The USC’s School of
Cinematic Arts’ John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts
(Hench-DADA) will host the 25th Annual Conference for the Society of Animation
Studies (SAS) titled Redefining Animation, it was announced today by
Hench-DADA Division Chair Kathy Smith. The event invites scholars, researchers
and artists to present, address and critique the expanding art form across
disparate media and to contribute their papers, ideas and observations to
engage a variety of topics in the ever-evolving field of animation and digital
arts. Redefining Animation will take place at USC from June 23-27.
Redefining
Animation will begin on June 23rd with
an opening address by DreamWorks Animation’s CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and CCO Bill
Damaschke. The Conference will feature a multitude of screenings, panels and
micro-talks, ranging in topics including Animation on the Move: Animated
Journalism and Global Reporting; New Frontiers in Visual Music; Animating
the Future: Collaboration and Storytelling; Poetry in Motion and DIY Viral
Animation.” Keynote speakers include Character Animator and USC Professor Tom
Sito, Artist Davide Quayola, USC School of Cinematic Arts’ Electronic Arts
Endowed Chair of the Interactive Media & Games Division Tracy Fullerton,
Visual Effects Supervisor and USC Professor Michael Fink, Robotics Designer Dr.
David Hanson and Geena Davis, Actor and Founder of the Geena Davis Institute on
Gender in Media. The Conference will conclude June 27, with DreamWorks
Animation inviting a limited number of guests for an in-depth tour of the
DreamWorks Animation Studio.
“The SAS is
pleased to be holding its annual conference at USC School of Cinematic Arts
this year,” said Dr. Paul Ward, Professor of Animation Studies at the Arts
University Bournemouth, UK, and President of the Society for Animation Studies. ‘We are a truly international society, devoted to the study of animation in all
its forms, with members all over the world. Previous conferences have been
hosted at esteemed institutions in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia.
The current importance of animation to a wide range of creative industries is
reflected in the diversity of research, practice and scholarship going on
within the SAS; it is a dynamic and exciting growth area, and we welcome new
members all the time.’
Redefining
Animation will launch at 2pm on
Sunday, June 23rd, at the George Lucas Lobby, School of Cinematic Arts Complex,
USC, Los Angeles. See
website for details.
Information on
registration is available here.
About Society of
Animation Studies
The Society for
Animation Studies (SAS) is an international organization dedicated to the study
of animation history and theory. It was founded by Dr. Harvey Deneroff in 1987.
Each year, the SAS holds an annual conference at locations throughout the
world, where members present their recent research. For more information,
contact SAS President Dr. Paul Ward at pward@aucb.ac.uk
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