"Nothing Astonishes," animated at MIT Media Lab (1:42)

This work-in-progress group project exploits the versatility of hand-drawn flipbook animation. Participants in the MIT Media Lab LineStorm Animation Digital FlipBook Seminar experimented with very basic materials (index cards, fiber-point pens, individual lightboxes) to create the transitions, cycles, motion paths and repeatable loops of action which comprise this rough edit. We had two hours in which to produce the artwork, which was then digitized in Frame Thief, compressed into QuickTime files, and edited in Final Cut Pro. "Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing," the excellent observation attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, forms the framework for the project. Throughout the process, the energy of the hand-drawn line remains at full vigor, evidence that even with simple materials, the elemental basis of the animation medium packs a hefty visual punch. The music bed is an excerpt from George Gershwin's wonderful "Porgy and Bess" Suite, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, directed by James Levine, from a Deutsche Grammophon CD, ©1993 #431 625-2. Pell Osborn supervised the LineStorm Animation seminar. Many thanks to Taya Leary and the Media Lab students for their hard work and focus.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• hand-drawn animation
• MIT Media Lab
• LineStorm