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FAXCINATION

'Networked Animation'

Organization

FAXCINATION

Address and contact details

M Gyora gal Glupczynski
5/193 Ba Trieu
Hanoi
VIETNAM
Fax: +84 4 974 08 83
Email: info@faxcination.com
HTML-website: www.faxcination.com
FLASH-website:http://go.to/faxcination

Project partners

Fundacao Oriente (Macau)

Direction Generale a la Cooperation au developpement
(The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brussels)

European Cultural Foundation, Amsterdam

Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague

Belgacom

Location

The project is the result of a collaboration between a production centre and a group of young people aged 12 and over from around the world.

Background

The project invites groups, or individuals, to contribute sequences of drawings, which are then transmitted by fax (or by email) to various international locations to be added to a series of animated projects known as The Fax Film Roads. The 'roads' develop as other people and groups contribute further to the work.

The FAXCINATION production centre uses three tools:

• A fax to send and receive the drawings.

• A scanner to capture the drawings into the computer.

• A computer to work on the images, using graphic and movie software.

The FAXCINATION centre collects, archives and forwards all of the resulting images in order to make an animated program which can be then broadcast or published on the web.

The FAXCINATION centre also provides tutorial pages to help people develop their own new ideas.

Aims and objectives

The collaboration between the organizers and the young artists evolves through a step-by-step process, much like distance learning, using telephone lines as a means for artistic creation. In doing so FAXCINATION introduces today's youth to modern communication technology and to an international language - the animated cartoon.

The project introduces young people to the world of virtual communication. It raises awareness of new forms of
media, and awakens interest in peoples with which they have contact.

Participants

Children and young people aged 12 and over. No previous experience is necessary to be a part of the production.

Target audience

Workshops composed of young people aged 12 + come about when an organizer presents the project to art teachers or to other group leaders who will direct the group. The work produced is then enriched by the participation of other groups who can add sound, video and other elements.

Wider beneficiaries

FAXCINATION gives people from all societies and walks of life the chance to better understand other cultures and to promote peace. For example, Portuguese children between 12 and 15 years of age develop friendships with their equivalents in Israel and Palestine through weekly exchanges. Young Belgians and Latvians make contact with Greek Cypriots and Turks though telephone lines. FAXCINATION can become a widespread model of solidarity and understanding.

Preparation is underway to establish workshops with young people living in conflict areas. Contact will be established with other groups, neutral to the conflict in these places, to create a series of animation sequences.

In the long term, FAXCINATION would like to promote cultural activities at the ground level by developing animation film workshops. We believe this will open the door for many young people to a new form of expression. The workshops will also help prepare them for professional opportunities in their region.

The animation film industry is in expansion and these new tools could set new work bases in Asia, the Middle East and other regions of the world.

Involvement of children

The FAXCINATION participant initially needs only the formatted 'fax film' page to enable them to continue the sequence faxed to them from another country. Each group participates in the writing of the Fax Film Road. In the process, the participant will discover different animation 'sharewares', graphic programs and sound.

Summary of project

After a brief introduction to basic animation techniques and to communication tools, the groups are invited to take part in the creation of a new Fax Film Road. The road is made out of animated drawing sequences produced by between four to six different countries.

In the course of these workshops, the groups collectively produce all the different elements necessary to create a Fax Film Road, using fax and email to transmit drawings, short stories, descriptions about their environment, sounds and video that will enrich the later presentation of their work.

The resulting project is presented alongside the previous Fax Film Roads on the FAXCINATION website and on CD.

The FAXCINATION production centre proposes steps for the development of the project in each network. It also collects faxed and emailed animations and other elements posted or uploaded by the groups to the project server.

The production centre also generates templates and edits all the material into a format suitable for the project presentation on CD, videotapes and on the website.

Funders

Fundacao Oriente (Macau)

Direction Generale a la Cooperation au developpement (The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brussels)

European Cultural Foundation, Amsterdam

Cost

There are three levels of cost to the FAXCINATION 'networked animation' project.

• Receiving one of the 'fax film' sequences from another country is free of charge. The participant only has to cover the cost of the faxed sequence or the email which they send on.

• The cost of workshops to learn networked animation programmes, which can be organized in school or youth centres, depends on the location and on the length of the workshops.

• The cost of starting a completely new animated road using Flash software depends on the location.

Strengths of project

This form of communication uses an international language where the rules are easy to learn and a message can be addressed to anyone, regardless of their race or religion.

Each participant can use this original form of expression to explore the subjects of his/her choice. Non-verbal communication in the form of drawing allows for the expression and understanding of ideas which cultural or social barriers may sometimes inhibit.

The sequences of drawings show much graphic unity, wherever in the world the person lives. What unites the style is more dependent on the age of the participant and their surroundings (like art schools and youth organizations), rather than where they come from.

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