How twentieth-century developments in science influenced the aesthetics of the burgeoning American cartoonWhat do technical renderings of plant cells in trees have to do with Disney’s animated opus Fantasia? Quite a bit, as it turns out: such emergent scientific models and ideas about nature were an important inspiration for Disney’s groundbreaking animated realism. In Drawn to Nature, Colin Williamson presents a vivid portrait of how developments...

What does it mean to describe cinematic effects as “movie magic,” to compare filmmakers to magicians, or to say that the cinema is all a “trick”? The heyday of stage illusionism was over a century ago, so why do such performances still serve as a key reference point for understanding filmmaking, especially now that so much of the cinema rests on the use of computers?To answer these questions, Colin Williamson situates film within a long tradition of magical practices that combine a...

Autism is often misunderstood by mainstream society. Colin takes us on a journey through the key moments in his life with undiagnosed Autism. The added struggles with Dyslexia, Dysgraphia & Dyscalculus are all part of who he is. There are sad times, funny times, times when he felt disdain for himself, but an underlying drive to carve out a life of normality is always there. A graduate of Edinburgh University shows to people that those on the spectrum are not daft or simpletons, only that t...

This is the story of a stone, a very special stone that has shaped Scotland's national identity for centuries. From before the written word until modern day Colin takes us on an enchanted journey and mystery tour interweaving key characters and events throughout Scottish history.

Today’s film scholars draw from a dizzying range of theoretical perspectives—they’re just as likely to cite philosopher Gilles Deleuze as they are to quote classic film theorist André Bazin. To students first encountering them, these theoretical lenses for viewing film can seem exhilarating, but also overwhelming.Thinking in the Dark introduces readers to twenty-one key theorists whose work has made a great impact on film scholarship today, including Rudolf Arnheim, Sergei...

Since Somalia, the international community has found itself changing its view of humanitarian intervention. Operations designed to alleviate suffering and achieve peace sometimes produce damaging results. The United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, military and civilian agencies alike find themselves in the midst of confusion and weakness where what they seek are clarity and stability. Competing needs, rights, and values can obscure even the best international efforts to quell viole...

This is the story of Benjamin Gulliver Taylor. From birth Benji suffered from a disability. As a boy and a man he in his heart and mind thought of himself as being a secret river. His tale is sometimes sad, but his life has also brought to him great rewards. Music has always been important to Benji. It was his love of it that enabled him to endure.

This is a story about a young girl who has grown up in the woodland. She spends her time talking to the trees and every other growing and living thing that she encounters while on her expeditions into the woods. It is her inner belief that she herself is a tree.This tale is also interlaced with a story of a man who is a carpenter. It tells of his love of wood and talks of how and why he chooses the trees that he transforms into fine furniture.