Prominent figures of stop motion animation visited Budapest

Stop motion animation has a great tradition in Eastern Europe. In order to keep this heritage alive, MOME line organised the Stop Motion Animation Workshop 2011, taking place between 1 and 10 August in Budapest. The workshop was funded by the International Visegrad Fund. The venue of the workshop was the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest - popularly known as MOME - where numerous stop motion animation enthusiasts and international and Hungarian professional animators took part with the aim of improving their knowledge, skills and creativity.

Can we improve the animation technology by merging traditional animation technique with the new digital technology? How can you improve your skills in making different kinds of movements in animation? Why is it useful to be able to make movements both in real and in virtual 3D space?

Who were here? students from V4 and neighbouring countries, with Czech, Polish, Slovak, Austrian, Croatian and Hungarian participants.

The list of the workshop instructors and lecturers:

• Károly Papp Kása - stop motion animator, who have participated in various productions worldwide, for example the Oscar awarded Peter and the Wolf
• Zsuzsanna Szabó - stop motion animation expert, who has held several workshops in Hungary and abroad as well
• Mary Murphy - instructor at the University of Bristol, and puppet maker
• Lajos Polecsák - co-worker of the BaestArts
• Ivana Laucikova - came from Slovakia as a guest teacher, teaches at VSMU
• Marcus Bergner - Australian film maker, teaches at FAMU

Barry JC Purves was a key guest of the event. The Oscar nominated animator had a great time during the workshop, and he is planning to return to Budapest in the near future. He spent two entire days instructing and lecturing at the workshop, giving enormous inspiration by his presence to the participants. The lectures of Barry JC Purves were open for all interested, and his several remarkable works were also screened. However, the main attraction was his Tchaikovsky film that was screened to the Hungarian audience for the first time, as the movie was still under postproduction. Moreover, the artist brought his Tchaikovsky puppet along - besides directing and animating movies, he is also a puppet maker. During the workshop Mr Purves included a one hour live animation, impressing the participants who were amazed to see the master in the midst of a real working procedure.

The workshop included studio visits, in Kibu, Filmefex and BeastArts film studios as well. Participants worked together and shared their professional experience and knowledge. By the end of the week an intense professional atmosphere was taking shape in the workshop. Our goal was to highlight the significance of the traditional stop motion technique, because different kinds of movements in animation have a great importance in CGI technology.

Last year we received great feedback from the several participants, and this year the workshop was even more successful than in 2010. According to our future plans we would like to repeat the international workshop each year, with guest lectures and practical instruction, where professionals and students from V4 countries will be able to animate and exchange their experiences, filling a gap in the current Eastern European animation scene.

The international workshop was supported by the International Visegrad Fund. Sony Vaio sponsored the programme by offering a few notebooks for the workshop. Please see below the links of the supporters and organisers of the workshop:

• http://visegradfund.org/
• www.mome.hu
• www.momeline.hu
• www.sony.hu

Partner institutes:
University of Arts in Poznan, Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Academy of Arts Architecture and Design in Prague, and Brno University of Technology Faculty of Fine Arts.

All the images and videos can be reached on the following websites and links:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/momeline/sets/72157628091119480/
• http://vimeo.com/31850714
• http://momeline.hu/a-stop-motion-animacio-nagyjai-budapesten

During the ten days of the Stop Motion Animation Workshop classes will focus on learning how to combine traditional hand- made puppet animation with digital technique, and various other stop motion animation techniques. Just like last year, participants will visit important Hungarian film studios and meet recognized Hungarian, Czech, Polish, and Slovakian animators. Of course, there will be free time with activities such as sightseeing, visiting exhibitions or a sneak-a-peek of the inner city nightlife.
The list of instructors and the schedule will be coming soon.

Stop Motion Animation Workshop is organized by MOME line - design works in partnership with Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, University of Arts in Poznan, Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Academy of Arts Architecture and Design in Prague, and Brno University of Technology Faculty of Fine Arts. The program is supported by the International Visegrad Fund.

On the Stop Motion Animation Workshop 2010 Budapest we hosted 15 participants who travelled here from 8 different European countries in order to improve their animation skills with the help of professional instructors Ferenc Fischer and Gergő Kozma. They experimented with an animation method combining traditional, hand-made puppets, digital technology and special effects and learned about the possibilities of digital post-production.
After the day’s hard work, the group went to see the studios of KIBU, Budapest Anim and Filmefex for relaxation, and there was a spontaneous sightseeing tour as well.
Have a look at the team’s resulting film here: