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Animation & VFX · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Experimental Animation Techniques

This avant-garde studio course encourages students to break the rules of traditional narrative and aesthetics. Mixing analog and digital mediums, students will explore Stop-Motion, Rotoscoping, Scratch Film, and Glitch Art. The curriculum focuses on animation as fine art, pushing the boundaries of the medium to express abstract concepts, emotions, and visual poetry.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Explore non-traditional mediums: Sand, Paint-on-Glass, and Cut-outs
  2. Master "Rotoscoping" to blend live-action realism with artistic interpretation
  3. Experiment with "Direct Animation" (scratching/painting directly on film stock)
  4. Utilize "Datamoshing" and glitch techniques for digital distortion
  5. Combine disparate techniques into a cohesive mixed-media film
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01The History of Experimental Animation
  2. 02Stop-Motion Basics: The Puppet & Armature
  3. 03Claymation & Replacement Animation
  4. 04Cut-Out Animation: Digital & Analog
  5. 05Rotoscoping: From Fleischer to Linklater
  6. 06Paint-on-Glass & Sand Animation
  7. 07Direct Animation: Scratch Film
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09Pixilation: Animating People
  10. 10Glitch Art & Datamoshing
  11. 11Projection Mapping Animation
  12. 12Generative/Code-Driven Abstract Art
  13. 13Loop Animation & GIFs as Art
  14. 14Sound Visualization
  15. 15Installation Art: Animation in Space
  16. 16Final Project: The Experimental Abstract Film

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: The Experimental Abstract Film

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. Experimental Animation: Origins of a New Art by Robert Russett
  2. Frame by Frame: A Materialist Aesthetics of Animated Film by Hannah Frank
  3. The animation of Jan Svankmajer (Case Study)
  4. Cracking Animation: The Aardman Book of 3-D Animation by Peter Lord
  5. Animation in the Expanded Field by Richardson
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