An Introductory Lecture on Animation Held

An online introductory lecture on animation was held on 22 October 2021 for the students of Animated Film Department of the Academy of Arts, University of Banja Luka, and the Animation Department of the Art School, Tianjin University of Technology and Education.

The aim of this lecture, which was jointly initiated by the Confucius Institute and the Academy of Arts of the University of Banja Luka as part of activities organized in honour of 46 years of successful work and development of the University of Banja Luka, is to establish contact and future cooperation between these two departments in the form of online lectures, joint projects such as working together on graduation films, exchange of animation techniques and ideas, literature and knowledge, as well as potential exchange of students and teachers.

Professor Sheryl Zhang, from the Animation Department of the Art School, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, said that the students work on different projects, which often involves cooperation with other University departments or the industry, where they work on commercial projects or produce games for large Chinese companies.

As she explained, students are often engaged to make background animation videos for different performances and events, such as the ongoing 100-year anniversary of the Communist Party of NR China and the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games to be held next year.

Sheryl Zhang also showed some of the students’ short graduation and demo films in which different techniques were used in the field of traditional, computer and visual effects animaton.
Prof. Mladen Đukić, MA, from the Department of Animated Film, which is conducted in the Dramatic Arts Study Programme at the Academy of Arts of the University of Banja Luka, briefly introduced the project named Animacycle, an urban bike ride trough the streets displaying projections on buildings turning them into animation screens, thus promoting animation to the general public.

In addition, he pointed out that animation students achieve notable results in competitions as well. Thus, Igor Đurić's graduation film was recently screened at the most important animated film festival in the world, in the French city of Annecy.

The Animation Department of the Art School, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, comprising 10 professors and 228 students, enrol approximately 60 students per year. The Department is divided into 3 directions: Traditional Animataion, Computer Animation andVisual Effects Animation

The Animated Film Department of the Dramatic Arts Study Programme at the Academy of Arts of the University of Banja Luka was established seven years ago and is one of the most promising departments that directly relies on experiences from the fast-growing animation and video game industry, but also follows authorial animation and trends at prestigious festivals.