JAI adheres to the characteristics of “Openness and International Orientation”, continuously broadens the international horizons of teachers and students of various majors, and enhances teachers and students’ understanding of art forms in different cultural backgrounds. Adhering to the school’s characteristics, the School of Animation Art invited Grigori Zurkan, a visiting professor of our school and famous German stop-motion animation director, to establish an International Expert Stop-motion Animation Workshop in the Animation Research Institute to guide teachers and students of the School of Animation Art to create stop-motion animation short filmGhost Sonata.
Character modeling for the movieGhost Sonata
Ghost Sonatais based on one of the most influential and popular piano composers of all time, Chopin, known as the “Poet of the Piano”, and his music. The film tells the story of Chopin's heart being brought back to his homeland after his death in Paris, honoring Chopin's undying patriotism and his outstanding contribution to the world of music.
Scene modeling for the movieGhost Sonata
In conjunction with the creation process ofGhost Sonata, Grigori Zurkan provided in-depth and systematic professional guidance to students and teachers. In the construction of character models, he taught the students construction techniques to ensure that the dolls stand in a stable position and move flexibly to provide a wider creative space for the character performance; in the construction of scenes, he encouraged the students to utilize a variety of materials to show the mountains, cliffs, and other magnificent scenes and to ensure that the model's stability and the fineness of the details. In order to make the characters lifelike, he has gone through countless times of careful mixing and testing in the selection of character materials to ensure that the character's skin is delicate to the touch, the color is natural, and it perfectly matches the characteristics of the real characters. Students are organized to carefully color the surfaces of the scene models, using different paints, spray painting techniques or hand painting to create realistic natural textures. This series of exquisite craftsmanship and relentless pursuit of art not only demonstrates Grigori Zurkan's skill, but also adds to the charm of the film.
The International Expert Workshop is a high-intensity and high-efficiency practical creation model. In the future, JAI will continue to invite experts in the field of international specialties to the school to set up expert studios, guiding teachers and students to create a greater number of art works of better quality and international style. At the same time, it will inject a strong impetus for the construction of various specialties in the school and provide strong support for talent cultivation.
