects of
television on audience interest, concept and value, and lifestyle changes that may
impact on their viewing behavior. Researchers of this type aim to understand the
current situation in related fields. For example, the research on the China Central
Television Advertising Effectiveness Survey conducted by the TV Broadcasting
Institute of Communication, University of China is a typical case of descriptive
research. The purpose of the survey is to discover the impact, cognition and
evaluation of CCTV advertisements and advertisers (Liu 2003, pp99-100).
The audience research of Lulu’s Opera House resembles the China Central Television
Advertising Effectiveness Survey, aiming to test the success of this animation. The
descriptive research approach is appropriate in this case.
The SDTV Follow-up Survey adopted a cross-sectional method. Liu states in her
book that cross-sectional analysis is the common method in mass media and
communication research. Cross-sectional analysis happens at a point in time, free
from the impact of time lapse (Liu 2003, p.98). In the SDTV Follow-up Survey, every
candidate attended the test once and finished it at a single point of time. A persuasive
case of cross-sectional analysis, in Sparks’s work, is the research on The Effects of
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Talk Show Viewing on Adolescents, taken by Stacy Davis and Marie-Louise Mares.
“The questionnaire itself took about 30 minutes to complete and included a number of
questions about attitudes towards social issues that are featured on TV talk shows
(such as teen runaways, teen pregnancy, and guns in schools),” (Sparks 2001,
pp24-25).
Due to the sample size and financial constraints, cross-sectional analysis is considered
most suitable for this survey. It can gather audience information on animation
feedback quickly and economically. The survey was taken only once after viewing
Lulu’s Opera House to reveal the audience’s response.
Strictly speaking, the School Screening Test adopted another descriptive research
method: longitude analysis. Distinct from cross-sectional analysis, longitude analysis
is conducted at different points of time several times, which focuses on changes and
differences in a certain period of time. Panel studies, one form of longitude analysis,
are used to collect data in the same sample several times. Longitude analysis is
diachronic study. The advantage of it is tracking changes in a systematic comparison
and analysis, and to some extent, to predict future developments (Liu 2003, p.98).
As mentioned previously in 5.2, the School Screening Test is of larger scale than the
SDTV Follow-up Survey to acquire more comprehensive information from the
audience. The limitation of SDTV Follow-up Survey is the deficiency in examining
the changes before and after viewing the animation objectively. Adopting the
longitude analysis can reveal the “before and after” changes to better study the effects
of Lulu’s Opera House on promoting Beijing Opera among children. The test was
taken both before and after viewing the animation in the same sample. It is effective
especially in studying audience attitude towards Beijing Opera before and after
viewing the animation.
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5.3.2 Design of Questions
The question of design is of decisive significance in a sample survey. The preparation
of the questionnaire is based on needs of purpose or hypothesis. A good questionnaire
is not only the crystallization of the wisdom of the researchers, but the result of
long-term research. The defective question design, in many cases, is the main reason
for an unsatisfactory research outcome. Question design is regarded as “an art of
regret”, because it can never be called back after handing out. Question design is more
than just writing down questions. It is a systematic process that involves overall
consideration of every step of the survey (Liu 2003, pp64-65).
In Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations, 9 steps are presented for
question design as follows:
Step 1: Specify what information will be sought
Step 2: Determine type of questionnaire and method of administration
Step 3: Determine content of individual questions
Step 4: Determine form of response to each question
Step 5: Determine wording of each questions
Step 6: Determine sequence of questions
Step 7: Design physical characteristics of questionnaires
Step 8: Re-examine steps 1-7 and revise if necessary
Step 9: Pretest the survey, revise where needed
(Churchill & Iacobucci 2004, p.234)
During the whole survey process, question design is where we put the most emphasis.
We followed Churchill’s 9-step model during the design process to ensure the
accuracy and precision of each question.
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Step 1: Specify What Information Will Be Sought. Since the research approach of
SDTV Follow-up Survey is cross-sectional analysis, all information needs to be
included in one questionnaire, for it is taken only at one single point of time.
Information needed is listed as follows:
Awareness & Knowledge
Characters
Attitude
Production Quality
Intention
Interest
Viewing Behavior
Viewing Preference
Table 8: SDTV Follow-up Survey questionnaire information list
The School Screening Test adopts longitude analysis to reveal changes of “before and
after” viewing the animation, which actually needs two set of questions. The
information we gather must show the changes of audience’s attitude and intention
before and after viewing Lulu’s Opera House. For this purpose the questionnaire is
designed as follows:
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BEFORE Viewing Lulu’s Opera House
AFTER Viewing Lulu’s Opera House
Awareness & Knowledge
Attitude
Motivation (for Beijing Opera
Intention
learners)
Interest
Attitude
Characters
Intention
Production Quality
Interest
Development
Table 9: School Screening Test questionnaire information list
Step 2: Determine the type of questionnaire and method of administration.
There are 4 types of questionnaires in marketing research, structured-undisguised
methods, unstructured-undisguised methods, structured-disguised methods, and
unstructured-disguised methods. Unstructured methods are flexible in detecting
information that is not specific or unknown before the research, while structured
methods are best for solving problems that are clearly defined. Disguised and
undisguised methods are distinct in whether informants know they are observed
(Churchill & Iacobucci 2004, p229).
The type of questionnaire is determined to use structured-undisguised methods.
Churchill states that structured-undisguised methods are “most commonly used in
marketing research”. Questions are presented with “exactly the same wording, in the
same order, to all respondents”. For the SDTV Follow-up Survey and School
Screening Test, structured-undisguised methods are easy to administrate, tabulate and
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analyze (Churchill & Iacobucci 2004, p215).
The SDTV Follow-up Survey is administered by mail. To ensure the coefficient of
recovery and proportion of valid questionnaires, several rules should be followed,
according to Liu:
(1) Write a letter of introduction and explanation. In this case, specific notes are
listed in the letter for parents’ guidance.
(2) Prepare an envelope with stamp for returning.
(3) Send reminder emails or make reminder calls.
(4) Reward. Every participants of this survey will receive a gift provided by
SDTV Children Channel.
(5) List response to the survey.
(Liu 2003, pp118-120)
(1) The School Screening Test is administered by personal interviews. We
followed Liu’s instructions on personal interviews as follows: Select and
train interviewers. Interviewers included me and two staff from Itscartoon
who were experienced in personal interviews. They gave me simple training
on related points.
(2) Collect interview results.
(3) Review and verify the results.
(4) List interview results.
(Liu 2003, pp121-124)
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Step 3: Individual question content.
The following tables list the questions which were included in both the SDTV
follow-up Survey and the School Screening Tests.
SDTV Follow-up Survey
Awareness &
Knowledge
Was Lulu's Opera House helpful to you in understanding
Peking Opera?
Do you think Lulu's Opera House is an enjoyable animated
Attitude
program?
Students interested in Peking Opera before viewing Lulu's
Opera House;
Did you ask questions related to Peking Opera after viewing
Intention
Lulu's Opera House?
Are you interested to know more about Peking Opera after
viewing Lulu's opera?
What did you like the most about Lulu's Opera House
What did you like the least about Lulu's Opera House?
Interest
Are you interested to know more about the Peking Opera
after viewing Lulu's Opera House?
Are you interested in having more Peking Opera animation
developed?
Reasons for disinterest in further Peking Opera animation
Viewing Behavior
Students who switched channels during the program;
Did the audience view Lulu's Opera House with their parents
or other adults?
Viewing Preference
What time slot would you prefer to view the Peking Opera
animation program?
Table 10: Individual question design of SDTV follow-up survey
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School Screening Test
The following questions were asked before the audience viewed Lulu’s Opera
House:
Awareness &
Students who knew about Peking Opera
Knowledge
How students had heard about Peking Opera?
Students who can perform Peking Opera (students currently
learning Peking opera not included)
Motivation (for Beijing
Why are you studying Peking Opera? (students of Peking
Opera learners)
opera only)
Would you like to learn Peking Opera? (students currently
Intention
learning Peking opera not included)
How would you prefer to learn about Peking Opera?
Students interested in Peking Opera before viewing Lulu's
Interest
Opera House (Peking Opera students included);
Reasons for disliking Peking Opera;
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These questions were asked after the audience viewed Lulu’s Opera House:
What is your opinion on the story of Lulu's Opera House?
Attitude
Was Lulu's Opera House helpful to you in understanding
Peking Opera?
Do you look forward to seeing more Peking Opera
Intention
Animation?
Do you expect to understand more about Peking Opera after
viewing Lulu's opera House?
The segments of Peking Opera children want to see more of
in the future Peking Opera animation
Interest
Would you be happy to complete a story and character
design questionnaire for future animation development?
What is your opinion on the character design of Lulu's
Opera House?
Characters
Which characters did you like the most?
What did you like most about these characters?
The role types children want to see more in future Peking
Opera animation
Production Quality
What is your opinion on the production quality of Lulu's
Opera House?
Development
What’s your opinion about developing Peking Opera
animation?
Others
What were the highlights of Lulu's Opera House for you?
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Step 4: Form of response.
Most questions in both the SDTV Follow-up Survey and the School Screening Test
are close-ended questions. For some questions, further information is sought with
open-ended questions. Forms of response are divided into several types:
Multichoice Questions refers to questions in which “respondents are asked to choose
the alternative that most closely corresponds to their position on the subject”
(Churchill 2007, p.243). In the SDTV Follow-up Survey and the School Screening
Test, multichoice questions are widely used to provide appropriate alternatives for
audience and get precise information through the survey questions. Examples are
listed as follows:
What were the highlights of Lulu's Opera House for you?
□The characters
□The music
□The story
□Peking Opera performance
□Environments
□Funny or thoughtful moments
□Others
(from School Screening Test)
Table 13: Multichoice questions example in School Screening Test
Dichotomous Questions refers to questions that only have two alternatives.
According to Churchill, dichotomous questions are “easy for respondents to answer
and they’re easy to code and tabulate” (Churchill & Iacobucci 2004, p.246). In the
SDTV Follow-up Survey and the School Screening Test, dichotomous questions are
used in questions related to basic information and the attitude of the audience, such
as:
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Are you familiar with Beijing Opera?
□Yes
□No
Did audience view Lulu's Opera House with their parents or other adults?
□Yes
□No
Table 14: Dichotomous questions example in SDTV Follow-up Survey
There are several open-ended questions in the survey. Sample students are free to
answer those questions in their own words. In some cases, open-ended questions are
used to seek further information in previous questions. Examples are listed as follows:

What did you like the least about Lulu's Opera House?

Reasons for lack of interest in further Peking Opera animation
Step 5: Designing the wording of the questions.
Question wording is of great importance in questionnaire design. Inappropriate
question wording usually causes respondents to ignore the question. We follow
Churchill’s instruction on question wording as follows:

Use simple words

Avoid ambiguous words and questions

Avoid leading questions

Avoid implicit assumptions

Avoid generalization and estimates

Avoid double-barreled questions
(Churchill & Iacobucci 2004, pp247-250)
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Step 6: Designing of question sequence.
In question sequence design, we followed several rules to arrange questions in both
the SDTV Follow-up Survey and the School Screening Test.
First, open with simple and interesting questions. In the SDTV Follow-up Survey, the
opening questions are “Did you switch channels when you watched the animation?”
and “Do you think Lulu's Opera House is an enjoyable animated program?” The
opening questions aim to know the audience’s basic viewing behavior and attitude
towards the animation. In the School Screening Test, it opens with “Are you familiar
with the Beijing Opera?” to know about the audience’s interest in Beijing Opera
before viewing the animation.
Second, move from general to specific. In both questionnaires, we begin with general
questions about previous knowledge, attitude, and interest in the Beijing Opera. More
detailed questions like character preference, storyline, and intention of learning
Beijing Opera follow general questions.
Third, sensitive questions go last. Questions like “Reasons for lack of interest in
further Peking Opera animation” and “Would you be happy to complete a story and
character design questionnaire for future animation development?” are placed at the
end of the questionnaires because respondents may feel threatened if put in the
beginning.
(Churchill & Iacobucci 2004, pp250-252)
Step 7: Determine physical characteristics.
According to Churchill & Iacobucci (2004, p.254), the physical appearance of
questionnaires should be simple and clear. The appearances of both questionnaires
were designed for practical and concise purpose. Both surveys were condensed to four
pages with the School Screening Test printed in black and white, and the SDTV
Follow-up Survey in light green colour. The Original questionnaires of the SDTV
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Follow-up Survey and the School Screening Test are presented in the Appendix C.
Step 8: Re-examination and revision of the questionnaires.
The questionnaires were carefully examined and revised until the final two drafts.
Step 9: Pretesting the questionnaire.
The questionnaire has been pretested on a random-selected child who attended a TV
program of the SDTV Children Channel. The pretesting aimed to discover the
respondent’s understanding and perceptions towards test questions. The result turned
out to be satisfying, as the child could easily understand all questions and choices.
5.3.3 Distribution of Questionnaires
The paper copies of questionnaires in the SDTV Follow-up Survey were distributed to
selected candidates by mail in a survey package with detailed verbal instructions. The
instructions are for children’s parents to better assist their child to complete the survey.
Another empty envelope with stamp was included in the package for respondents to
mail the questionnaire back to the SDTV Children Channel.
In the School Screening Test, paper copies of questionnaires were handed out by test
administrators, staff from Itscartoon and me. Before they fill in the questionnaire, I
have given a clear oral explanation to every group of respondents. Since there were
two sets of questions for before viewing and after viewing, I emphasized during the
explanation that respondents needed to answer based on facts and personal reactions
without being influenced by external factors. For every group, questionnaires were
collected by administrators after they were finished.
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5.4 Data Processing and Research Methodology
In this section, I will explain how the research data was processed and what research
methods were adopted in the SDTV Follow-up Survey and the School Screening Test.
5.4.1 Data Editing
Editing is the process of inspection and correction on raw data (Churchill & Iacobucci
2004, p.406). In most cases, not all questionnaires returned are valid for research
procedures. In data editing, collected data must be identified as accurate and feasible
for data analysis. Items need to be checked in editing as follows:
Completeness. In completeness checking, all questionnaires need to be checked if
any question or page is omitted. In the SDTV Follow-up Survey and the School
Screening Test, all questionnaires were completed due to administrators’ supervision
during the survey. We rechecked all questionnaires and re-ensured that all questions
were answered.
Legibility. Legibility is important because questionnaires with unreadable
handwriting or abbreviations cannot be coded in the following research procedures.
As most questions in the SDTV Follow-up Survey and the School Screening Test are
close-ended, this step is easy to manage. We checked every question on every
questionnaire at the end of test in order to assist respondents to rewrite unclear
answers.
(Churchill & Iacobucci 2004, p.407)
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5.4.2 Coding
Coding is the process in which raw data derived from questionnaires are interpreted
into symbols, numerals usually. In both surveys, sample size and number of questions
are small, so the coding process was undertaken by hand. A sample of coding results
is listed as follows:
SDTV Follow-up Survey:
Original
Original Alternatives
Questions
Students who
switched
channels during
the program
Codes
1
Do you think
Lulu's Opera
House is an
enjoyable
animated
program?
Codes
Codes
2
Yes
No
1
0
Yes
No
Undecided
0
2
1
Was Lulu's Opera
House helpful to Very
you in
helpful
understanding
Peking Opera?
Helpful
13
3
Not at all
Not sure
Just
fun
4
Table 15: Sample of coding in SDTV Follow-up Survey
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2
1
for
5.4.3 Tabulation
In the SDTV Follow-up Survey and the School Screening Test, the data collected was
tabulated in a simple way by percentage because both surveys didn’t contain
multi-variables. Part of tabulation is as follows:
Students who knew about Peking Opera:
Yes
No
Percentage %
(share/total)
82
(161/196)
18
(35/206)
Students code
3
4
6
…
1
2
5
…
Table 16: Students who knew about Peking Opera
How students had heard about Peking Opera:
TV
Theater
Internet
Article
Family
School
47
3
7
5
14
24
5/196
11/196
8/196
22/196
39/196
Percentage
(%)
Share/total 76/196
Table 17: How students had heard about Peking Opera
5.5 Data Analysis and Conclusions
Straight-forward quantitative analysis methods were employed in questions designed
to elicit yes/no types of responses. There was little need for the implementation of
complex qualitative data analysis methods. This section discusses and summarizes the
principal findings that were gathered from the surveys. For the reader's interest,
copies of the questionnaires and the collated data can be found in the Appendix C.
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5.5.1 Perceptions and Preferences
In the School Screening Test, 64% students disliked Beijing Opera before viewing
Lulu’s Opera House. Only 21% students showed interest in Beijing Opera. Similarly,
in the SDTV Follow-up Survey, 65% students didn’t like Beijing Opera before
viewing, while only 15% like it. These figures show that the popularity of Beijing
Opera among Chinese children is very low.
There are variations of perception in different ages. In the School Screening Test, The
percentage of children who know about Peking Opera seems to increase as they get
older. Around 56% students know Peking Opera at an average age of 6 years; 70%
students know Peking Opera at an average age of 7.96 years; 76% students know
Peking Opera at an average age of 8.6 years; 83% students know Peking Opera at an
average age of 9.5 years; and 100% students know Peking Opera for both average age
of 10.3 and 12.15 years. This data indicates that most children from 6 to 12 years old
know about Peking Opera through various media, among which television peaks at
47%.
However, only 21% of students are interested in Peking Opera, and around 79%
students dislike it for different reasons. The top two reasons are: 42% of students
think Peking Opera is too hard to understand, and 26% of students dislike its music.
When asked whether they would like to learn Peking Opera, only 27 students among
168 said yes which constitutes approximately 16 % of the total respondents, 61% said
that they are not sure, and 23% students clearly showed their unwillingness to learn
about it. This statistic appears to reflect the current status of Peking Opera among
children. Observed from Q3 and Q7 of the SDTV Follow-up Survey, as the audience
age increased, respondents took notice of different aspects of the animation. It was
found that students aged from 6 to 9 paid more attention to the visual effects.
Respondents in this age group stated that the things that they liked in Lulu's Opera
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House were the lovely characters, beautiful colors, or cool actions. Female subjects
were especially fond of the gorgeous colors and the Peking Opera actors’ appearance.
Respondents aged from 10 to 12 paid more attention to the story and characters'
personalities. In this age group, among those who were unsatisfied with Lulu's Opera
House, three students thought that the story should be more stimulating and that this
could be done by creating more suspense. Two students in this age group wanted to
see more dialogue between characters.
Younger respondents showed interest in the bug characters in the film. One child like
the round shape of the bugs, but hoped that they could have hands so that they could
do more. Two wished that they were more colorful or decorated with more patterns,
and one thought that the bugs should talk so that they could be funnier.
Over all the age groups of the SDTV Follow-up Survey, eleven students did not
express any discontent with Lulu's Opera house.
5.5.2 Audience’s Feedback of Lulu’s Opera House
In the SDTV Follow-up Survey, 70% of students thought Lulu’s Opera House was an
enjoyable animated program (see table 18). 20% of them chose “undecided”, which
means it is possible they might change their answers to “yes” in future.
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Did the audience think Lulu's Opera House is an enjoyable
animated program?
10%
20%
Yes 70% (14/20)
70%
Undecided 20% (4/20)
No 10% (2/20)
Table 18: Audience opinion in Lulu’s Opera House
In the School Screening Test, in reference to the production design of Lulu's Opera
House, 79.5% of students thought that its production quality is excellent, and most of
them were attracted by the Peking Opera performance (34.5%) and environment
design (34%). There were also 32% of students who liked the overall character design
(see table 19).
Table 19: The elements students liked the most in Lulu’s opera House
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Among all the five characters presented in the short film, the male Peking Opera actor
was the most favorite cartoon character for children because of its exaggerated
appearance and movements with 41%, the female Peking Opera actor becoming the
second favorite character with 33.5%. This statistic reflects the data collected from
question 5 that most students are more interested primarily in the martial arts
performance and painted faces of Peking Opera. In addition, Lulu, Dong (drummer)
and Lin (Erhu player) received similar proportions of the vote: 23%, 21% and 28%
respectively. This highlights the necessity for Lulu's design and performance to be
modified in future productions to make her more appealing and stand out as the
central character (see table 20).
Table 20: Characters students like the most in Lulu’s opera House
46.5% of students think that the story of Lulu's Opera House is good and quite clear,
but 48% of students chose “neutral” and look forward to more interesting plots. This
data helps us to pinpoint the narrative of Lulu's Opera House as a focal point which
needs to be improved in the future productions (see table 21).
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Table 21: Students opinion on the story of Lulu's Opera House
The statistics indicated that Wu Sheng ( martial male characters), Jing (painted face
male characters), and Wu Dan (martial female characters) were the top three role
types children wish to be involved with more in future Peking Opera animation
programs with 48%, 41.5% and 38% respectively. In addition, 29% students are very
interested in Chou (clown) since his performance is very funny and easy to
understand (see table 22).
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Table 22: Role types children want to see more in future Peking Opera animation
It was also found that generally female students showed interest in the beautiful
costumes, painted faces and dancing, while male students enjoyed the martial art and
acrobatic performance.
Meanwhile, it was inspiring to discover the following: 59.5% of students expect to
know more about Peking Opera after viewing Lulu's Opera House; the students who
are not interested in understanding Peking Opera dropped from 23% to 11% (refer to
table 25 in page 141); over 50% of students look forward to viewing more Peking
Opera animation programs; and 61.5% of students believe that the Peking Opera
animation-Lulu's Opera House program would help them to understand this
traditional art (see table 23). Finally, and somewhat surprisingly, we found that 75.5%
students think it would very interesting to develop a Peking Opera animation program
(see table 24), and 71% of students were willing to participate in further
questionnaires in the future to give their opinion about story design and character
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design for a Peking Opera animation series. This statistic leads us to believe that
children's enthusiasm for this traditional art increased after viewing Lulu's Opera
House.
Table 23: The efficiency of Lulu’s opera House in helping children understanding Peking
Opera
Students opinion in developing Peking Opera animation
0%
7%
Very interested 75.5%
(148/196)
18%
Don't mind 17.85% (35/196)
75%
Not interested 6.65% (13/196)
Table 24: Students opinion in developing Peking Opera animation
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5.5.3 Focus on Beijing Opera Learners
In the School Screening Test, an individual group of Beijing Opera Learners provided
additional information for researchers to better understand and analyze the current
situations of Beijing Opera and the effectiveness of Lulu’s Opera House from a
different perspective.
From Q5 we can see that Beijing Opera learners prefer the singing part better than
other students. When asking “what do you like most about those characters”, results
on appearance are equal to those on movement, which indicates that Beijing Opera
learners have a deeper appreciation of this art.
In Question 9, most normal students prefer learning about Beijing Opera through
multimedia/animation, while Beijing Opera learners are in favor of being taught by
teachers. The result shows that the form of animation is much more suitable for
children without Beijing Opera knowledge, which could arouse their interest and
cultivate in them basic knowledge of Beijing Opera. As for Beijing Opera learners,
animation is only a form of entertainment, because they are already familiar with this
profession and have no need to absorb further information on it. The fact is that
animation cannot be a path of learning Beijing Opera for Beijing Opera learners. The
conclusion suggests that in further development of Lulu’s Opera House, to balance the
effect on both normal children and Beijing Opera learners, the animation itself should
have a stronger expressive force in the representation of Beijing Opera elements.
From figures of Beijing Opera learners, we find that the more children understand
Beijing Opera, the more they prefer its essence - the arts of singing and dancing. As
their perceptions of Beijing Opera deepen, they will get over previous shallow
understandings and proceed to a new perspective.
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5.5.4 International interest in Lulu’s opera House
In 2008 Lulu’s Opera House won several awards in both China and overseas. In
January 2008, Lulu’s Opera House was nominated as one of the five Best Short
Animations from over 5000 animated works in The 4th Golden Dragon Award
Original Animation & Comic Competition held in China. Then in May 2008, Lulu’s
Opera House was selected to screen as part of the Top 100 short films from 700
entries in the 25th St Kilda Film Festival held in Melbourne, Australia. Among the 100
short films selected, five were animated works. In June 2008, Lulu’s Opera House
was invited into the competition by CG Overdrive, Asia’s largest CG event held in
Singapore, and was awarded The CG Excellence Award for Animated Short Film in
the Student Category.
Additionally, the short film also received much praise from professionals in both
Beijing Opera and animation fields. During the interviews with CCTV animation
experts, children’s program producers and Beijing Opera masters, all gave strong
affirmation and encouragement for the meaning, development potential and market
prospects of this practical project.
“I think the idea is great. It looks at Beijing Opera from a child’s point of view. Such a
story can easily be accepted by the children.” (Qihua Cai, CCTV Animation INC,
Central Manager Assistant, Production Department Director, 3 March 2008). Hong
Ying, Executive Editor, CCTV Educational Feature Programming Department of
Social and Educational Programming Centre, stated in an interview with me on 4
March 2008, “A lot of animations are based on traditional stories, but none is on the
subject of Beijing Opera. That’s why I am very interested in your project. I think the
Beijing Opera subject does enjoy great potential in its traditional colours, costumes,
and its movements, etc. With determination and perseverance, you will surely make it.
It is a career in which you can invest your whole life.” Finally, Yuejin Guo, Vice
President of Shandong College of Arts and Beijing Opera Master on 16th Feb 2008
said, “I watched your short film, and I really like your idea and the design of the
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characters. By integrating Beijing Opera performance into the story, the children will
find it very interesting and easy to accept. I think you are in the right direction,” (Guo
2008).
In May 2008, Short Attention, an Australian short film distributor specialising in
distribution of short films to international broadcasters expressed great interest in
placing Lulu’s Opera House in the international broadcast market. The first offer from
Mini Movie, a Russian TV Station was received in July 2008, and the second offer
from Non Exclusive German-speaking countries (Federal Republic of Germany,
Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Alto Adige) was signed in Feb 2009.
Meanwhile, from January to April 2008, MarsEra, the biggest CG online media of
China, serialised reports on Lulu’s Opera House, and published the production diary
in four editions in the area of production workflow, animation production, character
costume and texture design in Chinese. The affirmative comments from viewers
showed that Lulu’s Opera House is a popular animation work, and the style of
representation is exemplary. The online links are as follows:
Report 1: Design of Lulu’s Opera House
http://www.hxsd.com.cn/news/CG-enterprise/20080111/9932.html
Report 2: Production Workflow
http://www.hxsd.com.cn/news/CG-dynamic/20080218/10511.html
Report 3: Character Animation
http://www.hxsd.com.cn/tutorial/muhouzhizuo/20080317/11053.html
Report 4: Textures Design
http://www.hxsd.com.cn/tutorial/muhouzhizuo/20080421/11752.html
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5.5.5 Conclusions
The ability of the program to raise interest in Peking Opera
In the SDTV follow-up survey, approximately 60% of the respondents (12 students)
watched Lulu's Opera House with their parents or other family adults. Fourteen of
these students asked their adult companions questions related to Peking Opera (six
asked during the viewing, and eight asked after the viewing). The most frequently
asked questions included the costumes, facial makeup, and Peking Opera movements.
This result indicates that Lulu's Opera House was able to raise children's interest in
traditional Peking Opera. By asking further questions on the topic, these interested
children unconsciously improved their Peking Opera knowledge.
Compared with figures before and after viewing Lulu’s Opera House (see table 25),
we can certainly draw the conclusion that Lulu’s Opera House is effective in
promoting Beijing Opera among the target audience, children aged 6 to13. Lulu’s
Opera House cultivated children in basic knowledge of Beijing Opera characters,
singing and dancing patterns.
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Students expect to understand more about Peking
Opera after viewing Lulu's opera House (Peking Opera
students included)
Yes 59% (117/196)
Not sure 29.5% (58/196)
No 11% (21/196)
11%
30%
59%
Table 25: Figure comparison between before and after viewing Lulu’s Opera House
Concerns of Character Design and ways that the program could improve
From the above responses, it seems that further episodes of Lulu's Opera House will
need to continue to include attractive visual effects and colorful characters. However,
the storylines and scripts in further episodes will need to reach a higher standard in
order to hold the interest of the ten to twelve year-old viewers, perhaps with the
assistance of professional screenwriters.
Although the audience data showed that children did find the film interesting and
engaging, it also indicated that Lulu was not as popular with audiences as some of the
other characters. This is of some concern, as Lulu is situated as the main character of
the production. To address this, further audience testing in subsequent episodes of
Lulu's Opera House will need to be conducted. If the result of these tests indicate that
audiences are indeed failing to connect with Lulu, then it will be necessary to explore
other options - perhaps a re-design of her appearance or the nature of her interaction
with the other characters for example - to solve this issue. The enthusiastic response
to the film by the animation industry was more positive.
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Chapter 6
Studio Project
In the introduction, it was stated that the primary aim of this research is to identify:
‘In what ways can the contemporary appeal of computer animation be exploited
to popularize Beijing Opera with children?’
The research findings detailed in the previous chapters are the bases of my argument
that a children’s educational computer animation series for broadcast TV might be the
most acceptable and effective way to popularize Beijing Opera with young children.
Accepting that, further research about Beijing Opera repertoire and first-hand
observation of Beijing Opera actors was performed to select and design a nine minute
pilot program for a CG animated series, Lulu’s Opera House, which presents Beijing
Opera performance, roles, facial makeup, and stage decorations from the viewpoint of
a 6 year old girl - Lulu. To refine the adaptation of the real performance of Beijing
Opera to 3D cartoon animation is a focal point in this project. This section analyzes
the genesis of that pilot.
First, it begins with a general introduction about the design concepts of the animated
series and how it was shaped by research findings before discussion of the production
processes (audience considerations, Beijing Opera story selection, work flow design,
animation production, environment, character design) involved in the pilot program.
The script experienced several modifications during the research process in terms of
the feedback from professionals including Marilyn Carney, Hong Ying, Yuejin Guo,
and Lijun Sui. The script is attached in the Appendices. The production experiences,
problems and resolutions will be mentioned throughout this part. Please note that a
number of Beijing Opera, computer animation and software-specific terms are used in
this section. Readers who are unfamiliar with these terms may wish to refer to the
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Glossary for definitions.
6.1 Production Diary 1 - Design of the Studio Project
6.1.1 About the animation series
Lulu’s Opera House is proposed to consist of twenty-six episodes. Each episode will
introduce one aspect of Beijing Opera knowledge to young viewers through the
presentation of classical Beijing Opera performance and will reinforce their meaning
with a variety of plots throughout the episode. As the main character throughout the
whole program, Lulu is viewed as the symbol of my target audience. Through viewing
the performance from Lulu’s point of view, this animation series attempts to instil a
love of Beijing Opera in young audiences in a way they can accept, and to foster rich
Beijing Opera knowledge such as roles, costumes and facial makeup.
Based on a mysterious experience of a 6 year old girl called Lulu, the pilot for Lulu’s
Opera House presents one spectacle of the Beijing Opera world to young audiences.
It is an adaptation of the story of Mu Guiying who became the commander-in-chief in
an expedition to the Xixia Kingdom. The main character Lulu was designed as a vital,
playful and enquiring child. She lives together with her grandfather, Lao Wang, an old
man who once played Er Hu, a traditional Chinese instrument, for a small Opera
House up until his retirement. Despite the overall lack of financial success the
business had, Wang receives a modest pension but still draws a great deal of pride
from his work. Lao Wang, when not caring for Lulu often is found listening to his old
radio, or floating amongst his photo albums, reminiscing about the great performances
in which he was fortunate enough to play a part. Lulu however simply just does not
get it. She cannot understand why one would possibly wish to spend their time
listening to this slow, boring music when they could be doing something much more
exciting like chasing field mice in the countryside. However, Lulu’s impression was
cast aside one day as she was surprised to discover a mysterious opera house during
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one countryside trip. This secret opera house will open her eyes and mind to a magical
new world, the world of Beijing Opera.
Instead of tedious lessons or simply teaching Beijing Opera to children, Lulu’s Opera
House presents Beijing Opera through storytelling. A good story can be a powerful
and natural tool for children to shape and understand experience and information as
has been discussed in Chapter Three. During interviews with Jing Jia, Shandong
Television Children’s Channel producer, and Qihua Cai, CCTV Animation Inc
Production Department Director, they mentioned the importance and advantages of
creating imaginative stories to engage children (Jia 2008 & Cai 2008). Enlightening
children while entertaining them is believed to be better than forcing education onto
children and this assumption grounds the conception of Lulu’s Opera House.
Consequently, to create interest for children is the first priority of this program.
Therefore, apart from the spectacle of Beijing Opera performance, children will also
meet interesting people, and even strange opera creatures in the opera house. The
image of the characters is vitally important for attracting children. Except Lulu and
Lao Wang, there are other important characters in the animation series. Lin and Dong,
the music band members, and various Beijing Opera performers have as unique
personality and distinguishing characteristics in their appearance as Lulu and her
grandfather. Character design is discussed later in this chapter.
6.1.2 How research findings shaped the animation series
Through observing successful children’s TV programmes and cartoon animation
programmes, research conducted in Chapter Three highlights some important features
which contribute to the effectiveness of children’s educational television series.
Application of these features greatly benefited the creation of Lulu’s Opera House,
especially in the aspect of story structure, character and plot design. This section
presents and analyses how research findings obtained from the previous investigation
shaped the Beijing Opera animation series - Lulu’s Opera House.
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Researching the educational cartoon program on WNIT Public Television in chapter 3
revealed that they all clearly orientated their audience group, and mostly aimed at
children within a three-to-four year gap. For example, WordGirl aimed at kids 6 to 8
years old; Sid the Science Kid aimed at the children 3 to 6 years old; Super WHY!
aimed at children from ages 3 to 6; WordWorld is targeted at nursery school children
aged three to five; Martha Speaks aimed at 4 to 7-year-olds; While Clifford The Big
Red Dog is designed for 3-7 year olds. This common feature highlights the necessity
of orientating the audience group in the pre-production stage of Lulu’s Opera House,
since clear positioning of audiences is an essential base for the later creation. Through
the research conducted in section 6.1.3, Lulu’s Opera House proposed to aim at
children aged 7 to 11 whom are most likely to become future audience of Beijing
opera (see section 6.1.3 for detailed discussion).
