CINANIMA 2023 trailer 

We invited the University of the Algarve to make a trailer this year. The second-year students in the Project II course of the Animated Image degree programme at the University of the Algarve, under the direction of João Raimundo and Marina Estela Graça, provided the solution to our challenge. There are other degrees, but they are more generalist and aimed towards directing. The Animated Image degree is the only one in the nation that intends to train animators, or professionals capable of composing movement using image sequences. The goal, according to mentor Marina Estela Graça, is for students to be able to join production teams as junior animators or interleavers following graduation.

For the students who were learning about animation for the first time, making the trailer was a great responsibilities. The majority of students enter the programme without any prior knowledge of animation; some don’t even know how to draw; others are unfamiliar with digital tools for graphics and video editing; many have the misconception that animation is done by computers. Because of this, students complete simple assignments that get harder over the course of the first year in an effort to become familiar with the goals, processes, and resources, the author notes. “The first project courses are available to them in the second year. They can now comprehend how an animation team typically creates content, from the concept stage to the final edit.

The 30 students developed the targets and objectives, organised themselves into working groups, selected concepts and methodologies, created a schedule, and distributed tasks within this learning environment. The first animatic was created using Manuel Ribeiro’s click-track, a soundtrack that defines the rhythm and enables you to plan synchronisations with the movement. An animatic is a version of a generic still with only the framing and fixed positioning of the graphics.

Considering the differences between the students, Marina Estela Graça claims that “the biggest challenges during the creation of the film were agreeing on common objectives of sufficient graphic quality and animation in order to achieve unity, not overburden anyone and guarantee the achievement of objectives for everyone.”

The University of the Algarve has our gratitude for taking on our task. Here is the trailer team for the 47th season of CINANIMA, with due credit where it is due: