Lectures and Presentations

Insects – directed by Jan Švankmajer

A small town pub after hours. The chairs are put upside down on the tables. The coat rack is full of “insect dresses”: crepe paper skirts, varicoloured cardboard butterfly wings and black shiny insect elytra. Six thespians sit at a corner table. They are rehearsing The Insect Play by Karel and Josef Čapek. During the rehearsal, their lives intermingle with the fates of the characters from the play.

Heart of a Tower - directed by Peter Budinský

Far beyond the borders of gloomy housing estates, playgrounds and everyday stereotypes, there is a world of fantasy, where the ravens walk like the men, metal machine wants to rule over the world, the building cranes look like the robots and our little boy has to embark on a journey to save his mother’s Heart. The boy Riki meets Ema who explains him things and joins him on his journey. They have to help each other, fight and defeat Metal Man. They together overcome lot of troubles, and in the end, they become best friends forever.

The Great Adventures of Rosa and Dora - directed by Martin Duda

An animated series for the entire family. Featuring the adventures of seven-year- old twins Rosa and Dora, Laiko, a canine rascal, the twins’ amazing grandma –an inventor – and their grandpa, who can fix anything. They all learn lots of engaging facts about the world around us.

In the 1950s, the appeals to work selflessly for a brighter tomorrow began to slowly fade away and the communist regime exchanged the promises of future welfare for a wider offer of new consumer goods and services. Apart from culturally-political and health education, the Ministry of Internal Trade emphasized the importance of commercials and the ruling party resolutions explicitly ordered the companies and consumer cooperatives to promote their products with universal and effective propagation methods. Film spots were created in the Czech Short Film Studio which was overloaded with an ever- growing amount of work until 1957, when a special studio called Propagfilm was established. That year the first short commercial block appeared in the Czech Television.

Since 2011 there is a Cooperation between the BA Animation Department of University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Lucerne and the TV Channel Cartoon Network. Students of second year BA animation learn how to make concepts, direct and produce short animated spots for a client with a mostly young target group. The briefing of Cartoon Network is giving them topics like “sports”, “Halloween” or "superheroes". The aim is to create a short seventeen second ident which is compatible with the CI of the TV channel on the one hand and which brings out the students own film language on the other hand. The students have one semester to work through all the production steps.

Previews and behind-the-scenes look will present work of the creative studio Oficina focusing on films, animation and graphic design. We will learn how a project is brought to life, how many phases the whole process has and how is the adequate form of expression chosen. What inspiration sources and creative techniques can lead to the desired goal, what role play the automatized processes and how do the basic television components look – you will see it all at the storyboards, tests, animatics and final exports of this Prague-based studio founded in 2008.

Journalist Nancy Denney-Phelps has been writing about animated films and festivals for many years traveling all over the world. She regularly writes for Animation Work Network (AWN) as well as contributing to such international magazines as AnimaToons published in South Korea. Nancy is also an animation historian. The Round Table is a participatory session. Nancy will lead a discussion about what makes interesting reading about a film or festival and share a few stories about her adventures along the way. We will also talk about what is the importance of a good editor and what role that person plays in your writing as well as discussing what makes an article interesting to your readers and who is your target audience. We will also tackle your questions about writing.

Participants should come prepared with a written introductory paragraph about a festival or film which each person will read to the group and we will discuss it. Participants must visit her blog:  ww.awn.com/blogs/sprockets before the Round Table and come with a laptop or paper and pen (yes, Nancy does still write her articles with pencil and paper before putting them into her computer).

In last decade hand-drawn animation became notably less attractive to audience as compared to visually rich 3D animation. However, 3D cannot convey the same magical expressiveness as hand-drawn animation. A dream of every animator is to combine freedom of hand-made drawing with advanced tools used in 3D pipelines. Until recently such combination was extremely tedious, however, thanks to recent advances in digital image processing this dream is slowly becoming a reality. This talk will introduce recent revolutionary research results which can change a look and a way how animation will be produced in near future.

This panel emphasizes the diversity of children programmes and presents examples created in the CT:D during the last two years. They cover the whole process from the commission through the idea and its development to the final result.

The presentation will introduce a wide spectrum of graphic designs for the CT1, CT2, CT24, CT art and CT Sport channels. 2D animation, 3D animation, mapping. Strenuous graphic post-production and simple solutions built on creativity and play with the medium. Each channel calls for a different approach so the selection of the programmes brings a huge number of ideas and their realization. The presentation given by Denisa Kollárová, marketing director and Miroslav Žáček, Vojtěch Buchta, Petr Černý, Czech Television art directors and graphics will include screening of the individual designs and interpretation of their origin including the search for adequate visual treatment and issues of realization.