Fisch (2005, p.4) believed the first important feature beneficial to children’s
educational television is engaging children via the use of appealing elements such as
humor (with the caveat that children find different kinds of humor funny at different
ages), mysteries, and games, among others. In both the Chapman & Crompton (1978)
and Davies & Apter (1980) studies, it was found that humor makes learning more
enjoyable, and often improves attention in the classroom. Children exposed to the
humorous information were able to recall more information than those in the
non-humorous conditions. In the 1989 publication Humor and children's development,
Zillmann & Bryant (p.206) also recognized the importance of humor by stating that
educational programs will become more competitive if more humor is interspersed
throughout the program. The Chapman & Crompton (1978) and Davies and Apter
(1980) studies also indicated that humor can facilitate information acquisition in
children ranging from five to eleven years of age. Studies on television programs
proper have established this effect more firmly (Zillmann & Bryant 1983). Humor is
considered indispensable in children’s education. Interspersing humor in Lulu’s Opera
House serves to educate the proposed audience group – 7 to 11 year olds about
Beijing Opera.
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Apart from humor, an element of mystery has also always been a source of interest in
a story and always will be (Sutherland 1997, p.375). Subject matter of mysterious
adventure was found to be extensively used in children’s animation programs. For
instance, WordGirl (2006) portrays the adventures of Becky Botsford, a fifth grader
who is secretly WordGirl; Sid the Science Kid (2008) presents the discovery
adventures of an inquisitive boy-Sid. Super WHY! (2007) focuses on the storybook
adventures of four fairytale friends; Cyberchase (2002) is an animated adventure
series that takes kids on a wild ride through cyberspace. In WordWorld (2007),
WordFriends invite the preschool viewer to join them on comic adventures where a
love of words and reading was inspired (refer to chapter 3.2.2 for details). Further, in
animated feature films, mysterious adventure is a frequent topic, such as Finding
Nemo (2003), Madagascar (2005), Robots (2005), Flushed Away (2006), Battle for
Terra (2007), and the latest 2009 release – Up by Pixar Animation Studio.
Inspired by the above research, Lulu’s Opera House was designed to be a comic
adventure story which portrays the mysterious experience of Lulu. To amuse young
audiences, a series of lovable characters with distinguishing personalities were created,
including Lulu, Lao Wang, several Beijing opera characters and two band musicians.
The Beijing opera characters are greatly exaggerated compared with the original
model, to create a comical effect (see figure 19, 20 & 21).
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Figure 19: Beijing opera character 1 – Wu Jing (Painted-face character designed by Zhang
Lei in 2007)
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Figure 20: Beijing opera character 2 – Wu Chou (Clown character designed by Zhang Lei in
2007)
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Figure 21: Beijing opera character 3 –Wu Sheng (martial male character designed by Zhang
Lei in 2007)
Two band musicians, Erhu player Lin and drummer Dong are interesting characters
with entirely different personalities (see figure 22 & 23). Lin is elegant, mysterious
and introverted. While Dong is enthusiastic, optimistic but a bit talkative, just like the
donkey in Shrek, Mike in Monsters Inc., or Dory in Finding Nemo. Lin and Dong play
important supporting roles in Lulu’s Opera House. Their opinions differ which often
makes for amusing argument. Through their funny dialogues, Lulu and young viewers
are able to unconsciously understand much Beijing opera knowledge and by this mean
gradually be attracted to this traditional art.
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Figure 22: Band musician 1 - Erhu player Lin
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Figure 23: Band musician 2 - Drummer Dong
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In the pilot short film, Lulu, two Beijing opera characters and two band musicians
were presented. Owing to the limited time and human resources, focus and energy
was placed on the Beijing opera performance rather than the depiction of the two band
musicians. Future work on the animation series will elaborate these characters and
other aspects mentioned above.
Figure 24: Beijing opera character 1 –Wujing (painted-face martial male) was presented in
the pilot short film
In addition to the above, as I state in Section 3.1.3, good children’s educational
television should contain age-appropriate topics (for both stories and educational
content) that are inherently interesting to children and relevant to their lives (with
characters whom they see as complete and intelligent, and with whom they can
identify), in age-appropriate language at levels of difficulty that are tailored to
children’s knowledge and developmental level (Fisch 2005, p.4). These two features
are instructive to all educational children’s programs including Lulu’s Opera House.
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Selecting and presenting appropriate Beijing opera plays for the proposed audience
group (7 to 11 year olds) was vitally important. To that end, action-filled visuals such
as dancing, acrobatics and martial arts rather than singing and dialogue were
presented in Lulu’s Opera House. The research process of identifying suitable Beijing
Opera repertoire for the animation program is provided in section 6.1.4.
Chapter Three noted that most educational cartoon programs set one of the
protagonists as a superhero with whom children can identify as possessing a kind of
super ability such as math, read or spelling. When they meet challenges, this character
will solve the problems by using their super abilities; Blue cat in 3000 Whys of Blue
Cat (2007); Becky Botsford in WordGirl (2006); Whyatt in Super Why! (2007); Frog
in WordWorld (2007); Martha in Martha Speaks (2008); or Matt, Jackie and Inez in
Cyberchase (2002).
Certainly, one of the most important features of childhood and adolescence is the
development of an identity. As children shape their behavior and values, they may
look to heroes and role models for guidance. They may identify the role models they
wish to emulate based on possession of certain skills or attributes (Anderson &
Cavallaro 2002). Thus the actress role in Lulu’s Opera House is performed by a pretty,
brave, intelligent character, proficient in Beijing opera dancing and martial arts skills.
Through performance of an ancient heroine on the virtual stage, the young actress
becomes Lulu’s idol and she dreams of becoming a Beijing opera star.
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Figure 25: Beijing opera actress designed by Zhang Lei in 2007
Figure 26: Still image of Lulu in animated short film
Finally drawing further on Fisch (2005, p.4) the pilot attempted to handle educational
content in ways that are clear, direct, and explicit, focusing an individual episode or
segment tightly on conveying a small number of ideas and reinforcing concepts by
repeating them over the course of an episode or segment. Because traditional Beijing
Opera includes comprehensive knowledge such as history, singing, dancing,
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acrobatics, dialogue, role types, facial makeup, costumes and properties, in each
episode of Lulu’s Opera House, it is designed to only focus on a small chunk of
information and attempts to reinforce this information by repeating it in an
entertaining plot. For example, Beijing opera includes four main role types which are
Sheng (standard male characters), Dan (female characters), Jing (painted-face male
characters), and Chou (clown, who are usually male). These role types are further
subdivided into more categories according to sex, age, social status, and profession of
the character (Please refer to Appendix A for details). Moreover, traditional Beijing
opera comprises over 1000 plays and each play includes several acts. Then to apply
the above features throughout the program, in every episode, only one or two role
types are designed to be shown through a carefully selected Beijing opera Zhezi Xi,
which refers to one act (Zhezi) in a multi-act drama. Generally, one Zhezi Xi might not
have a beginning or an ending but is the highlight of a drama (Refer to Glossary for
detailed explanation).
Studio experiments, then, focused on presenting Daomadan (female general) and Wu
Sheng (martial male) business (known as “HangDang” in Chinese, meaning the role
types of Beijing Opera) by performing one act of traditional Beijing opera play
Fortified Village Muke (see 6.1.4 for story introduction) showing the wonderful
combat scene between Mu Guiying (Chinese ancient heroine) and warrior Jiao Zan. In
the film, Lulu, as a playful young viewer unfamiliar with Beijing opera, gradually is
fascinated by the performance, and dreams of becoming the beautiful actress who has
captured her imagination. Lulu’s wish of performing on the stage comes true when
she accidentally drinks the magic tea of the opera house. The role type and martial
arts performance of heroine Mu Guiying is a focal point to be presented. Through
repeating the classical performance by Lulu’s imitation, knowledge about Mu
Guiying, the features of Daomadan business, especially the aspects of costumes,
facial make-up, and acrobatic skills is reinforced.
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6.1.3 Design concepts and audience
To design an appealing, age-appropriate, educational animation series, there are two
essential investigations that need to be undertaken first. These are how to orientate the
audience group and the selection of a suitable Beijing Opera repertoire. This section
and section 6.1.4 investigate these matters.
An analysis of successful made-for-TV animation works in America and Europe,
underlines a clear positioning of its audiences. Some animations are for children only,
some are for both parents and children, others are arthouse audiences and others for
adolescents. For example, an obvious feature of Disney animations is that they make
the whole family happy, as they are prepared for the whole family to watch together.
Family Guy and The Simpsons are primetime family viewing while South Park, at
least in Australia, is aired at a time when children would not normally be awake.
Teletubbies, produced by the BBC, is only for babies from 0 to 3 years old while
arthouse animation especially in the form of video clips, but also as part of short film
programs, is for youth culture and counter culture audiences. The latter in Australia
are screened as part of Rage which airs on the government sponsored ABC from
11.45pm Saturday night until 6am Sunday morning and Shorts on Screen which airs
on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) on Saturday night from 11.40pm until
12.40pm. Both Rage and Shorts on Screen include live action in their program
make-up.
By comparison, most Chinese cartoons do not have such clear view of audiences (Jia
2008). To some extent, the frustration of many domestic animations stem from the
vague positioning of its audiences. Take the Chinese cartoon series Pobaby as an
example. The cartoon was originally aimed at children, and addressed the children’s
market by authorising the production of baby carriers, children’s underwear, stationery,
etc. However, after the authorisation was done, the manufacturer realised that
Pobaby’s style is like Japanese animations, where love affairs are a frequent topic and
occasional violence is shown, which best suits teenagers from 16 to 18 years old, or
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metropolitan young people. Due to the inaccurate positioning in the early stage, the
current situation of Pobaby is embarrassing. Parents are the primary consumers of
their products, but they are suspicious of the content of the cartoons, worried about
potential negative effects of showing love stories to their children at an early age, and
therefore would not buy the cartoon products for their children.
Moreover, the idea expressed during the interview with Jing Jia (2008), that accurate
positioning is necessary, appears to gain further support from Zhijun Cai, Deputy
Director of Planning & Creative Department, CCTV Animation Inc, who stated that a
few years ago, the animation products of CCTV normally aim at children between 4
and 12. From 2007 CCTV Animation INC has adjusted their strategy and attempted to
develop animations that aim at children within a three-year gap. They believe that a
precise orientation at the very beginning will guarantee a stronger potential of success
(Cai 2008). Clearly, defining one’s audience group at an early stage is necessary and
critical to the success of a cartoon. Defining the audience group for Lulu’s Opera
House rests with answering the question, which group has the greatest potential to
inherit the culture of Beijing Opera and make it have a longer life? My decision to
target 7-11 year olds was based on the following information.
According to a questionnaire conducted during the China Beijing Opera Art Festival
in 2004, 66% of the Beijing Opera audience has developed their interest in the opera
from their juvenile times (Guo 2008). Professor Yuejin Guo, Vice President of
Shandong College of Arts, Headmaster of Shandong Opera School, is a noted Beijing
Opera educationist, who maintains that children need to be developed as audiences as
well as actors and actresses. Her view mirrors that of the Chinese government which
has from 1980 been calling on the vigorous development of Beijing Opera through the
education of children. There is government support to educate children about Beijing
Opera.
Historically, Beijing Opera performance has always embraced children. A review of
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the biographies of several Beijing Opera masters reveals they all started to learn
Beijing Opera in their early youth. During the 1920’s and 1940’s, four acknowledged
masters of this craft were Mei Lanfang (1894-1961), Shang Xiaoyun (1900-1976),
Cheng Yanqiu (1904-1958) and Xun Huisheng (1899-1968). They are known as Four
Great Dan in the Golden era of Beijing Opera. Among them, Mei Lanfang started to
study Beijing Opera at the age of eight, and made his stage debut at the Guanghe
Theatre when ten years old (Goldstein 1999). Shang Xiaoyun started his training as a
Beijing Opera actor from seven and began to perform aged twelve (Xie 2007).
Similarly, Cheng Yanqiu started to learn opera from six years old and performed on
the stage by eleven (Hu 2007). Xun Huisheng entered a Beijing opera troupe at the
age of seven, and made his debut aged eight (Xun 1980). These four masters
portrayed women because women were not allowed to act on stage for Beijing Opera
productions in early times. Apart from the Four Great Dan, Ma Lianliang (1901-1966),
famous for his portrayal of the Beijing Opera male role, Lao Sheng, was a student of
the famed Beijing Opera training troupe Xi Lian Cheng, when eight, and first
appeared on stage at nine (Ma 2007). Culturally then, Beijing Opera training is
initiated at around 7 to 12 years old.
This tradition continues today. Shandong Opera School and Beijing Opera School are
good examples. The Shandong Opera School was established in 1960 and
incorporated into the Shandong College of arts in 2001 March. It is the only opera
school in Shandong province and has an important influence among all the Chinese
professional opera institutions. According to the teachers there, the age of students are
normally divided into three classes, they are 7-13 years old, 14-17 years old, and
18-23 years old. Sometimes the youngest students are even only 5 or 6. In the Beijing
Opera School, there are also groups of young children who are devoted to learning
traditional Peking Opera from a very early age. For example, the youngest actress, a
nine year old girl, Wang Wenduan started to learn opera when four. Thirteen year old
student Mu yu started to access Beijing Opera age three. The teachers in both opera
schools advocated that the training of Beijing Opera is similar to athletic coaching. It
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should start from the early age of children to cultivate the strict training of basic skills
such as dancing and martial arts while the bone structure of children is flexible. That’s
what professionals call “youth training”.
Apart from the concern with the physical conditions of opera performance, the
psychology of children is another aspect to be considered. According to Swiss
philosopher Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children’s cognitive
development progresses through four stages. Roughly, children aged seven to eleven
have a great capability for sensory perception of their environments (Piaget 1983).
Knowledge and information gradually acquired by this age group could leave
profound impressions on them which gradually strengthen with their growing.
Therefore, children aged 7 to 11 are most likely to respond to the spectacle of Beijing
Opera and become potentially its future audience.
All the above underlines my decision to target children from seven to eleven years old.
However much children may like cartoons there is still a necessity to capture their
attention and hold their interest. This I attempted through the animation style, story
structure, character set up and most notably the selection of Beijing Opera stories
suited to the taste of 7 to 11 year olds.
6.1.4 Identification of suitable Beijing Opera repertoire for children 7 to 11
To make traditional Beijing Opera attractive to young audiences is the issue of this
research project. Generally, a good Beijing Opera art work needs to be thoughtful,
artistic and visually enjoyable. But for children audience aged from 7 to 11, much
more attention should be paid to the visual effects in terms of their aesthetic and
psychological propensities. According to Professor Yuejin Guo, children in this age
group normally don’t sit still for a long time but can be easily attracted by interesting
stories, brilliant visual expression and lively actions (Guo 2008). Berarducci (1971,
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p.11) has also concluded that: “children prefer feature film type shows on television
with plenty of action. The form of film action is closely related to the child’s own
nature, and to match their own liveliness, the action must be fast moving”. Certainly
Beijing Opera is full of spectacle as there are many repertoires with fast melody,
fancy costumes, colourful stage properties, acrobatics, dances and martial arts which
potentially will attract kids.
To refine my choice I conducted a comprehensive literature review of traditional
scripts, Beijing Opera books, online articles and performance DVDs. Of the sources,
China Beijing Opera bibliography (www.xikao.com) offers great reference value for
this research. Aimed to make Beijing Opera plays available to the widest possible
audience, this online repository started to collect and collate traditional Beijing Opera
scripts in December 2000 and systematically sorted 1680 plays by its dynasty and
historical time. That research made it obvious that with over 200 years development,
the subject matter of these plays was fairly extensive, based on Chinese history, true
stories, sketches, folk legends and ancient novels. Generally, the subject matter can be
summarised by ten types of content that:
(1) Manifest anti aggression, heroic resistance, and loyalty integrity.
Representative work: Ruby on Rails (Tiao Hua Che in Chinese)
Eight Sledgehammers (Ba Da Chui in Chinese)
(2) Depict anti-feudal oppression and people’s uprising.
Representative work: Killed fishing family (Da Yu Sha Jia in Chinese)
(3) Represent the faithfulness and unyieldingness of ancient women who bravely
defied feudal ethics.
Representative work: Front of the Universe (Yu Zhou Feng in Chinese)
(4) Manifest noble qualities such as justice, goodness, risking one’s life for
another, not afraid of power and handling affairs impartially.
Representative work: The Story of the Orphan (Sou Gu Jiu Gu in Chinese)
(5) Show political and military talents in the background of important national
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security matters.
Representative work: Stratagem of Empty City (Kong Cheng Ji in Chinese)
The Battle of Chibi (Qun Ying Hui in Chinese)
The Restoration of the Jade Disc (Wan Bi Gui Zhao in
Chinese)
(6) Reflect the struggle within the ruling class.
Representative work: Golden-River Bridge (Jin Shui Qiao in Chinese)
(7) Enact Mythology.
Representative work: Lotus Lantern (Bao Lian Deng in Chinese)
Legend of White Snake (Bai She Zhuan in Chinese)
Water Curtain Cave (shui Lian Dong in Chinese)
(8) Present a playlet of daily life.
Representative work: Song of a Cowherd (Xiao Fang Niu in Chinese)
(9) Present ironical farce
Representative work: Thieves on Trial (DA Cheng Huang in Chinese)
(10) Enact the vicissitudes of love.
Representative work: Fated Mistakes (Hua Tian Cuo in Chinese)
Unlike western opera, Beijing Opera presents dramatic plays and figures mainly by
infusing four artistic methods which are singing, dialogue, dancing and martial art.
Among them, singing is utilized to intensify the appeal of the art with varying tones.
Dialogue is the complement of singing which is full of musical and rhythmic
sensation. Dancing refers to the body movements requiring high performing skills.
Martial art is the combination and transformation of traditional Chinese combat
exercises with dances. In Lulu’s Opera House, however, we emphasize dancing and
martial art rather than singing and dialogue. The reason is that archaic language in
traditional Beijing Opera performance is difficult for children to understand. For a
long time, the art of Beijing Opera is “four is one”, that is, singing, dialogue, dancing
and martial art supplement each other. That makes adaptation of certain elements in
traditional Beijing Opera quite difficult, because it will undermine the overall effect of
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the repertoire. For this reason we recommend dancing and martial art to a young
audience without including any inappropriate adaptation of this art at the primary
stage of the programme.
In addition, the abundant body movement of dancing and martial art performance
would offer more flexibility and creativity during the computer animation production.
Finally, the playlet of Beijing Opera could be adapted as a children’s animation series,
being structured as a short, humorous plot, with less characters and a single aria.
Representative works are Song of a Cowherd, Play Drum Tricks, Thresh Cherries.
Further, the playlets historically are the training plays for children in traditional
troupes or opera school, and usually are performed before the formal plays by child
actors. Owing to the liveliness and naivety of child performers, playlets are full of fun
and often performed in children’s theatre as well. Therefore, playlets of Beijing Opera
are very suitable to be used in a 3D animation series.
Aside from these findings, further inquiry was conducted with teachers in the Beijing
Opera School and Shandong College of Arts to seek more advice. As a result, ten
Beijing opera plays which will comprise the educational computer animation series
Lulu’s Opera House have been selected for their content, which involves subjects as
diverse as martial arts, acrobatics, legends and irony. They are listed below:
1. Divergence (San Cha kou in Chinese)
Synopsis: Divergence was a classical Beijing Opera martial arts play. Set in the Song
Dynasty, the story is of the famed warrior Jiao Zan who was deported for killing a
traitor. While journeying, Jiao Zan lodged at an inn run by Liu Lihua. Admiring the
heroic mettle and righteousness of Jiao Zan, Liu resolved to protect Zan secretly.
Meanwhile, another warrior Ren Tanghui also resolves to protect Jiao Zan privately
with the command of General Yang Yanhzhao who was worried about the safety of
Zan. Liu Lihua and Ren Tanghui fight in the pitch dark night until Jiao Zan resolves
the quarrel.
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The fight scene is performed to simulate combat in pitch darkness by body motions
without using any stage properties or dialogue. Divergence represents the marrow of
Chinese martial arts, and is one of the most eye-opening works of traditional Beijing
Opera.
Main character: Ren Tanghui
Liu Lihua
Role type: Xiao sheng (Young male)
Role type: Wu Chou (Clown)
2. Song of a Cowherd（Xiao Fang Niu in Chinese）
Synopsis: Its plot is very simple, depicting the story of a little girl from Guadi village
on her way to her grandfather’s home. When she asks the way from a cowherdsman,
they begin to frolick and gambol together with cheerful singing and dancing as is
done in pantomimes. This playlet places great emphasis on the performer’s dancing
skills.
Main characters: Village girl
Cowherd
Role type: Hua Dan (Young girl)
Role type: Clown
3. Fortified Village Muke (Mu Ke Zhai in Chinese)
Synopsis: Fortified Village Muke derived from a true story that took place in the
Song Dynasty. The main character Mu Guiying was the daughter of Mu Yu, the
castellan of Fortified Village Muke. It was said a Goddess imparted to her the skill
of using divine arrows and flying cutters. With excellent martial art skill, smartness
and courage, Mu Guiying became the commander-in-chief in an expedition to the
Xixia Kingdom, and won great success. Typifying the heroine in traditional Chinese
literature, Mu Guiying became the representative character of Beijing Opera Dao
Ma Dan (female general) business, and her marvellous martial arts performance is
dramatically presented. Further, the brave and lively Beijing Opera image of Mu
Guiying and the brilliant armoured costume she wears all provide great material for
the design of a cartoon Beijing Opera character. This is the story I have depicted in
my studio project.
Main character: Mu Guiying
Role type: Dao Ma Dan (Female general)
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4. Lotus Lantern（Bao Lian Deng in Chinese）
Synopsis: Lotus Lantern is a mythological Beijing Opera show which depicts the
legend of Chen Xiang. Since birth, Chen Xiang had never met his mother, and his
father Liu Yanchang refused to tell him anything about her. One day, Chen Xiang
discovered via a mysterious lotus lantern, that his mother was a goddess called San
Shengmu, the youngest daughter of heaven. Because San Shengmu fell in love with a
mortal scholar, San Shengmu was punished by being imprisoned under a mountain for
eternity by heaven. After knowing the truth, Chen Xiang sets out on a journey to
rescue his mother with the help of the magic Lotus Lantern. This classical
mythologyical play portrays love between spouses, parent and child, apprentice and
master. It includes wonderful performances of dancing, martial art and acrobatics,.
5. Raise Lamp (Ding Deng in Chinese)
Synopsis: Raise Lamp is an ironical farce, which portrays the story of Zhang Qishan
who was henpecked and who indulged in gambling. One day, when Zhang Qishan
went to market, he gambled away his money obtained by selling thread. When his
wife Qiao Niang knew this, she punished Zhang by having him kneel while she put a
lamp on the top of his head. To tickle Qiao Niang and beg for her forgiveness, Zhang
Qishan made lots of comical and laughable movements with the lamp on his head like
a clown. The preposterous plot and amusing performance make this show one of the
most humorous of the ironical playlets.
Main character: Zhang Qishan
Qiao Niang
Role type: Wu Chou (Clown)
Role type: Hua Dan (Young girl)
6. Uproar in Dragon Palace (Nao Long Gong in Chinese)
Synopsis: Derived from the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West, Uproar in
the Dragon Palace is a story of the monkey king Sun Wukong who finished his study
of martial arts and magic power, and journeyed to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace to
borrow a handy weapon from the dragon king. Accidentally Sun Wukong found the
treasure of Dragon Palaces, “Ocean Calming Magic Needle”, which was also called
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“As-You-Will Golden-Banded Cudgel”. Impressed by its magic power, Sun Wukong
asked the dragon king to present the treasure to him. However, the request was met
with a flat refusal, and a pitched battle started between the dragon king and Sun
Wukong in the dragon palace.
The Opera demands skilled martial arts performance and the various mythological
characters in this play, such as prawn and crab soldiers, turtle herald and dragon king
also offer great inspiration for the design of cartoon animation characters.
7. Hu Jia Village (Hu Jia Zhuang in Chinese)
Synopsis: The Beijing Opera play Hu Jia Village mainly presents the battle between
the Liang Shan army and Hu Jia village in the last year of Song Dynasty. The main
character Hu San Niang, the leader of Hu Jia village, defeated the Liang Shan army
with great success, eventually. Similar to Mu Guiying in Fortified Village Muke, Hu
San Niang is a Dao Ma Dan character.
Main character: Hu San Niang
Role type: Dao Ma Dan (Female general)
8. Hanging Pictures (Gua Hua in Chinese)
Synopsis: Hanging Pictures was a classic play of Beijing Opera Huadan business
(role type). This play has a strict requirement in the performer’s singing, dialogue,
dancing and martial art skills, thus it is always used as the training play for young
learners. Its plot was short and simple, and involves a young girl Han Yan who stands
and jumps on the arms of a chair, while hanging pictures. Through the energetic body
motions of the performer, Hanging the Pictures elaborately projects the cheerful and
nervous mood of a young girl. With lots of bodily movements Hanging Pictures is
ideal for showing in an animation series.
Main character: Han Yan
Role type: Hua Dan (Vivacious young girl)
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9. ShiQian Steals the Cock (ShiQian Tou Ji in Chinese)
Synopsis: ShiQian Steals the Cock was a Wu Chou play which derived from the
traditional novel Water Margins. Owing to the combination of comic acting,
acrobatics, and a strong voice, Wu Chou is one of the most demanding businesses in
Beijing opera. In ShiQian Steals the Cock the clown characters ShiQian are amusing
and likable. A thief, ShiQian lodged at the Zhu village, where he stole the crowing
cock of the inn, and also teased the shop owner. The exaggeratedly comical
performance and the distinctive feats all express the stage glamour of Beijing Opera
Wu Chou business.
Main Character: ShiQian
Role type: Wu Chou (Minor military clown)
10. Thieves on Trial (Da Cheng Huang in Chinese)
Synopsis: Rather than relying on the performance of dancing, martial arts or
acrobatics, Thieves on Trial fascinated audiences by its side-splitting plots. It is set in
the Qin Dynasty, where three idlers called Zhu Buchi, Lei Buji and Shan Buzhao
evade the work distributed by the government. They hide in the City God temple and
assume the identities of City God, Judge of Hell and Demon. But they are finally
hunted down by guards and punished. This play was full of fun and often performed
by child actors. The unique scene of City God temple and three droll characters offers
great potential for children’s animation production.
The plays selected for the 3D animation series possess a common characteristic:
without too much singing and dialogue, they all present plots and stories by using
plentiful body movements. There are over one thousand traditional Beijing Opera
plays, so there are many repertoires aside from the ten plays presented above. Thus, to
develop the Beijing Opera animation project in the future, there is still considerable
work to be done to adapt other plays.
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6.2 Production Diary 2 - Project Workflow Design
In animation, games and many other industries, the design of work flow is crucial to
manufacturing an economical and quality product. In creating Lulu’s Opera House, I
reviewed my production experience and found that a quality production depends on
funds, manpower and other resources invested in production, and especially effective
work flow.
The first task in designing the work flow of Lulu's Opera House was to determine the
schedule. The deadline was the 15th November 2007, and the graduation premiere
would be one week later. The pre-production work such as script, storyboard,
character and environment design had been completed by mid-May 2007, then the full
3D production of Lulu’s Opera House started from mid-May, which left less than half
a year for the task. Because animation production is a laborious task and the
production time tight, a reasonable and efficient work flow was extremely important
here. The Lean Production (LP) system described by the American Massachusetts
Institute of Technology appealed to me and benefited the 3D production of Lulu’s
Opera House.
6.2.1 What is Lean Production?
LP was first mentioned in reference to Japan’s “Toyota Production System (TPS)" in
the American Massachusetts Institute of Technology, by James P. Womack, Daniel T.
Jones and Daniel Roos, who are three senior managers of the International Motor
Vehicle Program (IMVP). Womack, Jones, and Roos in The Machine that Changed
the World (1990) provided an analysis of the future of the automobile and disclosed
the specific manufacturing techniques behind Toyota’s success as Lean Production.
They went on to define what Lean Production is, how it really works, and its
significant global impact. Just as mass production is recognized as the production
system of the 20th century, LP is viewed as the production system of the 21st century
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(Womack, et al., 1990).
The concept of Lean Production contains two aspects: Lean and Efficient. Lean is
about doing more with less: less time, inventory, space, labor and money, and to avoid
investing unnecessary resources. Only appropriate volumes of production required by
markets are supplied. Efficiency refers to all production activity needs as being
effective, and both beneficial and economical (Womack, et al., 1990). “Lean
manufacturing” is shorthand for a commitment to eliminating waste, simplifying
procedures and speeding up production (Kotelnikov, n.d.).
According to Womack, et al. (1990), L P works at Toyota, in the following several
ways:
·
In each production schedule, the number of products are made according to the
regional distributor's statistics and the objective market forecast;
·
Accordingly, production of the car glass, the wheels and automobile bodies, only
delivers the exact quantity that is needed, so that zero stock becomes possible;
·
The more impressive part of the whole procedure is the way they arrange the
delivery; the unloading and distribution takes exactly 15 minutes, and the
automobile bodies’ delivery truck arrives at 5pm sharp as required, 5.15pm,
automobile body delivery finishes and, the glass delivery truck
arrives…Moreover, the work flow of delivery and assembly line are exactly
opposite.
The entire process from raw material purchasing to assembly line has neither waste,
nor delay nor nonessential manpower and resources. From the example of Toyota
production, I was inspired to ensure that the cost of production is well organized by
controlling the work flow.
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In order to obtain the benefits that lean production offers, it was implemented as much
as practicable in the production of Lulu's Opera House.
6.2.2 Applications of Lean Production to Lulu’s Opera House
Kotelnikov (n.d.) stated that ‘A good solution can be successfully applied to almost
any problem’. Lean techniques are applicable not only in manufacturing, but also in
the other industries. Every system contains waste, whether you are producing a
product, processing a material, or providing a service, there are elements which are
considered ‘waster’. The techniques for analyzing systems, identifying and reducing
waste, simplifying procedures and speeding up production are applicable in any
system and any industry (Applied Industrial Solutions 2006).
Applying the principles of LP to the 3D production of Lulu’s Opera House required
forgetting about polygon positions, details and patterns of material, the artistic style,
even rendering effect, temporarily. The first task became to design the work flow, the
soft construction for the project. All possible technical problems needed to be
considered and solutions anticipated. Compared with actual animation production and
artistic creation, this stage sounds relatively arid, but it is absolutely important.
First, a “to-do list” was created and contained the two Beijing opera characters’
modeling, all 5 characters’ textures, scene modeling, textures and lighting, character
skeleton binding and character facial animation, rendering and post-editing. Next a
detailed time schedule for each component of the production was decided. For
example, the date of completion every single task group (such as scene modeling or
character texturing) must be detailed. The tasks (such as the animation of Lulu’s
exciting jump or Lulu’s yawning) must be detailed to the hour, and priority of each
animation file must be mentioned. The detailed timetable examples are as follows:
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See table 26: Lulu’s Opera House - Character Animation List of Short Film
Abbreviations:
Lu- Lulu
Dong- Music band Drummer
Lin- Music band Erhu16 player
JFA- Beijing Opera Female Actor
JMA- Beijing Opera Male Actor
Table 26: Lulu’s Opera House-Character Animation List
SHOT
Character Animation
Priority
Days
2
Production
time
3rd Jul
Shot 01
Lu_S01_FootMove
1
Complete
Lu_S01_LegMove
3
4th Aug
1
Complete
Shot03
Dong_S03_DrumPerform
3
5th Aug-6th Aug
2
Complete
Shot04
Lin_S04_ErhuPerform
3
7th Aug-8th Aug
2
Complete
Shot05
Lu_S05_BoringLook
2
4th Jul-5th Jul
2
Complete
Shot07
Lu_S07_CuriousLook
2
6st Jul-7th Jul
2
Complete
Shot08
JFA_S08_Staging
1
25th May
1
Complete
Shot09
Lu_S09_Amazed
2
8th Jul-9th Jul
2
Complete
Shot10
JFA_S10_Action01
1
26th May
1
Complete
Shot11
JFA_S11_Action02
1
27th May
1
Complete
Shot12
JFA_S12_Action03
1
28th May
1
Complete
Shot13
JMA_S13_Staging
1
29th May
1
Complete
16
Erhu: Traditional Beijing Opera instrument, a two-stringed fiddle.
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status
Shot14
Lu_S14_Scared
2
10th Jul-11th Jul
2
Complete
Shot15
JFA_JMA_S15_Combat01
1
2
Complete
Shot17
Lu_S17_Peep
2
30th May-31th
May
th
12 Jul-13th Jul
2
Complete
Shot18
1
1st Jun – 3rd Jun
3
Complete
Shot19
JFA_S19_closeUp
1
4th Jun
1
Complete
Shot20
JMA_S20_closeUp
1
5th Jun
1
Complete
Shot21
Lu_S21_Anxious
2
14th Jul-15th Jul
2
Complete
Shot22
1
6th Jun -8th Jun
3
Complete
Shot23
Lin_S23_ErhuPerform
3
9th Aug-10st Aug
3
Complete
Shot24
Dong_S24_DrumPerform
3
11st Aug-13rd Aug
3
Complete
Shot25
1
9th Jun-10th Jun
2
Complete
Shot27
Lin_S27_HandCloseUp
3
14th Aug-15th Aug
2
Complete
Shot28
Dong_S28_DrumCloseUp
3
16th Aug
1
Complete
Shot29
JFA_S29_Combat05Slow
1
11th Jun
1
Complete
Shot30
JMA_S30_Combat05Slow
1
12th Jun
1
Complete
Shot31
Lu_S31_Nervous look
2
16th Jul-17th Jul
2
Complete
Shot32
JFA_JMA_32_Combat06
1
13th Jun-15th Jun
3
Complete
Shot33
JMA_S33_BeDefeated
1
16th Jun-17th Jun
2
Complete
Shot34
JFA_S34_WinPose
1
18th Jun
1
Complete
Shot35
Lu_S35_Excited
2
18th Jul-19th Jul
2
Complete
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Shot36
JFA_S36_Action4
1
19th Jun
1
Complete
Shot37
Lu_S37_Imitate01
2
20th Jul-22th Jul
3
Complete
Shot38
JFA_S38_Action5
1
20th Jun
1
Complete
Shot39
Lu_S39_Imitate02
2
23th Jul-24th Jul
3
Complete
Shot40
JFA_S40_Action06
1
21th Jun-22th Jun
2
Complete
Shot42
Lu_S42_Amazed
2
25th Jul-26th Jul
2
Complete
Shot43
2
27th Jul-28th Jul
4
Complete
Shot44
Lu_S43_Imitate03_PlaySti
ck
JFA_S44_Action07
1
23th Jun-26th Jun
4
Complete
Shot45
JFA_S45_Action08
1
27th Jun-28th Jun
2
Complete
Shot46
JFA_S46_FootCloseUp
1
29th Jun
1
Complete
Shot47
Lin_S47_PerForm
3
17th Aug-18th Aug
2
Complete
Shot48
Dong_S48_Perform
3
19th Aug-20th Aug
2
Complete
Shot49
JFA_S49_FaceCloseUpSlo
w
JFA_S50_CostumeCloseUp
1
30th Jun
1
Complete
1
15th Jun
1
Complete
Lu_S51_Imitate04_Falldo
wn
JFA_S52_Action09
2
29th Jul-30th Jul
3
Complete
1
1st Jul-2nd Jul
2
Complete
Lu_S54_TransferToOperaA
ctor
2
31th Jul-3rd Aug
3
Complete
Shot50
Shot51
Shot52
Shot54
Next several matters regarding rendering the work needed to be considered.
First, was the render program to be used. There are numerous popular rendering
softwares used in computer animation productions now, such as Brazil Rendering
Software, Mental Ray, Maxwell, V-ray and Render Man. They are all developed by
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different companies, have different advantages and result in different visual effects. In
the production of Lulu’s Opera House, after consideration from several aspects
including desirable visual effect, user privilege and using experience, I decided to use
Mental Ray Rendering software for the final render of Lulu’s Opera House. After the
software was settled, a series of tests were made to calculate how long Mental Ray
took to render one frame by different settings. Generally, more advanced settings such
as ray tracing, global illumination, motion blur or depth-of-field which could obtain
better visual effects, but took more time to render. For instance, according to the Pixar
Studio’s official website, they use the RenderMan Program to render their feature
films, but a very high quality scene can take 6 hours to render one frame. Therefore,
through the numerous tests, I found a balance between the rendering effect and
rendering time, and decided on an average of 8 minutes for one frame by Mental Ray
settings. One second is equal to 25 frames in animation production and the duration of
Lulu’s Opera House was 9.05 minutes. That meant if there was one computer, the
whole rendering task will take 108000 minutes altogether which was a huge job for a
personal short film production.
Second was whether the render farm was accessible. There was an accessible render
farm at Queensland College of Art with 40 available computers, but it was set up for
Maya (3D software), not 3D max which I used in the production of Lulu’s Opera
House. When technicians tried to set up the 3D max rendering systems, several
technical problems perplexed us and I gave up using the render farms for the moment.
Given that, the next consideration was how many computers could I access if the
render farm issues could not be resolved. Fortunately, I got help from Fuzzyeyes
Studio, and 10 Mac Pro workstations were made available for me with 4 cores CPU,
2G RAM (random-access memory), and 256MB memory video card. I calculated that
using Fuzzyeyes Studio computers the whole rendering job needed around 12 days.
This meant, if the rendering job had not started by 1st Nov 2007, the project would not
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be completed on time. (Three days need to be left for post-editing.)
A final series of projections were made regarding Cloth FX. First, because Cloth FX
(3D cloth simulation plug-in) was to be used for character cloth and theatre curtains to
get realistic and natural visual effects, a series of experiments were necessary here for
any possible problems. For instance in the fighting scene of two Beijing Opera
characters, to avoid cloth intertwining during the fighting, many tests accompanied by
calculations of simulation time were made before deciding what effect would be used.
Second, was the application of cloth FX to the 3D max files. By setting up constrain
object (3D terms), to make sure the skirt is locked to the character's waist and flags
are locked to the flag pole. In this way, wherever the character moves, the cloth will
follow as stiff object. Third was testing collision and gravity parameters of different
kinds of cloth to achieve the realistic effects required. This proved time consuming as
every time new parameters were input, the computer spent around 1-3 minutes to redo
the simulation calculation. Finally, after the parameters were decided, they were
saved as a "cloth template" to apply to all the clothes later on. Once all the single
character 3D max files had been processed, application of the template to the clothes
in twin characters files could be put on place. Because of the above planning,
considered organization and extensive pre-testing, the final period of animation
production took only one weekend to finish the cloth simulation jobs for all the 66
animation files.
After a detailed time schedule was settled for each component, the real 3D production
began with clear task and target of 25th May 2007. As to the task distribution, the
production team comprised two people. Lei Zhang: director of Lulu’s Opera House
and Shaofang Li: animator of Fuzzyeys studio. Lei Zhang was responsible for the
modeling of characters and environments, material quality, lighting and the rendering,
and all aspects of pre-production work; script, storyboard, character and environment
design. Shaofang Li was responsible for the cameras, skeleton binding, character
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animation and editing.
In the initial stage of production, an important principle was followed; to stick to the
plan as much as possible. However, this production plan remained flexible in order to
respond to the unpredictable situations which inevitably arise in any production
facility. When our team encountered technique problems or late delivery of animation,
we allowed for contingencies and readjust the schedule in a minimum degree to both
deal with problems and meet the deadline. For example, in dynamics setting of the
flag behind the female Beijing Opera performer, the flag is not supposed to collide
with her hair. It turned out that the hair of the female Beijing Opera performer always
intersected the flag. It took us several days to draw and test to solve this problem,
which delayed the whole process. We had to adjust the plan to such contingencies in
the producing process.
An intermediate stage was reached where all files had been generated in 3D Max to
80% of broadcasting quality. Detailed polishing could begin. Animation manufacture
is not same as assembling cars after all, as completed doesn't actually mean finished
properly. There is always scope for improvement and people can always refine to
another degree in animation production. At this intermediate stage, the production
team worked independently and time was more flexible to accommodate refinement
of quality. Also the construction of Lulu’s Opera House and the placement of cameras
were settled, a preview video clip file was sent to the Chinese musician Mr.Xue
Zhenhua to begin composing music.
The final period before rendering was finalizing lighting for characters and scenes,
and the cloth simulation jobs. By then, there were a huge amount of files, but the
average time spent on each file was relatively short. Another very detailed plan was
required to plot the final file processing time to hours, even half hours. Delays were
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not acceptable at this stage, because the time arrangement at the early stage of
production of Lulu’s Opera House was quite reasonable, the rendering date was four
days ahead of schedule. After rendering began on 28th Oct 2007, the animation
production team went back to polish several animation files. Even during rendering,
the production team used this time to touch up the other documents which were not
considered good quality.
The rendering was completed on November 12. All rendered sequences were put in
the AfterEffect (post-editing software) to achieve depth of field, particle effect and the
ray lighting special effects, then the file exported as a video clip and put into Premiere
(post-editing software). By that time, composer Mr Zhenhua Xue delivered the final
version of music after several discussions and refinement. In 14th Nov 2007, the film
video clip was edited and synchronized with the music in Premiere, and exported as
an MOV file to college on 15th November, on time.
6.2.3 Conclusion
In the production of Lulu's Opera House, I have two major concerns. The first one is
to produce quality animation. The other is to get the work done on time. Generally
speaking, the efficient execution of schedule and the quality of the production was
achieved in three parts. First, in the early stage, quality was compromised by the
schedule. Perfection was backgrounded. Second, in the intermediate stage, quality
became important and more time was devoted to improvements in production values.
By pushing the quality upward consistently, this step approximated the final
appearance of the short film. When more time was needed to do extra polishing and
achieve the expected quality, the schedule was modified to some extent. The third step,
in the last manufacture stage, production schedules and quality achievement were
simultaneously considered. To complete the film on time become the most important
task and the production team tried not to consume facilities and human resources on
any unessential task. After all tasks were completed and the rendering job had begun,
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time was spent reviewing the project with fresh eyes and a calm attitude.
Applying LP to the 3D production of Lulu’s Opera House benefited my analysis of the
production systems, the identification and reduction of waste, simplification of
procedures and it also speeded up production. The efficient work flow ensured the
work was completed on time. The detailed project work flow design not only
benefited the cost control of human resources, the allocation of facilities and financial
resources, it helped achieve high efficiency in production. An equally important
outcome was that during the entire process, production personnel were always
confident about completing the production on schedule with high quality. This
positive attitude is important during animation production.
6.3 Production Diary 3 - Production of Character Animation
Expression (Morph targets) set up in pre-production and character animation work
flow dominated considerations of character animation production.
6.3.1 Character facial expression animation
It is well known that in 3D animation production industry, there are usually two ways
to make the character expression: facial skeleton and morph targets. Where in game
production facial rigging is overwhelmingly used in animated films, a combination of
both is common.
In Lulu’s Opera House, drummer Dong, string man Lin and Lulu have facial skeleton
control mandibles while morph targets control facial features. For the two Beijing
Opera characters who fight on stage, a face skeleton controls their respective facial
features. This is appropriate and efficient as their expression is primarily through
gesture, with minimal facial expression.
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Lin, Dong and Lulu’s morph targets are described by the following pictures:
Figure 27: Lin morph targets set up.
Figure 28: Dong morph targets set up
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Figure 29: Lulu morph targets set up
The skeleton of all three characters starts from the skull ear hole area and extends to
the lower mandible. This incrementally controls the up and down movement of
mandible bone. I used a skeleton and not morph targets because distortion occurs,
when the source model transforms into the target model. When depicting an obvious
movement like opening a mouth wide, the model looks as if it is being stretched, in a
very comical way, instead of opening a mouth wide. Having a skeleton control, the
vertex has been able to act according to its own variable weight, and together with
mouth-corners morph targets, many different shapes of the mouth animation are
possible.
The two Beijing Opera characters have restricted expressions by comparison.
Considering the work to set up morph targets and the role played by these characters,
the production team decided to use a games set up for facial features to generate
expressive animation. See figures 30 & 31.
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Figure 30: Female opera actor facial set up.
Figure 31: Male opera actor facial set up
6.3.2 Character Animation Work Flow
After the basic set up of facial animation was completed, the design of character
movements began. Foremost at this stage was an ability to observe and refine from
life models. It was essential to capture the important parts of Beijing Opera
movements as targets through observation and refinement. For instance when a line of
action bends or twists extremely it impacts on the power flow of movements. Nearly
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all the characters’ animation can be summarized as a hold and/or a release of certain
strength. One aim was to define this strength, find out which movements exaggerate
the most according to lines of action, and make them as accurate as possible. Even if
the key frames are not perfect at this stage, at least to be able to express the purpose
and rhythm of the entire movement was instructive. This preproduction method is
advocated by America animation master Keith Lango’s animation tutorial (Lango
2002). As for the ability of catching the line of action, of benefit was to have 10 or
even 5 second extremely quick life drawing sketches .These worked to eliminate all
minor details, and only concentrate on using extremely simple line to define the limits
of movement expression. Whether making a game or movie, initial concepts are
required which express an animation idea clearly within a very short time, to let
everybody discuss and make suggestions; this approximates to a blue print before the
official construction of a building. Mastering this kind of summarizing skill enabled a
few sketches to convey the preliminary concept. The ability of raising several
proposals with clear expression of their concepts means much to a team who values
efficiency.
It is always the first priority to set up line of actions in animation production, and
there is more than one method to weigh if it is good or not. In Lulu’s Opera House,
the usual procedure was followed; look at one movement in silhouette without
looking at the previous or the following key frames and switch off the default light in
3D Max Scene. If it is clear “what is this character doing” and “what is the character
going to do”, this movement can be examined for storytelling potential and approved
or not approved. Otherwise there must be something may be wrong in the line of
action and posture, which will have effect on the final film quality. When the most
important key frames all satisfied this test, we had a relatively mature draft concept
animation for team discussion through merely putting such key frames in appropriate
positions on the time axis.
In this short film, there are altogether five characters’ animation needs to be designed
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and produced. Because the movements are highly summarized and the number of key
frames small, it was quite easy and fast to catch the macroscopic rhythm of their
movements. Once the animation had a foundation of “story telling” key frames,
in-betweens could be inserted to flow key frames into each other smoothly. But it was
essential to strictly minimize the quantity of frames, and make every effort to keep the
time axis uncluttered. When all key and smoothing in-between frames were
positioned on the time axis consideration was given to using Disney’s animation
principles to make the animation more vivid and flowing. The twelve traditional
animation principles are:
1. Squash and stretch: shape distortion to accentuate movement
2. Anticipation: a reverse movement to accent a forward movement
3. Staging: the camera viewpoint to best show the action
4. Straight-ahead and pose-to-pose action: two basic animation methods
5. Follow-through and overlapping action: nothing stops abruptly
6. Slow-in and slow-out: smoothing starts and stops by spacing
7. Arcs: the path of action of organic forms usually follows an arc
8. Secondary actions: a tail might wag while the dog walks
9. Timing: time relations within actions for the illusion of life
10. Exaggeration: caricature of actions and timing
11. Solid drawing: good drawing skills
12. Appeal: characters must be appealing to the audiences
(Thomas & Johnston 1981)
Among all the twelve traditional animation principles, squash and stretch, anticipation,
staging, exaggeration, secondary actions, follow-through and overlapping, and arcs
were important for my project. For example, in Beijing opera performance, there are
plenty of movements for character weapons, streamers, headgear, flags and flagpoles.
Using the follow-through and overlapping principle, when a character moves, these
appendix objects will hold their position for couple of frames, or even move in the
opposite direction for exaggeration effects. After the subtle hold, they will “follow”
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the character with increasing speed, and when the character stops, these objects will
decrease their speed with overlapping before stopping. Through using this principle,
the Beijing opera animation becomes much more vivid and impressive.
6.4 Production Dairy 4 Environment & Textures Design
The theater in Lulu's Opera House is a key visual. How to use CGI techniques to
vividly recreate and annotate the glitter and mystery of a traditional Beijing opera was a
complex matter. Farewell my concubine provided some inspiration.
In that film, the combinations of warm colors and rich textures furthered the
signification of something distinctively Chinese. This is what I wanted in my film; a
subtle reinforcement of a distinctively Chinese spectacle. Consequently, bold reds,
unrestrained golden, noble purples and steady dark green dominate the CGI theatre’s
coloring. Such color combinations abound in Chinese architecture, clothing and other
utilitarian objects.
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Figure 32: Opera house concept 1(designed by Zhang Lei in 2007)
The CG theater needed Chinese decorative patterns to dominate. But as with clothing if
directly used the Chinese traditional designs and the patterns would be too complex to
be animated effectively and may not match the animation characters' feelings.
Therefore, it becomes a main task to refine and strengthen the feeling of CG design by
simplification. In the following paragraphs, by taking some stage props as an example,
a detailed explanation of the manufacture and the application process of textures and
materials are given.
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Figure 33: Opera house stage concept (designed by Zhang Lei in 2007)
Figure 34: Stage detail concept (designed by Zhang Lei in 2007)
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The majority of the details of the theater environment rely on manufacturing
experience of NextGen (next-generation) games’ scene material, and were made
through three texture maps to achieve real and glittering, flowing color effects;
Diffuse Map, Normal Map and Specular Map . The function of Normal Map is quite
similar to traditional Bump Map (concave-convex texture). Compared with a Bump
Map, a Normal Map can achieve a gentler, real visual effect, and consequently is
widely used in the next generation game industry to articulate the character and
building details. Specular Maps help to enhance the glossiness and reality of objects.
6.4.1 The making of seamlessly repeatable background pattern
The material of the curtain and carpet in the opera theater is a rich scarlet colour inlaid
with a gold foil pattern. What needs to be considered first in the production of the
pattern choice and the design was line which needed to be simple, flowing as well as
rich, and intricate, in the sense of design. At the same time a distinctively Chinese
motif needed to be projected. The pattern was made as a black and white template
ready for following procedure (see figure 35).
Figure 35: Black and white background pattern of curtain.
The material quality size may defer to the standard 256x256 pixel multiple to increase
progressively, according to requirements. The picture element request may be 512x512,
1024x1024 or 2048x2048 pixel, so one thing that needed to be kept in mind at this stage
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was that oversized material will slow down the rendering time progressively. In this
theater, the curtains' material size is 1024x1024 pixels. In order to make them
seamlessly repeatable in UV, the function of Filter-Other-Offset Tool in Photoshop was
used (see figure 36).
Figure 36: To use Filter-Other-Offset Tool in Photoshop to get a seamlessly repeatable
pattern.
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Enter parameters half of the materials size (see figure 37) and the result should look
like figure 38.
Figure 37: Enter parameters which are half of the materials size.
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Figure 38: Result of offset UV.
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The pattern of the material does not connect seamlessly, so they need revision and
adjustment. The effect after revision will be like Figure 39.
Figure 39: Get a seamlessly repeatable pattern by using offset tool.
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After that, choose Filter - Offset to return to the normal position (see figure 40), the
pattern is now able to be connected with itself seamlessly.
Figure 40: Return the offset to the normal position
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6.4.2 The making of Diffuse Map
By using the layer superimposition method in Photoshop the effect of a gold foil
pattern on the theater curtain was achieved (see figure 41).
Figure 41: Overlapping four textures to get the final curtain texture.
6.4.3 The making of Normal Map
In above paragraphs, it has been mentioned that compared with bump maps, normal
maps are more realistic. Here is the principle of how normal maps work. Bump Maps
only have the concave-convex effect in the Z axis direction, but Normal Maps
simulate concave-convex effect on XYZ three axials by the RGB three colors.
Therefore the normal map is colored as Figure 42 shows.
Figure 42: Normal map principle.
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The normal map technology is created by calculating the normal information of a
highly detailed model and saving that as a highly compressed normal map. Next, we
apply the normal map to a low detailed model for curved surface illumination
computation, to get a low polygon but highly detailed 3D model. In this way, the
number of polygons in the scene could be decreased while keeping the details of the
model.
The normal map manufacture involves three methods. One method is with ZBrush
(3D software); this method is commonly used for displays of the human body,
zoological and botanical details and some irregular and organic shapes like Figure 43:
Figure 43: Organic Shrine designed for computer game.
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A second method is to produce the high polygon model in max, called the High-ploy
model, then render its information and output as normal map. This method is suitable
for displays of simple building shapes.
Figure 44: Normal map produced for the architecture wall.
The third method of manufacturing normal maps is to directly use Photoshop NVIDIA
(Normal Map transfer plug-in installed in Photoshop) to transform Diffuse Maps. This
method is suitable for the designed pattern of cloth or tiny details of material such as a
dent or scratch on metal. See figure 44. Compared with the previous two methods,
using NVIDIA is relatively convenient but it also has certain limitations. Generally,
the three ways could be combined flexibly according to personal experience and
required effect.
For the normal map of curtain material, because it is cloth and should not have a very
rigid bumping effect, the NVIDIA way is best. The procedure is as follows:
First chooses Image - Adjustments – Desaturate in Photoshop, change the diffuse map
of the curtain into black and white mode (see figure 45), then press Ctrl+L hot key to
adjust its black and white contrast gradient in the pop up dialog box (see figure 46).
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Figure 45: Transfer the diffuse map into black and white mode.
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Figure 46: Adjust its black and white contrast gradient to make stronger contrast effect.
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Choose Filter - NVIDIA Tools - NormalMapFilter to open NVIDIA Normal Map Filter
dialog box (see figure 47), set the scale parameter as 10 and then click on OK to obtain
the Normal Map (see figure 48).
Figure 47: Click on Filter - NVIDIA Tools – NormalMapFilter.
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Figure 48: Open NVIDIA Normal Map Filter dialog box and set the scale parameter as 10.
6.4.4 Applying three maps in 3D Max
Now check the effect of applying these maps in 3D Max file: assigning Diffuse Map to
Diffuse Color and Specular Color channel; assigning Specular Map to Specular Level
channel; assigning Normal Map to the Bump channel and select Normal Bump property,
as figure 49, 50 & 51 shows.
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Figure 49: Diffuse Map, Normal Map & Specular Map used for curtain material.
Figure 50: Assign these maps to the corresponding channel in 3D Max software.
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Figure 51: Assign Normal Map to the Normal Bump property.
After set up in 3D Max, the final rendering result is as figure 52 displays. This is the
whole procedure to obtain the extremely attractive theater curtain with inlaid gold foil
pattern on red silk.
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Figure 52: Final render effect of theatre curtain.
The same method can be used for production of wallpaper and gong textures as
follows:
Figure 53: Making Diffuse Map for wallpaper.
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Figure 54: Diffuse Map, Normal Map & Specular Map used for wallpaper material.
Figure 55: Final render effect of wallpaper.
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Figure 56: Making Diffuse map for the copper gong.
Figure 57: Diffuse Map, Normal Map & Specular Map used for the copper gong.
Figure 58: Making Diffuse map for the green wooden board.
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Figure 59: Diffuse Map, Normal Map & Specular Map used for the green wooden board.
Figure 60: The final rendering effect of the green wooden board and the copper gong material.
All the above descriptions and figures demonstrate the basic production methods and
procedures for the environment textures in Lulu’s Opera house.
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6.5 Production Diary 4 - Character Costumes and Textures
In the short film of Lulu’s Opera House, there are five characters, with distinctive
natures and textured costume designs. All costumes are based on traditional costumes
of Beijing Opera, while CG cartoon effects are included to add vividness and fun. In
this section, the knowledge about traditional Beijing Opera costumes are mainly
sourced from Chinese Beijing Opera Costumes (in Chinese) written by Shaohua Zhao
in 2004, and Beijing Opera Costumes: The Visual Communication of Character and
Culture written by Alexandra B. Bonds in 2008. Both books provide comprehensive
information on the history, category, colour, pattern and design symbolism of Beijing
Opera costumes. Among them, Beijing Opera Costumes: The Visual Communication
of Character and Culture is the first in-depth English-language book focused
exclusively on the costumes of Beijing opera. This comprehensive volume provides
both theory and analysis of the costumes and the method of their selection for the
roles as well as technical information on embroidery, patterns, and construction.
Besides, details on makeup, hairstyles, and dressing techniques are also presented to
provide a more complete view of the Beijing Opera performer, which immensely
helped the design and production of character costumes in Lulu’s Opera House.
It is well known that Beijing Opera costumes are very complicated with lots of
categories and varied structures, and the patterns and colours are manifold with
unique meanings. Also the textures and embroideries on the costumes add to the
difficulty of the production, as their requirements for textures are high. As director of
CCTV Animation INC production department Qihua Cai said, in most cartoons, the
costumes of the character are normally of one colour, like one colour for the top and
one colour for the pants, which keeps the amount of work low. Thus I need to set my
own standard, that is, how to extract the symbols out of the opera costumes, to make
the CG costumes look very much like those of Beijing Opera, but meanwhile simplify
the production work. This will benefit the later production of the series and the future
development of derivative products, such as toys (Qihua Cai 2008).
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As part of the research, this chapter starts with an introduction to the categories,
colours, and ornamental patterns of Beijing Opera costumes, followed by detailed
analysis and explanations of the costume design of the Beijing Opera characters and
band characters.
6.5.1 The Art of Costume in Beijing Opera
Beijing Opera is a synthetical stage performance art; apart from its unique arias,
actions and music, the costumes for the performance are one of the key features and
an exclusive attraction to the audience. The Beijing Opera costumes are a whole set of
classified or formularized special garments, which have been extracted, summarized,
beautified, and ornamented by the artists based on the ancient Chinese everyday
clothes (Zhao 2004). These spectacular and exquisite costumes form an important part
of the stage character image.
The making of opera costumes is a special and unique stagecraft. The costume box
first appeared in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and was greatly improved in the
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) (Chinese Folklores & Festivals 2008). Due to the rigidness
of China’s feudalist dressing regularities, the Beijing Opera costumes are summarized
from social life along the dynasties, rather than displaying the actual historical
costumes, to represent the identity, social status, age, and disposition of the character.
The current art craft of Beijing Opera costumes is a wealth of design co-created by
countless artists, actors, painters, embroiderers, and tailors, in the past hundreds of
years.
6.5.2 Rules of Costume Tradition
The origins of Beijing Opera costumes can be traced back to the mid-14th century,
when operatic precursors first began experimenting with large ornate articles of
clothing. In the early days, opera costumes were mainly made of wool or coarse cloth;
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later, satin, crepe and silk were used, decorated with various meticulously
embroidered patterns. After several hundred years’ refinement and improvement, in
general, the Beijing Opera costume is characterized by the following features
(Chinese Folklores & Festivals 2008).
∙ Anachronisms are allowable.
The traditional Beijing Opera costumes disregard of time and place, and can be used
for any dynasty and region in the feudalist society. With their superior capability of
summarization and extensive usage, the Beijing Opera costumes are only ruled by the
character’s identities and trades.
∙ Costumes are not affected by seasons
The Beijing Opera costume disregards the season in the scene, and pays no attention
to the materials such as crepe, silk, cotton, leather, lined, or unlined. When required
by the plot to depict the season, only a little ornamental piece of costume is added.
For example, a mere cloak would be sufficient to show that it is snowing.
∙ Specific meaning of different costumes
All Beijing Opera costumes are designed to portray a certain character. When the
number of such costumes becomes large, a formula is established. For example, a
ceremonial robe with Yellow Mang (Dragon Pattern) is for the emperor; those with
red and purple Mang are for the ministers; official robes are for local officials lower
than the ministers; clothes and skirts are for ladies; gilets and skirts are for servant
girls; warriors wear coats with embroideries of flying birds; young male characters
wear coats with embroideries of flowers; poor scholars wear coats with irregular
patches of varied colours, which is called the Rich and Noble Robe; this hints the
character will achieve great things later; while a belt on the forehead shows the
character is sick. Therefore, the audience can generally tell a Beijing Opera
character’s age, social status, living conditions and disposition at their first sight of
the character.
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∙ Indications of good and evil
By means of a subtle difference, opera costumes often give expression to sharp
distinctions between good and evil or, preferably, loyal and wicked characters. For
example, oblong wings attached to a gauze hat indicate a loyal official. In contrast, a
corrupt official is made to wear a gauze hat with rhomboidal wings.
6.5.3 The Categories of Beijing Opera Costumes
Beijing Opera costumes are called Xingtou or, more popularly, Xifu in Chinese. It is
the general name for the dressing of varied characters. In more detailed classification,
Beijing Opera costumes consist of six main categories: first, the robes, including more
than 20 types, among which are the ceremonial robe, official robe, palace garment,
informal robe, coat, gown, chipao, cloak, etc. Second, the jackets, including the tea
jacket, corsetry, jacket pants, mandarin jacket, etc. Third, the armour. Fourth, the
helmets and headgear, including the helmet, crown, headdress, headgear, etc. Fifth,
the boots and shoes. And sixth, functional and decorative pieces that belong to the
costumes, such as the cascading sleeves, plumes, girdle, etc (Zhao 2006).
The colours of Beijing Opera costumes can be divided into the five primary colours
and the five secondary colours. The five primary colours are yellow, red, green, white,
and black, while the five secondary colours are purple, blue, pink, pale-blue, and
pale-brown (Chinese Folklores & Festivals 2008). Such colours are bright and vivid,
and are used according to the character’s identity, social status, and age; therefore, the
colours play an important role in depicting the character and his/her disposition. The
materials for Beijing Opera costumes are mainly satin, silk, and wool. The patterns on
the costumes include the Chinese dragon, phoenix, bird, beast, fish, bug, flower, cloud,
water, which show the characters’ identities and social status, as well as decorating
and beautifying the costumes (Bonds 2008). Thanks to the variety in the colours,
patterns, quality, and their collocation, the whole opera costumes system is incredibly
rich and expressive.
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Because of the great variety of the Beijing Opera costumes, this chapter does not
make a detailed introduction to all the categories and types, but focuses on the
ceremonial robe, the armour, and some of the patterns and ornaments that appear in
the short film.
6.5.3.1 The Robes – The Ceremonial Robe (Mang)
The ceremonial robes are generally called Mang in Beijing Opera terms, and normally
known as the Dragon Robe. Such robes are most used by the emperors and mandarins
on the stage, such as the kings and queens, or the old men, young men, and warriors,
as civil officials and military officials. The features of ceremonial robes are the
following: round collar; front buttons on the right side; long robe; formatted from
below the armpits with wide fringe of a different colour; and embroidered seawater
and riverside patterns in the front and the back side of the robe's lower edge. The
ceremonial robes for men are embroidered with circles or flying dragons surrounding
the body, while those for women are decorated with similar patterns like the red
phoenix and sunrise, with skirts and streamers as the lower part of the costumes
(Estudychinese.com 2007).
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Figure 61: embroidered red ceremonial robe for men (Picture sourced from Xkb123.com
2008)
The patterns on ceremonial robes are primarily the Chinese dragon. However,
according to the varied character identities and social status, the images of dragon
vary from each other. For example, the dragon on the robes for the emperor, which
has five claws, with its mouth open and breathing fire balls, and is normally in a
circle.
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Figure 62: circle dragon pattern for emperor (Picture sourced from Xkb123.com 2008)
However, in the ceremonial robes for royal family members, the ministers, the
generals and marshals, the dragon has only four claws, with its mouth shut,
symbolizing obedience to the emperor. The dragons embroidered on the costumes for
civil officials are in circle, and are gentle and quiet. In contrast, those on the costumes
for military officials are often loose and in positions of soaring, which are more lively
and unconstrained, symbolizing force and courage (Gao 2002). Generally, the colours
of ceremonial robes with loose dragons are mainly in black, blue, purple, green, and
apricot etc.
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Figure 63: black ceremonial robe with flying dragon pattern for warriors (Picture sourced
from Xkb123.com 2008)
The rule is strict on the collocation between the costume colour and the identity of a
character. The colours of ceremonial robes can be divided, as mentioned above, into
the five primary colours and the five secondary colours. Take yellow for an example;
there are two kinds of yellow: the primary yellow (light yellow), which is restricted to
the emperor; while the queen, the prince and royal family members can also be in
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yellow, but only in apricot. Furthermore, the red ceremonial robes represent royalty
and nobleness, and are only used by the nobility, prime minister, emperor’s son-in-law,
imperial envoy, and marshal, which are highly ranked. The green ceremonial robes
represent might and heroism, and are used by military officials of high ranks. Besides,
some outlaws and wilderness heroes may also wear green ceremonial robes.
Nevertheless, characters in white ceremonial robes are often good-looking and
light-hearted young men; while those in black ceremonial robes are mostly upright,
bold, and forthright (Bonds 2008).
6.5.3.2 The Ceremonial Robes for Women
The colourfully embroidered red ceremonial robes for women are normally worn by
characters like the queen, the highest-ranking imperial concubine, the princess,
Madame conferred by the emperor, and female marshals, as their court dress and
official dress. The patterns mainly include a circle phoenix, loose phoenix, peony, or
both dragon and phoenix, with embroideries of seawater and riverside on the lower
part. The colours for the ceremonial robes for women are bright and splendid,
representing the character’s supreme elegance (Bonds 2008).
Figure 64: circle phoenix pattern for empress (Picture sourced from Xkb123.com 2008)
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Figure 65: embroidered red ceremonial robe for women (Picture sourced from Xkb123.com
2008)
6.5.3.3 Armour (Kao)
The armour worn by the warriors in ancient times is known as Kao on the Beijing
Opera stage. Beautified for dancing, Kao can be divided into men’s style and
women’s style. Kao is made with satin, covered by scutum embroidered with gold,
silver, and colourful lines, which makes it appear splendid and eye-catching. With
extreme exaggeration and transmutation, the modelling of Kao consists of the
elegance of the long robes and the patterns of armour, which is very unique and
peculiar.
Kao can be normally divided into Ying kao (hard armour), Ruan Kao (soft armour),
and Gailiang Kao (improved armour) (Halson 1966, pp.19-38).
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∙ Hard Armour
Figure 66: Male hard armour (Picture sourced from Jingjuok.com 2007a)
Hard Armour’s also known as large armour (large Kao), and has two pieces in the
front and on the back of the shoulders, with a cloud-shaped collar, butterfly- or
tiger-head-shaped armour on both shoulders, armour girth around the waist, leg
harness and a hanging piece for the legs, and long sleeves with tight wristbands. The
back of the armour is fastened with a leather sheath, in which is inserted four triangle
satin armour flags with dragon patterns embroidered with varied coloured threads.
With a coloured belt attached to each flag, the four armour flags are in an externally
radiating shape, which creates a stretching and expanding effect on the costume, and
further sets off the power and courage of the military officials. Such dressing and
image is rare both in Chinese and in foreign clothing history. Normally when a
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military official wears hard armour, it means the character is fully armed and is ready
for battle. The armour can be in a variety of colours, including white, red, blue, purple,
black, or pale-brown. Characters of young generals may wear armour in light colours,
such as light pink, light green or light blue. Specifically, the colour for the emperor’s
armour is bright yellow.
The armour flag is a main characteristic of large Armour, which derived from the
order flags used by the ancient army. The original flags were much smaller and can be
inserted in the back girth when riding horses, and held in the hand as proof of orders
when transmitting orders. The present armour flags are actually the order flags after
beautification and exaggeration, and serve as ornaments of military officials who are
ready for battle (Gao 2002).
Consisting of 31 embroidered pieces, the armour is of a complicated structure. For
example, an armour collar added to ceremonial robe or gown, symbolizes that the
character is a military official; however, wearing only two pieces of leg harness
symbolizes that the general has lost his armour as well as the battle.
∙ Soft Armour
The soft armour has no armour flags on the back, and is normally worn by old
military officials who are aged and weak, or by military officials in non-battle
circumstances.
∙ Improved Armour
Created by Zhou Xinfang17, the improved armour is similar to soft armour. Simple
and light, the improved armour is split into the upper and lower parts, using corset
17
Zhou Xinfang, 28 Jan. 1895 – 5 Mar. 1975, a famous Chinese performing artist, known as the
Qilintong, and the founder of the Qi style of old men characters.
