REFRAMING PHOTOGRAPHY photo and animation PHOTOGRAPHY AND ANIMATION: ANIMATING IMAGES THROUGH OPTICAL TOYS AND OTHER AMUSEMENTS course number: instructor’s name: room number: office number: course day and times: instructor’s email Office Hours: Ex: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:45am -1:15pm or email to set up an appointment.
COURSE DESCRIPTION Before modern cinema, 19th century optical toys such as the “wonder turner” and the “wheel of the Devil” entertained through the illusion of motion. In this class, you’ll animate still photographic images. You’ll learn to make thaumatropes, flipbooks, and zoetropes, devices that rely upon the persistence of vision, and you’ll create other entertaining objects such as an animated exquisite corpse, tunnel books, strip animations, and moving panoramas.
You’ll learn to construct these devices and effectively create an illusion with each. The main focus of the course will be on the development your ideas.
COURSE PROJECTS There will be three projects in which you will create an artwork based on a particular early animation device. For these projects, you will create images and build the optical device based on your ideas as an artist. All projects will be evaluated on the strength of your ideas, the inventiveness of your use of the device, the craft of the images and object, and the success of the final illusion.
PROJECT 1: flip books PROJECT 2: thaumatropes PROJECT 3: zoetrope
COURSE WORKSHOPS There will be five in-class workshops that provide an entry point into experimenting with the larger project, or that allow you to play with other types of devices and illusions. You will have five of the following six possible workshops:
WORKSHOP 1: animated exquisite corpse WORKSHOP 4: tunnel book WORKSHOP 2: thaumatrope (in conjunction w/course project) WORKSHOP 5: strip animation WORKSHOP 3: the loop WORKSHOP 6: moving panorama
SELF-DIRECTED PROJECTS This is a longer, FOUR-WEEK, ambitious exploration of ideas, imagery and a device of your choice. You may work with any device you choose as long as there is a low-tech, pre-cinematic element.
REQUIREMENTS / GRADING Grading will be divided as follows:
Class participation 15% Projects 1 through 3 (research and visual results) 15% each Workshops (exquisite corpse, loop, tunnel book, strip animation 5% each or moving panorama; the thaumatrope is not graded) Self-directed (research and visual results) 20%
REFRAMING PHOTOGRAPHY photo and animation
ATTENDANCE Attendance is taken at 8:35 am. Arriving after attendance or departing early is an absence. After two absences, each additional one drops your final grade by one full letter. Five or more absences will result in an “F” for the course.
ASSIGNMENTS AND DEADLINES Late assignments are not accepted. Assignments submitted on time may be redone and resubmitted at any time during the semester. If you arrive late on a critique day, do not expect to have your work discussed.
Participation in class discussions and critiques is essential. We are all active members of all conversations. If you do not have anything to say during discussions or anything to work on during in- class work days, you will receive a failing grade for the day’s participation.
PHOTOGRAPHY AND ANIMATION — day-to-day schedule
T 9/6 in-class workshop — animated exquisite corpse. (This assignment is available on the RP website > Teaching Tools > Reframing Photography Projects > Exquisite Corpse Stopmotion) Assign Flipbook — show 5 flip books; assign 10 images and paragraph. (This assignment is available on the RP website > Teaching Tools > Reframing Photography Projects > Flip Book) (readings from Reframing Photography: Nineteenth-century viewing devices and their optical legacy, page 38; Motion, page 341; Theory: SERIES AND SEQUENCE, page 319; The Flip book, page 464; Digital resizing, page 382; Using curves to correct color, page 407; Using Camera Raw to correct color casts, page 243; Using Levels and Curves to adjust tonal range and contrast, page 392; Creating shallow depth of field in a digital image, page 97; Digital workflow, page 284; Digital printing, page 296.)
