Sara Payne

Bring artwork to life using traditional and digital media to create one-of-a-kind animations. In this exciting camp, students learn principles of animation while exploring various techniques, including stop-motion, frame-by-frame methods, digitally modified video, and computer-aided techniques. Students will use digital tools such as laptops, still cameras, video cameras, sound recorders, iPads, sketchbook work, and other traditional processes to express contemporary artistic hybrid methods.

This focused, skill-building intensive emphasizes hands-on studio work and the completion of short animations in a 5-week format. Students learn the basic principles of animation through focused projects that use techniques such as stop-motion and frame-by-frame animation. Through drawing, digital tools, and experimentation, students create simple animated works while developing skills in movement, sequencing, and storytelling.

Students who want to expand their skills and create more complex animations are encouraged to enroll in the 10-week Animation Studio: 10¿13.

This class focuses on the study of film language, shot composition and idea development for time based media. Through the creation of storyboards, animatics, mood boards, character designs, and concept development students gain a thorough understanding of how to develop their ideas in the pre-preproduction process. Students who work in film, video, performance, and animation will learn narrative and experimental methods. Practical, conceptual and artistic topics will be addressed.

A variety of short films and excerpts from live action films or animations will be shown in class, like work by Brad Bird or independent filmmakers like Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels. Reading excerpts on composition, editing and storyboarding will be assigned.

Coursework may vary but typically includes drawing character designs and storyboards, making animatics and some reading through weekly or bi-weeklt assignments. The final project involves concept development and a presentation, followed by a final animatic with sound.

This course addresses a wide range of animation techniques and materials, both analogue and digital. Students explore drawing materials, cut-outs, cameraless animation, under the camera destructive and constructive animation, and compositing. Expanding on skills developed in Animation I, students create more painterly and material-based work.

The class is structured around a series of workshops, lectures, discussions and critiques. Relevant works are screened as source of inspiration for our material explorations.

Students produce a series of quick assignments exposing them to new techniques, culminating in a final project due at the end of the semester.