A computer worked for almost a week, and countless hours were spent in planning and production to create just one animation lasting 45 seconds. This was spring term for multimedia design student Mel Terry. But the payoff comes tonight, when his piece, “Magic Media,” is presented at the University’s fourth Animation Explosion.
All 18 students in the Motion Graphics class share variations of this story. Each student was responsible for designing a concept and seeing it through the animation process. That does not mean that each piece is a cartoon; students use different methods to simulate motion, including computer animation, cut-out images and classic stop-motion.
Five other classes (including Basic Design and Multimedia Tools) will contribute to the Animation Explosion, which involves more than 100 students. The event is held yearly to showcase multimedia work produced in the University art department.
Student event coordinator Nick Falbo says the event is a celebration of student achievement. Instead of being judged, students get a pat on the back for their efforts. Falbo aims to please with his piece, “Firewood,” where a computer-animated figure moves over a filmed set. For those who can’t visualize it, he explains, “It’s like the Disney movie ‘Dinosaur.’”
Shelly Macdonald also produced a piece in the Motion Graphics class called “Adelaide.” The animation shows a girl in a snowy city who imagines a jazz poster coming to life and playing for her. Macdonald says the idea is like a memory of her childhood in Chicago where her father played jazz trumpet. Her father played the score for her piece, adding to its autobiographical feel. The short was made by filming painted, cut-out pieces of canvas, giving it a classic, foreign feel.
In addition to the animated student works, two student-made documentaries will be shown. Professor Ken O’Connell joked that the title may be outdated. “Maybe next year we’ll call it the ‘Motion Media Meltdown,’” he said.

Memory in motion
This joke points out a deception caused by titles. Though Animation Explosion is in its fourth year, the University has held showings of student work since 1957. The tradition of motion media was started at the University by retired professor David Foster, one of O’Connell’s former teachers. To remember the legacy behind the art department’s achievements, the Animation Explosion features one historical work each year. This year, O’Connell takes the stage with his 1984 computer animation “Chips in Space.”
This is in homage to O’Connell’s legacy. He is retiring this year after 23 years at the University. During his time as a student, he learned from Foster and was shaped by that man’s artistic vision and dedication.
When first trying to incorporate film and photography into the art department in 1951, the conflicting sentiment of the faculty was that they were commercial media.
“I spent a lot of time convincing the faculty that this is not commercial.” Foster said. “Communication is not commercial.”

Because of the reluctance to change, Foster built up the program largely by himself. O’Connell remembers a time in the ’70s when Foster took a second mortgage on his house to buy equipment for the students.
This dedication comes from Foster’s fundamental love of learning and communication. Foster graduated from a Bauhaus art school in Chicago, where he was taught that form follows function. In teaching University students new technologies and processes, the focus was always on using media as tools to express a message.
“The art of organizing the material and conveying the thought is more important than the physical presentation,” Foster said.
But Foster knows that it is easy to shift the focus away from communication when the goal becomes to create a product. This is why he comes back to see the Animation Explosion. “I want to see what they’re doing,” he said. “But I look at it not to be entertained — I look at it to see how my friend Ken is doing.”

Maintaining the message
As a returning student, Terry provides perspective on the two professors, having received instruction from both of them. He studied under Foster in 1978 for a year and returned last fall under O’Connell. But despite the gap in time, he feels that the vision is intact.
“There is no question that communication is what it is all about,” he said. “At the U of O, the emphasis will always be on the message and the theory.”
But though students may think they are communicating effectively, unbiased outsiders may disagree. O’Connell said that learning how audiences respond to the work is another primary function of the Animation Explosion.
Falbo remembers the response to last year’s event. “We had more people than we should have,” he said. “It was standing room only. I couldn’t get back in after the intermission.”
Learning from the experience, Falbo spread the event over two nights. Each two-hour program will begin at 7 p.m. and feature different works. This not only allows more student work to be shown, but also allows more people to see it.
And the more people who see the work, the more the students’ art will be appreciated.
“Art is not a gift,” Falbo said. “You make it a gift by the energy and effort you put into it.”
Judging by Terry’s example, the students learned this fact from the time they labored over their projects. And while the impressive pieces represent the best work from what O’Connell claims is the best animation program in the Northwest, the goal is still the communication of ideas.