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rather than armour girth, which makes the waist tight and slim as if it is tied with a
waist belt. Some improved armours are embroidered with scale-like scutum, while
some are ornamented with embroidered patterns or inlaid with protruding metal plates
or crystal-shining nailhead-like accessories. However, the image of improved armour
is less powerful than that of hard armour, and is normally used on ordinary military
officials.
Figure 67: Male soft armour (Picture sourced from Jingjuok.com 2007b)
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Figure 68: Male improved armour (Picture sourced from Jingjuok.com 2007c)
∙ Hard Armour for Woman
On Beijing Opera stages, the battle costumes for female generals and marshals is
mainly hard armour for women. Hard armour for woman has a smaller girth that is
embroidered with twin phoenix and peony, under which are two or three layers of
streamers, and with lotus-leaf-shaped sleeves under cloud-shaped shoulder armour.
With even more exquisite colours and patterns, the hard armour for woman is better
ornamented than that for men, so as to set off the feminine beauty of female generals
as well as their strength. Though enjoying more styles and designs than those for men,
the armour for woman has far fewer colour options, which are mainly pink, red, light
and blue.
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Figure 69: Female hard armour (Picture sourced from Jingjuok.com 2007d)
∙ Improved Armour for Woman
The design of improved armour for a woman is basically same as that for a man, with
the armour split into the upper and lower parts, using a corset instead of an armour
girth, and no armour flags on the back. Such armour is usually used by female
outlaws and wilderness heroines. Its simplicity and lightness facilitates the characters
in performing more difficult and complicated martial art and dancing movements.
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Figure 70: Female improved armour (Picture sourced from Jingjuok.com 2007e)
6.5.3.4 Helmets and Headgear
Helmets are headgear used by the military officials to protect their heads in battles.
The helmets are normally of hard shell, ornamented with soft nap balls and beads,
with tassels on those of the marshals. The types of helmets mainly including helmet
for men, which is normally used by the senior general, overlords and marshals (Bonds
2008).
6.5.3.5 Opera shoes and boots
The opera footware is the fifth category in the Beijing Opera costumes, consisting of
the boots and the shoes. The boots are primarily for male characters, and include
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thick-soled boots, thin-soled boots, and thin-soled combat boots.
The thick-soled boots are popular for the male characters. Their upper is made of
black satin, and their soles are normally 6.6 – 13.2 cm thick and are painted white.
Though there are no boots with such thick soles in real life, these boots are
deliberately designed to add height to the actors so as to be in concord with their wide
and exaggerated clothing. Especially when the character wears ceremonial robes or
armour, which are very exaggerated, the thin-soled boots would seriously disagree
with such clothing. Second, the thin-soled boots, also known as the Chaofang in
Chinese terms, are boots with thin soles, with their soles painted white. Such boots
are normally for the beaurocracy, eunuchs, and zanies. Third, the thin-soled combat
boots are boots with thinner soles and shorter upper. Such boots are for characters
with martial art performances to wear with a leotard, so as to show volatility and
nimbleness in battles.
Figure 71: thick-soled boots for a man
Apart from the boots, there are slightly beautified and ornamented shoes. The shoes
are worn by the aged and the ordinary soldiers. The female characters in Beijing
Opera normally wear coloured shoes with embroideries, and tassels are added to the
toe caps (Zhao 2004).
6.5.4 Analysis of the Costumes and Textures of the Cartoon Characters
Based on the previous introduction to the categories and features of Beijing Opera
costumes, now I’m going to analyses the costume designs of the major characters in
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the short film, focusing on the process of looking for and extracting the prototypes
through investigation and research on traditional opera costumes, and then creating
with inspiration the costumes used in the short film.
6.5.4.1 Costumes of the Female Beijing Opera Character
As the idol that the little girl Lulu admires, the female opera character’s staging is a
high-light in the short film. The prototype of this character is Mu Guiying18 from the
famous Beijing Opera piece Fortified Village Muke, in which Mu Guiying has a most
classical appearance. As the young female master of Fortified Village Muke, her
business19 is female heroic warrior (Daomadan20 in Beijing Opera terms) who is
skilled in martial arts. The character’s costume, as introduced in the previous chapter,
is a set of pink armour for woman with coloured embroidery, and four armour flags
inserted in the back, with lotus-leaf-shaped sleeves under cloud-shaped shoulders, a
skirt for the legs, with two or three layers of embroidered streamers hanging around
the skirt.
∙ Costume
However, due to the requirements of cartoon making, in the short film of Lulu’s Opera
House, the design of the female opera characters did not directly copy from the
18
Mu Guiying, daughter of Mu Yu from the Beijing Opera piece Fortified Village Muke. A legend says
a Goddess imparted her skill of divine arrows and flying cutter. With excellent martial arts, smartness
and courage, she was the commander-in-chief in an expedition to the Xixia Kingdom, and won great
success. She is a typical female heroine character in traditional Chinese literature.
19
Business: According to their varied sex, disposition, age, occupation and social status, the characters
of Beijing Opera can be divided into four categories – Sheng (male), Dan (female), Jing (warrior), and
Chou (clown). It is the specialized terminology in the Beijing Opera, known as “HangDang” in
Chinese.
20
Daomadan: such characters are often female generals or marshals, as military officials. Their
costumes normally require hard armour, with helmets and full armour, and seven-star headgears which
are exclusively used by female generals and marshals, with two layers of big soft nap balls and seven
balls in each layer. Such characters require excellent martial arts, as well as soliloquy, singing, and
acting skills. For example, the Mu Guiying in Beijing Opera piece Mu Guiying Takes Command
(Artch.cn 2007).
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armour worn by the female heroic warrior, but integrated with the leotard of the
female martial characters (Wudan21 in Beijing Opera terms) in Beijing Opera, which
features upright collars, buttons down the middle front, sleeves tightened at the wrists,
and embroideries on satin material. The reasons are that the lower part of armour for
woman is too complicated with layers of streamers around the skirt, and that the waist
is too exaggerated. Although such designs depict the character’s courage and power
on the opera stage, in cartoon making, they hide the character’s figure and movements,
especially the movements of the legs. Therefore, in designing the costumes for the
female opera characters, I integrated the features of the armour for woman with those
of the leotard of Wudan, by maintaining the armour flags on the back and reducing the
size of cloud-shaped shoulders from the armour for woman, while adopting features
of sleeves tightened at wrists, corset, hanging waist belt, skirt, and pants tightened at
ankles from the costume of Wudan. Such design reflects the character’s courage and
power as its prototype in Beijing Opera, while clearly showing the body; moreover, its
simplicity and lightness greatly facilitate animation production.
21
Wudan: the civil women, spirits or elves, who are excellent at martial arts. Such characters normally
wear leotards, and pay more emphasis on their martial arts and soliloquy than singing and acting. Their
performance focuses on turnovers and fights (Artch.cn 2007).
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Figure72: Armor for Mu Guiying
Figure 73: Costume for Wudan
∙ Headgear
The headgear of the character is oriented from the helmet of the armour for woman,
ornamented with a seven-star headgear. Exclusively used by female generals,
seven-star headgear has two layers of big soft nap balls, seven balls in each layer, with
seven ellipse gems studded in the forehead. As shown in Figure 70, however, the
overall ornament on the headgear is very complicated with lots of beads and silk
flowers apart from the seven-star headgear. Therefore, in character modelling and
animation making, it is not feasible to indiscriminately imitate the original headgear,
and requires simplification according to the character design. In the short film, the
typical seven gems in the forehead is maintained, while some of the beads and silk
flowers are omitted, and the soft nap balls are reduced to one layer. Such amendments
make the later skull binding of the characters and the animation productions a lot
more convenient.
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∙ Shoes
The shoes of the female opera characters are the thin-soled coloured shoes with
embroidery and tassels in the front, which are in common use by the female Beijing
Opera characters. Without any change, the shoes in the short film completely maintain
all features of the prototypes.
∙ Decoration Patterns
The patterns on the armour for woman are normally the phoenix and peony. Phoenix
often appears on royal family members, for officials or elderly females, to show their
supreme elegance. However, the female opera character in the short film is relatively
young. Therefore, a pattern of magpie and peony is chosen to suit the character’s
youth and intelligence. In the traditional Chinese patterns, though less noble than the
phoenix, the magpie is a kind of good luck bird which represents happiness and good
luck, and is therefore often used by young girls. Besides the magpie and peony, the
costume is ornamented with some other traditional patterns, such as butterflies,
flowers, and cloud lines, to make the whole design rich and colourful.
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Figure 74: Female actor costume design
6.5.4.2 Texture of the Male Beijing Opera Characters
When children and a youth audience watch animations or films, the sharper the
contrast in the major characters’ images and dispositions, the deeper the impression
left in the audience, and thus more interesting and attractive to them (Sullivan,
Schumer & Alexander 2008). Therefore, in the short film of Lulu’s Opera House, in
order to create a sharp contrast to the beautiful and positive female opera character
and to address the young audience’s tendencies, the male opera character shows up as
a negative one, with the design of his image, costume and ornaments following this
principle.
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When designing the character, in order to realize the effects of negative images as
well as a comedic effect, the image of the male opera character is short but large, with
exaggerated jaw and huge incisors added to his wide face, which makes him look
ferocious and bold at first glance, but later appears ridiculously funny.
The business of the male opera character in the short film is Wusheng22, whose
costume features hard armour, thick-soled boots; with a forceful and solid figure.
After researching the Beijing Opera costumes, I integrated the features of the
ceremonial robe and those of armour, and designed the costume for the male Beijing
Opera character after extraction and beautification. The details are as following:
∙ Robe
First, the lower part of the robe is deliberately shortened to create a funny cartoon
effect. Second, according to the rules on the patterns of ceremonial robes, the dragon
image on the robe is a soaring loose dragon with four claws. The reasons are (1) the
four claws symbolize that the character is an official, a military official, rather than an
emperor; and (2) a loose and soaring dragon represents the character’s
straightforwardness. Moreover, The colours of ceremonial robes with patterns of the
loose dragon are usually black, blue, purple, green, or apricot, and the straight forward
characters usually use black or blue; therefore, in order to be in concord with the
colours of the female opera character and the opera house background, the bright
colour of blue is chosen for the male character costumes in this short film.
22
Wusheng: is a martial character for roles involving combat. They are highly trained in acrobatics,
and have a natural voice when singing.
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Figure 75: Flying dragon pattern for male actor costume
Besides the typical dragon pattern, other traditional ornamental patterns are also
added to the robe, such as seawater, cloud lines, and scale-shaped armour.
∙ Armour Flags
Considering the prototype of hard armour for men in Beijing Opera and the needs of
animation making, some extraction and amendments are carried out in designing the
armour for the male character. First, the cloud-shaped collar and tight wrists are
maintained, but the butterfly-style cape is omitted. The reason for this omission is that
the male character has many scenes in which he fights with lots of large extended arm
and shoulder movements. With frequent movements, the complicated cape requires
immense calculation to recreate the cloth, which makes it difficult in the future
rendering. Moreover, when designing the armour flags, in order to set off the
character’s negative image and enhance the comedy effect, the size of the armour
flags is enormously reduced, which immediately creates a ridiculously funny
impression when contrasted to the large figure of the character.
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Figure 76: Male Actor costume design
∙ Headgear
The male character wears a popular warrior’s helmet. Ornamented with soft nap balls
and beads; however, the number of soft nap balls and beads are reduced.
∙ Boots
The boots of the character basically imitate the traditional thick-soled boots, with high
boots made of black satin, and the sole being 6.6 – 13.2 cm thick, and painted white.
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6.5.4.3 Band Characters Design and Costumes Texture
Beijing Opera cannot be separated from its musical band, which is a key part of the
art. Its unique combination, positions, and ways of communication, bear vivid
Chinese national characteristics, which vary greatly from the western musical bands
and obbligato. In general, one standard Beijing Opera band consists of an Erhu (a
two-stringed fiddle), a Jinghu (similar to an erhu, but larger), a Yueqin (a four-stringed
guitar-like instrument), a Chinese style drum, a Sanxian (a three-stringed guitar-like
instrument). Other Chinese musical instruments are added as required for effect.
However, considering the story and cartoon effects in the short film, the band
characters have been concentrated into two; Lin, the Erhu player, and Dong, the
drummer. The disposition of the two characters is that Lin, the Erhu player, is
introverted, quiet and serious, while Dong, the drummer, is extroverted, ridiculous
and weird. In order to emphasize the difference between the characters and add
contrast and fun, Lin was made thin and tall, with a long face and high cheekbones,
while Dong is little and short, with a round belly and a round face.
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Figure 77: Lin & Dong character design
In the short film, Lin and Dong wear long gowns with gilets. Fitted with cloth-soled
shoes and skullcaps, the long gown with gilet was one of the most popular garments
for men in the Qing Dynasty. Such garments continued to be worn until the 1950s,
when they gradually fell into disuse. However, the Quyi performers in China
maintained this garment and it became the formal costume for Quyi performance,
including comic cross-talk, talk show, and story-telling.
The features of long gowns are thin sleeves with broad white wrists rolled up. They
are wide and loose, extending below the knees, and split on both sides. Moreover, the
gilet features a sleeveless tight jacket with upright collar, bordered with cloth of a
different color. This is normally worn outside a gown. The reasons that the long gown
with gilet is chosen as the primary costume for the band characters are as follows:
first, such a garment is traditionally Chinese; and second, such a garment creates a
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humorous feeling, which is exactly why it has been developed into a formal costume
for Quyi performance. Therefore, being a traditional garment with a rich humorous
context, the long gown with gilet is an ideal costume for the band characters in the
short film.
Figure 78: Lin & Dong costume design
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Chapter 7
Conclusion
7.1 Contributions of the study
The premise of this research project was that CGI animation could be a viable means
to both educate children about Beijing Opera and revive their interest in it. The
relevance of this project remains that as one of the three main theatrical systems in the
world and widely regarded as the highest expression of Chinese culture, Beijing
Opera has experienced diminished prosperity in the past two centuries. It is vitally
important to rescue this traditional art from extinction by developing the interests of
young Chinese children in its knowledge and keep this cultural heritage alive. As far
as I could determine, there has been no published work analyzing the effectiveness of
computer animation as a means to further the development of Beijing Opera. The
project comprised three parts: literature reviews on children’s and educational
television, histories of Beijing Opera, and the Chinese animation industry; the
production of an animated short film Lulu’s Opera House; and targeted audience
surveys following a viewing of the film. Chapter One outlined the research project.
Chapter Two reviewed Beijing Opera’s history, features and social influence, with a
detailed literature review to reiterate the necessity of keeping the traditional art alive.
It argued that the key measure to rescue Beijing Opera is developing children’s
interest in, and cultivating their all-rounded and positive knowledge and appreciation
of Beijing Opera. To achieve this, innovations in Beijing Opera’s artistic style and
presentation form need to be adopted based on children’s natures and aesthetic
requirements.
In Chapter 3 it was shown that TV influences many aspects of a child’s life. Through
citing and analysing several children’s television programmes, it was shown that TV
has positive effects on their learning, and can be used as an effective educational tool
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to spread knowledge and information. Literature reviews on children and education
affirmed the need for entertainment with children’s educational programs. Effective
children’s TV programmes should integrate education and entertainment, and possess
some important features such as clarity, explicitness, humour, age-appropriate topics,
and engaging or action-filled visuals. Several successful examples of educational
animation programmes were discussed to highlight the potential of an animated series
that introduces knowledge to children humorously, and helps children accept
information with a much deeper insight.
Chapter Four gave an account of the history, artistic style, current status and prospects
of Chinese animation, and revealed that Chinese animation has a splendid past with its
unique artistic style such as ink and wash painting animation, paper-cut animation and
puppet animation. The distinct characteristic of Chinese animation is its transfer of
various traditional folk arts like drawing, sculpture, folk dramas, folk music,
scissor-cut, shadowgraph and New Year paintings into animated form. Nonetheless, a
review of the 80 year history of Chinese animation suggested that Beijing Opera as a
topic is seldom used owing to a generational lack in appreciation of and knowledge
about Beijing Opera along with production difficulties arising from the complexity of
character design, archaic language and the slow pacing of some opera arias. A few 2D
animated films adopted Beijing Opera elements in their creation but no 3D Chinese
animated film takes Beijing Opera as its entire subject-matter. Further, this section
evidenced that China’s animation industry experienced accelerated growth from 2004
to 2008. Associated with this growth were government requirements for domestic
animation productions in quality and quantity, and the appeal for more original works
based on Chinese culture, all of which creates a favourable environment for this
research project. Thus this chapter showed that a positive research project for Chinese
animators could be created around transferring Beijing Opera into animated form.
Chapter Five, Audience Research, was an account of how two research surveys were
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designed, implemented and conducted and also detailed the international interest in
Lulu’s Opera House. The first audience survey was conducted in March 2008
following the screening of Lulu’s Opera House by Shandong Television Station
(SDTV) in Jinan China, in its “Child Idol” program on the Children’s Channel. The
second and much larger survey was conducted with school age children in May 2009.
The data collected from the second survey confirmed that children interested in
Peking Opera increased from 21% to 59% after viewing Lulu’s Opera House, and
children less interested in Peking Opera dropped from 64% to 11%. Positive feedback
from audiences both in China and internationally strengthened the credibility of this
research project.
Further implications for the design and implementation of 3D educational animation
series for broadcast TV were revealed via the associated studio practice – the short
animated film Lulu’s Opera House. This practice played an important role in
transferring this research into animation. The nine-minute short film, based on
extensive research, modelled how computer animation could impact on the
development of Beijing Opera.
The above achievements and research findings provide evidence for the fact that using
computer animation to present Beijing Opera can be effective. One important
outcome of this studio practice was to confirm that as the most popular medium form
of modern times, computer animation can rescue the interests of Beijing Opera among
modern people, especially Chinese children. It has potential to affect the development
of and innovations to Beijing Opera with a creative story, vivid characters and
splendid colours. Ten recommendations for consideration in the design and
implementation of a 3D Beijing Opera animation series emerged from this study.
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Recommendation One: Select Beijing Opera stories and arias suited to children’s
aesthetic tendencies.
The repertoire of Beijing Opera in the apex period included over 1,400 works, based
on Chinese history, true stories, sketches, legends and novels. The topics
comprehensively involved history, politics, love and religion. Among all of these arias,
only parts of them are suitable to be presented by computer animation and fit young
people’s appetite. To achieve the targets of the research project, it is necessary
therefore to choose the proper Beijing Opera stories in the design of animated series
to interest children. Through the research, it was discovered that generally children
don’t sit still for a long time and tend to pay more attention to visual expression,
which determined that the arias with fast melodies, fancy costumes and stage
properties will attract kids more than the others. Moreover, in the choice of stories,
plots related to legends, heroes, friendship and adventures seem more acceptable and
easy to understand than topics of history, politics and love. Most notably, children
love to see action; acrobatics, dances and martial arts. Thus another recommendation
is that children’s understanding of Beijing Opera should begin with the martial arts
performance rather than slow paced singing arias, as outlined in Chapter 6.
Recommendation Two: Counter the inherent violence in many Beijing Opera
stories by stressing the symbolic nature of fight scenes.
Though initially the surveys confirmed that to cultivate a young audience’s interests,
Beijing Opera animation should feature generously martial arts performances,
concerns about the negative effects of fight scenes as an another example of television
violence, need to be defused. Levine (1995) states that the motto of the Beijing Opera
is something along the lines of: “It is the ideal, not the real”. Indeed, what needs to be
stressed in the fight scenes in Beijing Opera performance is that they are symbolic of
martial arts, incorporating the use of dancing, acrobatics and mime to make every
movement look elegant and elaborate without heeding the details of real life. It is
recommended as important for animators to understand this essence and precisely
represent these movements in animation productions. Such efforts will help young
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audiences to form positive appreciations of the artistic knowledge embedded in
Beijing Opera and deflect negative effects of violence on children. Lulu’s Opera
House attempts this distinction between real life and artistic creation by the
exaggerated and at times robotic movements of the performers contrasted with Lulu’s
excited manner.
Recommendation Three: Create specific, not generic, rigging for Beijing Opera
characters
To satisfy children’s viewing habits and achieve good visual effects, most Beijing
Opera arias to be adapted to CGI production will be martial arts performances initially,
but the garments worn by martial arts performers are unique in shape, presenting
specific meanings in Beijing Opera costume system. Thus it is necessary and
advantageous to set up specific rigging methods for Beijing Opera characters. For
example, the armour worn by the warriors is known as Kao in Chinese. On a Beijing
Opera stage, the most remarkable feature of Kao is the leather sheath fastened in the
actor’s back in which is inserted four triangle satin flags, so if there are four bones in
the spine system, the root bones of Kao should be linked to the third bone from hip,
which is at the lowest point of rib cage. In addition, owing to the variety of hand
motions in Beijing Opera, especially female characters, it is recommended that the
number of twist links of the front arm should be three instead of the default number
two. With this set up, the hand motions will be more smooth and expressive.
Recommendation Four: Adapt traditional animation principles to CGI
animation
Applying traditional animation principles to create the spectacle of Beijing Opera
animation is apt. This practical project attempts to recreate the spectacle of Beijing
Opera live performance in a digital world and make it attractive to the young audience.
There are two things that need to be considered in the process of animation
productions. One is that the character actions need to adhere to the original live
performance as much as possible, and keep the marrow of traditional Beijing Opera.
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Another one is to polish the movements by CG animation methods to make the
Beijing Opera characters more vivid and expressive. Through the practice, it was
found that applying traditional animation principles devised by Disney studio can be
beneficial to the animation productions. And among all the twelve traditional
animation principles, some of them are utilised more than others in terms of the
features of Beijing Opera performance, notably squash and stretch, anticipation,
exaggeration, follow-through and overlapping, and arcs. For instance, in the Beijing
Opera performance adopted in the short film, actors have different characteristics in
their movements according to gender and personality, such as that the walking cycle
of the female actors is quick with small steps, while male actors’ steps are slow and
wide. The animation principle of exaggeration can facilitate these needs. Furthermore,
follow-through and overlapping can be employed in Beijing Opera animations, since
there are plenty of movements for character weapons, streamers, headgears, flags and
flagpoles. Generally, when a character moves, these appendix objects, will hold their
position for couple of frames, or even move in the opposite direction for exaggeration
effects. After the really subtle hold, they will “follow” the character with increasing
speed, and when the character stops, these objects will decrease their speed with
overlapping before stopping. All these small details created by the follow-through and
overlapping principle can make the characters much more vivid and impressive,
especially at stage posing.
Recommendation Five: Simplify costume and texture patterns:
Simplifying the costume and texture patterns will reduce the work load of the
animation series. Beijing Opera costumes are complex in structures, patterns and
colours, which multiply enormously the difficulty of creating textures in 3D
animation productions and the cost of production. Depending on budget, it is
advocated that to simplify the patterns by accentuating the symbolic nature of opera
costumes, will thereby reduce the work load in anticipation of the need for efficiency
in later developments of the animation series. Ultimately, the amount of detail and
refinement of costumes and textures will depend on budget and the merchandising
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plan.
Recommendation six: accentuate colour and expression in the series
The survey of school children indicates that they respond positively to the more
colourful and expressive qualities in the short film and therefore these should be
continued in any further series work.
Recommendation Seven: Create strong plots
According to the survey findings, the narrative part of this animation needs to be
strengthened because the plot seems less attractive to the older students around 10 to
12 year olds. For this purpose, the animation team should be assisted by professional
story writers to improve the overall level of the script.
Recommendation Eight: Rethink Lulu’s character
Lulu’s look and behaviour need changes, for the survey shows that Lulu is less liked
by child audiences than Beijing Opera performers. We will solve this problem based
on the further audience test which will be focused on the character of Lulu. The
direction is that Lulu will be more involved in Beijing Opera performance and
actively seek answers to questions, not merely present herself as an audience.
Recommendation Nine: Activate the worm character
In the SDTV survey, many children favoured the round shape black worm character,
but pointed out that they expect more from it. The current role of the worm is too
simple. We will put human characteristics into the worm, such as speaking and doing
more work. The worm will become the little mascot in the theatre who knows a lot
about Beijing Opera and will answer Lulu’s questions in every episode. To meet
audience’s need, we could create more worms with different facial paintings
according to the five roles of Beijing Opera. Every time Lulu has a question, she can
only get the answer if she finds the right worm with corresponding facial paintings. In
this way the educational purpose of Lulu’s Opera House will be emphasized and
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children will enter into play to absorb more knowledge about Beijing Opera.
Recommendation Ten: Structure the learning about Beijing Opera in stages
The needs of young Beijing Opera students will be given more consideration in the
projected series. In future episodes of Lulu’s Opera House, the content will be
structured so that knowledge is gained incrementally over the series, from the easy to
the difficult, thereby creating more connections as the story develops. More
complicated elements will be added, such as Beijing Opera’s history, the role of
singing, and the five roles of Beijing Opera. Overall the emphasis will move from
sequence and the visual effects of Beijing Opera at first to the essential beauty of this
art form.
The research findings listed above will add to the further development of a 3D
educational animation series about Beijing Opera. The future works and prospects of
the Beijing Opera animation project will now be discussed.
7.2 Prospects and development potential of the Project
Lulu’s Opera House can be developed from sole animation products to a
comprehensive product system which involves TV educational animation series,
books, video audio products, toys, garments, online games and virtual costume online
trading (online game term) to establish a complete Beijing Opera cartoon brand.
Regarding such future plans, there is still considerable work to be done related to
popularizing Beijing Opera with children through entertainment means, but the
eventual goal is to establish Lulu’s Opera House as a successful Beijing Opera
animation brand, designed to generate market return as well as social influence. To
achieve this, future works could learn from the mature experience of American and
Japanese animation industries and develop a merchandising profile for Lulu’s Opera
House instead of it being solely an art work. This could embrace: related books and
video audio products; comics, puzzles, handcraft and wisdom-developing books for
younger kids; various Beijing Opera roles and painted face could be used for jigsaw
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puzzle books or colouring books; the exquisite costumes could be refashioned as
tapestry designs, toys, and designer garments; stationery logos; children’s food brands,
beverages and decorative school bags; MMO game (massive multiplayer online) and
RPG (role play game) products. The timing of the production of these products would
need to marry with screening schedules and public interest. Once the brand has been
created, more animation series and game events can be released to increase market
share and to sustain the production of this project.
7.3 Closing remarks
The findings of this study have identified the current dilemma of Beijing Opera, the
positive effects of computer animation on children’s learning and the favourable
environment of animation industry in China. The recommendation proposed by
Professor Yuejin Guo (2008) confirms the timeliness and relevance of this study. It is
clear that improvements need to be made to the current Beijing Opera performance
for rescuing interests among a younger audience. To address this need, this is the first
time that a Beijing Opera animated film has been created. It is also novel in that it
involves CGI animation as an effective educational tool rather than simply an
entertainment medium. As a composite art form combining music, vocal performance,
mime, dance and acrobatics, traditional Beijing Opera includes abundant splendid
materials which can be developed as CGI animation. Through creatively utilizing
these materials informed by modern art sensibilities, Beijing Opera series animation
will endeavour to demonstrate that traditional culture is vital and interesting. To sum
up, developing Beijing Opera animation for children has profound meaning. It is a
long term initiative which requires the cooperative input of government, Beijing
Opera masters, animators and children’s educationalists.
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APPENDICES
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Appendix A
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Appendix A: Features of Beijing Opera
Role types
The character roles in Beijing Opera are divided into four main types according to sex, age,
social status, and profession of the character, which are: Sheng (standard male characters),
Dan (female characters), Jing (painted-face male characters), and Chou (clowns, who are
usually male). The characters can be loyal or treacherous, good or bad, beautiful or ugly -their personalities are vividly manifested on their painted faces. The information in this role
types section is sourced from Wichmann-Walczak (1991, pp.7-12).
Sheng
Sheng characters are intrinsically dignified male characters. Generally, they are of high social
status or deserving of such. There are three major subcategories of sheng roles: older sheng
(Laosheng) which mean a middle-aged or old man who wears a beard, martial sheng
(Wusheng) which mean a man of military tenor, especially skilled in acrobatics, and young
sheng (Xiaosheng) which means a young man.
● Lao Sheng (Older Sheng)
Older Sheng roles are those of scholars, statesmen, and faithful retainers; although the
vagaries of fortune as dictated by the plot may place them in positions of low social status, the
intrinsic dignity of older Sheng implies that they are deserving of respect. Their makeup is
fairly simple, consisting of black-rimmed eyes and sharply rising black eyebrows on a
flesh-colored face tinged slightly peach around the eyes and in the center of the forehead. All
older Sheng wear beards (rankou), which are usually waist-length and may be black, gray, or
white depending upon the age of the specific character being portrayed. Every beard is
divided into three separate parts - two sideburns and a central chin portion. Black cloth boots
with thick white wooden soles (guan xue, also called houdi xue, lit. “Thick bottom boots”)
enhance the dignity of the older Sheng’s gait, lending weight and solidity to each step.
Costumes for older Sheng frequently include water sleeves (shuixiu), these are extensions of
the sleeves proper, made of white silk from twelve to eighteen inches long. They may be held
folded at the wrist, or dropped and moved by the arm in a variety of gestural patterns. Older
Sheng roles feature primarily song, speech, and dance-acting skills. There is an important
further subdivision of the role, martial older Sheng (wulao sheng), in which combat skills are
features as well. These characters wear stage armor (Kao), which may include four flags
attached to the back at the shoulder.
·● Wu Sheng (Martial Sheng)
Martial Sheng roles are those of warriors and bandits. Their makeup is identical with that of
older Sheng, but they usually do not wear beards. In some cases, however, martial Sheng
characters who are over thirty years old and /or married are bearded.
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There are two major subcategories of martial Sheng: Changkao (lit. “long armor”) and
Duanda (lit. “short combat”). The former are high-ranking warriors and are dressed in stage
armor, like the martial older Sheng. Duanda martial Sheng are low-ranking warriors, bandits,
criminals, or supernatural characters. They wear close-fitting costumes that facilitate
movement, flat soft-soled boots (bodi xue, lit. “thin bottom boots”), and rarely use water
sleeves. The major skills of all martial Sheng are combat and dance-acting, though some song
and speech are used, most extensively by the changkao martial Sheng, who tend to be more
dignified.
● Xiao Sheng (Young Sheng)
Young Sheng characters are under thirty and/or unmarried. Their makeup follows the overall
design of the older Sheng’s, however, the basic color is much paler, and the tinge around the
eyes pinker. Young Sheng are always unbearded but usually wear the thick-soled boots. Their
major skills are song, speech, and dance-acting. Lovers and young scholars are played by civil
young Sheng (Wen Xiao Sheng) actors, they frequently use water sleeves and folding fans.
Princes and young warriors are played by martial young Sheng (Wu Xiao Sheng) actors, they
often wear two long pheasant feathers (zhiwei, also called lingzi) attached to their headdresses
that figure prominently in their gestures, and utilize combat skill as well.
Dan
The second principal role type in Beijing Opera is Dan, female characters. There are four
subdivisions: older dan (Laodan) which is an old woman; “blue cloth” dan (Qing Yi) which is
usually a rich and educated woman; “flower” dan (Huadan) who are vivacious young women
and martial dan (Wudan) which is the female acrobat.
● Laodan (Older Dan)
Older dan are almost always dignified characters, respected because of their great age. They
wear essentially no makeup and have unadorned hair in a simple bun on the top of the head.
Older dan usually walk with a long staff in a quite realistic portrayal of extreme old age, with
a bent back and a slow and painful gait. Older Dan roles use costumes with water sleeves.
Their major skills are song and speech, supported by dance-acting.
The remaining subcategories of Dan are all young women. Although hair styles and
headdresses differ among the subcategories and for specific roles within them, the makeup is
the same throughout. It is similar to that of the young Sheng, but the tinge around the eyes and
on the cheeks is a deep rose that does not appear on the center of the forehead, and the mouth
is red or deep rose and quite small.
● Qing Yi (Blue cloth Dan)
Blue cloth Dan is demure young and middle-aged women, usually of high social status and/or
high intrinsic dignity. The name for the role type may come from the fact that a blue cloth is
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used to wrap the head of blue cloth Dan who are poverty-stricken or traveling. Blue cloth Dan
usually wear costumes with long skirts and water sleeves. Their main skill is song, supported
by speech and dance-acting. Very young blue cloth Dan are sometimes called “boudoir” Dan
(Guimen Dan). They are usually of high social status, but have a somewhat livelier movement
style than other blue cloth Dan because of their extreme youth.
● Hua Dan (Flower Dan)
Flower Dan are vivacious young women, usually of fairly low social status. They may be
dressed in either long skirts or trousers but rarely use water sleeves since the role type
features much hand gesture. Whereas the eyes of blue cloth Dan are usually downcast, those
of flower Dan are used extensively and flirtatiously. And while blue cloth Dan are usually
serious, flower Dan roles generally are quite humorous. The main skill of flower Dan
performers is dance-acting, supported by speech and sometimes song.
● Wu Dan (Martial Dan)
Martial Dan characters may be of high or low social status; they are generally more dignified
than flower Dan but less so than blue cloth Dan. They may be dressed in the female version
of stage armor, often with pheasant feathers in their headdresses, or in a feminine version of
the close-fitting garments of the Duanda martial Sheng; the latter are sometimes called
“ sword and horse” Dan (Daoma Dan). The main skill of martial Dan is combat, supported by
dance-acting, speech, and in some instances, song.
Jing (Painted-face male)
The third principal role type in Beijing Opera, Jing, is also known as “painted face” (Hualian,
lit. “flower face”). Painted-face characters are men of great strength - men with suprahuman
physical or mental powers, or supernatural beings. One of the most striking features of the
role type is its makeup. The entire face is completely painted in bright colors and striking
designs from high on the forehead, which is shaved, to the jawline. The designs of
painted-face makeup (Lianpu) range from faces that are a single, solid, brilliant primary color,
broken only by white eye areas between black eyebrows and black-rimmed eyes, to complex,
multicolored abstract designs and carefully rendered, realistic paintings of real and mythical
animals that are totally unrelated to the natural features of the face. The colors and designs
used have specific connotations, telegraphing every character’s nature to the audience and
identifying many characters specifically. Most painted face characters wear beards that are as
long or longer than those of Sheng characters and are broad and solid rather than in three
separate parts. All painted-face characters wear padded shoulder jackets under their costumes
and very high thick-soled boots to increase their physical size.
