Good Science Animation Project
Science for Humanity
Room S303a/b
Centre for Languages Culture and Communication
South Kensington Campus
To sign up or find our more please email Dr Stephen Webster (stephen.webster@imperial.ac.uk)
Workshop leaders: Litza Jansz, Esther Neslen and Stephen Webster
Introduction
Through a series of participatory animation, film, art and sound workshops we will explore and represent the experience of being a scientist, in all its forms, from the profane to the sublime.
The research life is varied and rich, and also repetitive and frustrating. When we think of ‘good science’, and try to imagine ways of describing it, we might well turn to art. Very likely we will seek some very flexible artform, one that can capture and express myriad meanings, and which can utilise diverse talents. Here, the animated film is ideal.
Our short experimental films, made with you, will combine montages of animated images and sound that together represent contemporary research culture and ‘the life scientific’.
General notes about all Animation workshops
- All 3 hr workshops take place on Wednesday afternoons. They are designed to offer an interesting art/animation experience both to those who just want to drop in for a short time as well as those committing to the full session. We understand how busy you are.
- There will be more than 1 participatory activity per session. You will always be learning new skills.
- Some activities will continue and build from session to session; other activities will be introduced as we progress through the programme.
- Some activities will be developed by participants in between workshops. You will be able to contribute anywhere and anytime, through creative drawing activities, time lapse filming and sound recording in labs, film and photography recording of aspects of home life, interviewing colleagues and mentors.
- Workshop themes and outcomes can change and develop according to the wishes of the participant: you will help us shape the programme.
- All participants will be credited in the final films and artworks.
Animation Workshop 1
Wednesday 29th January 2025 14.00 – 17.00
Lunch and pre-workshop project development chat 13.00 – 14.00
Suggested themes and techniques
The pace of science, the race against time – rush to publish, winners and losers.
Participants learn technique of Rotoscoping to create a drawn animation of athletes sprinting to the finishing line
Revealing the human – exploring the spaces in between our conscious attention to science and the academic life. Participants develop creative approaches to doodling as an art form. Practice encouraged to be continued outside workshop to be shared with group (through social media) for development as animation.
Animation Workshop 2
Wednesday 26th February 2025 14.00 – 17.00
Lunch and pre-workshop project development chat 13.00 – 14.00
Suggested themes and techniques
Clearing the hurdles – The obstacles in the way of achieving success.
Participants further develop technique of Rotoscoping to create a drawn animation of athletes jumping over hurdles. Hurdles will be creatively represented by collages of money, publications, pride, hope, etc.
The life scientific- effect on home life, issues for women
Stop motion animation of containers and machines used in labs (specimen jars/test tubes/spectrometers etc) juxtaposed with stop motion animation of containers and machines used in the home throughout life (baby’s bottles, mugs, home devices, bedpans etc)
Animation Workshop 3
Wednesday 26th March 2025 14.00 – 17.00
Lunch and pre-workshop project development chat 13.00 – 14.00
Suggested themes and techniques
Change of pace – The sometimes-slow pace of scientific investigation, with its moments of no-progress, sudden advance, new understanding.
Participants further develop technique of Rotoscoping to create a drawn animation of different sorts of progress.
Message in a bottle – How has our view of science changed and what would we like to be different?
Animate the reveal of written messages. These can be used in conjunction with container animation from wkshp 2.
Additional
Filming faces of participants for use in Animation wkshp 4
Animation Workshop 4
Wednesday 30th April 2025 14.00 – 17.00
Lunch and pre workshop project development chat 13.00 – 14.00
Suggested themes and techniques
The Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat – What status, preference or privilege does a lab coat confer? What does it conceal? Do we still wear lab coats? How do scientists protect themselves from different sorts of danger – toxins and other laboratory hazards, doubt, hype, ethical issues.
Remake a lab coat out of pages from prestigious science journals.
The scientific gaze – we turn our attention to the subject of our ‘gaze’. When we do our science, what actually are we looking for? How do we know when a project is finished? We consider our collaborations and we question what makes for good collaborations. What is friendship and collegiality, in science?
Film and create a drawn animation of close-ups of faces of participating scientists examining an instrument, or the results of an experiment or research project.
Workshop 5
Wednesday 28th May 2025 14.00 – 17.00
Lunch and pre-workshop project development chat 13.00 – 14.00
Suggested themes and techniques
The Amazing Technicolour Dream coat (continued). We develop further the techniques for workshop 4. Possibly rig and animate lab coat and/or green screen movements of lab coat for track matting (filling 2D image with moving image footage) or projection mapping (projecting onto 3D object).
The scientific gaze (continued)– What does the scientific gaze see? What lies behind the subject of the gaze? Further develop drawn animation of close ups of faces of participating scientists closely examining an instrument or research result.
Workshop 6
Wednesday 25th June 2025 14.00 – 17.00
Lunch and pre-workshop project development chat 13.00 – 14.00
Suggested themes and techniques
The Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat (continued) Further develop the techniques of creating, rigging and animating a lab coat. – How is status affected when we put on or take off a lab coat, literally or metaphorically?
Develop further animation of lab coat exploring different signifying poses and movements.
Heroes – What were our personal motivations and inspiration in deciding to become a scientist?
Using different drawing/collage techniques create images of Inspirational characters or events.
Workshop 7
Wednesday 9th July 2025 14.00 – 17.00
Lunch and pre workshop project development chat 13.00 – 14.00
Suggested themes and techniques
Heroes (continued) – Who are (or were) our heroes? What flattens our imagination or creativity. Introducing personal motivations and inspiration in choosing to become a scientist. Changing the world – Publish v protest.
Using different drawing/collage techniques to create images of Inspirational characters or events continued. Create puppets from characters and animate them.
Additional Activities
Sound/voice workshops – Dates TBC These will be held outside workshop dates
Sound over recordings – Dates TBC These will be held outside workshop dates
Filming timelapse footage of labs- Dates TBC These will be held outside workshop dates
Additional Themes
These may be foregrounded in creative voice montages.
Friendships and collaborations – importance in ‘good science practice’, is this supported?
Why do experiments sometimes fail? – factors outside our control/importance of failure
Migrant science – How international is the science community? What are the issues that make this challenging?