Bassam Kurdali

Assistant Professor

Bassam Kurdali is an animator and teacher whose 2006 short, Elephants Dream, was the first “open movie.” It established the viability of libre tools in a production environment and set precedent by offering its source data under a permissive license for learning, remixing and reuse. Kurdali is continuing to pursue a model of production that invests in commonwealth. They teach, write and lecture in academic institutions and around the world on animation, open production and free software. Raised in Damascus, Kurdali also trained in the US as an electrical and software engineer. Their work—personal and commissioned—has been shown in exhibitions, film festivals and on the fediverse.

Kurdali’s interests are in computer animation, free and open-source software and making film and animation at the end of capitalism. Their work explores contact points between types of reality and is invested in both form and process and in discovering egalitarian substructures for making motion.

Courses

Fall 2023 Courses

FAV 5105-02 - ANIMATION PRACTICES
Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FAV 5105-02

ANIMATION PRACTICES

Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Bassam Kurdali Location(s): Auditorium, Room 422; Auditorium, Room 502 Enrolled / Capacity: 15 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

In this course students explore the fundamentals of animated movement, timing, and materials through various animation techniques, including working directly on film, drawing on paper, pixilation, cut-out animation, and modified-base processes. Over the course of the semester, students will create six short animations and a wide range of animated films will be studied to augment the student's understanding of the field.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $40.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

FAV 5115-01 - DIGITAL PRACTICES
Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FAV 5115-01

DIGITAL PRACTICES

Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: T | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Bassam Kurdali Location(s): Auditorium, Room 525 Enrolled / Capacity: 13 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

This course identifies core principles of digital production, to enable students to continually adapt to the ever-changing world of software. Students research and produce artworks that demonstrate their understanding of these principles. This primary knowledge includes digital film and video formats, project asset management, compression techniques, understanding program interface design, color spaces, channel mixing and filters, and the creation and use of extra channels (such as alpha and depth).

Estimated Cost of Materials: $30.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.


Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

FAV 5118-01 - COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGERY 3D
Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FAV 5118-01

COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGERY 3D

Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: W | 11:20 AM - 4:20 PM Instructor(s): Bassam Kurdali Location(s): Auditorium, Room 525 Enrolled / Capacity: 13 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

The course will teach lighting, modeling and animation, with an emphasis on basic principles as they relate to 3D tools. The overall goal of this course is to generalize the study of the 3D world and to give students basic problem-solving skills needed for continued use of 3D animation software. After a series of lectures covering the basics of navigating the interface, each student produces a short animation. Each student has focused, individual time with the instructor. The class will be taught in Blender, but students who demonstrate a sufficient proficiency in other suitable packages may elect to use them for some assignments.

Course may be repeated once for credit.

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.


Elective