Text will be an important consideration for the Flip book and Thaumatrope projects as students make covers for these devices. The application (handwritten, stamped, digitally created, etc.) should be considered in light of the book’s conceptual and stylistic approach. Spend equal time working through drafts of the cover and different methods of how to apply text. The recommended readings here will help, both in revealing how other artists have dealt with this issue, and the how-to instructions for creating type that’s filled with a photographic image, and warping type to fit a particular image area. (readings from Reframing Photography: “Theory: Text and Image”, page 349; “Using Text with Photographs”, page 438.) TH 9/8 small group discussions/critique. show more flip books. show how to record an action and batch process. (readings from Reframing Photography: How to record and play an action, page 466; Batch processing, page 467.)
T 9/13 work in class. individual student/instructor meetings to discuss ideas for books. TH 9/15 1st (of three) flip book due. small group discussions/critique. (readings from Reframing Photography: Tools, Materials, and Processes: EDITING, PRESENTATION, AND EVALUATION - Evaluation, page 469.)
REFRAMING PHOTOGRAPHY photo and animation
T 9/20 all three flip books due. Critique. Assign Thaumatropes — show thaumatropes. (This assignment is available on the RP website > Teaching Tools > Reframing Photography Projects > Thaumatropes) (readings from Reframing Photography: The Thaumatrope, page 462; How to straighten images with the measuring tool, page 92; Digital burning & dodging, page 401.) TH 9/22 in-class workshop — making thaumatropes. individual student/instructor meetings to discuss ideas for thaumatropes.
T 9/27 1 thaumatrope (of 9 total) due watch Werner Nekes’ Film Before Film movie in class. TH 9/29 minimum 4 thaumatropes (of 9 total) due small group discussions/critique.
T 10/4 all nine thaumatropes due. Critique. TH 10/6 presentation: artists and ideas relating to the “loop”. in-class workshop — the loop. (This assignment is available on the RP website > Teaching Tools > Reframing Photography Projects > The Loop) Assign Zoetrope — show zoetrope and strips. (Instructions for building a zoetrope are available on the RP website > Photo Tutorials > Presentations > How to Animate Photos > How to Make a Zoetrope) (readings from Reframing Photography: The Zoetrope, page 463.)
T 10/11 demo of laser cutter machine (optional). work in class. individual student/instructor meetings to discuss ideas for zoetrope. TH 10/13 work in class.
T 10/18 fall break TH 10/20 zoetrope machine and one strip due. small group discussions/critique. work in class.
T 10/25 due: correct any problems with zoetrope device and/or strip. due: one paragraph proposal for final work. individual student/instructor meetings to look at zoetropes and to discuss final proposal. work day. TH 10/27 3 (of 8) strips for zoetrope due. individual student/instructor meetings to look at zoetropes and to discuss final proposal.
T 11/1 presentations of final zoetropes and all 8 strips. TH 11/3 in-class workshop — tunnel book. (This assignment is available on the RP website > Teaching Tools > Reframing Photography Projects > Tunnel Book) (readings from Reframing Photography: “Linear Perspective and Sight”, page 17; “Framing Our Environment”, page 22; “Fovea and Focus”, page 9.)
REFRAMING PHOTOGRAPHY photo and animation
T 11/8 come prepared to work in class on final work. TH 11/10 visiting artist Robert Platt — lantern slides.
T 11/15 small group discussions/critique of final project (photographs/drawings) work in class TH 11/17 in-class workshop — strip animation (This assignment is available on the RP website > Teaching Tools > Reframing Photography Projects > Strip Animation)
T 11/22 wiliam kentridge movie work in class TH 11/24 thanksgiving break
T 11/29 small group discussion/critique of final work (show actual objects/animations – 3/4ths completed) work in class TH 12/1 work in class (or opportunity for 6th in class workshop — moving panorama) (The Moving Panorama assignment is available on the RP website > Teaching Tools > Reframing Photography Projects > Moving Panorama)
T 12/6 work in class TH 12/8 presentations of final work (we’ll look at work involving objects; ex: stereocards, books, etc.)
T 12/13 presentations of final work (we’ll look at time-based work; ex: performance, films, etc.)