The staff of Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg’s Animationsinstitut have been using the time during the coronavirus shutdown to develop a comprehensive online offer for students and the community. This includes making part of Animationsinstitut’s curriculum available online to the public. Furthermore, they have developed the Highlights of FMX 1994-2020, as a replacement for FMX – Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Immersive Media, which had to be cancelled for 2020. They will be presented regularly from the beginning of May to December 31, 2020, taking a look at the history, present and future of the internationally prestigious event.
Animationsinstitut Online
Parts of the courses at Filmakademie’s Animationsinstitut will take place online in the summer semester 2020. But not only the students will benefit from this new offer: Animationsinstitut will open some of the teaching modules, offering the interested public — be it the community, prospective students or pupils — the opportunity to participate in lessons and get to know the teaching at Animationsinstitut.
On April 20, the teaching module Myself´s Online Animation Mentoring will kick off exclusively on the recently relaunched website, www.animationsinstitut.de. In the program, containing 26 teaching units that build upon one another, the virtual mentor Myself will guide the participants through the entire process of realizing an animated film, from the initial idea to the finished project, using short animated films.
After the program’s start on April 20 with Lesson One, Myself´s Online Animation Mentoring will continue on a regular basis. Each lesson ends with a task for the participants, which can be done with just pen and paper. Participants can then send their tasks to myself@animationsinstitut.de and receive concise feedback from Myself.
Myself´s Online Animation Mentoring is just one of the highlights offered on Animationsinstitut’s new website. Here, all important information about the institute can be found, i.e. about the study programs and the application process. In addition, the newly designed blog section will regularly present students, alumni, their projects and cinematic making-ofs. Under the name Online World Premiere, Animationsinstitut will frequently present student projects for the first time on the web. The first project has already been announced: On Your Way (Director: Thomas Sali, Producer: Eric Sonnenburg).
Highlights of FMX 1994-2020
Building on its history of highlighting outstanding people and projects, FMX – Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Immersive Media is establishing a new series of online shows. To bridge the time until the community can meet again in person, Filmakademie’s Animationsinstitut is happy to announce the Highlights of FMX 1994-2020.
This new series of online shows will kick off from May 5-8, the dates that FMX 2020 was originally going to take place, and from May 11 onwards will continue bi-weekly until the end of the year. Each episode will be dedicated to an outstanding personality from the rich history of FMX.
FMX will present highlights from talks and interviews with speakers from FMX’s past, and they are giving everyone the opportunity to ask questions to the speakers. The centerpiece of each show will be an extended interview with the personality of the day.
The FMX team is also inviting the community to contribute they’re ideas for the series. Feedback and questions can be addressed to highlights@fmx.de.
Here are the first confirmed interviewees:
- Tuesday, May 5, 6 pm CET: Jan Pinkava, Director, Pinkava Productions. Being a pioneer in various fields of animation and immersive media, Jan Pinkava has been a continuous source of inspiration for FMX over the last two decades. In his exclusive interview, Jan will give an update on his personal views on the world of animation.
- Wednesday, May 6, 6 pm CET: Volker Engel, President, Uncharted Territory. Working on iconic VFX movies over the last 30 years, Volker Engel has crossed from SFX to VFX and used a unique VFX-hub for each blockbuster production. In this exclusive interview, he will elaborate on his vast experience and perspective in VFX, and beyond.
- Thursday, May 7, 6 pm CET: Regina Pessoa, Animation Director, Ciclope Films. Embracing the spirit of Eastern European animation, Portuguese animator Regina Pessoa has developed a unique artistic style and created highly personal films that have all become cornerstones of independent animation. In an exclusive interview, Regina will give insights into her work — past, present and future.
- Friday, May 8, 6 pm CET: Ed Hooks, Actor / Acting for Animators. Teaching generations of animators what is essential in bringing the soul of a character to life, Ed Hooks has been a highlight of FMX throughout the years. In this exclusive interview, Ed will explain how he plans to continue to bring his Acting for Animators series of workshops to a worldwide audience.
FMX is an event by Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg GmbH, organized by Animationsinstitut and funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing of the State of Baden-Württemberg, the City of Stuttgart and MFG Baden-Württemberg.
Further information at www.fmx.de.