An important theme of this year’s Anifilm is Swedish animation. The history of animated film in Sweden dates 100 years back. Apart from presenting a showcase mapping the history of Swedish animation, its curator Midhat Ajan Ajatovič, animated film historian and Swedish University College West lecturer, will have a presentation on this theme. Since its beginnings, Swedish animation has been promoting both traditional approaches to animation as well as innovative works. We can name for example one of the first animated abstract films in the history, the revolutionary Symphonie Diagonale (Viking Eggeling, 1924) and the alternative approaches of the new generation. They are represented by the comic creator and filmmaker Max Andersson and by an utterly unusual approach to puppet film by Johaness Nyholm and Niki Lindroth von Bahr.

Technological development of imaging media enabled graphic design to use the element of time and transform from static to dynamic. By means of various animation techniques, different forms of moving graphic were created and found practical use in title sequences of films and in television broadcast. The development of computer technologies significantly accelerated the spread of graphic design in TV and film and thanks to new imaging media also in other fields. A comprehensive approach to animated genres of graphic design then coined the term motion design. Without any clear borders, it covers commercial, film and TV graphics and experimental animated sequences. Its element of interactivity is multiplied by computer and network technologies and expands the borders of motion design beyond linear genres. 

WE’RE NOT HERE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME! Suggestions on how to use films as didactic tools appeared as soon as in the 1920s. But development of school films has not begun until the WWII ended and new social and political conditions formed. Film production transferred from private sector under the supervision of the state. After the communist party took over, upbringing and education changed significantly. A unified school system was created and filmmakers were to adapt scripts according to the instructions of the Pedagogical Research Institution of J. A. Komenský. Theoretical texts defined film from a purpose point of view as a precise demonstration of those parts of the new curriculum that cannot be defined by words and static portrayals. The authors produced in particular examples of popular education films. The results of their works were criticised throughout the whole 1950s for being too free and entertaining adaptations with overrated artistic elements and non-conceptual usage of music.  

The Tunes ’n’ Toons program traces the history of animation with film examples. The Toons’n’Tunes programme uses examples to explore animation. An American journalist will speak of the importance of the selected films and especially the use of music. She herself prefers - and recommends the same to students of animation - using original score instead of downloading music and having to contend with copyright. Below you can see a list of the films which will be screened in the programme.

anim 2.0  Lecturer: Antoine Manier

Anim 2.0 is a website dedicated to animation: it includes a serious game, a creative module and additional educational tools. This serious game by Rencontres Audiovisuelles and partners of the Interreg-funded project VIVID creates a flexible and playful way to discover animation as well as audiovisual creation and language! The website, which is accessible to all, can be presented and used during educational workshops aimed at young people between 10 and 14.

Hravouka   Speaker: Michal Berlinger

Authorial didactic book for children and parents alike. A little mouse leaves its burrow to explore its surroundings. Hravouka tries to adapt natural history into a modern and fun subject. The first part of the project was created by Tereza Vostradovská for her thesis at the Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design in Prague. Other parts are currently in development.

Lesokraj – Reading is playing  Speaker: Lou & Jakub Sanitrákovi 

Lesokraj is an audio-visual project building on the interactivity of the “new” book form. This interactive book was created by Lou Sanitráková and Kuba Saniktrák and a team of their collaborators. Their aim is to bring the videogamers to reading or readers to play videogames. The electronic form of the book enables to connect both approaches with fun and create a specific form of book-game. The interactivity of the text enables the gamer-reader to click on several words in the given chapter and use them to create and animated illustration with sound. After reading comes playing – the gamers can use the whole screen and their fantasy. After reading and playing, the gamer continues to the following chapter. Lesokraj is a partly educational tool that “makes” children read but it is mainly a fantasy world for those who would like to play smart.

Richard Boeser talks about the process behind developing his first game ‘ibb & obb’. The cooperative game started out as his graduation project and is now released on PlayStation3 and PC. The talk will cover details on how different aspects of the game contribute to its core: the interaction between the two players.

The word Eallin is derived from the ‘Sami’ languages spoken in northern parts of Europe, it means “life”. The word animation comes from the Latin word animātiō, which means “the act of bringing to life.” It is within this ethos, that philosophy of Eallin is based. It is more much more than moving images, it is about images that live and breathe. Although mediums and trends are constantly changing, one thing remains, the importance of quality content. Eallin is a powerful content producer, building up strong ideas and translating them across all media & mediums. At Eallin we pride ourselves in providing not only beautiful visuals, but intelligent solutions. To date we have produced more than 500 animated projects ranging from TV commercials, music videos, PSA’s and short films. Lukas Skalnik the Executive Producer and one of the founding members of Eallin and Bernie Roux Eallin’s Executive Creative director will take you through some of the high lights from Eallin’s 15 year history. They will explain and breakdown some of their projects giving insight into many of the facets in dealing with not only commercial advertising but also pro-bono work and short films.

The panel discussion with the Loom on the Moon studios and their projects for the Czech Television in the context of different approaches to the CT:D and CT24 graphics.

Loom Supports CT24  Information! How clear can they be? Where is the design?

Loom vs CT:D  What do the rainbowy sheep dream about? How much is the fox bribed that it constantly gives a ten? Where starts the rainbow and where it ends? How do you work for children, intellectuals and their parents? Answers to these and other questions will be heard in the debate circus with illustrator and animator Daniel Špaček.

Previews of interesting games presented by their authors.

This composed presentation will introduce the funducational cycle of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic NEZkreslaná věda. Ten thematic animated films with commentary by the Czech actor Pavel Liška will introduce various phenomena from the world of natural sciences and technology. The guarantors of this project are prominent experts of the Academy of Sciences and the Charles University in Prague. The series was created by the company MAUR film in 2014. Animation in context: The functions of measuring instruments are explained by animations directly in videos and animations. This non-violent and playful form can explain even more difficult things to the audience in a way they can easily understand. Animation in interactive presentation: A non-traditional combination of animation, game, interactivity, video and other sources of information. This interactive presentation ranked among the four best multimedia projects at the international competition of The European Science TV and the New Media Festival in Dublin (organised by the EuroScience, EuroPAWS and Ciencia Viva associations).

Graphic artist and game designer Jakub Dvorský has worked on titles such as Samorost, Machinarium and Botanicula. Currently, he is developing Samorost 3, his biggest game yet, and several other new projects. The independent studio Amanita Design created games Samorost, Machinarium and Botanicula. Currently, the studio is developing Samorost 3, its biggest game yet, and several other new projects.

The most popular show for kids, The Little Eveninger (Večerníček), celebrates 50th birthday this year. He first appeared on the TV screens on 2nd January 1965, and the original Sunday run extended throughout the whole week. In this panel, we will return to the origins of this format, predominant techniques of the time and the authors and their characters who have secured a place in our hearts. The main theme of the panel will be a behind-the-scenes look to the background of the oldest fairy-tales – their script, dramaturgy, casting, literary, musical and graphical style and direction. Miloš Zvěřina is a CT dramaturge and Kateřina Krejčí is a CT dramaturg and a manager of programme formats development.

The Series of Old Prague Legends were created around the idea to awaken historical and fairy tales in a way that people in the whole world would understand. Their graphic style reminds of shadow theatre as well as cut-out animation used by Karel Zeman, Lotta Reiniger and many other distinctive authors. Originally, the authors thought of narrated stories accompanied by static images but in the end the project grew into its current animated form. First eight episodes were made thanks to contributions of the fans; last four were supported by the company Prague City Tourism. The series was produced through the internet and the whole team of 10 people has not gathered until the premiere. 

Is it good to have a post-production studio within the Czech Television and what capabilities does it have? What is considered as special effects in the post-production, what is the process of preparation and what results can we achieve by setting the right workflow? How can you simplify or complicate the postproduction already during the filming? These questions don’t have a clear answer as no special effects are the same. They have, however, a common denominator – a professional team of VFX supervisors, 3D animators, composers, rotoscopists, mattepaintists, graphics, animators and many more who know how to bring virtual images of the director and the director of photography to life and how to change and enhance the image reality. About all of that you may ask David Cynk, CT graphics and self-promotion chief producer and Jan Ulrich, CT SFX post-production.

Previews of interesting games presented by their authors.

Fun facts from the development process of games presented by their authors.

In 2014, the city of Ostrava commissioned a unique project for tourists – a game for families with children in the form of a “location based game.” It is a mobile application that gives the players access to game instructions and missions according to their location. The game has quite an elaborate story and it includes animated sequences that gradually reveal the story of the mysterious talisman belonging to Baron Salomon Meyer Rothschild. This very dangerous talisman is hidden somewhere in Ostrava and the players’ mission is to find it. 

Czech filmmaker Jiří Brdečka (1917–1982) was a director of animation and, along with Jiri Trnka, one of the founders of Czech animation. As early as the 1940s, Brdečka realized the potential of animated film as serious art. He worked in the Prague animation studio Bratři v triku and between 1948 and 1981, he created 35 short films. His films Love and the Zeppelin, Gallina Vogelbirdae, Metamorpheus, The Face and others, brought him international acclaim and prizes from many leading film festivals. The acute vision of Brdecka’s magical inner world, together with his ironic and poetic sensibility, had a timeless impact on world animation.

In 2009 Anders Gustafsson and Erik Zaring set out to hand-craft a game from everyday materials such as clay, cardboard, latex and broccoli. Now, more than six years later, their game is almost complete. In the talk they discuss their reasons for undertaking such a crazy project and what they learned along the way.