Students in the Abingdon Film Unit (AFU) had the unique opportunity of attending an animation masterclass with professional animator and storyboard artist Imo Rolfe. Imo introduced the students to the twelve principles of animation, covering (but not limited to) squash and stretch, staging, arcs, timing, and anticipation. In other words, how to create the illusion of life, on screen! The AFU students had a go at drawing their own frame-by-frame animations, putting these principles into practice. We then moved onto character design, the art of storyboarding and finally Imo finished off the session by demonstrating how she would pitch a full episode of a series at work. The students were amazed to watch her flick rapidly through over one-thousand storyboard images, while narrating with gusto what’s happening from shot to shot. Imo’s name can be spotted in the credits of films and series from the likes of Netflix, Disney, and Aardman. The AFUers were full of questions about her journey from university, to animation school in Florida, to her current work in London, and how to build a career in animated film. Her advice will be invaluable to all AFUers as they work on developing their own short film ideas.
