Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
2. Circular Structure
In circular structure, the character or story ends up more or less where it began.
Eureka
is an example of a circular structure. In this animation, a genius professor goes to
work and generates ideas, visualized by a light bulb above his head. One day, his light
bulb goes out and he has no ideas. In a series of frustrated attempts to re-light his bulb, he
mistakenly reconfi gures the way the light bulb works. The character begins with getting ideas
visualized by the glowing light bulb and ends getting even better ideas, visualized by a
glowing light bulb.
Beginning
End
Eureka!,
Parrish Ley, Sheridan College
Other examples include
The Animator and the Seat
. The animator starts out tired and needing
a break and ends up still tired, still needing a break, but with no hope of getting one.
In
Our Special Day,
a little girl begins her day waiting for her father to arrive to take her
out and ends up at night, still waiting and still hopeful.
Stan Howard, animation writer, points out that this structure is commonly used for serial
cartoons where, at the end of the day, the hero must be restored to himself to start another
adventure tomorrow. Jimmy Neutron, SpongeBob SquarePants, Scooby Doo, and Teen Titans
go through a series of adventures in every episode. These characters may arc within the
episode itself, but by the end, they are essentially unchanged. [1]
