Engauge 2022 – Drop-In Direct Animation on 16mm Film [Free In-Person Workshop]

Sat Nov 05: 3.30–8.30pm PT

This workshop will be offered on a drop-in, drop-out basis. Come any time and stay as long as you like, from 3:30–8:30pm on Closing Day of Engauge Experimental Film Festival 2022!

The workshop is FREE to attend, with no registration required. Donations to NWFF and Interbay Cinema Society are appreciated!

No prior experience with 16mm film is required. All ages are welcome, but guests 12 and under should be accompanied; sharp tools (scissors, razor blades, sandpaper) may be in use.

 

FESTIVAL PASSES:
(passes do include the expanded cinema performance!)

  • $60 General
  • $50 Student/Senior
  • $40 NWFF/SIFF/GI/PCNW member
Duration: 5h
Instructor: Paul Siple
Click for Accessibility Info

Ticketing, concessions, cinemas, restrooms, and our public edit lab are located on Northwest Film Forum’s ground floor, which is wheelchair accessible. (This particular workshop takes place in Cinema 2, so it will be wheelchair accessible.) All doors in Northwest Film Forum are non-motorized, and may require staff assistance to open. Our upstairs workshop room is not wheelchair accessible.

We have a limited number of assistive listening devices available for programs hosted in our larger theater, Cinema 1. These devices are maintained by the Technical Director, and can be requested at the ticketing and concessions counter. Also available at the front desk is a Sensory Kit you can borrow, which includes a Communication Card, noise-reducing headphones, and fidget toys.

The Forum does NOT have assistive devices for the visually impaired, and is not (yet) a scent-free venue. Our commitment to increasing access for our audiences is ongoing, and we welcome all public input on the subject!

If you have additional specific questions about accessibility at our venue, please contact our Patron Services Manager at cris@nwfilmforum.org. Our phone number (206-329-2629) is voicemail-only, but we check it often.

Made possible due to a grant from Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, in partnership with Sensory Access, our Sensory Access document presents a visual and descriptive walk-through of the NWFF space. View it in advance of attending an in-person event at bit.ly/nwffsocialnarrativepdf, in order to prepare yourself for the experience.

⚠️ Covid-19 Policies ⚠️

NWFF patrons will be required to wear masks that cover both nose and mouth while in the building. Disposable masks are available at the door for those who need them. We are not currently checking vaccination cards. Recent variants of COVID-19 readily infect and spread between individuals regardless of vaccination status.

Read more about NWFF’s policies regarding cleaning, masks, and capacity limitations here.

This workshop is expressly designed for casual engagement with experimental filmmaking on 16mm film leader; “direct animation,” or “cameraless filmmaking.” Anyone is welcome to drop by, whether or not they’re attending the festival! With a buffet of materials at their disposal – markers, decorative tapes, hole punches, etc. – all provided by Interbay Cinema Society, students can explore what a variety of techniques and material applications look like when they’re projected. Build your own film loop and watch it come to life just moments later!

Whether you’re coming in hot off of a festival screening, itching with inspiration, or you’re just looking for some craft time to help you unwind, we’d love to have you.

More about the process:

Direct animation can run the gamut from strictly planned, intentional work, to a completely haphazard kitchen-sink approach. In the magical discipline of experimental filmmaking, wrapping your shoes in found footage and running to the corner store and back is every bit as valid and interesting a creative approach as spending back-breaking hours scratching miniature patterns onto black film leader. (For the record, this free workshop will be much more in the kitchen-sink camp!)

About Paul:

About Paul:

Pronouns: he/him

Although he’s worn a closet’s worth of hats at the Forum in the past decade or so, this workshop will mark Paul’s first-ever foray into teaching here! (But, having taken almost every direct animation course that Interbay Cinema Society has offered in partnership with the Forum, his confidence is high.) Think of him as a source for suggestions, someone to bounce ideas off of, or an elementary school art teacher rather than a filmmaker, because that’s how he’ll be running this workshop.

NWFF staff bio:

Since Paul’s introduction to Northwest Film Forum in 2011 as a Children’s Film Festival Seattle intern, he has been a seasonal assistant to Liz Shepherd, co-curator of the Film Forum’s inestimably popular semi-annual You’re Lookin’ At Country program, and a devoted Forum volunteer. In 2016 he joined the Forum as Saelyx Finna’s Programs Assistant and now spends his days keeping the website, Facebook, and Twitter current, as well as providing support to Programming, Marketing, and Facilities as needed. When out of the office, he is an illustrator, video artist, and the Communications Manager and Audiovisual Technician for Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound.


The Engauge Experimental Film Festival, now in its 5th year, celebrates the art of analog experimental filmmaking. Only films that originate on celluloid film are eligible for the festival. In 2022, Engauge features 73 films from 15 countries, showcasing a wide variety of experimental techniques.

Most films will be presented as digital transfers, but the majority of film programs will also include 16mm and 35mm film prints. The festival closes with a solo show and expanded cinema performance by Kristin Reeves that will deploy nine 16mm projectors simultaneously in the NWFF lobby!

⚠️ Please note: NWFF patrons will be required to wear masks that cover both nose and mouth while in the building. We are not currently checking vaccination cards.


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Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Ave,

Seattle, WA 98122

206 329 2629


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