Bryan Parcival is a Boston-based experimental filmmaker and mixed-media artist whose work combines animation with live-action film and still photography. He began his professional career at Olive Jar Studios, where he worked as a commercial director, animator, cinematographer and eventually associate creative director. In 2001, along with his friend and long-time collaborator Jeff Sias, Parcival started Handcranked Productions, an independent film/animation company. He has worked with commercial clients Samsung, MTV, HBO, Cartoon Network, PBS, Sesame Street and many others.
Parcival is one of the four founding members of Handcranked Film Projects, an art and film collaborative that attempts to balance commercial work with personal and eclectic artistic pursuits. His work has won awards and screened at film festivals worldwide, including Sundance, Ottawa International Animation Festival, the World Animation Celebration, Dragon*Con and others.
In addition, Parcival is a directing member of Ars Subterranea, a New York-based arts society dedicated to the “creative preservation” of abandoned structures. He is currently co-directing an ongoing mixed-media project called American Ruins an experimental journey through abandoned places across the US. The project is always growing and morphing – and manifests variously as film or installation, often with live musical collaboration.
Parcival joined the RISD faculty in 2002, and he is passionate about helping students find and express their vision.
Academic areas of interest
Underground and fringe art making
Urban exploration
World folklore, religion, shamanic and occult studies
Graphic novels
Puppetry
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
FAV 5111-01 - STOP-MOTION ANIMATION
LevelUndergraduate
UnitFilm/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
FAV 5111-01
STOP-MOTION ANIMATION
LevelUndergraduate
UnitFilm/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: W | 11:20 AM - 4:20 PMInstructor(s): Bryan ParcivalLocation(s): Market House, Room 007Enrolled / Capacity: 12Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This is a course demonstrating and exploring the basic techniques of Stop-Motion Puppet Animation, with the intent to provide students with hands-on creative experience in learning the potentials of the medium, and an introduction to filmic language. Studio exercises strengthen individual technical skills in basic armature construction and model making, animating pose-to-pose movement, the basic walk, expressions and gestures, clay animation with lip-sync, set construction and lighting for three-dimensional animation. Basic sound recording, mixing and editing are also covered. Conceptual skills are exercised through exploring intent, storytelling, storyboarding, editorial concepts, character performance, art direction, and basic sound design. This class is based on process and experimentation. It is meant to provide a strong foundation in the basics of stop-motion animation filmmaking, as well as the confidence to experiment further in one's future work. The idea is to enjoy the process by understanding it; control is born of experimentation and experience. This is a one semester class repeated in the spring.
Building on skills learned in the Intro Stop-motion Animation class, students will develop and produce one short stop-motion animation for professional portfolio and public screening. This course will provide students the opportunity to focus on particular issues of stop-motion animation and explore more advanced production techniques and processes. The course emphasizes art direction and project development. Students are encouraged to experiment with individual style and techniques of armature and set building, lighting, special effects and camera techniques. Weekly exercises are designed to strengthen students' conceptual and animation skills. In addition, a wide range of short films are screened to provide creative stimulus and demonstrate a variety of aesthetic and technical approaches.
