Animation Revelations

Overview

From July 3 until July 5, animators, students and anyone using Flash can attend a special three-day event with workshops, screenings and panels dedicated to the art.

Etymologically-speaking the word 'animation', comes from the Latin 'anim?ti?', which means "the act of bringing to life", although the art form has been around since before the language had even been invented. A goblet discovered in the 5200-year-old Burnt City (Shahr-e Sookhteh), near Iran, is arguably the oldest piece of animation that exists. The goblet shows a sequence of five panels in which a Persian Desert Ibex jumps up and tries to eat the leaves of a tree. The more you spin the goblet, the more the goat jumps.

Animation later (much, much later) became a Victorian preoccupation with the invention of the zoetrope, phenakistoscope and praxinoscope - and the flip book. French filmmaker and science teacher Charles-Émile Reynaud then went on to screen the first public animation in 1892 from images created by the praxinoscope. The rest they say is history.

During the three-day Animation Revelations symposium Nadia Micault will present a detailed how-to masterclass using anime series Sonata as the basis to describe the various techniques and technologies she mastered during her career. Later on Munro Ferguson from the National Film Board of Canada, will workshop the possibilities of 3D stereoscopic animation.

The films screened, which are curated by Malcolm Turner (director of MIAF), showcase the best and most interesting elements of animation in today's world - live action blending, 3D animation, some award-winning animation and the most experimental works out there currently.

Legendary Pixar and Dreamworks animator Ed Hooks will also be giving a masterclass at the symposium. Hooks developed a methodology of teaching basic acting theory to animators - from character movements and facial expressions to character interactions and spatial construction. Tickets to the masterclass are $50 for students and $300 for industry members.

Festival passes are $50 for students, and $300 for industry members.