Poland’s StopMoLab, which is now entering its third edition, is an intensive educational training program designed for individuals aspiring to excel in the stop motion animation industry. With a focus on nurturing young talent and fostering international career development, StopMoLab offers a comprehensive curriculum spanning for eight months. Led by internationally renowned professionals, the program comprises a diverse range of activities including talks, case studies, masterclasses, mentoring sessions and lectures.
Participants will engage in extensive individual mentoring (45 hours), coaching (32 hours), workshops (44 hours), and lectures (42 hours).Additionally, participants will benefit from onsite workshops held in Łódź and gain access to the Animarkt Stop Motion Forum from October 11th to 18th. The program runs from May 2024 to December 2024. Application forms must be submitted by April 14th, 2024.
We had the chance to chat with StopMoLab founder Paulina Zacharek to find out more about this innovative and inspiring program:
Can you tell us a little bit about the third edition of StopMoLab?
StopMoLab offers a comprehensive curriculum spanning for 8 months. Led by internationally renowned professionals, the program comprises a diverse range of activities including talks, case studies, masterclasses, mentoring sessions, and lectures. We provide young creators from all around the world with concise knowledge that’s going to let them function on their own in the animation industry. The third edition continues the three pillars of the professional skills, business skills, and mentoring course. With an emphasis on practice, participants will receive guidance from mentors and tasks to complete, fostering continuous growth and development.
What are some of the key areas of focus at this year’s programs?
This year’s programme circulates around four main professions: art director, animator, producer and puppet maker. We will explore these four areas looking for different work techniques, work technologies, career paths and deepen practical skills in each of them.
Who will be leading these courses?
Mentorship for the young creators is going to be provided by the best professionals in their field. Tobias Fouracre – animator known from such classic titles as Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox is going to devote his classes to explaining the methods of making the puppets’ motions fluid and realistic. Francesca Maxwell best known for her work on Corpse Bride and ParaNorman, is going to introduce basic aspects of design and art directing in stop motion animation. Participants of classes with Kerdi Oengo of Nuku Film – the oldest European stop motion studio known as the Captain Morten and the Spider Queen co-producer – are going to learn the secrets of animation production. Paul Mathot, co-creator of Pedri Animation, a studio valued all around the world, is going to explain the secrets of puppet making.
Apart from that among the lecturers will be Simon Quinn who worked on Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs” and Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie; Melanie Coombs known for her work on Harvie Krumpet, Mary and Max, Break & Enter and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; Niki Lindroth von Bahr (The Burden and The House, Anthony Scott, (James and the Giant Peach, Tim Burton‘s Corpse Bride, Coraline, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio) and Rachel Larsen (The Tiny Chef Show)
What are the requirements and the costs?
The course is aimed at people with basic stop motion skills in one of the four professions. All you need to do is send in an application for the course, which will include a short self-presentation video. It is also necessary to attach a portfolio and complete a survey on green solutions in the stop motion industry. The course participants will then be selected by mentors.The total cost of participation is 3,250 euros for the entire course if paid in one installment and can be paid in two installments of 1,875 euros each.
What makes StopMoLab different from other similar workshops? What do you love about the offerings?
StopMoLab is like no other course. It is the only course in the world that comprehensively prepares for work in the animation industry and helps young creators to navigate through the realities of the industry. From puppet making through animation, art directing and animation production, courses with an emphasis on practice allow you to gain not only substantive skills, but also teach planning and fundraising.
Through the course, participants learn about the realities of the industry and get support at the beginning of their career path. The best thing is the mentorship and personal development meetings, which help participants to ask their own questions of the mentors and dispel doubts. This is quite unique from other courses that usually focus on a selected topic. We teach animation from A to Z.
The main advantage of the course is the opportunity to meet and talk individually with the most important people in the industry, who will share their beginnings showing step by step how they built their careers. Many of the stories are tales of hardship and doubt in the first period after graduation, the effort it took to recognize how the industry works and to get to know others who could become the ticket to a job in the industry. StopMoLab shortens this often-long and winding road by giving direct access to the knowledge and experience of those who are today deciding the direction of stop motion, and at the same time allows you to build an international network of contacts and creates the first support group for stop motion developers scattered around the world.
What are some of the skills attendees will learn by the end of the program?
For all:
- communicativeness
- team work
- building a professional portfolio
- looking for a job in animation
- self-awareness
- personal branding
- business communications
- basics of sustainability in stop motion
For animators:
- the analysis of the shot
- using a reference video
- blocking
- key-frame preparation
- understanding the animation principles in practice
For art directors:
- basics of visual language
- understanding the process of designing and creating sets and props for stop motion animation
- usage of materials
- scale designation
For puppet makers:
- understanding the rules of designing an animatable object (puppet)
- the basics of casting, molding, costume making
- creating a facial expressions
For producers:
- developing a project
- budgeting and looking for financing
- cooperating with director and the rest of the crew
- production planning
- pre-production preparation
For more info, visit stopmolab.com
