Animation is everywhere: not just in our cinemas and TVs, but on our phones, on billboards, at train stations – it's all around us. But while it used to be an expensive and exclusive practice (not to mention painfully slow), in the past decade it has become accessible to all. All you need is a little background knowledge, and you too can bring inanimate objects and drawings to life.

Animation artist Lewis Heriz will guide you through this process with a series of workshops that bring in the pre-digital history of animation - flip books, zoetropes, celluloid film: the technology that gave birth to cinema itself! - and apply it to modern tools that most of us already have in our pockets. By the end you will have a collaborative film to show off (all analogue work will be transferred to a digital file to share), some experiments to continue with at home, and a brain that can think in 1/24th of a second.

Each monthly session is 3 hours long, running from 10am-1:30pm on a Saturday.

Session one - 21 September 2024 - Intro to Handmade and Analogue Animation

• Brief history of analogue animation techniques and technologies.
• Practical demo (with a 16mm film projector or optical toy).
• Activity or activities to get warmed up, such as creating an improvised looped animation.

Session two - 19 October 2024 - Make a Cameraless Film

• Working together or individually, the group will create a 16mm film using multiple techniques, none of which involve a camera.
• Screening of the film at the end of the session on a vintage 16mm film projector. 

Session three - 16 November 2024 - Hybrid techniques: Handmade Meets Digital

• Using a free phone app, we will apply what we've learnt so far to a simple digital stop motion tool.
• Individually or in pairs, we will improvise some expressive animations from found objects and recycled materials.
• Work-In-Progress screening at the end of the session.

Session four - 14 December 2024 - Final Project by Attendee Vote!

• After session 3, we will decide together what the last session will be.
• We could work on our own projects, develop and complete our earlier ones, or try something new.
• This could also be a teaching session for more techniques to take away and practice.

This workshop is for over 21s with an interest in animation from beginners to those with more experience.  All materials are provided.  

Free places via our bursary scheme

Gather offers two free bursary places per workshop and would love to hear from anyone who is keen to claim their free place on this animation course with Lewis. Email hello@morethanacowork.com to find out more on our bursary offer, just let us know what workshop you're interested in.