The Media Arts program of the Department Department of Fine Arts and Media Sciences Faculty of Art and Design held a special lecture on stop-motion animation at the university on September 25th (Friday) and 26th (Saturday), inviting animation artist and representative of Studio koma_gori, Takeshi Yoshihara.
This course was held not only to help students acquire the skills necessary for animation production, but also to cultivate an artistic perspective that considers "what to observe," "what to discover," and "how to express it." Through lectures and practical exercises, students learned about the possibilities of animation expression.
On the first day, lectures were given on the history of stop-motion animation and representative works. While learning about animation expression using diverse materials and techniques such as puppets, paper, clay, and live-action spaces, we considered how elements such as the texture of the materials, space, light, camera work, and movement are connected to the expression of the works. The importance of incorporating a dialogue with the materials and the relationship between the artist and the space into the expression of the works was also introduced.
On the second day, a production workshop was held with the theme of "Three-dimensional expression starting from paper." The students carefully observed a single sheet of paper, finding their own discoveries and ideas from the folds and wrinkles, and then created stop-motion animations while devising camera angles, lighting, and movements to bring these to life. They also participated in a practical exercise using a camera obscura *, learning about the principles of visual expression through hands-on experience.
At the end of the lecture, a screening of the students' works and a critique session were held. The students exchanged opinions while viewing each other's works, and by being exposed to diverse perspectives and methods of expression, they further deepened their understanding of creative activities.
In the Media Arts program, in addition to specialized skills such as filming, editing, and animation production, we place great importance on artistic thinking skills that elevate observation and discovery into expression. This special lecture provided a valuable opportunity to practically experience the creative process of "learning techniques," "observing," "thinking," "expressing," and "completing a work."
* An optical device that served as the prototype for modern cameras.
[Department of Fine Arts and Media Sciences]
