EXQUISITE CORPSE: COLLABORATIVE ANIMATION
Ages 16-29
Fall 2024, JHU-MICA Film Centre
In this workshop, student fellows will work both independently and as a group to create a fully collaborative animation, one in which the vision of each fellow is realized, and then transformed by the visions of co-creators. First practiced by the Surrealists in the 1920s, exquisite corpse emphasizes spontaneity and surprise. Participants take turns writing words for a poem or drawing sections of a body, then folding the paper to hide most of what they've created and passing it along, allowing the next artist to build on the structure free from constraints suggested by what has come before. Inspired by original surrealist pieces (link), fellows will begin with a pen and paper game, freeing their creative minds and generating ideas. They'll establish basic guidelines, such as frame rate, resolution, and an optional theme. Then they'll work in sequence, each creating an original, unique segment, a few seconds long, ending with a clear transition frame that will launch the next segment. Each animator will see only that transition frame, preserving the element of surprise. When the final composition is revealed, fellows will determine together what kind of sound design will enhance their images. Their animation will be shared on the program website and through a public exhibition. Limited to 10 student fellows.
Alfonzer Harvin is a graduate of the Screenwriting and Animation program (SWAN) at Morgan State University. He is Media Specialist and Web Designer at NorthBay Education Inc., and has created animations for Comcast and Netflix. He is skilled in all phases of production, and believes that knowledge is all we need to change the world.
Kerstyn Myers is a member in the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society at UMBC, where she is pursuing computer science. She believes technology and art are the connections to the future.