There are three main categories of painted-face roles: great-painted-face (Dahualian),
supporting Jing (Fujing), and martial Jing (Wujing). Great-painted-face roles, also called
“great face” (Damian), “black head” (Heitou), and “copper hammer” (Tongchui), are usually
major roles, and feature singing skill. Supporting Jing roles, also called
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“posture-painted-face” (Jiazihualian) and “second-painted-face” (Erhualian), are usually
secondary roles, and feature speech and dance-acting skill. Characters in both of these civil
role categories frequently use water sleeves. Martial Jing roles feature dance-acting and
combat skills, and in some cases acrobatics; such characters often wear stage armor (Kao).
Chou (Clown)
The fourth principal role type in Beijing opera, Chou, is often referred to in English
translation as “clown” or “jester”. Although they frequently portray humorous characters, the
actors of this role type may also play villains, young lovers, and other characters who are not
necessarily humorous. The major distinguishing features of the role are that actors in
performance may improvise, adlib, and talk directly to the audience as actors, activities in
which performers of other role types generally do not engage. Chou characters therefore serve
as a direct link to the audience, clarifying and commenting upon the actions of other
characters. Perhaps for this reason, chou characters are rarely leading characters but are
important supporting characters.
There are three major subcategories of Chou: civil Chou (Wenchou), martial Chou (Wuchou),
and Choudan. Civil and martial Chou are male characters of less intrinsic dignity than Sheng,
though they may be of any social status, high or low. They are often called
“small-painted-face” (Xiaohualian) because of their makeup - a patch of white in the center of
the face, enclosing the eyes and nose. Black eyebrows, soft red blush on the cheeks, and
black-outlined reddish-brown mouths are frequently featured in their makeup as well. Chou
may wear beards, which however, are short and patchy in comparison with those of Sheng
and Jing. Civil Chou often use water sleeves and feature speech and dance-acting skills in
their performance. Martial Chou dress in the manner of Duanda martial Sheng and feature
combat skills supported by dance-acting and speech.
Choudan (also called Chou “old ladies,” Choupozi) are usually somewhat older, ugly female
characters - matchmakers, nagging wives, and other older women who usually have certain
undesirable qualities and are of rather low social status. Though younger Choudan characters
(sometimes called “colores” Dan, Caidan) were once the province of Dan performers, all
Choudan characters are now usually considered to be Chou roles. The makeup, hair and
costume for Choudan are designed for each specific character, often in parody of the young
Dan aesthetics - tiny eyes, large red mouths and red circles on the cheeks, faint downward
curving eyebrows, and large black moles are common makeup features, accompanied by
skirts that are too long or too short, water sleeves that are too narrow or improperly
manipulated, or other comically reinterpreted young Dan costume features. Choudan roles,
like civil Chou roles, feature speech and dance-acting skills in performance.
Every Beijing Opera troupe aims for a playable balance of role types. This balance is often
described through analogy to a table whose top is supported by four beams that in turn are
supported by four legs. The top represents the full repertoire of Beijing opera plays; to
perform them, four “beams,” i.e., four principal performers, are required to portray leading
roles. These principal performers are an older Sheng, a martial Sheng, a young Dan, and
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either a young Sheng or a Jing. These four “beams” are then supported by four “legs,” the
absolutely essential performers of supporting roles: a secondary older Sheng, an older Dan, a
Chou, and a young Sheng or a Jing (whichever has not already been employed as a “beam”).
Every troupe also requires a number of tertiary performers to serve as additional supporting
characters, foot soldiers, attendants, and servants of both sexes.
Facial Makeup
All Beijing Opera actors paint their faces with heavy makeup. Sheng (male) and Dan (female)
characters paint their faces to emphasize regular human features, in this way, the audience can
see the eyes, mouth and shape of the actor’s face from far away. But the Jing (painted face
actors) and the Chou (clown actors) have more elaborate makeup which is meant to express the
inner characteristics of the role they play. Chou, for example are easily recognizable by the little
patch of white in the center of their face. This white patch makes their eyes look squished and
their faces comic. The Jing, on the other hand, are recognizable by their elaborate and colorful
face paintings, which covers their entire face.
In Beijing Opera, over one thousand painted facial patterns are used, and each pattern is
designed for a specific historical figure and can never be used for another. These painted faces
shows the character’s age, profession and personality by using different colors and each color
symbolizes a certain characteristic. In the beginning of facial makeup development, only three
sharply contrasting colors - red, white and black were generally used in it (Huang 2003). The
earliest painted faces were simple and crude, but as plays increase in number, opera artists used
more colors and lines to paint the faces of character, the designs became more elaborate and
ornamental. According to Weng Ouhong, a researcher of the classic Chinese theater. They
drew inspiration from classical novels, which portray characters as having “ a face as red as a
red jujube,” “a face the color of dark gold,” “a ginger-yellow face,” “a green face with yellow
beard,” “a leopard-shaped head with round eyes,” “a lion’s nose” or “broom-shaped
eyebrows” (Xu 2003, p. 5). Further, to show kinship, father and son can have faces of the
same color with similar patterns. To show identity, a face with a dignified pattern belongs to a
loyal official or a loving son, a blue-and-green face to an outlaw hero, a face with
kidney-shaped eyes and wooden-club-shaped eyebrows to a monk, a face with sharp eye
corners and a small mouth to a court eunuch, and a face with a white patch to a minor
character (Xu 2003, pp.6-7).
Now Beijing Opera facial make-up utilizes the colors of red, purple, black, white, blue, green,
yellow, dark red, gray, golden and silver, with each color representing a unique stereotype
character. The symbolization of different colors in the Beijing Opera Masks were identified by
Noll (2008): In general, red symbolizes utter devotion and loyalty; purple embodies fortitude
and resourcefulness; the black face manifests rough and forthright character or an impartial
and selfless personality; white implies sinisterness, treacherousness, suspiciousness and
craftiness. Commonly seen on the stage is the white face for the powerful villain; blue
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represents valor and vigor; green signifies impulsive and violent characters; yellow
exemplifies cruelty and ambition. Dark red is reserved for loyal old generals while golden and
silver are used for Buddha, gods, ghosts and demons.
Xu (2003, p.9) states that knowledge of facial makeup can help audiences understand the plot
of Peking Opera. So in the following, several typical painted faces of different colors will be
presented to further demonstrate the natures of Beijing Opera facial makeup; the information
of this section is sourced from Noll (2008).
Figure 1: Beijing Opera Mask, Chen Qi
Chen Qi with a red flowered three-tile face in Green Dragon
Pass. Chen Qi was a grain officer supposedly versed in black
magic. He was a subordinate of Qiu Yin, the Shang general who
defended Green Dragon Pass.
Figure 2: Beijing Opera Mask, Zhong Lichun
Zhongli Chun with a female blue broken flower face in the
Banquet on the Xiang River adapted from Tales of Heroes and
Martyrs, a historical novel. Zhongli Chun was the wife of King
Xuan of Qi of the Spring And Autumn period. In the opera she
accompanies her husband to a banquet given by the King of Wei
on the bank of the Xiang River. The banquet is a trap to kidnap
King Xuan, but the clever Zhongli Chun foils the plot and helps
her husband to escape.
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Figure 3: Beijing Opera Mask, Zheng Lun
Zheng Lun with a green painted three-tile face in Green
Dragon Pass, an opera based on an episode in the novel
Canonization of the Gods. This novel, written in the Ming
dynasty, tells of the struggles between the rulers of the Shang
and Zhou dynasties, but the plots and characters are mostly
fictitious. Gods, fairies, and other supernatural beings, fighting
each other with magic and magic weapons, dominate many of
the stories. Green Dragon Pass was a strategic spot hotly
contested by the Shang and Zhou armies. Zheng Lun was a
general under King Wen who was the father of King Wu. In
the opera he is sent to attack Green Dragon Pass defended by
Sang general Qiu Yin. Although not a god, Zheng Lun has the power of exhaling white
smoke to conceal himself. His adversary also possesses magic powers, so neither can defeat
the other. In the end Zheng Lun captures the pass with the help of the gods.
Figure 4: Beijing Opera Mask, Mao Ben
Mao Ben with a gray broken-flower face in Five-Thunder
Formation, adapted from Days of Swords and Dagger, a
historical novel. The opera takes place in the last years of the
Warring States period. Wang Jian, a general of Qin, hires a
sorcerer called Mao Ben to help him invade the state of Qi. This
sorcerer with his magic powers conjures a formidable battle
formation known as the Five-Thunder Formation.
Figure 5: Beijing Opera Mask, Xiang Yu
Xiang Yu with a black cross and steel fork face, the leading
character in Farewell My Concubine, adapted from an episode
in Popular Romance of the Western Han. During the wars
between the Chu and Han, Xiang Yu (232 - 203BC), Prince of
Chu, was defeated by Liu Bang and trapped at Gaixia. In the
opera the prince, hearing his enemies singing songs of Chu on
all sides of Gaixia realizes the game is up bids a sad farewell to
his concubine - Yu Ji. The latter, after performing a sword
dance to comfort him, commits suicide. The prince then fights
his way through the enemy and reaches the bank of the Wu
River, but feels he can go no further. Defeated and disgraced,
he is too ashamed to return home, so instead of crossing the river he kills himself.
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Figure 6: Beijing Opera Mask, Tu Xingsun
Tu Xingsun: Names of characters in Yuan Zaju often reveal
personality traits. Functioning not unlike painted faces in more
modern Chinese opera, names in Yuan drama alert the audience
to a character's moral fiber or class status background. The Yuan
drama Hanshan Ji offers a case in point. In this melodrama about
the dissolution and reunion of a family, the good-hearted but
wayward son is named Zhang "Filial to friends" (Xiaoyou); the
Zhang family savior is Zhao "Resurrector of the Grandson"
(Xingsun). The villain is denied any traces of humanity by his
name, Chen "the Tiger" (Hu).
Figure 7: Beijing Opera Mask, Xia Houdun
Xia Houdun: In the opera "Three Kingdoms." One of Cao Cao's
relatives from Qiao was a fearsome general. Xia Houdun had
been trained from his early boyhood to use the spear and the
club. When only fourteen he had been attached to a certain
master-in-arms. One day one person spoke disrespectfully of his
master, and Xia Houdun killed that person. For this deed,
however, he had to flee and had been an exile for some time.
When Cao Cao called for volunteers to fight Dong Zhuo, Xia
Houdun joined Cao Cao with his cousin, Xiahou Yuan. He was
relied heavily on by Cao Cao and called the one-eyed brave
warrior. During his service, he was one of Cao Cao's most trusted men and had saved his
master from danger many times.
Figure 8: Beijing Opera Mask, Xia Houying
Xia Houying is the Chou (Clown) character of the opera
"Pursue Han Xin." He was the great general of Liu Bang. It is
from the book "Informal Historical Novels of Period Xihan."
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Figure 9: Beijing Opera Mask, Li Ke
Li Ke with a black broken butterfly face in The Trick of the
Bees, adapted from an episode in New History of the Eastern
Zhou, a long novel revised by Feng Menglong of the Ming
dynasty and further revised and annotated by Cai Yuangfang
of the Qing. Li Ke was an official serving Duke Xian
(r.676-651 BC) of the state of Jin. Duke Xian had a pampered
concubine called Li Ji, an ambitious woman who wanted her
own son to inherit the Dukedom. One day she spread honey
on her hair so that a swarm of bees was attracted to it. She
asked Shensheng, the duke's rightful heir, to drive away the
bees, then accused the young man of taking liberties with her.
Unable to extricate himself, Shensheng committed suicide. When Duke Xian died, Li Ke with
help from the state of Qin killed Li Ji's sons Xiqi and Zhuozi and made Yiwu, brother of
Shensheng, the Duke of Jin.
Opera facial make-up originates from totems in ancient times, develops into facial paintings
of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and eventually takes the shape of facial costume of the Ming
and Qing Dynasties (Chang & Li 2006, p.52). It enables the audience to get a glimpse of the
inner world of actors and actresses through their symbolic facial make-up. In this sense, facial
make-up has obtained the reputation as "painting of heart and soul", and has become part of
the masterpieces in the thousands of years of Chinese culture and art.
Melody and instrument
Beijing Opera’s two main melodies: Xipi and Erhuang originated from Shanxi province but
developed in Anhui and Hubei province (Huang 1989). Huang (1989, pp.154-155) considered
that these two musical styles originally differed in subtle ways. In the Xipi style, the melodies
are very disjointed, possibly reflecting the style’s derivation from the high and loud melodies
of the Qinqiang opera of northwestern China. It is commonly used to tell joyous stories.
Erhuang, on the other hand, reflects the low, soft, and despondent folk tunes of south-central
Hubei province. As a result, it is used for lyrical stories. Hsu (1964, p.447) claimed that
Erhuang has been seen as more improvisational, and Xipi as more tranquil. The lack of
defined standards among performance troupes and the passage of time may have made the
two styles more similar to each other today.
The accompaniment for a Beijing opera performance usually consists of a small ensemble of
traditional melodic and percussion instruments. The lead melodic instrument is the jingju, a
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small high pitched two string spike fiddle. The second is the circular bodied plucked lute, the
yueqin. Percussion instruments include the daluo, xiaoluo, and naobo. The player of the gu and
ban, a small high pitch drum and clapper, is the conductor of the entire ensemble (Hsu 1964, p.
451).
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Appendix B
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Appendix B: Interview transcripts
The following transcripts are of interviews which have been quoted in the main text.
JING JIA INTERVIEW 13 FEBRUARY 2008. CONDUCTED AT SHANDONG
TELEVISION，CHILDREN’S CHANNEL. LEI ZHANG WAS PRESENT.
JING JIA: SHANDONG TELEVISION，CHILDREN’S CHANNEL PRODUCER
Consent to include interview obtained from Jing Jia via email 22 April 2008
Interview – Jing Jia
(J – Jing Jia; Z – Lei Zhang)
*Z: Would you please make an introduction on the development of the animation industry in
Shandong Province?
*J: OK. Currently the government has put forward several advantageous policies and invested
lots of funds in the animation industry. Although we started late, the trend of development is
good. During the past few years, Shandong has established two animation industry bases, one
is in Jinan High-tech Industrial Development Zone, and is invested by the government.
Another is our base. It is a subsidiary of the Shandong Television (SDTV) Children’s Channel,
and is co-invested by enterprises and the government. The cartoon companies staying here are
subsidized by the government by 30,000 yuan each. Meanwhile, for every minute the SDTV
Children’s Channel broadcasts domestically produced animation, the State pays a subsidy for
it, which is also an encouraging policy from the government.
*Z: How many companies are there in this animation base now?
*J: Now there are more than a dozen companies, but none is of large scale.
*Z: Do they produce full-length animation series or short films?
*J: This is a key question. You see, among these companies, very few are engaged in
animation creation and development, while most of them focus on animation training. The
reason that very few companies are developing animation is that the profit model and
resources are quite vague for these companies in Shandong; therefore, their operations are
still in the outskirts of animation production. For example, besides providing training, a
company in this base is in the business of mobile animations, that is, they set up a website so
that users may download mobile games. This is their profit model, but so far they have only
been in the preparation stage, with very little profit. Another company organizes animation
exhibitions, the annual Shandong animation exhibitions, called the Qilu Animations Expo.
They have organized nine such exhibitions so far.
A major problem faced by the animation companies in Shandong is that there are no original
animation images or plays created by them. Especially there is a serious lack of animation
directors. Moreover, almost all the students trained from these animation bases leave for
Shanghai, Beijing, or Suzhou, where the industry has had sound development. These are the
reasons that there is never a well-organized production team here.
*Z: Is SDTV producing its own cartoons?
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*J: SDTV is not making animations by itself. We mainly provide stories and originality,
because if we rely on ourselves in the commercial operation, and invest in the production of
cartoons, the risk is huge. Besides, children’s channels in provincial-level television stations
like us do not need to spend very much on purchasing animations. That’s another reason why
we are not developing animations by ourselves.
*Z: So what is the main source of the animations broadcast on the children’s channel?
*J: Mainly the domestic producers. They would give us their animations to play on TV for
free, and when the influence is created, they would develop some derivative products. For
example, the “Blue Cat”, which is an educational animation series. Through the above
methods, in 1999, they gave the animation series to Beijing TV to broadcast in exchange for
45 seconds of advertisement time for each episode, and have been popular in mainland China
since then. The Blue Cat is a successful animation brand in China.
*Z: I think that the western commercial operational model does not fit the domestic situation
very well. Besides, 3D cartoons are popular in the west, but not so marketable in China,
where the mainstream is still 2D cartoons, Flash cartoons and comics.
*J: Yes, and it’s primarily a problem of cost.
*Z: How long have you been a producer in this children’s channel?
*J: 10 years.
*Z: According to your experience, what is more important in choosing a cartoon to broadcast,
entertainment, education, or something else?
*J: I think good cartoons have one thing in common, that is, they carry out education by
entertainment, and integrate good ideas with the art. Some good examples from China are
“Uproar in Heaven” and “Where is Mama?” Others are the once most popular Japanese
cartoons, like “Ikkyū-san”, “The Flower Child Lunlun”, etc. These are pieces that have
successfully integrated education with art. However, some domestic cartoons from the last
few years have shown less emphasis on this integration of education with art. For example,
the “Blue Cat” is not very entertaining but focuses on education. However, when the Blue Cat
was on TV, there were nearly no other domestic made cartoons, and the Blue Cat was the only
educative cartoon. Besides, the parents did not want their children to always watch foreign
animations. For these reasons, the “Blue Cat” was greeted with instant popularity, but still it
is not very satisfactory in terms of education and art.
*Z: Yes, I feel this cartoon needs more attention to details, the quality of images is not
satisfied.
*J: Right. And in my opinion, our animations now have another problem in common and they
should have paid more attention to this – the audience group of their cartoon is not clearly
defined. For example, some animations are for children only; some others are for both parents
and children. An obvious feature of the Disney animations is that they make the whole family
happy as they are prepared for the whole family to watch together. However, the Teletubbies
produced by the BBC is for babies from 0 to 3 years old. Of course it is not an animation
actually, but a doll play – the key is it has a very clear positioning of its audiences. But the
domestic cartoons do not have such clear view. If an animation is for children, it should take
up children’s angle of view and should be very simple and pure; if it is for family, it is another
angle. That’s what I mean in saying that the domestic animations are not doing well. Vague
positioning of its audiences may affect the animation’s success. Take the cartoon series
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Pobaby as an example. It’s author, Shihuang, was elected in the Top 10 New Directors in the
Chinese animation industry, but during the development of Pobaby, he was embarrassed. The
cartoon was originally aimed at the children, and addressed the children’s market by
authorising the production of baby carriers, children’s underwear, stationery, etc. However,
after the authorisation was done, the manufacturer realised that love affairs was a frequent
topic in Pobaby, which best suits teenagers from 16 to 18 years old, or the metropolitan
young people. Another problem is that as contemporary Chinese families only have one child,
the parents may be unhappy if you call their children “Poor Baby”. Moreover, the parents may
be worried about potential negative effects of showing love stories to their children at an early
age.
In fact, Pobaby’s style is like the Japanese animations, involving some love affairs and
occasional violence. Due to the vague positioning in the early stage, the current situation is
embarrassing, as the parents are the direct consumers, but they are suspicious of the content of
the cartoon, and therefore would not buy the cartoon for their children. But many children do
love the character. This situation puzzles the author, who sometimes discusses with us if it is
necessary to revise the story.
However, I personally think that the character of Pobaby represents a great potential of
commercial value, because it is very international and simple. Educated young people would
love the character; therefore, if the author set the adults or young people as the target audience,
there would be a huge market, as young people have the buying power themselves. So, my
suggestion to Shihuang is that he doesn’t need to limit himself to the children’s market, as
animations are not only for children. Now he’s been doing as I suggested, by producing some
wedding key rings, but still not enough.
All these show that a clear positioning of its audience is critical to the success of a cartoon.
*Z: Among all the children’s programmes, does animation enjoy the highest audience rating?
*J: It is so. But the audience rating of the animations of our channel is not high as we don’t
have very good plays.
*Z: How much percentage does animation occupy among all the programmes?
*J: We put on 24 hours of programmes per day, among which 2 hours are for animation.
*Z: And, are there many children’s programmes whose themes are related to traditional
operas?
*J: Such themes are very rare.
*Z: Have you ever encountered with 3D Beijing Opera animations like we are doing?
*J: Some animations may include a few segments of opera masks, or some Beijing Opera
elements; however, I’ve never seen any animation which takes Beijing Opera as its entire
subject-matter. Actually it’s the first time for me to see such cartoon.
*Z: Do you think we will have great potential and market expectation by describing
traditional Beijing Opera with 3D animation?
*J: You will. But taking up ancient tradition as the theme, you need to select the right story. A
lot of Chinese animations are not doing well. It is not because of their pictures, nor their skills,
but of a lack of good stories.
*Z: Is there close cooperation between SDTV and external animation companies?
*J: Yes, we do have such cooperation. SDTV is in a different situation from the China Central
Television (CCTV), who owns their exclusive animations company, which sells their cartoons
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to the TV station, and even sells to Taiwan and Hong Kong. However, as to SDTV, our
expected operation model is more like a financing platform, that is, with the story and
originality, we would look for investment from the market, and support from the government,
then cooperate with external animation production companies to co-develop the cartoon, and
share the property rights. This is the operational model we are building, so if you have good
projects or stories, you can bring to us.
*Z: With a business plan?
*J: Right. We do need to have a business plan, including the cartoon images, story framework,
a prospect of the following commercial marketing, etc.
*Z: That is, to set up a project, your primary aim would be animation series?
*J: Not just that. We will also consider animation films at around 90 minute or so; however,
we do prefer animation series, which are more likely to come to a scale, and the development
of following products is easier.
*Z: Do you think that the short film we made can be shown on TV?
*J: Sure, and we should support that. Your short film is great, and it is a transmission of the
traditional Chinese culture. We’ll help you arrange that.
*Z: Thank you so much. I wish by showing the film on TV, we can test if the children will be
interested in Beijing Opera if shown in the form of 3D cartoon. I need their response to reach
a conclusion in my research.
*J: That’s right. We’ll help you arrange the show, and see how the audience responds.
Showing on TV, the audience would have a particular psychological expectation for the film.
Meanwhile, I suggest you contact a school or a kindergarten, and organize the children for
watching. They would have a different kind of psychological expectation, and it is also
helpful to collect their response.
Another piece of information might be helpful to your research. The National Peking Opera
Theatre of China (NPOTC) is collecting cartoons related to Beijing Opera. You can also
contact them. If it can be operated as a state project, there will be great influence. What the
State Beijing Opera House is doing, is something like a project in which they collect and set
up a 3D motion database of the traditional Beijing Opera. That is, they collect the motions of
all the Beijing Opera selections by motion capture facility, and store the data in the motion
database. They plan to set up digital archive for over 1,000 Beijing Opera selections within 3
years. I think your consultancy with them would also help your research.
*Z: Thank you, this information is very helpful. Well… Thank you very much for your time.
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INTERVIEW EXPRESSION OF CONSENT
Original copy of Jing Jia
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INTERVIEW WITH YUEJIN GUO 16 Feb 2008. CONDUCTED AT SHANDONG
COLLEGE OF ARTS, JINAN, CHINA
LEI ZHANG WAS PRESENT
YUEJIN GUO: VICE PRESIDENT OF SHANDONG COLLEGE OF ARTS,
PEKING OPERA MASTER.
Consent to use interview obtained from Yuejin Guo by email 28 April 2008
Interview – Yuejin Guo
(G – Yuejin Guo; Z – Lei Zhang)
*Z: President Guo, nice to see you. Could you give me a brief introduction to the current
development of Beijing Opera?
*G: The traditional Beijing Opera’s development is at its lowest, for a variety of reasons. The
most important reason, I think, is the impact from modern popular culture, that is, currently
we have too many rich ways of entertainment. Such phenomena are common to the classical
arts in China as well as in other countries in the world.
The Beijing Opera has been under reforms in terms of costumes, music, lighting, etc.
Wrapping up with modern technology does bring joy to the audience, and is thus very
important to the enhancement of the art of Beijing Opera. However, we can never forget that
the key to the prosperity and development of the art of Beijing Opera lies in the education of
the children. Just like what the government has been calling on: the vigorous development of
Beijing Opera relies on the education of the children, which means that we should bring up
the children audience as well as the child actors and actresses. For example, according to a
questionnaire conducted during the China Beijing Opera Art Festival in 2004, 66% of the
Beijing Opera audience has developed their interest in the opera from their juvenile times.
This datum clearly shows the importance of developing the children’s interest in Beijing
Opera.
*Z: As a Beijing Opera artist as well as an expert in Beijing Opera education, how do you
suggest the children’s Beijing Opera education should be carried out, according to your
experience?
*G: Besides the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, which is a university specialized
opera education, our Shandong College of Arts is the only arts college with opera majors in
China. In my opinion, the education on Beijing Opera does not simply mean to ask the
children to watch the opera, or to learn the performance, but to carry out education on
traditional arts as early as possible, so that they may have all-rounded and positive knowledge,
and the basics of the art of Beijing Opera, which eventually develops their appreciation and
aesthetic taste. We have many ways to influence the children, with an ultimate aim to nurture
a rich soil where Beijing Opera may exist and grow, as without the foundation of audience,
other issues would be of no meaning. Just try to imagine when most of the young people have
positive knowledge and recognition of Beijing Opera, they will not rashly say the art is vulgar,
or old-fashioned, or that they can’t understand it, but take it as a familiar, amiable, and
national art they are proud of, and are willing to listen or go to Beijing Opera concerts
occasionally, or even are able to sing a few sentences. What a situation would that be!
*Z: Just now you mentioned we have many ways to influence the children, can you be more
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specific on that? For example, some improvements on the contents and forms of the Beijing
Opera shown to the young people?
*G: Beijing Opera has been more and more decentralized, and the audience aged. The
question of how to impress the children who are used to cartoons and comic books, has kept
the whole opera circle busy. One of my friends, a children’s programmes editor, who is an
expert in children’s psychology, said: “All interests lie in nurturing and influencing, and the
children and young people in their fast-growing period, are the best audience for nurturing
and influencing.” However, another characteristic of children is that they don’t stay still for a
long time, not to mention in front of the slow-going Beijing Opera; therefore, more emphasis
should be laid on the visual expression of the Beijing Opera shown to children, which means
the performance should adapt to children’s emotions rather than giving tedious lessons. We
should try to interest the children, so that the opera may seize the children’s attention, to let
the children understand and like the opera, and to display the essence of Beijing Opera in
children’s fun and play.
What’s more, I think the attraction to children relies on the martial arts performance. The
children love to see actions, the acrobatics, dances, martial arts, etc. It would be quite
impossible to have the children sit there for two hours just listening to singing, which better
suits those who can appreciate and love the opera. Therefore, children’s understanding of
Beijing Opera should begin with the martial arts performance.
In general, we’ve always been exploring and looking for ways that may nurture more and
more child audiences and allow Beijing Opera to carry on. During the 4th China Beijing Opera
Art Festival, four plays specially designed for children were performed. These four plays
accommodated children’s aesthetics from the story to the aria and body actions, for example,
nursery rhymes style lyrics were added in, and the characters were played by teenage actors
and actresses. These are all new experiments compared to traditional Beijing Opera.
What’s more, the education doesn’t have to be conducted through Beijing Opera itself. I once
recommended the way of animations, which was a good try. See, you’ve already been doing
this…I watched your short film, and I really like your idea and the design of the characters.
By integrating Beijing Opera performance into the story, the children will find it very
interesting and easy to accept. I think you are in the right direction.
*Z: Why would you think of the form of animations at first?
*G: Very simple. The animations are most influential to the children, and are also most
acceptable to them.
*Z: Thank you very much for your time professor Guo.
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Original copy of Yuejin Guo
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INTERVIEW WITH QIHUA CAI 3 MARCH 2008. CONDUCTED AT CHINA
CENTRAL TELEVISION, ANIMATION INC, PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT, NO 11,
FUXING ROAD, BEIJING, CHINA. LEI ZHANG WAS PRESENT
QIHUA CAI: CCTV ANIMATION INC, GENERAL MANAGER ASSISTANT,
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR
Consent to include interview obtained from Qihua Cai via email 12 April 2008
Interview – Qihua Cai
(C – Qihua Cai; Z – Lei Zhang)
*Z: I heard that CCTV has a channel specially designed for children, right? Would you please
give a brief introduction on the channel?
*C: Yes. The CCTV Children’s Channel is also known as CCTV-15. It was opened on 28
December, 2003, and focuses on animations, and children and youths’ information. Aimed to
establish a kingdom where all the Chinese children and youths may grow up happily, CCTV
Children Channel is the first state-level professional channel broadcasting in mainland China.
With more than 10 programmes, the channel allocates 30% of the contents for animations.
The Production Department that I work with is specialized in the production of cartoons.
*Z: So basically all the animations on the children’s channel are produced here?
*C: No. The animations produced here only represent a small part of what’s on. The others
need to be purchased from animation producers all over the country.
*Z: Would you mind sharing with us your professional background?
*C: At first I specialized in computers, and television special effects. In 1990, I started
making the castings for programmes and telefilms, and then moved to animation production
in 1996. Although it was also 3D animation, it was very different and the production models
have been completely changed. For example, the casting of programmes can be done by one
single person, from the creation of an idea to the actual production; however, the development
of 3D animations is more like a factory, where scaled production models are adopted. The
productions here are mainly animation series, normally more than 10 or 20 episodes, with the
most over 50 episodes. Therefore, you need an assembly line ranging from the initial scripts,
storyboards, production, and post-production. Here is a 3D animation under production by
CCTV.
*Z: Do all animation projects need to be reviewed and approved before they are developed?
*C: Yes. Normally we should report the theme to CCTV, and the director prepares a plan,
including the synopsis and framework of the story, the dispositions of the main characters, etc.
CCTV will carry out a unified review, and then choose the good ones for development.
Z: What is the attitude of the government toward the cartoon industry?
*C: The cartoon industry has never been attached with so much attention. The government at
state-level has gradually realized that the cultural industry represents one of the major
components in the state’s income. For example, in countries like Japan and USA, the cultural
industry is in a key position in the GDP. Therefore, the state has been taking out actions to
develop the cartoon industry.
*Z: If so, will the government allocate regular funds for the production?
*C: Yes, there are some funds allocated by the government. However, as the CCTV has been
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operating in the model of production and broadcast, the income from the broadcast and the
advertisements would suffice the investment during the production of the cartoon.
*Z: Oh…So you can actually cover the expenses of the production by yourself?
*C: Right. Currently we produce 5,000 to 6,000 minutes of animations each year, and almost
all are invested by ourselves.
*Z: What percentage do the self-developed animations occupy among all those on TV?
*C: Strictly speaking, the percentage is not high, as our production is around 6,000 minutes
per year, and the CCTV children’s channel spends 2 hours each day in broadcasting
animations for the first time; therefore, the demand is huge. Normally a children’s channel
would set up its programmes as such: 18 hours of broadcast per day, among which 6 hours are
for programmes played for the first time, which means 6 hours of new programmes per day,
plus twice repeats. Among the 6 hours, 2 hours are for animations played for the first time;
therefore, the total amount of cartoons broadcasted yearly would be approximately 40,000
minutes.
*Z: In 2005, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a policy that
during the premium time of children programmes, around 5 pm to 7 pm, the television
stations can only put on domestic-produced animations. Is it still so?
*C: Yes. And the time has been prolonged to past 9 pm now.
All right… I’ll show you our production centre first. Here’s the 3D team, and over there that’s
the 2D team. Usually we carry out two projects at the same time, but the amount of 2D
animations are slightly more, as the production cycle of 3D animations takes longer after all,
and require more funds investment.
*Z: How many people are directly engaged in animations production here?
*C: More than 100.
*Z: And as the CCTV cartoon company’s production is mainly cartoon series, have you
considered producing animated feature films?
*C: Because this animations production centre belongs to CCTV, its production is aimed for
TV play; therefore, our production is focused on TV animation development, that is, the
animation series.
*Z: Do you also purchase and introduce to domestic audience foreign animations?
*C: Very rare now. Actually it’s also because of the state’s policy, which allows cooperation,
but not direct import. Last year we signed a cooperation agreement with Australia.
*Z: In this production centre, how long would it take to produce a 22-minute 3D animation
episode?
*C: With a team of 50 people and everything is well planned, we can produce 1.5 episodes
per month. Taking the pre-production phase into consideration, normally a series would take 2
to 3 years to finish.
*Z: Are there any investigations on audience ratings conducted for the cartoons produced by
the TV station itself? For example, if a cartoon sees higher audience rating, the future
emphasis of production would be adjusted accordingly.
*C: Yes, of course. If a collection of 26 episodes are well done and enjoy high audience rating,
we will carry out its continuation. Take some of our big investments as examples, The
Journey to the West，The Legend of NeZha，and Bubbles (The Adventures of Little Carp), these
plays all saw great audience ratings, ranging from 4% to 5%.
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*Z: Why are most of the domestic cartoons are aimed at young children and pre-schoolers,
and very few are developed for adolescents or adults?
*C: Actually, it’s not because we don’t want to produce animations for both young children
and the adults, but the fact is, in China, young children and preschoolers are the largest TV
audience, who are around 3 to 7 years old and not old enough to go to school. After they reach
the age to go to school, primary school students may be easier, but the high school students
shoulder heavy burdens from school, and have very little time left to watch TV. Therefore,
considering the audience groups, young children are our main audience. So far we do not
have such great productive strength to cover audience at all ages. Being in the initial stage,
our animation industry can only satisfy the need of the child audience first. The animation
industry in Japan has been quite mature, with its market relatively saturated, and thus can
cater to the needs of audiences at varied ages. But to us, it still takes time to do so.
