Ann Owen
Senior Lecturer, BA(Hons) Animation & Visual Effects
My passion for animation production lies in stop-motion, a form of animation that I have practiced since completing my own degree. I also run the history and theory elements of the course and my research interests include examining the relationship between the mechanisms of visual perception (in the human brain) and animation spectatorship and production.I graduated from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design (now called the University for the Creative Arts) in 1999 with a first class BA(Hons) in Animation. Following this I stayed on at the college working as a research assistant in the newly formed Animation Research Centre. In 2000 I moved to Manchester to work as a stop-motion animator on children’s television show Bob the Builder. This was an amazing and invaluable experience. It provided me with an insight into the television animation industry and allowed me to perfect my stop-motion skills whilst working on an award winning show. Following this I returned to Surrey and took up a position at my former college teaching stop-motion animation and puppet-making to the students on the animation course. During my six years teaching at Farnham I taught on almost every area of the course (and on one or two other courses) eventually specialising in the history and theory of animation. In 2007 I moved to Cornwall and took up a position as senior lecturer in on the newly formed BA(Hons) Animation & Visual Effects course, which is now a well-established degree whose graduates are finding success in all areas of the animation and VFX industries.
During my time at Falmouth I have had the opportunity to develop my research portfolio, specialising in neuroanimatics. This approach utilises advances in neuroscience and neuropsychology to further our understanding of what goes on in the human brain when we watch, and when we create, animation. This is a very new and very exciting approach to animation scholarship and I am very pleased to be playing a leading part in its global development. I have led panels and presented my research at international conferences in Athens, Los Angeles, Toronto and Canterbury. I have been able to build this research into the teaching program at Falmouth, which provides students on the course with a unique insight into this amazing aspect of animation theory.
I am currently writing a chapter for a book on Coraline, to be published by Bloomsbury in 2019, and an am active member of the Society for Animation Studies.
External Links
Qualifications
Qualifications
| Year | Qualification | Awarding body |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | BA Hons. Animation | Surrey Institute of Art and Design |
Research Interests
Research interests and expertise
Neurocanimatics and neuroaesthetics. Researching the relationship between the neural mechanisms of the human brain (and body) and the acts of moving image spectatorship and production. Specialising in animation and the effects of simplified and exaggerated forms of moving image media on the brain.Research centre and group affiliations
BlackBoxResearch Topics
- Animation. Stop-motion animation The neuroscience of animation production and spectatorship. The neuroscience of stereoscopic film spectatorship.
Research Outputs
Events
2011
Society of Animation Studies International Conference:
The Rise of the Creative Economy. Athens, Greece.
Paper presentation:
Digital Animation and the Accidental Mark.
Events
2013
Society of Animation Studies International Conference:
Redefining Animation. Los Angeles, USA.
Paper presentation:
Opening the Magic Box: A neurocinematic approach to stereosco[ic film.
Events
2014
Society of Animation Studies International Conference:
The Animator. Toronto, Canada.
Paper presentation and preconstituted panel chair: Seeing the Real: A neuroanimatic perspective on stop-motion animation.
Events
2015
Society of Animation Studies International Conference. Beyond the Frame. Cambridge, UK.
Paper presentation and preconstituted panel chair:
Lines Moving in Time: The neuroaesthetiucs of animated movement in hyperreal and experimental animation.
Events
2016
Society of Animation Studies International Conference:
The Cosmos of Animation. Singapore.
Paper presentation and preconstituted panel chair:
Reinventing the Wheel: Approaches to life, animation, and everything.
Teaching
Areas of teaching
- animation history and theory
- stop-motion animation
- animation practice
Courses taught
- BA(Hons) Animation & Visual Effects
Professional Engagement
Social, community and cultural engagement
Panel member of the Exeter Pheonix short film funding scheme 2017.Engagement with professional associations and societies
Society of Animation StudiesASIFA UK
Professional esteem indicators
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Winner of the Falmouth University Staff Excellence Award for Best International Collaboration, awarded to the Animation and Visual Effects team for their work with the Cross Channel Film Lab. |
