Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Film and New Media held a special lecture and workshop by Raimond Krumme from October 17 to 27, 2017. The event was held as part of the Introduction to Contemporary Animation program. Mr. Krumme is an independent artist who has produced short animation films in Berlin, Germany, and the U.S. He also has a long career as an educator of animation in the U.S., Germany, South Korea, and Taiwan.

The workshop was held on Oct. 20 and 23 at the Bashamichi building on the Yokohama campus. The assignment of the workshop was to think about ideas for making a theatrical drama into animation. The participating students had read the Japanese text of The Chairs, which was originally written by the Rumanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco, as preparation for the two-day workshop.

On the first day, they created storyboards, where their ideas were freely expressed in a series of thumbnails. Mr. Krumme said that interaction between a paper and the hands was important, and advised that they should try to find fortuitous elements in “drawing.” The choice of drawing tools was left up to the students. However, he said that using an unfamiliar tool could help visualize things that were usually unexpressed, and the action to draw a picture could help them observe the world. Their works were allowed to be set in any scenes in the drama. The ideas were presented by the respective students. As many of them don’t usually see or read theatrical dramas, they seemed to struggle to understand the text itself. However, Mr. Krumme positively commented that the students did a great job in the sense that they came up with a variety of fresh and eccentric ideas.

On the second day, the settings presented on the first day were developed into rough storyboards, which were later previsualized. The participants mutually asked and commented on them. During the instructions of acting, they sketched actors in motion on animation drawing papers.

On October 22, the 26th Symposium of Introduction to Contemporary Amination was held, during which a series of works by Mr. Krumme were shown in chronological order, and some of his TV commercials at the end of the symposium. Despite a typhoon, the event made a great success. It was attended by a total of 60 people, who continuously asked questions, causing it to be extended by half an hour. The audience appreciated the symposium as it was a valuable opportunity to hear the voice and opinion of the creator himself about his own works.

As an experienced educator, Mr. Krumme tactfully managed the workshop, making it so beneficial to the students. They were inspired by European dramas that they have few opportunity to be exposed to, while discovering new aspects of making animation that they had never realized. Furthermore, as they needed to discuss in English with the help of an interpreter, many of them were reminded of the importance of learning the language.