Metaphor and Metamorphosis - The Poetics of Animation

Animation's ability to navigate freely in the mimesis/abstraction representational spectrum in an infinite variety of styles, as well as its freedom from space/time restrictions, makes it a powerful medium to express inner states of being. We will be analyzing films that explore this potential in the context of poetry and animation aesthetics. Metaphor, suggestion, symbolism, lyrical narrative structure, rhythm and metamorphosis are some of our areas of investigation and experimentation.

Students will be encouraged to perceive 'poetic moments' in their apparently ordinary routines and register them in a diary. This journal will serve as their source of ideas to explore concepts debated in class in a variety of animation techniques. Exercises are designed to help students explore their own themes authentically, whilst strengthening their feeling for timing and intuitive understanding of animated motion.