SCAD Stop Motion Club gains recognition
Photo courtesy of SCAD Stop Motion Club
Written by Emilie Kefalas
In a field dominated with 2D and 3D animators, techniques like stop motion do not get as much recognition from students. The SCAD Stop Motion club president Cody O’Neill is on a mission to change this stigma.
O’Neill, a fourth-year animation major from Meridian, Idaho, is head officer as well as one of the remaining original members of the Stop Motion Club that meets Sundays at 7 p.m. in Montgomery Hall.
According to O’Neill, it was a first-year course in color theory that originally inspired him to explore stop motion. He was later approached during his second year about joining the Stop Motion Club, which was in the process of being revived.
At the time, the stop motion department had a limited course selection. It is now expanding thanks to an increased interest from students.
“We’re getting more professors, getting more classes, which is really amazing. We’re slowly growing back to our former glory,” said O’Neill.
O’Neill continues to be proactive in promoting the club and the opportunities it offers for animation and non-animation students. One of O’Neill’s goals is to proactively build the university’s interest in stop motion. He’s met with the head of the animation department and actively seeks out new connections for the club and to secure more space for this type of animation.
“All that we have for the school is just four and half stages to shoot on. But this year I think there are five or six different seniors who are doing stop motion films, so that doesn’t really accommodate for our needs.”
According to O’Neill, the club’s attendance over the past couple years has been relatively small. This year, he hopes to maintain a set meeting time and place in order to keep students engaged and interested.
“When we went to Fall Fest we got three and a half sheets full of signatures. We’re definitely much bigger than we were last year, which is so good. We’re putting in the work. We’re getting our name out there. It’s definitely very rewarding to see that we’re expanding,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill’s hope for the future of stop motion at SCAD is that it will gain as much recognition as 2D or 3D animation.
“One of my goals is that when people ask an animation major what they specialize in, instead of them asking, ‘Oh, are you 2D or 3D?’ I want them to ask, ‘Are you 2D, 3D, or stop motion?’ That’s always just so pushed aside, but I want it to be one of the core animation mediums at SCAD.”
