TRANSCRIPTIONS: ANIMATION is a collaboration between the National Gallery in London, Complicite and Central Saint Martins' Postgraduate Diploma Character Animation, an innovative project, in its second year, which involves the students producing one-minute films inspired by a painting in the gallery's collection as part of their course.
All students visit the National Gallery to look in depth at four or five paintings and attend a lecture in which composition, color, style, narrative, visual conventions and patronage are discussed. They also attend workshops at the gallery, working with Complicite to hone their detailed observation of the paintings and of themselves, developing a physical visual language with which to bring their animated characters to life, and an understanding of rhythm to aid their storytelling. They explore how the Old Masters captured the essence of the figure and conveyed narrative.
The rationale behind the TRANSCRIPTIONS project is to open out the interpretation of paintings and animation. The examination of the aesthetic traditions of Western European painting increases the richness of the students' sources, aiding their creative growth. The project draws on the history of artists studying other artists' work, traditions and narratives for inspiration and technical education.
An exciting element of this collaboration is that the students may respond to any aspect of the painting, following in the tradition embraced by many animators, including Disney. The goal is for students to begin to feel a connection with the Old Masters, and that this will allow them to appreciate how these artists used the action line and the gesture to advance a larger compositional idea, to learn from them the detailing of an event occurring, or about to occur, and the ability to convey a story within one frame.
All of the students' work will be featured on the National Gallery's website in November 2008.
