Motivations for Animated Documentary Films by Lawrence Thomas Martinelli, Lecture as part of Anima Festival 2015

A few years ago now, but none the less, a fantastic lecture by academic Lawrence Thomas Martinelli, Uri Kranot and Soetkin Verstegen.

Martinelli introduces us to the various motivations for making animated documentary, through a series of case studies, whilst Kranot and Verstegen round up the lecture with some insights into the practicalities of making such animated films.

Martinelli investigates the “re – creating and re -constructing” of animated documentary, he talks about filmic hybrids and the need to complete in complete material, which is one of the motivations for using animated documentary.

Martinelli is also the founder of DOCartoon, Animation and Non Fiction Comics festival, Italy. http://www.docartoon.it/

A brilliant watch, rich with content – I know I will be sharing this with my students in their studies of animated documentary.

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Apply for the AniDox:Residency

The AniDox:Residency is a fantastic opportunity for international filmmakers from The Animation Workshop, building on their successful Open Workshop residency and AniDox:Lab programme.

The organisers are looking for an artistic approach, exploring the possibilities and potential of animation documentary. They will provide studio facilities, workstations, accommodation, support and 27.000 EUR in financial support. For more information and to apply for the residency, go to the AniDox website.

‘Silent Signal’ by Animate Projects

“Silent Signal is an ambitious project that brings together six artists working with animation together with six leading biomedical scientists to create experimental animated artworks exploring new ways of thinking about the human body”

Image copyright Samantha Moore ‘Loop’ 2015

Image copyright Ellie Land ‘Sleepless’ 2015

The six animations are currently on a year long tour, with the latest exhibition at Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge until September 2016.

You can watch all of the films online on the silent signal website, alongside artist interviews and a useful science guide. Check out the every expanding events section to find out about screenings, public talks and workshops that support the tour.

http://www.silentsignal.org/

‘Silent Signal’ work in progress website by Animate! Projects

Image by Samantha Moore for Silent Signal.

Animate! projects with the Wellcome Trust has commissioned six artist/scientist teams to put forward ideas for possible animated works under a project called Silent Signal.

“Silent Signal explores how research into genetics, cell biology, immunology and epidemiology is advancing our understanding of how the human body communicates with itself, how it adapts to fight disease and how environment affects the chain reaction. Six biomedical scientists who are furthering these fields with cutting-edge research are collaborating with six artists who use a variety of animation techniques and new digital technologies in their artistic practice. Through these collaborations audiences will be engaged with the biological processes that their bodies perform with an artistic approach to communicating the science.”

They have published the process on their blog http://www.silentsignal.org/, which is a fascinating insight into the collaborative relationship between the scientists and artists. The site also shows work in progress of various applications of animation  from animated documentary, participatory animated documentary, game art through to interactive experiences using animation.

http://www.silentsignal.org/

http://www.animateprojects.org/

 

‘Centrefold’ by Ellie Land

Released over a year ago this animated docmentary looks at the current UK trend for labia surgery, a procedure which trims and tidies a woman’s labia.

Directed and designed by animateddocumentary.com’s co founder Ellie Land.

http://www.thecentrefoldproject.org/

“All in this together” Are benefits ever a lifestyle choice?’ by Dole Animators

 

The Dole Animators are a group of first time animation film makers living in Leeds UK. Together, they have made a film about their experiences of the coalition government recent welfare reforms and the impact of the changes on their lives.

The film challenges a mainstream media rhetoric, which states that people choose a life on benefits and that this ‘choice’ is an easy lifestyle choice.

The film has been made with support from a researcher Ruth Patrick and film maker Ellie Land. You can read more about the project at the website below:

http://doleanimators.wordpress.com/

Review – ‘30%: women and politics in Sierra Leone’ by Anna Cady and Em Cooper

This animated oil-on-glass and live action documentary is centered on the campaign in Sierra Leone to get a 30% quota of women in parliament. Titles in the film explain that women took a key role in negotiating the peace process at the end of an 11 year civil war, however since then female politicians have had to deal with intimidation and misogyny as they navigate the political sidelines.

Animated Documentary reported on ‘30%’ in the early stages of production back in February 2012 and again once the film was finished and publicised by The Guardian in January 2013. And we liked it so much we felt it was worth reviewing too.

The animated sequences possess a luscious mixture of figurative and abstract imagery found most commonly in impressionism. Paint swims across the screen, smudging and slipping its sensual gloopy material around our vision with all the vibrancy of the region it refers to.

The metamorphic nature of the animated medium lends itself to turbulent tonal changes that take place in the opening sequence. The viewer zips though a busy Sierra Leone street into a viscous black void where we pass burning cars, violent gestures and feel the echoes of civil war. These melting edits are brought to great effect when combined with snappy sound design.

Following visual and audio darkness the screen literally swirls into the shape of Dr. Bernadette Lahai, one of the key political figures pushing forward the 30% quota bill. The rotoscoped image dissolves into live action. My feeling is that several of the video sequences possess considerably less flair than their animated counterparts. Such an uneven aesthetic could be said to threaten the impact of the short; but here it might be worth considering how disorientating an entirely rotoscoped 10 minute short could have been. Instead animation is reserved for storytelling and live action covers the communication of important details.

This film is fruitful both in its visuals and content. As a documentary the short conveys an under-reported theme in an engaging manor, while the animated sections are sumptuous in their appeal. At Animated Documentary we are always pleased to see such formal beauty and journalistic professionalism combined harmoniously!

Future Documentary Sandbox – UK interactive doc scheme

An interesting new scheme which partners academics with creative companies to develop new documentary ideas:

‘Future Documentary Sandbox will ask how can we hold on to what is great about documentary – its ability to elicit empathy, impart wisdom and inspire change – whilst exploring the new forms that are enabled by the internet, mobile phones and changing audience behaviours.

A Future Documentary Sandbox project might be interactive or responsive to the environment that people engaging with it are in.

It might harness games mechanics to help people ‘discover’ content.
It might use second screen technologies or create new experiences with pervasive and locative media.
It might combine new ways of navigating content with live data.
It might explore multiple points of view around citizen science, history or journalism.

Projects will be encouraged to explore new models of authorship, ownership or sharing.

Collaborations will be funded by the REACT Hub for a three-month period to develop an innovative prototype and explore its potential market/business model.’

Applications can come from academics at partner universities Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter and University of the West of England as well as those from institutions who make joint projects with partners.

Up for grabs: a commission of £50,000 including a £10,000 R&D grant for the creative company, plus business support.

Application deadline Friday 12 April 2013.
http://www.react-hub.org.uk/future-doc-sandbox

Let us know if you apply – we’d love to hear more!

‘30%: women and politics in Sierra Leone’ by Anna Cady and Em Cooper

We have featured the work of Em Cooper before, this time she has partnered with Artist Anna Cadey, in this documentary which features live action and animation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/video/2012/sep/26/sierra-leone-women-refuse-whistling-quota-video

‘Shadow Stories’ by Samantha Moore

 

Here are animateddocumentary.com we are pleased to share the latest work by Samantha Moore. Here are two trailers from her up and coming film Shadow Stories, which features objects from Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery’s pre-historic gallery. Samantha is working with four different animators, two of whom have provided the beautiful, painterly animated responses for the trailers. We are really excited to see the finished film!

https://vimeo.com/47359522

https://vimeo.com/46752337