This beginner friendly workshop takes place at Spellerberg Projects located in Lockhart, Texas as part of an ongoing partnership with Austin School of Film with no prior film experience required to participate.
Saturday, March 28, 2026 from 12:00pm-4:00pm
This hands-on workshop introduces participants to direct animation, one of the most tactile and expressive forms of analog cinema. Working without a camera, participants will create moving images directly on 16mm film using paint, ink, collage, scratching, and other material interventions, transforming film stock into a surface for experimentation and play.
Also known as cameraless filmmaking, direct animation brings rhythm, color, and texture to life frame by frame. The workshop draws inspiration from artists such as Len Lye, Norman McLaren, and Stan Brakhage, while emphasizing contemporary, process-led approaches to experimental image-making. Over the course of a single day, participants will work with clear 16mm leader and vintage found footage from the 1950s–70s, building abstract sequences that explore gesture, motion, and materiality. The focus is on exploration rather than perfection, encouraging creative risk-taking and discovery.
What You’ll Create
Each participant will leave with a digitized version of their finished 16mm film, along with a collaborative group trailer set to original music that documents the collective output of the workshop.
What’s Included:
Participants receive a 16mm kit including paintbrushes, acrylic paints, paint sponges, a reusable palette, a small magnifying glass, hand-cut 16mm film strips with leader and found footage, plus additional analog tools and materials for experimentation.
What We’ll Explore
Painting & scratching directly onto film
Working with clear leader and archival found footage
Frame-by-frame animation principles and basic FPS concepts
Building texture, rhythm, and abstract visual compositions
Creative considerations when working with analog film
ABOUT AUSTIN SCHOOL OF FILM:
Rooted in over 30 years of experimentation, Austin School of Film has long championed independent, hands-on approaches to motion-picture making. MOTION STUDIES continues this ethos by creating space for beginners and experienced artists alike to experiment, take risks, and engage with filmmaking as a living, material practice.
This beginner friendly workshop takes place at Spellerberg Projects located in Lockhart, Texas as part of an ongoing partnership with Austin School of Film with no prior film experience required to participate.
Saturday, March 28, 2026 from 12:00pm-4:00pm
This hands-on workshop introduces participants to direct animation, one of the most tactile and expressive forms of analog cinema. Working without a camera, participants will create moving images directly on 16mm film using paint, ink, collage, scratching, and other material interventions, transforming film stock into a surface for experimentation and play.
Also known as cameraless filmmaking, direct animation brings rhythm, color, and texture to life frame by frame. The workshop draws inspiration from artists such as Len Lye, Norman McLaren, and Stan Brakhage, while emphasizing contemporary, process-led approaches to experimental image-making. Over the course of a single day, participants will work with clear 16mm leader and vintage found footage from the 1950s–70s, building abstract sequences that explore gesture, motion, and materiality. The focus is on exploration rather than perfection, encouraging creative risk-taking and discovery.
What You’ll Create
Each participant will leave with a digitized version of their finished 16mm film, along with a collaborative group trailer set to original music that documents the collective output of the workshop.
What’s Included:
Participants receive a 16mm kit including paintbrushes, acrylic paints, paint sponges, a reusable palette, a small magnifying glass, hand-cut 16mm film strips with leader and found footage, plus additional analog tools and materials for experimentation.
What We’ll Explore
Painting & scratching directly onto film
Working with clear leader and archival found footage
Frame-by-frame animation principles and basic FPS concepts
Building texture, rhythm, and abstract visual compositions
Creative considerations when working with analog film
ABOUT AUSTIN SCHOOL OF FILM:
Rooted in over 30 years of experimentation, Austin School of Film has long championed independent, hands-on approaches to motion-picture making. MOTION STUDIES continues this ethos by creating space for beginners and experienced artists alike to experiment, take risks, and engage with filmmaking as a living, material practice.
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