Events

2012 Artist in Residence Events

Artist in Residence Finale Reception | Saturday, November 3 | 6-8pm | River Gallery | 120 S. Main St.

The final event of our 2012 Artist in Residence will be a screening of our own Sharad Patel’s first full-length feature film. Sharad wrote, directed and produced this film, called “Christian Roane.” Join us for the first-ever screening of this film. Click to register.

Past Events

Opening Reception: Magic Shows & Ghost Stories | Saturday, June 2 | 4-6pm | River Gallery | 120 S. Main St.

Join us to welcome 2012 Artist in Residence, filmmaker Sharad Kant Patel. Sharad will talk about his background in film and his creative process, complete with a screening of his selected short films. Sharad Patel traces his filmmaking habit back to early childhood where he once put on magic shows for dinner guests and could always be found telling spooky stories. After a hilarious clip of a horror movie homage he created at the age of 11, he will present a collection of more recent short films, and then introduce us to details of his current project in production, his first feature-length film; a grown-up version of a ghost story using everything he’s learned since those early days.

Our 2011 Artist in Residence, Jerzy Drozd will be there to share his experience working with our community and pass the Artist in Residence torch on to Sharad.

What Makes a Film Work  | Wednesday, June 20 | 6:30-8pm | Silver Maples – 100 Silver Maples Dr.

An introductory, multi-media discussion of how a movie uses filmmaking techniques to make movie magic. Techniques like camera shots, editing, sound design and music help to cast a spell over an audience and bring them into the story. Artist in Residence Sharad Kant Patel will break down these elements using different scenes from well-known films to show how they come together to create a successful and powerful scene.

Film Screening: Analog Dreams and Digital Truths with Martin Thoburn  | Saturday, July 14 |10:30–12pm | Chelsea District Library | 221 S. Main St.

Martin Thoburn presents his diverse portfolio of films, animations, and photography.  The artist shares his methodologies and processes, in addition to the inspiration and background stories of his work, which will be presented in chronological order to showcase the evolution of Martin’s craft and style over time. Behind the scenes progress of Martin’s latest undertaking will also be revealed.

A pluralist artist with a background in Graphic Design, Animation and Digital Media, Martin is determined not to be confined to any one medium. He continually explores photography, live video mixing, design, collage, animation and motion graphics. Martin has produced and directed several short films, both animated and live action, that have been shown locally at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, nationally and internationally. 

Fundamentals of Filmmaking Workshop | Monday and Tuesday, July 16 and 17 | Chelsea Center for the Arts – 400 Congdon St. | Ages 12-15 – 1-4 pm | Ages 16-Adult – 6-9 pm

This workshop introduces the basic elements of pre-production. Sharad will provide text from a story then show participants how to transform a story into a script, create a shot list and design a storyboard.  No computers necessary, we will be working with paper, pen and pencil. No prior experience necessary.

Registration required – Age 12-15 workshop

Registration required – Age 16-Adult workshop

Film Screening: The Mad Science of Filmmaking with Jennifer Proctor | Saturday, July 21 |6-8pm | River Gallery | 120 S. Main St.

Jennifer Proctor will share the evolution of her work from handmade, hand-processed, and hand-painted documentary films to her more recent exploration of video and use of the Internet as an archive for found footage collage. Proctor will discuss techniques involved in handmade film, the continuities she sees between handmade film and online video, and her recent interest in remaking classic experimental films, including Bruce Conner’s “A Movie.”

A filmmaker and media artist based in Ann Arbor, Proctor’s work has been shown at film festivals throughout the country. Proctor is the former Managing Director of the Cinematexas Short Film Festival, and is currently an Assistant Professor in Journalism and Screen Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. 

Editing is Magic! Final Cut Pro Editing Workshop | Tuesday, August 14 | Chelsea Center for the Arts | 400 Congdon St. | Ages 12-15 – 1-4pm | Ages 16-Adult – 6-9pm

This hands-on workshop will allow participants to explore the creative possibilities of editing with Final Cut. Sharad will produce a short narrative piece of film with local actors. All participants will then use the identical footage, becoming familiar with a variety of ingredients available in Final Cut Pro. Everyone will construct their own edit. 4 work stations will be available at the CCA. Participants can bring their own laptops downloaded with Final Cut Pro. (Final Cut Pro allows potential purchasers to download for free for one month trial.)

Registration required – Age 12-15 workshop

Registration required – Age 16-Adult workshop

Film Screening: Unusual Behavior for Ordinary Objects with Heidi Kumao | Saturday, September 22 | 10:30-12pm | Chelsea District Library | 221 S. Main St.

Heidi Kumao will present her surreal stop-motion animation shorts and the work of other contemporary and historical artists who work in this field.  She will explain how this type of work is created and various approaches to its use as an art form, in advertising, and in movies, as well as provide an overview of some of the current methods and tools for its production.

Kumao is an interdisciplinary artist who creates video, machine art and installations to explore ordinary social interactions and their psychological undercurrents. Her many honors include a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, and exhibitions both nationally and internationally, Kumao is currently Associate Professor at the School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan. Click to register.

Film Screening: Little Histories – with Special Guest Kelly Sears | Saturday, October 6 | 10:30-12:30pm | River Gallery |120  S. Main St.

Kelly Sears will show a decade’s worth of experimental animations in Little Histories.  Using photos from encyclopedias, archival films, and aging magazines, she collages these images into science fiction tales, horror movie narratives, and unlikely documentaries.  The films are made from a combination of analogue and digital animation techniques.  The shorts are possible and impossible at the same time.   The title comes from a Walter Benjamin essay.

Kelly Sears is an animator and filmmaker living in Galveston, Texas, where she is a current resident at the Galveston Artist Residency. Her collage films are created from discarded periodicals, books, archives, and orphan films. They harness images of the past to reflect on the present. Her films draw on experimental, documentary and narrative practices, and feature both analog and digital animation techniques. Sears’ portfolio of work has been shown at a tremendous number of venues, including the Ann Arbor, Sundance, and SXSW Film Festivals, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Click to register.

Collaborative Workshop: Cut-ups and Found Sound, Stop-Motion Basics with Special Guest Kelly Sears | Saturday, October 6 | 1-4 pm | River Gallery | 120 S. Main St.

In this workshop with Kelly Sears, participants will make a collaborative collage, stop-motion animation using images from magazines, books, and advertisements.  The animation will be paired with an appropriated sound track.  Drawing on the technique of the exquisite corpse, we will create new meaning through mixing experimental animation with the provided soundtrack.  At the end of the workshop, we will have jointly made an experimental short film. Click to register.

Film Screening – Red Blob Massacre with Emilia Javanica | Saturday, October  13 | 6-8pm | River Gallery | 120 S. Main St.

Red Blob Massacre is a silent horror film and live performance that features puppetry, stop-motion animation, stellar acting, uncontrollable dancing, RED BLOBS, ugly teeth, and a whole lot of fake blood. Written/Directed by Emilia Javanica and featuring a live sound score performed by Simon Alexander-Adams, Red Blob Massacre tells the story of  Maddy Blitz, a young woman with horrendous-looking teeth. Maddy’s nightmares of not fitting in clump together to form a giant RED BLOB that confronts her tormenters, eventually growing so big that it……..!!!

Emilia Javanica is a performer, director and interdisciplinary artist who recently finished her MFA in Studio Art at the School of Art & Design, University of Michigan.  Emilia strives to combine live performance, puppetry, video and animation in her work, often with a twist of dark humor. Click to register.