*Z: According to your opinion, the potential of the Chinese market is quite huge.
*C: Yes, very huge. But the children who are actually watching animations in China have
little say, and their voice is seldom heard. However, those who have a say are the high school
and college students. That’s why we hear a lot of negative opinions, saying that our cartoons
are too childish, and they always watch the adult cartoons from abroad. In fact, we also wish
to produce some animations for young people; however, the situation is we only have limited
funds, can only take care of our major audience group, which is young children. This is a very
real problem we are faced with.
*Z: With these animations produced, besides broadcasting on TV, what are the other profit
channels?
*C: Mainly the sales of books and audio-visual products, which brings profit fast. Actually in
the earlier years, the TV station did not aim to make a profit out of these cartoons, and the
channel’s broadcast and production were supported by the income from advertisements. That
was about 7 or 8 years ago. However, with the industrialization of animation making, and the
growing of the market, we wish to sell our animations in the market and earn our production
costs and profits. And currently in China, the easiest way would be through selling books,
audio video products, then to a deeper exploitation, the games, and toys, etc.
*Z: Just now you heard my introduction to my project, and watched the short film “Lulu’s
Opera House”, which shows Beijing Opera to the children in a different angle through 3D
animation. What are you opinions on the project?
*C: I think the idea is great. It looks at Beijing Opera from a child’s point of view. Such a
story can easily be accepted by the children.
*Z: So among the domestic made animations, has anyone ever touched the subject of
traditional operas?
*C: Nearly none, very few. Because from the point of view of the director, such subject
requires a very solid Beijing Opera background to design, and actually we do not know much
about this. Moreover, I personally feel that the difficulty in making the Beijing Opera
costumes is high, considering their colours, patterns, etc. You see, in many cartoons, the
costumes of the characters are normally of one colour. One colour for the clothes, one for the
pants, thus keeps the amount of work low. If you do the Beijing Opera costumes, it might be
easy to do only one character, but a whole series of cartoon is surely a huge amount of work.
*Z: Right, that’s true. When I was making the costumes for the characters, I carried out very
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detailed research in the initial stage, and found that the costumes of Beijing Opera are very
complicated with lots of categories and varied structures, and the patterns and colours each
have their unique meanings. Also the textures and embroideries on the costumes add to the
difficulty of the production, as their requirements for textures is high.
*C: For this issue, you should set your own standard, that is, how to extract the symbols out
of the opera costumes, to make your costumes look very much like those of Beijing Opera,
but meanwhile simplify your work.
*Z: Yes, through simplification and extraction, we are trying to design patterns with cartoon
effects.
*C: Right. Take the cloud pattern we designed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics as an example,
it is very Chinese, but very simple at the same time, containing a strong sense of design.
Therefore, you really should consider how to simplify the costumes of Beijing Opera.
Otherwise, your work load would be too heavy. It’s ok to make a short film, but the problem
would be huge if you want to develop a long series. Moreover, in future development of
derivative products, such as toys, the manufacturers would find it very hard to deal with so
many colours.
What’s more, another feature of the Beijing Opera costumes is that the flags, robes, and the
like, should be swinging in the cartoon, and need to be calculated with Cloth FX (3D cloth
simulation software). You should also take these calculations into consideration.
*Z: So, if I want to initiate the Beijing Opera animation project, where should I find
investment in China?
*C: You may consider CCTV, and we actually can be an investor.
As we propose a selection of subjects every quarter, once a subject is confirmed, the CCTV
would allocate funds to production, or invite external partners to invest in the production. As
to us, we produce around 6,000 minutes of animations each year. Normally each episode is 22
minutes, and each series is 26 episodes, which is usually the smallest unit. Such unit is
generally accepted internationally. Therefore, 6,000 minutes would be more than 10 series, all
of which are operated through this process. If you are interested, you can propose your project
plan to the station, including your story synopsis, scripts, basic character settings, etc. The TV
station will consider the marketability according to your proposal, and make a decision. Now
that you have a ready short film, it’s going to help a lot.
However, it depends on what role you want to play in the process. If you want to keep the
copyright to yourself, you also need to be an investor. If you find another investor, say our
CCTV animations company, you’ll have to discuss the copyright issue with the investor’s
requirements.
*Z: Good, thank you for your suggestions. Another question I’m interested in is, do you think
animations have serious roles as a carrier of education? CCTV is the largest and most
authoritative TV station. When the state sets the rules of broadcast, does any require a certain
amount of education be included in the plays? Or more emphasis is laid on the entertaining
side?
*C: Actually, there is no forceful rule requiring that the cartoons must contain some education.
But as you said, CCTV is the highest-level TV station in China, so the programmes we
broadcast must be of high quality, and the content can’t be too vulgar. This year we have a
plan to transcribe famous Chinese literature, and these should be cartoon series of high
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standard.
That is to say, as the central TV, the minimum requirement is that the plays shown to the
children must be positive and upright. Due to their strong imitative capability, the children are
fast in learning what’s shown and what’s said in the cartoon. Last year there was a play called
Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit, and some parents said the language in the cartoons was vulgar.
It is not a good phenomenon to see negative comments after the play is shown. Therefore,
before our animations are shown on TV, strict examinations are conducted for violence or
coarse language, which are deleted if any. Animations do render great influence on children;
therefore, we pay plenty of attention to this matter.
*Z: For that great influence, if Beijing Opera is shown to the children through cartoons, do
you think after a certain time the children will be cultivated and thus enhance the
development of Beijing Opera? Not necessarily very deep understandings of the Beijing
Opera, but a basic idea?
*C: First of all, your idea and your purpose is in concord with the state’s requirements, as we
have been discussing how to carry forward the quintessence of our country, to carry on the
culture and let the outside world know about it. Second, you should consider how to have the
children accept your story, that is, if the story is attractive and interesting to children. Strictly
speaking, Beijing Opera is the symbol of adults, not for children. Now you are trying to
impose these symbols to children by integrating them into your story, which is a good idea,
but the key is still whether the children like your story. If your story seizes them, they would
remember the symbols of Beijing Opera when watching without even realizing it. I think this
is the result you are trying to reach.
*Z: Okay, thank you very much for your time.
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Original copy of Qihua Cai
269
INTERVIEW WITH HONG YING 4 MARCH 2008. CONDUCTED AT CHINA
CENTRAL TELEVISION, SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
CENTER, BEIJING, CHINA. LEI ZHANG WAS PRESENT
HONG YING: CCTV, EDUCATIONAL FEATURE PROGRAMMING DEPARTMENT
OF SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING CENTER, EXECUTIVE
EDITOR
Consent to include interview obtained from Hong Ying via email 18 April 2008
Interview – Hong Ying
(Y – Hong Ying; Z – Lei Zhang)
*Z: Did you used to engage in the production of children’s programmes?
*Y: Yes, before I was transferred to the educational programmes, I worked for more than ten
years producing children’s programmes. The subjects of children’s programmes vary a lot
from each other, and what is the subject you would like to talk about today?
*Z: Good. I would start with an introduction to the research I am doing. My research has been
carried out in the background that the Beijing Opera is suffering a severe loss of audience,
and there are nearly no young audiences who can appreciate the opera. I am trying to display
Beijing Opera to the children in a brand new way of 3D animation, so as to nurture the young
people’s interests in the quintessence of the country.
*Y: Very good, very good. The educational channel used to play a programme, which taught
the children Beijing Opera.
*Z: This is my sample film, a nine-minute 3D animated short film.
*Y: Good. I think your design is excellent, and the characters’ images are wonderful.
*Z: This short film is named Lulu’s Opera House. Its content is not just Beijing Opera
performance, but a story told from the eyes of a little five-year old girl called Lulu. One day,
she walked into an opera house, and met interesting things there.
*Y: I think your method is right, because a story has to be told from a child’s point of view to
attract children’s interest. Otherwise, they won’t get interested.
*Z: This project was initiated by Professor Yuejin Guo at Queensland College of Art in 2003.
As a senior Beijing Opera performance artist and an expert in Beijing Opera education, she
suggested producing a series of animations on the subject of Beijing Opera for the children to
address the current situation of Beijing Opera development. She said that the animations do
not have to be designed strictly as the original Beijing Opera, but can adopt ways that are
easily acceptable to children, for example, through exaggeration and transformation. The
primary aim is to influence and cultivate children, to build up an idea of what Beijing Opera
is like for the children, and to attract their interest. That’s all.
*Y: Yes, this is a good idea.
*Z: So, my production of this animated short film originates in this idea.
*Y: What is your long-term plan?
*Z: We have finished a nine-minute short film, as a sample film. In the long-term, I wish to
produce a continual series with the little girl Lulu as the main thread, with each episode
displaying something like a magnificent segment of Beijing Opera.
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*Y: Ok, according to your description, I am very interested in this programme.
*Z: So far, I haven’t heard of anyone producing an animation on this subject. Besides, I am
personally deeply interested in Beijing Opera. During the research, I realize how broad and
deep Beijing Opera is, with a lot of subjects that can be developed, for example, the masks,
costumes, character images, the varied businesses of Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, and Chou, etc.
*Y: Yes, each nation has its unique culture and origin, and Beijing Opera is the art that
conveys the cultural origin of the Chinese nation. The process of its development into the
current scale provides a broad variety of subjects that are worth studying. Another reason that
I love your project is that I once produced a programme in the educational channel teaching
children Beijing Opera, but it followed the old idea and did not have a good influence. When I
saw your character’s image, I think it’s very original and creative. I just love this little
character.
*Z: In the short film, besides the little girl Lulu, there are also two Beijing Opera characters
and two band characters. The female Beijing Opera character is a very beautiful and positive
image, and it is originated from the character of Mu Guiying in Peking Opera piece Fortified
Village Muke; the male Beijing Opera character is originated from Jiao Zan, and with his
image exaggerated, he appears to be a villain at the first sight. As I think in children’s minds,
there are only the good guys and the bad guys. Do you think so? In addition, the band in the
opera house has been concentrated to only two characters, an erhu player and a drummer.
Together with the musical instruments they play, the design of these two characters’ images is
in sharp contrast to each other, which I think is more attractive to children.
*Y: Yes, the positioning of the characters is good.
*Z: As I was educated in Australia, the education was mainly of western style, like the Disney
style, which requires the characters to be exaggerated with distinct characteristics to create
contrast. This short film is an experiment in which we display the Chinese symbols through
western style animation.
*Y: Actually the contemporary Chinese can accept lots of western culture, especially the
younger generation, which has learnt plenty of new and foreign ideas from the Internet. If you
want to show your film to the children, you definitely need to add in a lot of western
elements.
*Z: The basic idea of making the short film is to have the children get interested in Beijing
Opera; therefore, we need to put in some educational content. It is said that the children’s
programmes should carry out education through entertainment. According to your experience,
what do you think is a good way to integrate education and animation?
*Y: I think the most important thing to children is interest. How to create interest? It’s by
putting instructive meanings into imaginative stories, rather than forcing education onto
children. A simple example is Disney’s Tom and Jerry. It is an enlightening educational
animation in the US, but do you feel it is educating you?
*Z: No.
*Y: Right. It is very entertaining, and no matter how young or old, everybody loves to watch.
Actually it conveys a very intimate relationship, that is, the relationship between parents and
children.
*Z: Why is it the relationship between parents and children?
*Y: Tom represents the parents, and Jerry represents the children. Apart from being funny, the
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animation contains lots of educational content. Tom is a normal character with many
characteristics symbolizing a parent, for example, laziness. However, Jerry is completely a
child, who is weak, hardly any power to protect itself, and is afraid of Tom but always defiant,
that is what a child is like. In the story, Tom and Jerry keep fighting each other, but finally
they always hug each other happily. Such a relation is actually describing the harmony and
contradiction in the relation between parents and children, which makes the animation very
successful in terms of education as well as being funny. You can gradually feel it when
watching.
*Z: According to your explanation, I do feel what you mean.
*Y: Another good example is Sesame Street, which is an American children’s educational TV
programme. Each day an episode, and each episode has a series of stories performed in
animations and costumed real people. Some are performed indoors, and some outdoors. It is a
programme carrying out education through arts and literature. The power is in arts and
literature, while the contents are education. The programme is very humorous, and is loved by
children and admired by adults. This is how Sesame Street is trying to educate the children. So,
to us who are engaged in children’s education, the primary rule is not to talk about education.
If talking will do, there’s no reason for the existence of literature and arts. We need to really
understand children, and provide them with happiness in a conscious manner.
For example, in teaching kindness and love, I can’t just cry out: you should be kind and love
others! In this subject, I particularly admire a Korean film director, Kim Ki-duk, who
produced a lot of educational films. One of his works, Fly, tells a story of a child who grew
up in a temple and was educated completely in very traditional and conservative Buddhism,
which denies any desire. However, when the child went to school, he saw a classmate playing
with a remote control plane bought by his parents, and really admired him and was pressed by
desire to set his hands on and play this toy that he’d never seen before. Then his classmate left
the plane in the drawer, the child took it out to the hills, where he ran and had fun, and
continued playing even when he went to bed at night. He loved the plane so much, and
thought perhaps he could keep it a little bit longer. But when he returns to school, he found
the classmate had gone travelling with his family, so he started worrying about the plane, as
he did not want to steal it from his classmate, but just to play for a while. He understood the
difference. While he was still waiting for the classmate to return, news came that the
classmate had died with his family in an air crash. The news left the child in deep remorse and
self-accusation. His classmate’s plane became his secret trouble. Finally, when he gradually
got over it, he put the plane back to his classmate’s desk, as a memory of him. The last scene
was that the child was running freely on grassland, which led the audience to feel the
unrivalled happiness of the freedom of mind.
*Z: Is this a film?
*Y: Yes, this is a film on the subject of education. In Japan, there is a specialized annual
award for educational programmes, and this film won a big award. I think the film Fly
explains, by telling the story, how one’s personality should be, and where one’s happiness
comes from.
Therefore, in terms of children’s education, I think we should stand on the same level with the
children and communicate with them. Make the children feel you are communicating with
them, and make them feel what you are saying is something they really want to know. That’s
272
the only way they are going to watch and love it. So, when you are making an animation, you
yourself have to have the heart of a child when telling your story. This is most important.
*Z: Talking about this story, because children think in a much simpler way than adults, they
are straightforward rather than considering varied conditions like us. What kinds of stories do
you think are most direct and most acceptable to children? For example, a heroic story, or
something else?
*Y: I think the most important is that you find out the key points of Beijing Opera. In terms of
story, I think you can add in any story elements, but what’s more important is that you should
display the Beijing Opera elements and symbols. For example, when describing a hero, you
need a red mask to represent his loyalty, etc.
*Z: Infants today are addicted to animations. They watch cartoons, read cartoon books, wear
shirts with cartoon images, eat cakes in cartoon shapes, and even imitate cartoon characters.
Why do you think animations are so popular among them?
*Y: I think the primary reason is that during the infant period, 80% of the information is
acquired through visual and audio channels, and as a visual and audio art, animations provide
stronger stimulus than mere text. With the background that television has been popular,
animations may easily attract children’s attention with their unique visual and audio effects.
Second, animations satisfy the sensibility needs of the children of one-child families, and
often act as the “guardians” in many households by accompanying the children when they are
alone. Therefore, many successful animation characters have become good friends in the
growth of children and play an important role in their lives.
Finally, I think the development of the animation industry also plays a part, through the
promotion of books and pictorials, A/V products, stationery, toys, garments, and even theme
parks and playgrounds together with the cartoon plays. Animations now have gone a lot
beyond TV programmes, and have penetrated more and more into the children’s lives.
*Z: Do you think an animation on the subject of Beijing Opera will enjoy great potential for
development?
*Y: I think the Beijing Opera subject does enjoy great potential in its traditional colours,
costumes, and its movements, etc. The concept of Beijing Opera is earlier and more
sophisticated than that of Bertolt Brecht. I think it is wonderful. Beijing Opera flourished
since the Qing Dynasty, and has integrated plenty of opera essence to develop into its current
form. The reason for its lasting prosperity from the Qing Dynasty till today is that it includes
varied aspects like acrobatics, costumes, make-up, dancing, rhythms, aria and soliloquy, and
more. That’s why it is called the Chinese opera. However, without recognition from the
younger generation and children, Beijing Opera would be in hardship in its development. It
just won’t work with merely the older generation repeating how splendid it is.
*Z: Because they are not talking from the children’s point of view.
*Y: Right, they should understand how to attract children’s interest. The education should be
carried out from the children’s point of view, by showing them the basics, rather than talking
too much on the names of the tones in which the music is composed – the children just
wouldn’t understand. For example, a basic fact of Beijing Opera is that it conveys the implicit
beauty of Chinese culture. An actor holding a horsewhip would mean that he is riding a horse,
and wearing a cloak would mean that it is snowing. If we can have the children understand
these, that’s enough. There’s no need to talk about the profound arguments.
273
*Z: Yes, edification for the initial stage.
*Y: Besides, it is critical that the pronunciation in Beijing Opera singing should be
particularly clear. Everything in Beijing Opera is to be spoken. For example, when angry, the
character goes “Wa~Ya~Ya~Ya~” rather than simply shouting. All expressions are carried out
with Chinese characters and words, with a tune attached to each of the characters in the
soliloquy. Each character is pronounced in a single syllabic, thus the tune is very beautiful.
This is an example of Chinese culture in the art.
*Z: Actually, in the process of producing the Beijing Opera animation, I’ve always been
thinking about how to display the aria, because the audiences of this animation are children
and foreigners, and the lyrics of Beijing Opera are difficult for foreigners and children to
understand. Therefore, I have been focusing on the martial arts performance in this short film.
And further research is required to well integrate the singing of Beijing Opera with animation.
*Y: Take your time, don’t worry. You’ve been doing very well so far.
*Y: I’d also like to talk about the magnificent costumes of Beijing Opera. How much do you
know about the costumes?
*Z: I did quite some research on the costumes of Beijing Opera for this project, including
their styles, colours, patterns, etc. Look at the costumes of the two Beijing Opera characters –
they are designed based on real opera costumes. The Chinese dragon pattern on the male
character and the magpie and peony pattern on the female character are supported by
conventional rules.
*Y: Good. The costumes of Beijing Opera contain such a rich history. You see, in China, there
are 10 traditional fabrics, raw silk, silk, satin, and more to name. Most of these fabrics are
developed from Beijing Opera costumes. For example, raw silk is a voile-like layer tightly
attached onto the silk with embroidered patterns to reach a slightly blurred effect to add some
beauty, but it is thinner, more transparent, and stronger than silk, which not only protects the
embroidery on the costume, but also allows the patterns to be seen through a blurring layer.
When the actor or actress waves the sleeves, it makes the audience feel the Chinese dragon in
the pattern comes to life and is flying in the sky.
*Z: There is so much to learn about it.
*Y: Yes. In researching in the culture, we should first show the children what’s funny and
interesting. It is not necessary to talk so much to them at the beginning, but we can further
explore the art and display it gradually in the future.
*Z: Right, as long as we show them in the animations, the children will gradually come to
understand it.
*Z: I seriously wish to develop the field of Beijing Opera animations. Do you have any
suggestions to the prospect of this project?
*Y: I think, to start, you can try to contact the CCTV Animation Inc., because they have the
funds, and if they invest in your project, you can establish your brand. In the long-run, I
suggest you establish a limited company specializing in Beijing Opera animations, and take it
as your life-long career.
*Z: Does that mean to specialize in the production of animations on the subject of Beijing
Opera?
*Y: Not necessarily only in animation production. You can also cooperate with the publishers
and develop A/V products, books, etc. And the commercial field, you can have the character
274
images developed into dolls, printed on T-shirts and on pupils’ bags, etc. Through these
integrated developments, you can expand your project.
In conclusion, what we’ve been talking today is that we should not simply think that we are
educating the children, but should floate breeze of Beijing Opera to the children, thus have the
perfect art plant its seeds in the children’s mind, so that the children may grow up to inherit
and further develop the art. Victor Hugo once said that many inventions were born in China,
but once the invention was created, it was put in an alcohol bottle and ceased development.
When the invention was brought to Europe, it would burn throughout the entire continent.
Therefore, this is what you should do – to let the seeds of Beijing Opera grow in the
children’s mind.
Moreover, I think your idea is definitely right to tell the story from children’s point of view
and produce western-style animations. The reason is that if you want to get more attention,
you need to get your product culturally accepted by the public rather than insisting on
obsolete things. So you don’t have to explain to the children how old or how profound the
Beijing Opera is, but to have the children love it in a way that they can accept.
*Z: According to your suggestions, I find I am on the right track.
*Y: Yes, I think you are quite right.
*Z: I do not intend to display what’s profound, but simply the elements from our Chinese
stages and the symbolic colours, so that the children may have a visual knowledge of it.
*Y: Right, make the children love Beijing Opera in the way they can accept, and tell them
about the details later.
*Z: So before this, such Beijing Opera programmes for children are still very few, aren’t they?
Whether it’s animations or TV programmes?
*Y: Basically none. A lot of animations are based on traditional stories, but none is on the
subject of Beijing Opera. That’s why I am very interested in your project. If you would like to
discuss it, you can come to me anytime. Even when you’ve returned Australia, you can
always send me emails.
I myself have a strong affection towards Beijing Opera, and I am an editor for teleplays. If
you would like to produce other stories about Beijing Opera, we can join hands. I think with
determination and perseverance, you will surely make it. It is a career that you can invest your
whole life.
*Z: Good. Thank you for your encouragement and suggestions. From what you said, I now
have a clearer view of how to develop this project into a career. Thank you very much!
275
Original copy of Hong Ying
Expression of Consent was translated to Chinese for her to read and sign
276
INTERVIEW WITH ZHIJUN CAI 5 MARCH 2008. CONDUCTED AT CHINA
CENTRAL TELEVISION, ANIMATION INC, NO 11, FUXING ROAD, BEIJING,
CHINA. LEI ZHANG WAS PRESENT
ZHIJUN CAI: CCTV ANIMATION INC, PLANNING & CREATIVE DEPARTMENT,
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Consent to include interview obtained from Zhijun Cai via email 15 April 2008
Interview – Zhijun Cai
(C- Zhijun CAI; Z- Lei Zhang)
*Z: We have seen that the domestic animation market has grown rapidly in the recent years.
With CCTV being China’s largest and most authoritative TV station, its subsidiary animation
company (CCTV ANIMATION INC) can count as top of the existing children’s animation
producers in China. Could you introduce to me the situation of the domestic animation market
and production?
*C: The biggest change of the domestic animation market in these years is the change in
concepts, especially in the last few years. You see, CCTV has converted the former Animation
Department into CCTV Animation INC and put it into the market. The essence of this
conversion is that we begin to treat animation as an industry. This includes two intentions: one
is to carry on Chinese traditional culture; the other is hoping that the traditional culture can
enter the market and grow in a favourable circulation that can make it larger and stronger.
In the past, our operation model was mostly state-financed animation production, which
means the volume of the fund was limited, and that has impact on many aspects, such as the
diversity of the subject and the quality of a production. However, the state has begun to treat
animation as an industry gradually, which is favourable for the whole animation sector.
*Z: I visited CCTV Animation Production Centre the day before yesterday. Are all the
animations played by CCTV Children’s Channel nowadays mainly developed there? Or partly
imported from abroad?
*C: You mean CCTV?
*Z: Yes.
*C: Not all of them in CCTV. We have varied sources of animation production. The source of
the animations broadcasted by CCTV Children’s Channel can be mainly divided into three
parts. One is original creation. The most notable characteristic of CCTV Animation INC is
producing our own original Chinese animations. For example, CCTV Children’s Channel has
set up several cartoon programmes like Cartoon City, Cartoon Dream Works, Cartoon Ecstasy,
and Cartoon World, etc. Those programmes do not show imported animations other than
domestic productions. Two or three years earlier we brought forward a slogan: Bring new
cartoons to children everyday. That is to say, everyday we have to bring them a new episode
of originally made animation. Now we’ve done that, and we are going to exceed this objective.
What we are making efforts to do lately is to establish a cutting edge cartoon brand, which
brings market return as well as social influence.
*Z: Yes, you can develop many derivative products with a brand, and that can bring
considerable profits.
*C: Yes, that’s the first part, original creation. Besides, the cutting edge brand strategy I
277
mentioned just now has shown its effect lately; it has seen rewards. The first full-length
cartoon series that CCTV produced is “The Journey to the West”; the second one is “The
Legend of Nezha”; the third one is “Little Carp’s Adventure”; and the forth one that we are
developing is named “The Monkey King”. Market return did not emerge when the first
cartoon “The Journey to the West” was shown, until the second cartoon, “The Legend of
Nezha”, of which merely books and audio & video products almost gained the production
cost of RMB 36 million. Moreover, its books sales had exceeded Harry Potter the year it was
shown; you see, we have a billboard of sales achievement every month, and it indeed
surpassed Harry Potter then.
*Z: That is to directly transform the animation to printed books?
*C: Yes. Book selling began when the animation was on, to get return via the market. I’d like
to talk about the effect when the animation was shown: “The Journey to the West” saw an
audience rating of 4.9%, exceeding the historical audience rating of Donald Duck and Mickey
Mouse. I want to make it objective that when I show you the data I’m not saying that our
animation production is perfect and has exceeded the level of Disney, not like that. Whereas
the audience rating passed a message to us as producers, that is, the Chinese children are
eager to see their own original cartoons. There is a lot to learn from Disney’s cartoons.
However, finding the audience rating of our self-produced cartoons higher than theirs
indicated the Chinese audience’s favour of domestic animations, which was encouraging to us
as the producer, because the rating was a true and exact number, not our personal opinion.
So that is the first source, our own original production of animations. The second source is
cooperative production, which means that CCTV provides the story and the script, co-invests
and co-produces Chinese original animation with other producers throughout China, and then
shares the profit and copyright with them. For example, we recently co-produced with a Hong
Kong producer a cartoon called the “Shenbing Kids” which was completed last year in the
model of this second source.
Besides domestic producers, we’ve now begun to cooperate with foreign ones. We’ve been
negotiating with companies from Australia, the United States and Japan on this cooperation;
however, it will take some time to negotiate on some details and come to an agreement.
The third source is to purchase animations developed by other companies. The purchase can
be done in two ways: one is that a producer proposes a plan before developing, and starts after
we say ‘OK, go ahead’; the other is that we buy a finished production if it can pass our
censorship. Generally these three sources are where the cartoons played in CCTV Children
Channel come from.
*Z: So how long is the total animation shown in the last year, calculated in minutes?
*C: Do you mean the entire CCTV or any of its channels?
*Z: I mean that of CCTV Children’s Channel, well, is it the only channel to broadcast
animation programmess? Or are there other channels with animation columns, too?
*C: Ah…It’s like this…Let me give you the amount of animation production of CCTV first.
Last year it was more than 6000 minutes. Alongside with co-productions and purchased ones,
the total amount of animation shown on the Children’s Channel was up to around 30,000 to
more than 40,000 minutes. That was a calculation of the rollouts, not including replays. We
also have cartoon columns on CCTV channels other than the Children’s Channel, like
CCTV-1, which has left vacancies for cartoons around 5pm and 6pm when children usually
278
watch TV. Even CCTV-4, the Overseas Channel, has its time for cartoons. That’s why when
we took our animation to the Frence film festival, our French peers all said that their children
had seen our cartoons, which were nice and clean with no violence or eroticism, and children
can learn the Chinese language by watching the cartoons as well.
*Z: Do CCTV-1 and CCTV-4 look for animation sources all by themselves or get it from the
CCTV Children’s Channel?
*C: All from the Children’s Channel.
*Z: Is it enough to fill the market with the 6000 minutes of animations you produce plus the
co-productions and purchased ones?
*C: The show time now has bounced compared to the past few years, yet we cannot fill the
market as the demand is growing with the number of channels increased. I’m a technical
producer rather than an expert of marketing. In my point of view from animation production,
with the amount of production gradually satisfying the demand during the years past, we
should pay more attention to increasing the quality, which means more quality animations
should be developed. The demand for quantity could not be reached a few years ago, that was
the why we did not have high quality animations.
*Z: “The Legend of Nezha” has 52 episodes with a total investment of 36 million. How long
did it take to develop the whole series?
*C: All together three years and a half. Well, a cutting edge production like this deserves three
years and a half.
*Z: Was it put on show while the rest was still under production or after the whole series had
been finished?
*C: We developed 26 episodes in advance and continued according to the audience rating
while the cartoon was played, and it ended up with 52 episodes. You know, the “Little Carp’s
Adventure” only took us two years and a half to develop. Therefore, the developing period of
a production is shortened with the accumulation of experience. The production lines are
established, the team members interact more smoothly, and the speed of production goes
higher.
*Z: How much time did the pre-production phase take in the two and a half years? I mean the
script and storyboard and the like.
*C: The pre-production is very important, which should occupy approximately a third of the
total time.
*Z: So what do you think a cartoon’s success is based on, the pre-production or the
production?
*C: In my opinion, what a successful cartoon relies on is not only the efforts of the
pre-producers or the post-producers, but also the marketing team including the market
forecasters and the sales people. Moreover, it needs continuing investigation of the children’s
preference towards animation styles, because the kids’ preferences keep changing. What was
popular this year may no longer be in next year. Those elements I mentioned are all important;
it won’t work without any of them.
*Z: Do you have kids?
*C: Yes. My daughter’s eight years old.
*Z: Do you often ask her for advice?
*C: Yes, she’s now my consultant. Sometimes I watch her reaction instead of asking her
279
directly. For example, I show her our animations saying ‘come and see a cartoon’, and then
watch her reaction aside. I feel that if she finds a cartoon interesting or meets her taste, she
will be so absorbed that she won’t respond when you talk to her or call her name; you don’t
even have to ask her if the cartoon is great, since you can see that in her reaction.
Nowadays the children’s taste should not be underestimated, which made us more sensible on
audience age orientation. For example, from 2007, before we develop a cartoon, we aim at
children between 8 and 10, who are within a three-year gap, but a few years ago, we would
normally aim at children between 4 and 12. However, we found that orientation was too
sketchy to cover the much different tastes and intellectual levels of children between 4 and 12.
Well, there are such cartoons that can suit audiences of all ages, but the production is very
difficult because it requires a high level of the team as a whole. That’s why we set a precise
orientation at the very beginning, so as to guarantee a stronger potential of success.
*Z: But most of the Disney and Pixar animations are made for the whole family to watch,
from kids to elders, you know, those cartoons that adults would love to see.
*C: Yes, but not all animations are like that, for example, Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. I
like all his animations very much. Spirited Away is more moving and worth tasting than any
other pieces of previous his works. Now my daughter is 8. When she was 6, I showed her
Spirited Away, and you know what, she refused to go on when she saw Chihiro’s parents
turned into pigs, and she asked me never to play this cartoon again. Do you know why?
*Z: Why?
*C: Because a six-year-old child could not accept the scenario of the parents turning into pigs.
She would fear that the same thing could also happen to her. In her mind parents were
everything, but they could suddenly turn into animals, even pigs. She had a fear of that. But
this won’t be a problem for the adults, for whom Miyazaki’s logic style is wholly acceptable.
*Z: Yes, for me, when I came to that scenario I thought the cartoon was so fascinating that it
would be worthy to go on watching.
*C: Yes, you see, for the same scenario we have different feelings from the kids. I love this
cartoon, too, and I can sense the meanings beyond the pictures. But these may be too
complicated for kids to understand.
*Z: I saw the screen at the entrance showing Little Carp’s Adventure when I came in, and I
found that the 2D animation drawing skills excellent nowadays and the pictures are very
beautiful.
*C: Actually there is a common disadvantage among the domestic animation directors –
unskilful control of the scene, the movie language. They have good control of the pictures,
even with fine drawing skills, however, animations are moving pictures by nature, which need
to make use of a lot of the movie language. The European and American companies, like
Disney, Pixar or Dream Works, have excellent control of using the movie language, which we
should learn from them.
When we were exchanging ideas with our foreign peers, we also talked about animation
expressions other than art and scenery. For example, how to perform air? The Japanese artist
Ohtomo Katsuhiro has very good control of the scenes; he makes air-flow visible by showing
resistance when people walk. So animation is not simply making the pictures move. The
farther it develops the more exquisite it becomes. That’s the direction of the competition.
*Z: So, as the Chief Director, do you have to be in charge of dealing with all those
280
storyboards? Should it be written on the script clearly how the camera should be used?
*C: Yes, I give them a storyboard in text at the very beginning. In the early days I drew the
storyboards myself, but at that time the productions were all short ones. What we develop
these days are all long ones, at least 50 episodes. However, drawing the storyboards for one
episode takes half a month, which makes me unable to give my team members storyboards
but only thumbnails. Anyway they’ll know your intention gradually as cooperation continues.
*Z: I find the 2D animations still occupy a dominant position in the domestic animation
market, with the 3D animations comparatively less developed. Why is that?
*C: Our artists have been well trained in 2D drawing, with excellent basic skills, and they’ve
been Disney’s outsource in the early days, e.g. the animation bases located in Shanghai and
Suzhou. A lot of Disney’s original pictures were drawn by Chinese artists. So we have many
2D specialists. Our difficulty in 3D animation is that we have technicians less skilled in art
and artists without enough technique, but we lack 3D artists who have both advantages. If we
did have them, I think it must be a push for 3D animation development.
*Z: Yes, I found the domestic 3D animation production level has not caught up with 2D’s,
even farther to reach the foreign 3D animation level.
*C: Yes, it is. Another reason is that although a lot of 3D game giants have opened their
subsidiaries in China, like UBI, Electronic Arts, EPIC, Konami, etc., with domestic 3D game
companies like Shanda Entertainment, 9you and so on developing rapidly, which has made
China’s game industry almost mature, there’s no large producer specialized in 3D cartoon
animation. That results in the concentration of most of Chinese excellent 3D artists in the
game industry rather than the animation industry, which is also a reason for the slow
development of 3D animation in China.
*Z: Exactly. Well… Thank you very much for your time.
281
Original copy of Zhijun Cai
Expression of Consent was translated to Chinese for her to read and sign
282
Appendix C
283
Appendix C: The questionnaires
1. Questionnaire used in SDTV Follow-up Survey (English version):
Student name: __________________ Gender: ___________
Date of birth: ______/______/_____ Grade: ___________
(Mo.) (Day) (Yr.)
Broadcasting Follow-Up Survey
for Children Peking Opera Animation
For children aged from 6-12 years old: Shandong Television Children Channel
broadcasted Peking Opera animated short film-Lulu's Opera House in “Child Idol”
program in 12th - 13th Mar 2008. To understand the audience viewing effect, we sincerely
want your answers for the following questions.
Information collected by this survey serves the following objectives:
● Helping us to understand your attitude towards Peking Opera animation program
● Helping us to understand the validity of Lulu's Opera House in popularizing Peking Opera
to children
● Estimate the commercial potential of broadcasting Peking opera animation program
1
Do you switch over to the other channel when you viewing Lulu's Opera House?
□ Yes
2
□ No
Do you think Lulu's Opera House is an enjoyable animated program?
□ Yes
□ Neutral
□ No
3
If your answer is yes, please point out the reason
4
Who is your favorite character in Lulu's Opera House?
□ Lulu
5
□ Male
actor
□ Female actor
□ Dong
(drummer)
□ Lin (Erhu
player)
What do you like him/her in particular?
□ Appearance
□ Movements
□ Personality
□ Please feel free to explain your choice in further detail or to mention other points
284
6
In general, how would you rate the quality of Lulu's Opera House is:
□ Excellent
7
□ Good
□ Fair
□ Poor
□ Bad
What did you experience as disturbing or unsatisfying about Lulu's Opera House?
__________________________________________________________
8
Do you view this film with your parents or other family adults?
□ Yes
9
□ No
Do you ask them some questions related to Peking Opera when you were viewing the
film or after?
□ Yes
□ No
10
If you did, what are your questions about?
11
What's your opinion about developing Peking Opera Animation?
□ Very interesting
12
□ Don’t mind
Do you have interest to understand Peking Opera before viewing Lulu's Opera
House?
□ Yes
13
□ Not sure
□ No
Do you think Lulu's Opera House is helpful for you to understand Peking Opera or
not?
□ Very helpful
14
□ Not interesting
□ Helpful
□ Not sure
□ Not at all
just for fun
Do you have interest to know more about Peking Opera after viewing Lulu's Opera
House?
□ Yes
□ Not sure
285
□ No
15
Do you look forward to viewing more Peking Opera Animation Programs?
□ Yes
16
□ No
If you do, which time period is best for you?
□ 9:00 am - 9:30 am
□ 17:00 am -17:30 am
17
□ Not sure
□ 10:00 am-10:30 am
□ 12:00 am-12:30 am
□ 18:00 am-18:30 am
□ 18:30 am-19:00 am
Reasons that students did not look forward to viewing more Peking Opera animation
programs
Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire
Table 1: Questionnaire used in SDTV Follow-up Survey (English version)
286
1.1. Questionnaire used in SDTV Follow-up Survey (Chinese version):
姓名: __________________
性别: ___________
出生日期: ______/______/_____ 年级: ___________
(年) (月) (日)
山东电视台少儿频道
儿童京剧动画短片“噜噜的戏院”观众收视调查问卷
山东电视台少儿频道将于 2008 年的 3 月 12 号和 13 号在“少年人气王”栏目中播放京
剧动画短片“噜噜的戏院”
。为了了解小观众们对该片的收视反馈，我们真诚的希望您
针对以下问题给出意见。
此次调查问卷得到的信息将会对以下几个方面的研究提供参考：
● 您对儿童京剧动画节目的态度
● 动画片“噜噜的戏院”在向少年儿童普及京剧方面的有效性
● 评估京剧动画节目的商业潜力
适合受访对象： 6-12 岁的儿童
1.
你在收看短片“噜噜的戏院”期间有换台去看别的节目吗？
□ 有
2
□ 没有
你认为“噜噜的戏院”是一部有趣的动画片吗？
□
是
□ 一般
□
3
如果你的上一题的答案是“是”的话，请简单指出原因
4
你最喜欢“噜噜的戏院”中哪一位角色？
□ 噜噜
5
□ 京剧男演
员
□ 京剧女演
员
不是
□ 东（鼓手） □ 林（二胡演
员）
你喜欢这个角色的哪个方面?
□ 形象设计
□ 行为动作
□ 性格
□ 如果需要的话，请对你的选择做进一步的说明
_______________________________________________________________
287
6
你认为“噜噜的戏院”的制作水平怎么样？
□ 极好
7
□ 好
□ 一般
□ 差
□ 极差
对于“噜噜的戏院”
，你有什么不满意的地方？
__________________________________________________________
8
你是和父母或者其他家庭中的成年人一起收看的该片吗？
□ 是
9
□ 不是
你是否在观看中或者观看后向家长问及一些关于京剧的问题？
□ 是
□ 不是
10
如果有，请问你的问题是涉及哪一方面的？
11
你对于开发京剧题材的动画节目持什么看法？
□ 非常有意思
12
□ 不确定
□ 没有
你认为“噜噜的戏院”对于你了解中国传统京剧有帮助吗？
□ 非常有帮助
14
□ 没意思
你在收看“噜噜的戏院”之前是否对京剧有兴趣？
□ 有
13
□ 不关心
□ 有帮助
□ 不确定
□ 没有帮助，只是娱
乐
在观看完“噜噜的戏院”之后，你是否有兴趣多了解一些关于京剧的知识？
□ 有
□ 不确定
288
□ 没有
15
你是否期待看到更多的京剧动画节目？
□ 是
16
□ 不确定
如果有的话，你认为什么时间段是最佳的收看时间？
□ 9:00 am - 9:30 am
□ 17:00 am -17:30 am
17
□ 不是
□ 10:00 am-10:30 am
□ 12:00 am-12:30 am
□ 18:00 am-18:30 am
□ 18:30 am-19:00 am
如果你不期待看到更多的京剧题材动画节目，请介绍说明原因。
谢谢您对本次调查问卷的积极参与
Table 2: Questionnaire used in SDTV Follow-up Survey (Chinese version)
289
1.2 SDTV follow-up surveys participant information and collated data
Participant information:
●
Number of participants: 20
Date of Survey:
Mar 2008
Students Full Name
Age
Gender
Interest in Peking
Opera (Before
watching program )
Interest in Peking
Opera (After
watching program)
Zhou Chunyu
9
Female
No
No
Wu Xuelan
6
Female
No
Yes
Liu Xi
10
Female
No
Yes
Lu Wentai
10
Male
Not sure
Yes
Yang Yihe
7
Male
No
Not sure
Zeng Xinyi
8
Female
Yes
Yes
Wu Siqi
7
Male
No
Yes
Chen Qiao
6
Male
Yes
Yes
Wu Shuowen
9
Male
No
Not sure
Bai Zijian
9
Male
Not sure
Yes
Ye sijing
8
Female
No
Yes
Fang fang
11
Female
No
Not sure
Guan Weiping
12
Male
Yes
Yes
Huang Songhua
8
Male
Not sure
Yes
Ceng Yingyan
6
Female
Not sure
Yes
Gu Xiao
7
Male
No
No
Lu Jiawei
9
Male
No
Yes
Shao Xinyi
11
Female
No
Not sure
Yu Shiyi
6
Female
No
Not sure
Shen Xinru
12
Female
No
No
290
Statistic: Male students – 10 Female Students – 10
Interested in
Peking opera (Before)
Variable
Gender
Age
Age group - 6~12 years
Interested in Peking
Opera (After)
Male
10
20% (2/10)
70% (7/10)
Female
10
10% (1/10)
50% (5/10)
6 years old
4
0
3
7 years old
2
0
1
8 years old
3
1
3
9 years old
4
0
2
10 years old
2
1
2
11 years old
2
0
0
12 years old
2
1
1
Table 3: Participants information of SDTV Follow-up Survey
291
Data collated from SDTV survey:
1. Did you switch channel during watching the animation?
Yes
No
Percentage (%)
0
100
Number
0
20
2. Do you think Lulu's Opera House is an enjoyable animated program?
Yes
No
Undecided
Percentage (%)
70
10
20
Number
14
2
4
3. What did you like the most about Lulu's Opera House? (open-ended)
Rank
Percentage
Choices
1st
39%
Environment design
2nd
35%
Beijing Opera performance
3rd
26%
Character design
4. Which characters did you like the most?
Lulu
Male Actor
Female Actor
Dong(drummer)
Lin (Erhu
Player)
Percentage (%)
20
25
35
10
10
Number
4
5
7
2
2
5. What did you like most about these characters?
Rank
Percentage
Choices
1st
50%
Appearance
2nd
35%
Acrobatic performance
3rd
15%
Costumes
6. What is your opinion of the production quality of Lulu's Opera House?
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Bad
Percentage (%)
55
25
20
0
0
Number
11
5
4
0
0
292
7. What did you like the least about Lulu's Opera House?
1st
Simple story
2nd
Less stimulating
8. Did audience view Lulu's Opera House with their parents or other adults?
Yes
No
Percentage (%)
60
40
Number
12
8
9. Did you ask questions related to Peking Opera after viewing Lulu's Opera House?
Yes
No
Percentage (%)
70
30
Number
14
6
10. What were these questions about?
1st
Why costumes have flags in the back
2nd
Why male actor wears strange boots with a thick white sole
3rd
Why the male actor has a black face
4th
Why two actors fight and strike a pose on the stage
11. Are you interested in having more Peking Opera animation developed?
Very interested
Neutral
Not interesting
Percentage (%)
55
25
20
Number
11
5
4
12. Students interested in Peking Opera before viewing Lulu's Opera House
Yes
Not sure
No
Percentage (%)
15
20
65
Number
3
4
13
13. Was Lulu's Opera House helpful to you in understanding Peking Opera?
Very Helpful
Helpful
Not sure
Not at all (Just for fun)
Percentage (%)
25
40
20
15
Number
5
8
4
3
293
14. Are you interested to know more about Peking Opera after viewing Lulu's opera?
Yes
Not sure
No
Percentage (%)
60
25
15
Number
12
5
3
15. Do you want to view more Peking Opera Animation Program?
Yes
Not sure
No
Percentage (%)
70
20
10
Number
14
4
2
16. What time slot would you prefer to view Peking Opera animation program?
9:00 am –
10:00 am –
12:00 am-
17:00 am –
18:00 am –
18:30 am
9:30 am
10:30 am
12:30 am
17:30 am
18:30 am
–
19:00 am
Percentage 0
0
25
20
35
20
0
5
4
7
4
(%)
Number
0
17. Reasons for lack of interest in further Peking Opera animation
Ranked 1st
It is pointless to understand Beijing Opera
Ranked 2nd
Less interested in cartoons with performance subject matter. Prefer to
view more stimulating cartoons such as Transformers or Ultraman.
Table 4: Data Collated from SDTV Follow-up Survey
294
1.3 SDTV Broadcast Certifications
Broadcast Certifications English version
295
Broadcast Certifications Chinese version
296
2. Questionnaire used in school screening test (English version):
Student name: __________________ Gender: ___________
Date of birth: ______/______/_____ Grade: ___________
(Mo.)
(Day)
(Yr.)
Beijing Opera Test Screening Questionnaire
For children aged from 6-12 years old:
The following questions are designed to provide feedback on a Peking Opera animation
Lulu's Opera House. The results of this test will help us to understand your attitudes towards
Peking Opera both before and after watching it. It will also help us understand your potential
future interest in Peking Opera. It is important for us that when you respond to these
questions that your answer reflects your current state or opinion and not a desired state.
There is no right or wrong answers. Please tell us your personal opinion by ticking the
appropriate box, since your answers will become a valid and important contribution to this
research and to the development of future Peking Opera animation programs.
Part 1 : Before viewing Lulu's Opera House
1.
Had you heard about Peking Opera before today? (Pick only one)
□ Yes
2.
□
No
If your answer is yes, how had you heard about Peking Opera? (Pick more than one
box if necessary)
□ Television
□ Theater
□ Internet
□ Articles
□ Family members
□ School
3.
Are you interested in Peking Opera? (Pick only one)
□ Very interested
4
□ Interested
□ Not sure
□ Not at all
interested
If you answered not at all interested, please point out the reason (Pick only one)
□ Can't understand
the contents
□ Dislike the
music
□ Feel out of date
297
□ The traditional
performance form
is boring
5.
6
If you answered that you were interested, which part of Peking Opera do you
typically like? (tick more than one box if necessary)
□ Peking Opera
martial arts &
acrobatics
□ Peking Opera
painted-face
□ Peking Opera
costume
□ Peking Opera
instruments
□ Peking Opera
dancing
□ Peking Opera
stories
□ Peking Opera
singing
□Peking Opera
role types
Can you perform any Peking Opera? (Check only one)
□ Yes, can perform
complete play
7
□ Personal interest
□ Physical exercise
Would you like to learn Peking Opera if you were given the opportunity? (Check only
one)
□ Yes
9
□ Not at all
If you are currently learning Peking Opera, why do you study it? (For Peking Opera
students only. Tick more than one box if necessary)
□ Family influence
8
□ Yes, but just a little
pieces
□ Not sure
□ No
If you were required to study Peking Opera, how would you like to learn it? (tick
more than one box if necessary)
□ Learn from the
teacher
□ Listen to the
recording
□ Use multimedia
manners such
as video or
animation
□ Others
Part 2: After viewing Lulu's Opera House
10
11
What did you think about the story of Lulu's Opera House?
(Pick only one)
□ Good, it's interesting
□ Neutral
□ not good - it doesn't
and clear
make sense
What did you think about the character design of Lulu's Opera House? (Pick only
one)
298
□ Very interesting
12
□ fair
□ poor
Which character did you particularly like in Lulu's Opera House? (Pick more than
one box if necessary)
□ Lulu
13
□ good
□ Male
actor
□ Female actor
□ Dong
(drummer)
□ Lin (Erhu
player)
What did you like about him/her in particular? (Pick more than one box if necessary)
□ Appearance
□ Movements
□ Personality
□ Please feel free to explain your choice in further detail or to mention other points
_______________________________________________________________
14
What is your opinion of the production quality of Lulu's Opera House? (Pick only
one)
□ excellent
15
□ good
□ Neutral
□ poor
What were the highlights of Lulu's Opera House for you? (tick more than one box if
necessary)
□ The characters
□ The music
□ The story
□ Peking Opera performance
□ Environments/production design
□ Funny or thoughtful moments
□ Others
16
What's your level of interest in developing Peking Opera Animation?
□ Very interested
17
□ Don’t mind
□ Not interested
Do you think Lulu's Opera House is helpful for you to better understand Peking
Opera? (Pick only one)
299
□ Very helpful
18
□ Helpful
□ Neutral
□ Not sure
□ don't look
forward to it at
all
If you have chance, would you like to understand or learn more about Peking Opera
after viewing Lulu's Opera House? (Pick only one)
□ Yes
20
□ Not at all
Do you look forward to more Peking Opera Animation programs? (Pick only one)
□ Yes, you look
forward to it a
lot
19
□ Not sure
□ Not sure
□ No
If you have a vote, which role type would you like to see in the further Peking Opera
Animation? (tick more than one box if necessary)
□ Lao Sheng (older male characters)
□ Xiao Sheng (young male characters)
□ Wu Sheng (martial male characters)
□ Qing yi (young female characters)
□ Wu Dan (martial female characters)
□ Lao Dan (older female characters)
□ Jing (painted face male characters)
21
□ Chou (clown)
What segments of Peking Opera would you like to be included more in further Peking
Opera animation? (tick more than one box if necessary)
□ Singing
□ Dancing
22
□ Painted face
□ Costumes
□ Martial arts
& acrobatics
□ Stories
□ Role types
□ Properties
Would you be happy to answer more questionnaires related to story design and
character design for future Peking Opera animation development?
□ Yes, I would be very
interested
□ Don’t mind either way
300
□ No, I'm not interested
Thank for your attention
Table 5: Questionnaire of School Screening Test (English version)
301
2. 1 Questionnaire used in school screening test (Chinese version):
姓名: __________________ 性别: ___________
出生日期: ______/______/_____ 年级: ___________
(年) (月) (日)
京剧动画短片“噜噜的戏院”观众调查问卷
适用于6-12岁的受访者：
以下的问题是专门为了收集京剧动画短片“噜噜的戏院”的观众反馈意见而设计的。
此次调查问卷的结果能够帮助我们了解您在观看该片之前和之后对传统京剧的态度，
也会藉此了解到未来你对京剧的潜在的兴趣。
注意：在您回答以下问题的时候，请通过勾选与答案相对应的方框来尽量反映您目前
的真实状况和想法。您的意见将成为我们今后研究和开发儿童京剧动画节目的重要依
据。
第一部分：请在观看短片“噜噜的戏院”之前填写
1.
你以前听说过京剧吗？（单选）
□
2.
电视
剧院
网络
读物
家庭成员
学校
你是否对京剧感兴趣？（单选）
□ 非常感兴趣
4
□ 没有
如果你知道京剧，请问是通过什么渠道? (单选或多选)
□
□
□
□
□
□
3.
听说过
□ 感兴趣
□ 没感觉
□ 不感兴趣
如果你对京剧不感兴趣，请问是什么原因？（单选）
□ 听不懂
□ 不喜欢它的
旋律
□ 觉得过时了
302
□ 传统的表演方式
很无聊
5.
如果你对京剧感兴趣的话，请问哪一部分特别吸引你？(单选或者多选)
□ 武术和杂技表
演
□ 京剧舞蹈
6
□ 京剧脸谱
□ 京剧故事
□ 京剧服饰
□ 京剧乐器
□ 京剧演唱
□
京剧角色
你可以表演京剧吗? (单选)
□ 可以表演完整的剧目
7
□ 可以，但只是一点小
□ 完全不会
片段
如果你正在学习京剧，请问是什么原因吸引你来学习？(只针对京剧学习者，单
选或多选)
□ 家庭的影响
8
□ 个人兴趣
如果有机会的话，你是否愿意学习京剧？（单选或多选）
□ 愿意
9
□ 为了锻炼身体
□ 不确定
□ 不愿意
如果你被要求学习京剧的话，请问你愿意通过哪种方式？ (单选或多选)
□
和老师学
□ 听录音
□ 采用多媒体的
方式，比如视
频或者动画
□ 其它
第二部分：请在观看短片“噜噜的戏院”之后填写
10
你认为“噜噜的戏院”的故事情节怎么样？（单选）
□ 好，很有趣，并能传
达清楚的故事信息
11
□ 一般
□ 不好，看不太懂
你认为“噜噜的戏院”中的人物形象设计怎么样？（单选）
□ 很好
□ 好
□ 一般
303
□ 很差
12
你在“噜噜的戏院”中最喜欢哪个角色？（单选或多选）
□ 噜噜
13
□ 男京剧演
员
□ 女京剧演
员
□ 东（鼓手） □ 林（二胡演
员）
你主要喜欢这个角色的哪个方面？（单选或多选）
□ 外形
□ 动作
□ 性格
□ 如果需要请在此做进一步的解释
14
_______________________________________________________________
你认为“噜噜的戏院”的制作水平怎么样？（单选）
□ 优秀
15
□ 好
□ 一般
□ 很差
你认为“噜噜的戏院”最吸引你的地方是什么？（单选或多选）
□ 人物造型
□ 音乐
□ 故事情节
□ 京剧表演
□ 动画场景设计
□ 有趣的或有意义的瞬间
□ 其他
16
你对开发京剧题材的动画片有什么看法？（单选）
□ 非常感兴趣
17
□ 无所谓
□ 没什么意思
你认为“噜噜的戏院”在增进你对京剧的了解上有帮助吗？（单选）
□ 非常有帮助
□ 有帮助
□ 不确定
304
□ 完全没有
18
你期待看到更多的京剧动画节目吗？（单选）
□ 是的，很期待
19
□ 一般
□ 不期待
在观看完“噜噜的戏院”之后，如果有机会的话，你是否愿意了解或者学习一些
传统京剧？（单选）
□ 愿意
20
□ 不确定
□ 不确定
□ 不愿意
在未来的京剧题材动画节目中，你更愿意看到哪一类的京剧人物？（单选或多选）
□ 老生 (老年男性角色)
□ 小生 (年轻男性角色)
□ 武生 (武术杂技男性角色)
□ 青衣 (年轻女性角色)
□ 武旦 (武术杂技女性角色)
□ 老旦 (老年女性角色)
□ 净 (花脸男性角色)
□ 丑 (丑角)
21
22
在未来的京剧题材动画节目中，你更愿意看到京剧的哪一个环节（单选或多选）
□ 演唱
□ 脸谱
□ 武术杂技
□ 传统故事
□ 舞蹈
□ 服装
□ 角色
□ 道具
在未来的京剧动画节目中的研发中，你是否还愿意继续参与到有关故事情节和角
色形象的调查问卷中来？（单选）
□ 是的，非常感兴趣
□ 无所谓
谢谢你的参与
Table 6: Questionnaire of School Screening Test (Chinese version)
305
□ 不感兴趣
2.2 School Screening Test participant information and collated data
The following seven tables list participant information for each of the school screening tests.
Sample Size=196, Group 2 to 7=168, Group 1=28
The samples in Group 1 are all Peking Opera learners, while in Group 2 to 7 are normal
students.
Participants’ information
School screening test - Group 1
● Group 1: Children Peking Opera Learner of CNPOC
Participant No: 28
Date of Survey: 16th May 2009
Students Full Name
Age
Gender
Grade
Hu Jiaqi
6
Male
Primary school Grade 1
Tan Xueqiang
13
Male
Junior high school Grade 2
Xiu Ying
12
Female
Liu Huiming
7
Male
Huang Jia
7
Female
Zhao Honglong
8
Male
Yang Ruijia
10
Female
Yu Fei
12
Female
Su Yudi
6
Female
Yang Tiantian
6
Female
Wang Jiaqi
6
Female
Sui Haoran
8
Male
Liang Wendao
8
Male
Wang Ruihan
7
Male
Huang Minqi
11
Female
Gao Chuyang
12
Male
Wang Zhixuan
12
Male
Xue Yuqing
7
Female
Mao Minghan
9
Male
Zhang Haoxuan
9
Male
Dai Jianing
11
Female
Chen Muxiao
13
Female
306
Ma Ziheng
6
Male
Peng Rongyu
7
Male
Lou Tianxin
10
Male
Tao Wenxin
8
Female
Zhang Ziqi
9
Female
Shao Xiaohan
12
Female
Group1 Statistic: Male students – 14 Female Students – 14
Table 7: Group 1 Participants information of School Screening Test
307
Age 6-13 years old
● Group 2: First Grade Students of Beijing Kangjingli Primary School
Participant No: 32
Know Peking Opera Interest in Peking
Opera before the
screening
Interest in
understanding
Peking Opera
after the
screening
Students Full Name
Age
Gender
Wang Yiyi
6
Female
No
No
No
Li Bohan
7
Male
No
No
Not sure
Shi Haiyu
6
Female
Yes
No
No
Wang Zhixuan
6
Male
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Lin Shangwei
6
Male
No
No
Yes
Zhang Jingxin
6
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Peng Xiaolai
7
Male
No
No
Yes
Yu Chenyan
6
Female
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Zhao Bochen
6
Male
No
No
No
Wang Qingjun
6
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Zou Minghao
7
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Wang Kailin
6
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Hong Haoming
6
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Ma Tianze
6
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Bian Huaijin
6
Female
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Li Yuanmin
7
Female
No
No
Not sure
Liang Wendao
7
Male
No
No
Yes
Lu Yixuan
6
Female
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Qian Ruikai
6
Male
No
No
Not sure
Zhou Xiaolin
6
Female
Yes
No
No
Wu Ruopu
6
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Lei Jingwen
7
Male
No
No
No
Cui Bingxuan
7
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Song Rui
6
Female
No
No
Yes
Han Xinran
6
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
308
Li Xinyi
6
Female
No
No
Yes
Lu Yuantian
7
Male
Yes
Not sure
No
Li Qiulin
6
Female
Yes
No
No
Yang Ziming
6
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Wei Xinying
6
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Zhang Qingchang
6
Female
No
No
Yes
Su Xiaoqing
6
Female
No
No
Yes
Group2 Statistic: Male students – 17 Female Students – 15 Mean Age - 6 years
Variable
Male
Female
Total
Know Peking Opera
10
8
56% (18/32)
Don't know Peking Opera
7
7
43% (14/32)
Interested in Peking opera
before the screening
2
1
9% (3/32)
Interested in understanding
Peking Opera after the
screening
9
7
46.5% (15/32)
309
● Group 3: Second Grade Students of Beijing Kangjingli Primary School
Participant No: 30
Students Full Name
Age
Gender
Know Peking
Opera
Interest in Peking
Opera before the
screening
Interest in
understanding
Peking Opera after
the screening
Wang Xin
7
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Gong Ranxi
7
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Li Xinyi
7
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Xu Tianqi
7
Male
Yes
No
No
Wang Zhuoya
7
Female
No
No
Not sure
Jiang Ziming
7
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Ye Xiaoyong
8
Male
No
No
Yes
Zhao Yufan
7
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Xu Ziyao
7
Male
No
No
Not sure
Man Meili
7
Female
No
No
No
Lan Yuting
8
Female
Yes
No
No
Yang Ziming
7
Male
No
No
Not sure
Sheng Li
8
Female
No
No
Not sure
Wang Jinwen
7
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Lu Yuantian
7
Male
No
No
Yes
Li Yuexuan
8
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
Wu Yuemeng
7
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
Li Yangruo
7
Female
Yes
Not sure
No
Wang Xiaoyan
7
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Cao Yuhan
8
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Liu Jiahao
7
Male
No
No
Not sure
Li Qiulin
7
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Zhan Ziyuan
7
Female
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Xu Jiakang
8
Male
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Ye Xizhe
7
Male
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Zhu Meixi
7
Female
No
No
Yes
310
Yan Jincheng
7
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Zhu Mo
7
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Zhao Tianjun
8
Male
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Zhou Yuanhang
7
Male
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Group3 Statistic: Male
students-15
Female Students–15 Mean Age-7.96 years
Variable
Male
Female
Total
Know Peking Opera
10
11
70% (21/30)
5
4
30% (9/30)
2
2
13% (4/30)
9
7
53% (16/30)
screening
311
● Group 4: Third Grade Students of Beijing Guanghualu Primary School
Participant No: 26
Interested in Peking
Students Full Name
Age
Gender
Know Peking
Opera
Opera before the
screening
Interest in
understanding
Peking Opera after
the screening
Chang Xiyuan
8
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Ruan Shihao
8
Male
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Wang Yunci
8
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Meng Kaichun
8
Male
Yes
No
No
Xia Yunfei
9
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Xia Yan
9
Female
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Fan Wenxuan
9
Female
No
No
Yes
Li Ziwen
8
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Pan Linlin
8
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Wang Chuhan
8
Female
No
No
Yes
Song Lingcong
8
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Dong Siyang
9
Male
No
No
No
Li Jianzhuo
8
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Xue Yanfang
8
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Hao Han
9
Male
No
No
No
Du Guansheng
8
Male
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Song Xiaoyue
8
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Wang Yichen
8
Female
No
No
No
Zhao Jiahe
9
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Wei Xinying
9
Female
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Zhou Yude
8
Male
No
No
Yes
Li Zhuopeng
8
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Dong Ruijia
8
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
Chen Tianyu
9
Male
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Li Wenhe
8
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Chang Jiayin
9
Female
Yes
No
Yes
312
students-14
Female Students–12
Mean Age-8.6 years
Variable
Male
Female
Total
Know Peking Opera
11
9
76% (20/26)
3
3
24% (6/26)
1
3
15% (4/26)
screening
6
9
57.5% (15/26)
313
● Group 5: Fourth Grade Students of Beijing Dongxiaojing Primary School
Participant No: 35
Students Full Name
Age
Gender
Know Peking
Opera
Interested in
Peking Opera
before the
screening
Tang Yuxuan
9
Male
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Tang Chengshuo
9
Male
Yes
No
No
Yao Haochen
9
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Li Xin
9
Female
No
Not sure
Not sure
Lin Yijia
10
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
Chen Jinyu
10
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Lin Ziyue
9
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Chen Yue
9
Female
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Xie Qian
9
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Hong Haoming
9
Male
No
No
No
Lan Ruoyan
10
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Zeng Cheng
10
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Zhang Yibao
9
Female
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Qiu Zekai
9
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Zhang Xingxian
9
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yang Zhiyuan
9
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Chen Haotao
10
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Yang Diandian
9
Female
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Zeng Qianyu
9
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Luo Liangye
9
Male
No
No
Yes
Dong Xinzhu
9
Female
Yes
No
No
Zhu Yichang
9
Male
No
No
Yes
Liu Haicheng
10
Male
Yes
Not sure
No
Chen Le
9
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Liao Kefan
10
Female
No
No
Yes
Hu Chengxuan
10
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
314
Interest in
understanding
Peking Opera
after the
screening
Chen Zhiqi
9
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Zeng Nuoyan
9
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Chen Zhiyan
9
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Xie Jiayi
9
Female
No
No
No
Lin Xinnan
9
Female
Yes
No
No
Tong Mo
9
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Zou Xiyan
9
Female
Yes
No
No
Lin Yunzhi
9
Male
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Xu Hanyue
10
Male
Yes
No
Yes
students-17
Female Students–18
Mean Age-9.5 years
Variable
Male
Female
Total
Know Peking Opera
14
15
83% (29/35)
Don't Know Peking Opera
3
3
17% (6/35)
3
2
14% (5/35)
screening
12
11
65.5% (23/35)
315
● Group 6: Fifth Grade Students of Beijing Guanghualu Primary School
Participant No: 25
Student Full Name
Age
Gender
Know Peking
Opera
Interested in
Peking Opera
before the
screening
Interest in
understanding
Peking Opera after
the screening
Yu Siyuan
10
Male
Yes
No
No
Cao Shuyang
10
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Ji Yuxin
10
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Teng Fei
11
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Zheng Mohan
10
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
Lin Chuyou
10
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Chen Ruoxin
11
Female
Yes
No
No
Huang Kun
10
Female
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Yang Chenyu
10
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Zhang Yuchen
10
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Lin Yiyang
11
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Lin Yichen
10
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Fan Yanyue
10
Female
Yes
No
No
Liu Shuangshuang
10
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
Xiao Keer
11
Female
Yes
No
No
Hong Xiwen
10
Female
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Tang Jiaqi
10
Female
Yes
No
No
Zhang Bonan
10
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Zhou Pengyu
11
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Ying Siyao
10
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
Chen Le
10
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Long Bingwen
10
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
Chen Chaoran
10
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Qiu Jiayi
11
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Liao Yushan
10
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
316
Group6 Statistic: Male students-12
Female Students-13
Mean Age-10.3 years
Variable
Male
Female
Total
Know Peking Opera
12
13
100% (25/25)
Don't know Peking opera
0
0
0
2
0
8% (2/25)
screening
6
5
44% (11/25)
317
● Group 7: Sixth Grade Students of Beijing Guanghualu Primary School
Participant No: 20
Students Full Name
Age
Gender
Know Peking
Opera
Interested in
Peking Opera
before the
screening
Xu Hongke
11
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Ye Xueke
11
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
Lin Jiali
12
Female
Yes
No
No
Xu Yuanyuan
12
Female
Yes
No
Not sure
Zhu Hai
12
Male
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Wang Zheng
12
Male
Yes
No
No
Zhou Chenxue
11
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yang Lei
11
Male
Yes
No
No
Shi Jiayi
12
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Xu Xueyi
12
Female
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Luo Kun
11
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Tang Mengdie
12
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Lin Ziyu
12
Male
Yes
No
No
Lin Mengting
11
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Sheng Xueer
12
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Yu Youya
12
Female
Yes
No
No
Yu Xianyong
11
Male
Yes
Not sure
Yes
Yuan Chenhui
11
Male
Yes
Not sure
Not sure
Jiang Nannan
12
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Zhou Chun
12
Male
Yes
No
Not sure
318
Interest in
understanding
Peking Opera after
the screening
Group7 Statistic: Male students-10 Female Students-10
Mean Age-12.15 years
Variable
Male
Female
Total
Know Peking Opera
10
10
100% (20/20)
0
0
0
Interested in Peking opera before
the screening
1
2
15% (3/20)
Peking Opera after the screening
4
5
45% (9/20)
319
Data collated from school screening test
Part 1: Before Viewing Lulu’s Opera House
1. Are you familiar with Beijing Opera?
Yes
No
Total %
82
18
Group 1
100
0
Group 2 to 7
82
18
2. How students had heard about Peking Opera?
TV
Theater
Internet
Articles
Family
School
Total %
47
3
7
5
14
24
Group 1
28.6
0
0
0
21.4
50
Group 2 to 7
(who chose
yes in Q1)
51.1
3.7
8.3
6
12
18.8
3. Students interested in Peking Opera before viewing Lulu's Opera House
Very interested
Interested
Not sure
Not at all
Total %
3
18
15
64
Group 1
21.4
78.6
0
0
0
7.7
17.9
74.4
Group 2 to 7
4. Reasons for disliking Peking Opera (for students who ticked not sure and not at all in Q3)
Can’t understand
Dislike the music
Out of date
Total %
42
26
13
Performance form is
boring
19
Group 1
0
0
0
0
Group 2 to 7
42
26
13
19
5. Which part of Peking opera are most interesting for you? (Multiple check)
Painted-fa
ces
Costumes
Instruments
Dancing
Stories
Singing
Role
types
Total %
Martial
arts &
acrobatics
65
42
29
13
21
7
4.5
15.3
Group 1
50
35.7
28.6
7.1
32.1
10.7
32.1
28.6
Group 2
to 7
67.3
42.9
28.6
13.7
19
6
0
13.1
320
6. Students who can perform Peking Opera
Yes, can perform
complete play
4
Yes, but just a little
pieces
24
Not at all
4
24
72
Family influence
Personal interest
Physical exercise
Total %
4
24
72
Group 1
4
24
72
Total %
72
Group 1
Group 2 to 7
7. Why are you studying Peking Opera?
Group 2 to 7
8. Would you like to learn Peking Opera? (students currently learning Peking opera not included)
Yes
Not sure
No
16
61
23
16
61
23
Total %
Group 1
Group 2 to 7
9. How would you prefer to learn about Peking Opera?
Listen to the
recording
7.5
Multimedia
(video/animation)
79.5
Other
Total %
Learn from
teachers
10
Group 1
57.1
14.3
21.4
7.1
Group 2 to 7
1.8
6.5
89.3
2.4
3
Part 2 After viewing Lulu’s Opera House
10. What is your opinion on the story of Lulu's Opera House?
Good, interesting and
clear
Neutral
Not good, it doesn’t make
sense
Total %
46.5
48
5.5
Group 1
64.3
25
10.7
Group 2 to 7
43.5
51.7
4.8
321
11. What is your opinion on character design of Lulu's Opera House?
Very interesting
Good
Fair
Poor
Total %
68
19.5
10.5
2
Group 1
71.4
14.3
14.3
0
Group 2 to 7
67.3
20.2
10.1
2.4
12. Which characters did you like the most? (Multiple check)
Lulu
Male actor
Female
Dong(drummer)
Lin(Erhu player)
Total %
23
41
33.5
21
28
Group 1
21.4
46.4
32.1
17.9
28.6
Group 2 to 7
23.2
39.9
33.9
21.4
28
13. What did you like most about these characters?
Appearance
Movements
Personality
Total %
43
41.5
15.5
Group 1
46.4
46.4
7.2
Group 2 to 7
42.3
40.5
17.2
14. What is your opinion on the production quality of Lulu's Opera House?
Excellent
Good
Neutral
Total %
79.5
11
4.5
Not good, can do
better
4.5
Group 1
42.9
21.4
21.4
14.3
Group 2 to 7
85.7
9.5
1.8
3
15. What were the highlights of Lulu's Opera House for you?
The
music
The
story
Peking Opera
performance
Environment
Total %
The
character
s
32
14.5
7
34.5
Group 1
32.1
21.4
14.3
Group 2
to 7
32.1
13.1
6
322
Others
34
Funny or
thoughtful
moments
21
39.3
28.6
21.4
3.6
34
34.5
20.8
3
3
16. What’s your opinion about developing Peking Opera animation?
Very interested
Don’t mind
Not interested
Total %
75.5
17.8
6.7
Group 1
100
0
0
Group 2 to 7
71.4
20.8
7.7
17. Was Lulu's Opera House helpful to you in understanding Peking Opera?
Very helpful
Helpful
Not sure
Not at all, just for fun
Total %
23
38.5
20
18.5
Group 1
28.6
42.9
7.1
21.4
22
37.5
22
18.5
Group 2 to 7
18. Do you look forward to seeing more Peking Opera Animation?
Neutral
Not sure
Not at all
Total %
Yes, looking
forward to it a lot
52
21.5
15
11.5
Group 1
78.6
14.3
7.1
0
Group 2 to 7
47.6
22.6
16
13.7
19. Do you expect to understand more about Peking Opera after viewing Lulu's opera House?
Yes
Not sure
No
Total %
59.5
29.5
11
Group 1
100
0
0
Group 2 to 7
53
34.5
12.5
20. The role types children want to see more in future Peking opera animation (Multiple check)
Total
%
Group
1
Group
2 to 7
Lao
Sheng
(older
male)
3
Xiao
Sheng
(young
male)
11
Wu Sheng
(martial
male)
Qing Yi
(young
female)
Wu Dan
(martial
female)
Lao Dan
(older
female)
48
22.5
38
14.3
14.3
17.9
28.6
1.2
10.1
53
21.4
323
Chou
(clown)
2
Jing
(painted
face
male)
41.5
21.4
10.7
25
32.1
40.5
0.6
44
28.6
29
21. The segments of Peking opera children want to see more of in the future Peking opera animation
(Multiple check)
Singing Painted Martial arts Stories
Dancing Costumes
Role
Properties
face
&
types
acrobatics
Total %
7.5
37.8
49.5
4.5
29
23.5
17
8.5
Group
32.1
28.6
28.6
10.7
21.4
17.9
17.9
10.7
1
Group
3.6
39.3
53
3.6
30.4
24.4
16.7
8.3
2 to 7
22. Would you be happy to complete a story and character design questionnaire for future animation
development?
Yes, I’m very
Don’t mind either way
No, I’m not interested.
interested
Total %
71
15.5
13.5
Group 1
100
0
0
Group 2 to 7
66.1
17.9
16
Table 14: Data collated from School Screening Test
324
3. Selected Original copy of questionnaire
Shao Xinyi – SDTV follow-up survey participant
Gender: female
Date of Birth: 16 Oct 1997
Shao Xinyi questionnaire Page 1
325
Age: 11 (in 2008)
Grade: five
326
327
Wu Siqi – SDTV follow-up survey participant
Gender: male
Date of Birth: 28 Jul 2001
Age: 7 (in 2008)
Wu Siqi questionnaire Page 1
328
Grade: one
329
330
Yu Shiyi – SDTV follow-up survey participant
Gender: female
Date of Birth: 05 Apr 2002
Yu Shiyi questionnaire Page 1
331
Age: 6 (in 2008)
Grade: one
332
333
Ye Sijing – SDTV follow-up survey participant
Gender: female
Date of Birth: 12 Jun 2000
Ye Sijing questionnaire Page 1
334
Age: 8 (in 2008)
Grade: three
335
336
Gao Chuyang – School Screening Test participant
Gender: male Date of Birth: 25 Oct 1997
school Group 1
Group 1
Age: 12 (in 2009)
Gao Chuyang questionnaire Page 1
337
Grade: Junior high
338
339
340
Cao Yuhan – School Screening Test participant
Gender: female
Group 3
Date of Birth: 08 Feb 2001 Age: 8 (in 2009)
Cao Yuhan questionnaire Page 1
341
Grade: Second
342
343
344
Chen Le – School Screening Test participant
Gender: male
Date of Birth: 18 May 2000
Group 5
Age: 9 (in 2009)
Chen Le questionnaire Page 1
345
Grade: Fourth
346
347
348
Huang Kun – School Screening Test participant
Gender: female
Group 6
Date of Birth: 16 Feb 1999 Age: 10 (in 2009)
Huang Kun questionnaire Page 1
349
Grade: Fifth
350
351
352
Yang Lei – School Screening Test participant
Gender: male
Date of Birth: 12 Dec 1997
Group 7
Age: 11.5 (in 2009)
Yang Lei questionnaire Page 1
353
Grade: Sixth
354
355
356
Appendix D
357
Appendix D: Lulu’s Opera House - Script
For many centuries the Beijing Opera stood as the pinnacle of cultural entertainment for the
Chinese people, many incomparable treasures and moments had been born throughout its
history and the actors themselves were always held in very great esteem. As timed passed
however, as with most things, interest for the Beijing Opera gradually dwindled and the once
full audiences of Opera Houses began to empty. With the growth of the newer generations and
their own cultures interest for the Opera virtually disappeared.
The script presented below has been created for the television 3D animated series Lulu’s
Opera House to address the requirements of fostering traditional Beijing Opera to young
generations. This animated series centers around a 6 year old girl named Lulu. Lulu lives with
her 65 year old grandfather Lao Wang who himself is a musician. Lao Wang once played the
Er Hu, a traditional Chinese instrument, for a small Opera House up until his retirement and
despite the overall lack of financial success the business had; for Wang receives only a modest
pension; he was able to draw a great deal of pride from his work. Lao Wang, when not caring
for Lulu often is found listening to his old radio, or floating amongst his photo albums,
reminiscing of the great performances which he was fortunate enough to be a part of. Lulu
however simply just does not get it; she cannot understand why some one would possibly
wish to spend their time listening to this slow, boring music when they could be doing
something exciting like chasing field mice in the countryside.
One day however Lulu's impressions will be cast aside through a fortuitous discovery of a
book, a book that will open her eyes and mind to a magical new world, the world of Beijing
Opera…
358
Scene1 INT. Lulu’s home-dining room – DAY
The rays of the sun are cast through the window into the room.
Shot1:
The shot opens to Lao Wang’s performance photos hanging upon the wall, the title of the film
‘Lulu’s Opera House’ gradually floats into display with a ghostly smoke effect. As the shot
pans, the title gradually disappears to be replaced by the image of an Opera House created
with the same effect, which also fades out. (SFX: Subtle Beijing Opera Melody)
Shot2:
Lao Wang’s head swings into the scene and disappears with the sound of a swinging chair; it
swings in again, and disappears again. The camera gradually zooms out to reveal Lao Wang
casually swinging in his chair, pipe in hand; he is smoking and reminiscing with his photos.
The smoke ring he has just blown deforms to create the image of a Beijing Opera
performance. An old radio set upon the table beside him is playing the accompanying music.
(SFX Smoke puffing, Beijing Opera Melody)
The Opera Melody is broken as the radio loses its reception and falls into static. (SFX:
Melody broken by Radio Static).
Shot3:
Lao Wang wanders in his house with radio in hand, reaching this way and that in a vain
attempt to regain the reception, alas the channel is continuously broken, and he is showing his
disappointment. He looks to the radio.
LAO WANG
Oh, pal, you are old like me. We are both antiques.
Lao Wang tries all he can to regain the reception.
Lao Wang adjusts the antenna.
Lao Wang fiddles with the radio knob.
Lao Wang holds the radio above his head.
Lao Wang shakes the radio vigorously.
Lao Wang balances precariously upon the chair risking his feeble back as he stretches out of
the window.
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Shot4:
Close up of Lao Wang’s hands maintaining a feeble grasp on the radio as he attempts to adjust
the antenna.
Shot5:
LAO WANG
“Ah…”
Close up of Lao Wang’s straining face, clutching his equally straining mid section.
Shot6:
Lao Wang finally regains the signal, to his relief, and scrupulously places the radio upon the
tea table.
Shot7
Lao Wang manages to return and relax upon his swing chair; he picks up his teapot and
prepares to enjoy the first tea of the morning. (SFX, SLURPING)
Shot8:
Lulu, forever keeping her grandfather on his toes, rushes in after her robotic dog with
earphones in her ears and controller in hand shouting and screaming and making a fuss, the
robot dog slides around the room and a cat relaxing upon a nearby cushion is suddenly not
looking so relaxed. The dog runs into the cushion causing the cat to freak and run under the
tea table, in turn leading to the radio once again loses the signal.
LAO WANG
LU~LU~~~~!
Lao Wang stands up from his swing chair losing his temper.
LAO WANG
That’s three times this morning, Lulu… One more time, you can
Always go back to your Mum and Dad.
Shot9:
The whole world freezes and Lulu, the robot dog, and the cat all look up to Lao Wang with
Puppy Dog eyes; Lao Wang can’t help melting…
Shot10:
LULU
B-But grandpa, hm, M-Maamy says you’re lonely now,
and you are retired, and I Love living with you grandpa…
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Shot11:
Lao Wang looks at Lulu with a raised eyebrow, looks surprised, and then embraces Lulu with
a fatherly smile.
Shot12:
Lulu looks with a curious frown in the direction of the radio.
LULU
Grandpa, I don’t understand why you get so upset over
This boring music like ‘yi~yi, ya~ya~oo’.
Shot 12-A
Lao Wang looks surprised first and then offended by Lulu’s words.
Shot13
LULU
Let’s go catch field mice grandpa!
Yeah! Mousie! Mousie! Mousie!
Lulu shouts and jumps.
Shot14:
Lao Wang droops after, offended.
LAO WANG
Oh, dear, I worked in the opera house for all those years,
It was my life; I love it just as much as I love you…
I truly hope one day you will be able to discover
just how beautiful it is.
Shot15:
Lulu just looks back to her grandpa blankly, not really understanding, Lao Wang gives in and
pats her on the head.
LAO WANG
All right, all right, let’s go catch your mousie
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Scene2 EXT. countryside – DAY
Shot16:
Close up of a yellow flower slightly swaying in the wind, camera slowly pans to the right and
pitches up. A bicycle rapidly approaches.
Following the first bicycle, the second enters view as well, disturbing the grass as they pass.
Camera tracks in through the grass and pans out to reveal whole scene of Lulu and Lao Wang
riding in the countryside.
Shot of behind Lulu’s baby-tricycle towing a small trailer, the trailer is full of such
implements as a small scoop, spade, bucket and net, they rattle together (SFX, Rattling)
Lining the road there are beautiful scenes of landscapes and farmhouses, as they pass two
chickens jump onto a fence while crowing.
Shot17:
Close up of Lulu’s excited face and her feet pedaling fast, Lao Wang is struggling to keep up.
Close up of Lulu singing happily with the indistinct view of her grandfather behind.
Camera stationary to side of the road, Lulu erupts from right hand side then disappears again
to the left; Lao Wang follows shortly after shouting.
LAO WANG
Hold on Lulu! Don’t make me chase you!
Shot18:
Camera paralleling Lulu, she shouts back
LULU:
You can’t catch me!
Camera freezes and Lulu rides on, soon followed by sounds of a crash and Lulu’s squeal.
(SFX: Sound of crash).
LULU
Ah~~~~~
Shot19:
Close up of Lao Wang with very alarmed expression.
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Shot20:
Lulu frantically tries to regain control after her wheel strikes an old thick book lying on the
road.
Shot21:
Lulu eventually emerges from the bushes with straw in her hair looking quite moody.
She vigorously shakes the straw from her hair and spits out the grass from her mouth. She
takes hold of her small spade to find out what she bumped into.
Shot22:
Close up of the thick book and Lulu’s hand soon emerges to pick it up.
Shot23:
Lulu places the book into her trailer.
LULU
(Murmuring in disgust)
I’ll fix you after we get home…
Shot24:
At that moment Lao Wang finally catches up.
LAO WANG
Lulu, are you all right? Let me have a look, are you hurt?
Lulu waves her grandfather away.
LULU
Oh I’m fine Grandpa, don’t you worry
about me I’m tough! Don’t just stand
there, we’ve got mousie to catch!
Scene 3 INT. Lulu’s bedroom NIGHT
Shot25:
Later that evening, close up of captured field mouse sitting inside a small carton, camera pans
out to reveal the whole bedroom.
Shot26:
Lulu lies upon the carpet surfing the net with her new friend the mouse; she is looking
through a selection of coops for her mouse to live in. She has chips and a drink beside her and
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she is feeding some of it to the mouse.
Shot27:
Close up of Lulu’s face.
LULU:
What do you think of this one?
Hmm…no, it’s too big for you I think…
Hm… Oh! How about this! It’s pink!
This is much more interesting than
Beijing Opera, isn’t it?
Shot28:
Meanwhile with Lulu’s attention on the screen the field mouse manages to escape and run
across the room over Lulu’s food in the process.
Shot29:
LULU
Oh, let’s see this, EWW! How could they
put such a yucky coop on E-Bay!
Shot30:
The mouse climbs into the trailer now in the corner of the room and perches itself upon the
book Lulu picked up earlier that day. There is a large button shaped like a painted human face
on the book’s cover. The mouse sniffs it, and gnaws at the button to grind its teeth. Suddenly
the book begins to sparkle for a few seconds before stopping as quickly as it began, the mouse
squeaks in surprise and flees in fright.
MOUSE
Zhi Zhi~~~~~~~
Shot31:
Lulu hears the sound and catches the sparkling of the book in the reflection of her computer
monitor, she looks back to find the mouse trembling in the corner of the trailer.
LULU
Now what are you up to over there?
Shot32:
The mouse makes a series of odd and funny poses in an attempt to explain what happened, he
points to himself, makes a gnawing action, then points to the book and tries to imitate the
sparkling.
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Shot33:
Lulu steps over to the trailer taking the mouse up in her hand, she reaches over to open the
book with the other.
LULU
Oh mousie don’t be a scared…
mouse… Come on let’s check it out!
Suddenly a bright multicolored light bursts from within the book, the mouse jumps with a
frightful squeak onto Lulu’s shoulder and Lulu lurches back in surprise as a magical Opera
house appears within the lights.
Shot34:
As the Opera House steadily grows larger and larger, the environment surrounding Lulu
begins to change as well. The Opera House has three floors and floats upon water, bronze
wind bells hang from each corner of the roof bringing a fair and gentle chiming sound to the
blowing of the wind. A bridge with countless red lanterns gradually extends across the water
to rest at Lulu’s feet; two stone beacons await her at its end.
Scene 4 INT. Beijing opera house
Shot35:
Lulu stands in the bridge, and looks as if she has no idea what she’s going to do. She looks at
mouse with enquiring eyes and mouse responds to Lulu by pointing at the opera house with
his little fat hand.
Lulu cautiously steps across the bridge in awe and is amazed by all of the lush and beautiful
decorations inside the Opera House itself. All the while the mouse remains perched upon her
shoulder and is looking around in amazement itself.
Shot36:
The mouse suddenly hides itself with a squeak as a tall thin man quickly appears with a
serious face, by a smoking effect. FX
Shot37:
Lulu is covered in the shadow of the tall man, she and mouse are trembling together due to
being scared.
Shot38:
TALL MAN (LIN)
Visitors!! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome to
our wonderful guests! Allow me to be of
service to you, I am Lin, and by what name
are you referred my most noble lady?
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Shot39:
Lulu and the mouse just look blankly back in return.
LULU
Lu…lu…?
Shot40
At this moment, a short and stumpy old man appears and jumps out to Lulu, by the smoking
effect as well. He is a very excitable man, stands very close to Lulu and curiously observes
Lulu up and down.
Shot41:
FAT MAN
Lu~~Lu.., what a lovely name,
hey Lin, we haven’t seen a Child here for a long time, have we?
Oh, what a delicate hat, I love it.
Hey, friend (Mouse), what’s your name?
Don’t tell me you’ve come to see Beijing opera too,
I don’t want to play for a mouse…
Fat man says all these words with excited speed without consideration for
the other person’s feelings, and he tries to shake the mouse’s hand. But the mouse flees
between Lulu’s left and right shoulder.
Shot42:
When fat man speaks and turns around Lulu, Lulu freezes, her hair stands out and her hand
grips her own shirt. She is tense.
Shot43:
Close up to the back of fat man. While he is still speaking, a big hand (Lin) pushes him to the
side, and Lulu’s face is revealed. (SFX: Fat man falling down)
LIN (tall man)
Lulu, it’s time to go, I will show you around the palace.
Shot44:
POV: back of Lulu and Lin.
Lin leads Lulu to enter the opera house, Lulu looks back to fat man while running to catch Lin.
The mouse makes a grimace towards the fat man.
Shot45:
Fat man stands up and flaps to clean the dust.
FAT MAN
Oh, friend, I know I get excited,
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But don’t be this rude to me.
(SFX: Lin’s voice is fading as he moves away).
Fat man runs to catch Lin and Lulu after cleaning.
Shot46:
POV-Look down from upstairs to the first floor below, Lulu walks following Lin, and fat man
is running to catch them.
FAT MAN
Hey, I forget to introduce myself, I’m Dong…
Shot47:
Close up of Lin, Lulu and Fat man, Dong.
LIN
We have many guests, because we
Offer our best performance and service here.
Look at our palace, how splendid it is!
I’m proud that you can see it.
I’m sure that this is the best opera house you’ve seen.
DONG
I hear my grandfather’s grandfather designed it.
Lin looks at Dong with a mildly disgusted expression.
Shot48:
The Camera steadily pans around the scene when Lin is speaking.
Dome: A huge traditionally coloured painting and palace lanterns lighting the Opera House
beautifully.
Wall: A pattern of Chinese painting – peony and a Beijing Opera face,
Shot49:
(Stage description: A round solid timber foundation with shimmering curtains hanging from
ceiling to stage, flying dragon patterns are embroidered upon them. Thousands of hand-sized
wooden boards each with the name of a different Opera melody hang upon the wall near the
stage.)
LIN
Lulu, look at this stage?
Lin points at the stage with one hand, then all the curtains with different colours slide open
one by one to reveal the shimmering golden background curtain hanging from the ceiling,
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flower patterns are embroidered upon them and shining with the light.
While Lin is talking, Dong quickly jumps to the stage. After all the curtains open, Dong
makes a funny pose there while singing.
DONG
Dang.. Dang..Dang….
Shot50:
Close up of Lin and Lulu.
Lin bends and moves close to Lulu’s face. He speaks to her mystically
LIN
I believe you will be astonished by what you are about to see.
Lin turns back and closes the curtains by waving his hand lightly.
Shot51:
The curtains quickly close, and Dong is covered under it. He struggles inside.
DONG
Ah…ah…
Hey, can’t you see I’m here…
Mouse’s reaction: big laugh.very happy.
Shot52:
LIN
And…we have thousands of Beijing Opera arias here.
All the traditional classic arias…
LULU
Arias…?
LIN
Arias are a songs form the Opera.
Lin quickly stands straight, and opens his arm in a grand gesture to show to Lulu the many
wooden boards hanging upon the whole wall.
Shot53：
POV- cameral looks up and uses a wide-angle lens to show the whole wall of wooden boards
hanging from ceiling.
368
Shot54:
DONG
(Interrupting)
Actually, I’m creating a new aria now, it’s nearly
finished, I’m sure you will love it, come back in two months …
Lin covers Dong’s mouth by hand because he thinks Dong is so talkative.
LIN
Lulu, go to see, which one would you like?
Lin waves his hand to Lulu. She is suddenly moved to the wall by some power, and levitates
with some cloud under her. Lulu is surprised, but not scared.
LULU
Ah~~~.
Shot55:
Camera follows Lulu and pans up and down. (Wide-angle lens).
Shot56:
Cameral pans among the wooden boards, each with the name of a different Opera aria and
paintings.
Shot57:
As Lulu looks the wooden boards, Dong and Lin walk to the band seats. (A quaint Opera band
with three traditional Chinese chairs is set nearby the stage).
Lin gracefully chimes a small hand held bronze bell.
Shot58:
LIN
Band ready? It’s time to perform!
DONG
Oh hu…”Show guys!”
Shot59:
A poised graceful woman named Hui emerges from behind the curtain.
HUI
Do we have a guest? It’s not the opening time.( formally)
Shot60:
LIN
Yes, but Hui! You must come and meet our
369
Crasher, a lovely little girl with a big interest in our theatre!
DONG
And a fat little mouse,
HUI
That’s marvellous.
I don’t believe we have performed for children for some time; we will need to double our
efforts! Let’s begin…
Shot61:
Hui waves her arm in the air and a Yue Qin (Chinese Instrument) appears in her palm with a
burst of bright magical sparks.
Shortly afterwards, Lin’s instrument, an Er Hu appears amongst a burst of yellow sparks and a
drum for Dong among a burst of blue. All the musicians begin to play a gentle melody
complementing the scene.
Shot62:
Lulu takes particular interest in the wooden boards upon the wall, she takes one of them from
the wall, and it bares the words Mai Shui (Sell Water - a play of Beijing Opera); the wooden
board quickly flies to stage.
Shot63:
There is a concave space on the red column beside stage, which has the same figure as the
wooden board. The wooden board exactly encases it. Then the stage resonates with light and
begins to rotate, the stage curtain slides open to reveal two beautiful Beijing Opera actresses;
they begin to perform to the melody.
Shot64:
Lulu
Woooooow, this is amaaaaaazing!
Lulu floats back by cloud which transforms to a chair figure.
Wide-eyed Lulu is really astonished.
LAO WANG
Lulu? … Lulu… dinner time…
Shot65:
Suddenly with the entry of Lao Wang’s voice， the magical world melts away and Lulu soon
finds herself back in her bedroom blinking. Lao Wang is standing at the door，Lulu jumps to
her feet and races over to him.
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Shot66:
LULU
Grandpa! Grandpa! Opera house!
Did you see! Tell me you saw it!
As she speaks, the mouse also attempts to support her with a series of funny and dramatic
poses.
Shot67:
Lao Wang looks curiously around the room, he doesn’t understand Lulu’s excitable
blabbering and chooses to just nod his head and ignore her.
Lao Wang waves away Lulu.
LAO WANG
All right now Lulu, enough play,
it’s time for dinner, come on.
Shot68:
He pats her on the head and steps out of the room again leaving her breathing heavily from
the excitement.
Shot69:
The moment Lao Wang leaves Lulu excitedly runs back to the book to open it again.
Shot70:
From within the light the opera house re-emerges in front of her once again.
Shot71:
The cloud appears under Lulu, and she takes another of the boards with the words Tiao Hua
Che.
Shot72:
The wooden board flies to the stage and the stage illuminates again and begins to rotate, the
two actors appear once again though this time they begin to perform Beijing Opera Martial
Arts.
LULU
Woooooooooow…
Shot73:
Lulu takes another board.
Shot74:
The two actors splash and vanish within a cloud of particle effects, and the stage rotates again.
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Shot75:
Lulu continues to take board after board and with that the camera swaps between her hand,
the performer, the band members and Lulu’s amazed face. SFX: Allegretto Beijing Opera
melody with strong percussive rhythm.
Note: Classical Beijing Opera plays will be shown here one in each episode through Lulu’s
selection. Every episode will present particular Beijing Opera stories, role types, facial
makeup and costumes to young audience.
Shot76:
The scene, the characters and their actions steadily fade to white and dissolve into the image
of a mirror.
Scene 5 INT
SFX: Theme Song with lyric
Part1: Lulu practises Painting Face and Beijing Opera actions, which is really awful. (Slowly
rhythm music at beginning with Lulu, female teacher and Lao Wang’s singing)
Shot77:
Within the mirror’s reflection Lulu is applying makeup to her face, the field mouse sits
besides her watching intently with bright eyes as Lulu adds a stroke of red to her eyes. She is
adopting the image of a Beijing Opera performer.
Shot78:
Close up of Lulu’s face, she adds the finishing touches to one of her eyes and looks not
satisfied with her work, she makes some funny facial expressions in the mirror, the mouse
attempts to mimic them.
Shot79:
Lulu tries to paint a different face for herself, but it’s not successful every time. She always
makes ugly faces.
Shot80:
Lulu practices some actions of Beijing Opera under the instruction of a female teacher in a
classroom with mirrors around. She fails to manage the skills taught by the teacher.
Lulu imitates the teacher’s gestures, but she makes a really funny pose.
Lulu drops down from chairs.
Lulu practises short spear, which is a classic play of Beijing Opera called Dao Xian Cao. But
what she does is awful.
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There is a muss scene and Lulu’s disappointment face reflects from all the mirrors of
classroom.
Part2: Lulu redoes all the exercises again described in part1, which are excellence this time.
SFX: Exultant background music with Lulu and Lao Wang’s singing.
Shot81:
Lulu finishes the last stroke; she makes a beautiful Beijing Opera painting face for herself.
Shot82:
Lulu performs some actions of Beijing Opera, like rotating a handkerchief; dances upon a
chair (a classic play called Gua Hua (Hanging Picture); performs with the short spear with her
female teacher.
Shot83:
The short spear rolls and is kicked up into the air by Lulu.
POV: Cameral pans up with the trick of the short spear. (Slow motion)
Shot84: (Lulu’s garden)
SFX: many children’s acclamatory voices come in with the theme song.
The short spear quickly drops to Lulu’s hand. The whole background transfers from practising
classroom to Lulu’s garden. There is a performance organized for New Year celebration. Lulu
is performing Beijing Opera for them, Lao Wang is accompanying for her.
Shot85:
Children and some parents sit around, cheering and applauding for Lulu.
Shot86:
Lulu finishes the performance by making a beautiful gesture. Camera pauses with this frame
as a still.
Shot87:
Camera zooms out from this still to reveal the wall of Lao Wang’s dinning room, Lulu’s
performance photos are newly hung on the wall, side by side with Lao Wang’s old photos.
Ending caption display, within the background a series of snippets showing Lulu practicing
Beijing Opera.
373
Glossary
Sheng. Beijing Opera role type - standard male characters.
Lao Sheng. Older sheng which means a middle-aged or old man who wears a beard.
Wu Sheng. Martial sheng which means a man of military tenor, especially skilled in
acrobatics, with a natural voice when singing.
Xiao Sheng. Young sheng which means a young man.
Dan. Beijing Opera role type - female characters.
Jing. Beijing Opera role type - painted - face male characters.
Chou. Beijing Opera role type - clown, who are usually male.
Daomadan: such characters are often female generals or marshals, as military officials.
Their costumes normally require hard armour, with helmets and full armour, and
seven-star headgear which are exclusively used by female generals and marshals, with
two layers of big soft nap balls and seven balls in each layer. Such characters require
excellent martial arts, as well as soliloquy, singing, and acting skills. For example, the
Mu Guiying in Beijing Opera piece Mu Guiying Takes Command (Artch.cn 2007).
Wudan. The civil women, spirits or elves, who are excellent at martial arts. Such
characters normally wear leotards, and pay more emphasis to their martial arts and
soliloquy than singing and acting. Their performance focuses on turnovers and fights
(Artch.cn 2007).
Rankou. Beards worn by Lao Sheng or Jing characters, which are usually waist-length
and may be black, gray, or white depending upon the age of the specific character
being portrayed. Every beard is divided into three separate parts - two sideburns and a
central chin portion.
Guan Xue. Also called houdi xue, which means thick bottom boots; black cloth boots
with thick white wooden soles.
Shui Xiu. Water sleeves. These are extensions of the sleeves proper, made of white
silk from twelve to eighteen inches long. They may be held folded at the wrist, or
dropped and moved by the arm in a variety of gestural patterns.
374
Mang. The ceremonial robe in Beijing Opera costumes, and normally known as the
Dragon Robe. Such robes are most used by the emperors and mandarins on the stage,
such as the kings and queens, or the old men, young men, and warriors, as civil
officials and military officials.
Business. According to their varied sex, disposition, age, occupation and social status,
the characters of Beijing Opera can be divided into four categories – Sheng (male),
Dan (female), Jing (warrior), and Chou (clown). It is specialized terminology used in
the Beijing Opera, known as “HangDang” in Chinese.
Erhu. Beijing Opera instrument, a two-stringed fiddle.
Jinghu. Beijing Opera instrument, similar to an erhu, but larger.
Yueqin. Beijing Opera instrument, a four-stringed guitar-like instrument.
Sanxian. Beijing Opera instrument, a three-stringed guitar-like instrument.
Kao. The armour worn by the warriors in Beijing Opera costumes. It is normally
divided into Ying Kao (hard armour), Ruan Kao (soft armour), and Gailiang Kao
(improved armour).
Ying Kao. Hard armour. It is also known as large armour in Beijing Opera costumes.
The most distinguished feature of hard armour is that a leather sheath is fastened in
the back of the armour, which is inserted with four triangle satin flags with dragon
patterns embroidered with varied coloured threads. The four armour flags are in an
externally radiating shape, which creates a stretching and expanding effect on the
costume, and further sets off the power and courage of the military officials. Normally
when a military official wears hard armour, it means the character is fully armed and
is ready for battles.
Ruan Kao. Soft armour which is normally worn by old military officials who are aged
and weak, or by military officials in non-battle circumstances.
Gailiang Kao. Improved armour. The improved armour is similar to soft armour but
simple and light. The pattern and image of improved armour is less powerful than
hard armour, thus it normally used on ordinary military officials.
Xingtou. Or Xifu in Chinese, refers to the Beijing Opera costumes. It is the general
name for the dressing of varied characters.
Zhezi Xi. Zhezi Xi refers to one act (Zhezi) in a multi-act drama. It might not have a
beginning or an ending but is the highlight of a drama, which people never get tried of
watching. Zhezi Xi, or one-act operas, are used to test the maturity of young
375
performers and fans. Because well-known one-act operas are familiar to the audience,
who, after comparing the performances of different actors and actresses in such operas,
can tell who are better than others. A new performer must do well in a one-act opera
to win approval from old fans; and a new Beijing Opera fan must know how to
evaluate the acting of a one-act opera to win recognition from old fans.As a general
rule, a successful full-length opera (with both beginning and end) contains one or two
acts that can be staged separately as a Zhezi Xi (Xu 2003, p.39).
Constrain object. A 3D object which will define position and shape of cloth, in order
to simulate its physics property.
Next-generation. Refers to the new techniques in the computer game industry.
Generally, Next-generation video games are featuring more details, faster speeds, and
much more astonishing visual effects.
Diffuse Map. Diffuse Map is a specialized term in 3D production field. It is a texture
people use to define a surface's main colour.
Normal Mapping. Normal mapping is a technique used for bump mapping in 3D
computer graphics. It is widely used to add details without using more polygons in the
computer game and CG animation industries in recent years. Generally, a normal map
is an RGB image that corresponds to the X, Y, and Z coordinates of a surface normal
from a more detailed version of the object. Using Normal Mapping technique can
enormously enhance the appearance and details of a low polygon model by generating
a normal map from a high polygon model.
Specular Map. A specular map is a bitmap image that controls the specularity along
the surface of objects. Work in with normal map, specular map is also widely used in
game and animation industry to reach much more lifelike visual effects.
376
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Interview:
Jia, Jing. 2008, Interview, [Interview by Zhang Lei on 13 February 2008, Jinan]
Guo, Yuejin. 2008, Interview, [Interview by Zhang Lei on 16 February 2008, Jinan]
Cai, Qihua. 2008, Interview, [Interview by Zhang Lei on 3 March 2008, Beijing]
Ying, Hong. 2008, Interview, [Interview by Zhang Lei g on 4 March 2008, Beijing]
Cai, Zhijun. 2008, Interview, [Interview by Zhang Lei on 5 March 2008, Beijing]
CD-ROMS, DVDs
Knowlton, L.G. & Costigan, L.H. 2006, The World According to Sesame Street,
DVD-ROM, Participant Productions, USA.
Cheng Yanqiu – A Documentary Film for the Centenary of the Birthday of Cheng
Yanqiu, 2003, DVD-ROM, Beijing Culture and Art Audio and Video Publishing
House, Beijing.
Peking Opera: Cheng Yanqiu’s Classic Arias, CD-ROM, Shanghai Audio-Visual Press,
Shanghai.
400
Peking Opera Master Xun Huisheng's Classic Arias, CD-ROM, Shanghai
Audio-Visual Press, Shanghai.
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408

Thesis - Griffith University

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