Jumana Al Hashal, Communication / MCDM

Contact jumana@u.washington.edu

Masters Graduation Project (Kan Ya Ma Kan)

Animated films were a very important part of my childhood. I
associated with the characters and projected their environment and
culture as my own only to find out when I moved to Canada at the age
of 16 that the Arabic those beloved characters spoke was dubbed in
Baghdad.  What I have loved for so long was Anime, Japanese animations
and cartoons, dubbed into my mother tongue.

As a storyteller and a student of communication, I have become
increasingly interested in uncovering my culture’s own stories that
were suppressed in mass media at all stages. My interest in animation
really is to be able to explore the film medium at its purest: frame
by frame. With the current digital models of distribution and the
availability of both professional and amateur software and hardware to
the average consumer, the field animation has seen a lot of changes,
witnessed creative uses of the technology, and the rise of a host of
styles and looks that embrace the crudeness of amateur production.
Don Hertzfeldt’s animations are a shining example of this change.

I am undertaking this quarter’s research as part of my proposed
graduation project. I anticipate to need at least one more independent
study and about a year’s worth of work to complete culminating in
the production of a short animated piece.

I am interested in researching traditional (& forgotten) Arabic folk
tales and re-telling them in a modern animated format, this part will
culminate in a story synopsis and a first draft of a script.

I also need to explore some animation tools, learn modern animation
techniques, learn about the history and the evolution of the medium
through a series of individual technical assignments. I will be
seeking assistance from people within the community and througout the
university and welcome the support of CARTAH at any and all stages of
the project.