Roundtrip Animation
A mesmerizing exploration of cultural connections and the interplay between old and new media, as students from Dallas and Brussels unite to bring a circle of animation to life in Roundtrip Animation.
Produced by
experimenta.l. animation lab
Directed by
Christine Veras and Guido Devadder
Project Description
This project starts from a circle. A circle that turns and thus creates a rotation, a continuous flow of images. It is also a circle across the Atlantic, an inquiry into the cultural similarities and differences between what used to be called ‘the Old World’ and ‘the New World’. At the same time, it is an exploration of ‘old media’ and ‘new media’, opportunities that arise from the interrelation between both, creating yet another circle.
The “Roundtrip Animation” was born from the collaboration and cultural exchange between animation students in Dallas and in Brussels, experimenting with the possibilities of proto-animation devices converted to dome projections. The film is a result of the work of 23 students working across the Atlantic in this international collaboration.
Students from the School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology in Dallas partnered with students from LUCA Arts School in Brussels in a virtual exchange project to experiment and create animation using a proto-animation device: the phenakistiscope. In turn, this early animation device may be fitted for dome screenings.
About the Director
Christine Veras researches the integration of physical and digital technologies to explore the multimedia possibilities of animation. Her background in animation studies combines history, theory, and practice, positioning her as a scholar and practitioner. Her experimenta.l. lab is a dynamic research space where she fosters collaboration and encourages the exploration of animation through a variety of hands-on techniques. She is an Assistant Professor teaching and researching at UT Dallas Bass School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology, earning her doctoral degree from the Nanyang Technological University Singapore.
Guido Devadder is an artistic researcher based in Leuven, Belgium, and teaches at the Department of Audiovisual Arts of LUCA School of Arts in Brussels. A fascination for the idiosyncrasies of obsolete visual media and abandoned modalities of creating and perceiving moving images is at the core of his research. Combining old and new, his work explores materiality in contemporary moving image art and tries to formulate a meta-critique on the slippery concepts of reality and illusion through animation. Guido is currently working on a PhD in the Arts at KU Leuven / LUCA School of Arts, From Post-cinema to Pre-cinema and Back: A Media Archaeology of Loop Animation.
Screening Details
Project Runtime
2:52
Programming Block
Visionaries of Tomorrow: Emerging Student Voices in Immersive Media
Screening Day & Time
May 04, 3:30 PM
