The fourth Carmel Film Forum will not only tackle a new subject but also a new format.
Professional animator Lisa Barcy will be the featured presenter at the Stop Motion Animation Celebration webinar.
“She has a wonderful body of work,” said James E. Moriarty, founder of the event and Moriarty Media. “She was going to do a hands-on workshop with us at the library, but because of COVID-19, it became virtual.”
The Carmel resident said the Film Forum was restructured so Barcy, from Chicago, can lead a free virtual webinar from 2 to 4 p.m. June 20 and 27. It will consist of two sessions, co-hosted by Moriarty Media and Carmel Clay Public Library’s Audiovisual Services Supervisor Sara O’Sha.
Barcy will teach animation techniques employing drawing, paper cut-outs and 3-D objects at the first session.
“The Film Forum is all about getting your hands dirty and doing things,” Moriarty said. “We’re basically going to teach how to make animation from your cellphone. This class is for beginners for Stop Motion and would be good for the animation-curious people in your life. You don’t know how to do all these techniques. We’re going to train from the get-go. We’ll teach drawing techniques.”
Participants will be encouraged to make an animated clip, using the techniques demonstrated, and upload the clips by June 25 to be judged. The winner will receive a license to a copy of the Dragonframe professional stop motion animation software, a $300 value.
“You don’t need to have sound. It doesn’t need to be fancy,” Moriarty said. “You just have to apply things you’ve learned in the class.”
Barcy will announce the winner at the June 27 session. All animated clips will have been edited into a musical montage for screening. The entire winning clip will be shown.
There will be a clip of Barcy’s work and a Q&A session with Barcy will follow.
“It’s nice to learn how people do things who can collaborate with you and you can learn from their process and how they’ve built up their body of work over the years,” Moriarty said. “Lisa has got a great sense of humor and I think people will really be attracted to it.”
Previous forum topics have included screenwriting, pre-production and the business of filmmaking.
“All of our forums have applied application to it and something interactive or hands-on about them,” Moriarty said. “We’ve got through creating a film, writing and producing it, and we’ve come back around to we wanted to do something even younger people can participate in, so we did animation. Next year we will probably do documentary. We find someone in the community to share the body of work and experiences.”
Participants can register at carmelclaylibrary.org/event/4314576. Moriarty said a CCPL card isn’t required. A webinar link will be emailed to the participant, along with a program/curriculum and a list of tools, software and supplies needed for the workshop. Seats for the webinar are free but limited.
“With the library and its help, these things can grow their circle of influence to get people to see filmmaking as an art form,” Moriarty said. “The tools are in your fingertips. All you need is a phone and an app.”
The Carmel Film Forum is sponsored by CCPL, the City of Carmel, Moriarty Media and the Indy Film Fest.
Barcy’s animation can be viewed at vimeo.com/418560545.
