CV

Alan Jennings
Boston, MA
alanjennings@alum.calarts.edu

Education
California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
MFA Experimental Animation, Spring 2017

Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA
BFA Animation, May 2007

Skills
Premiere, After Effects, Dragon Frame, TVPaint, Toon Boom, Photoshop, Adobe Animate, Final Cut Pro
Extensive experience shooting, editing and projecting Super 8 and 16mm film

Complete Screenings
The Bill Jennings Mysteries
-Horsetooth International Film Festival. (Colorado, USA) Sept 8-12, 2021
-Animocje International Animated Film Festival. Play-off Competition (Poland) Sept 25, 2020
-Ars Independent Festival. (Poland) Sept. 24-26, 2020
-Rising of the Lusitania: AnimaDoc Film Festival. (Poland) Sept. 7- 13, 2020
-Linoleum International Animation Festival. (Ukraine) Sept. 2- 6, 2020
-Animator: International Animated Film Festival. (Poland) Animator Unscreened: Wild Card Competition. July 11, 2020
-Primanima World Festival of First Animations (Budapest, Hungary)- 10/30- 11/2, 2019

The Trouble with Trolls
-Ars Independent Festival. (Poland) Sept. 24-26, 2020
-Festival du film d’animation de Savigny (Switzerland) Sept. 12, 2020
-KROK International Animated Film Festival (Russia) Sept. 22-30, 2019
-Turku Animated Film Festival (Finland) August 21-25, 2019
-Insomnia International Animation Festival (Russia) July 18-22, 2019
-Animac International Animation Festival (Catalonia, Spain) Feb. 21-24, 2019
-Animateka International Animation Festival (Slovenia) Dec. 3-9, 2018

The Northeast Kingdom
-Feinaki Beijing Animation Week (Beijing, China) Nov. 18-22, 2020
-8th International Big Cartoon Festival (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia) May 30- June 9, 2019
-9th International Big Cartoon Festival (Voronezh, Russia) April 4-7, 2019
-Spring Animation Weekend (Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia) Mar. 28-31, 2019
-12th International Big Cartoon Festival (Krasnoyarsk, Russia) Mar. 22-April 5, 2019
-Tehran International Animation Festival (Iran) March 3-7, 2019
-London International Animation Festival (England) Nov. 30- Dec. 9, 2018
-Tindirindis International Animation Festival (Lithuania) Nov. 25- Dec. 2, 2018
-PÖFF Shorts (Tallinn, Estonia) Nov. 20-25, 2018
-Etuida & Anima (Krakow, Poland) Nov. 20-25, 2018
-Manchester Animation Festival (England) Nov. 13-15, 2018
-KLIK Amsterdam Animation Festival (Netherlands) Nov. 10-14, 2018
-ReAnima International Animation & Comics Festival of Yerevan (Armenia) Oct. 28- Nov. 3, 2018
-Cartoons Underground (Singapore) Oct. 27, 2018
-The Big Cartoon Festival (Moscow, Russia) Oct. 20-29, 2018
-Animatou International Animation Festival (Switzerland) Oct. 5-13, 2018
-Anim’est (Bucharest, Romania) Sept 28- Oct. 7, 2018
-Anima Syros International Animation Festival (Greece) Sept. 26-30, 2018
-Ars Independent Festival (Poland) Sept. 25-30, 2018
-“Best of the Fest” The Northwest Animation Festival (Portland, Eugene, OR) Sept. 14, 22, 2018
-World Festival of Animated Film, Varna (Bulgaria) Sept. 12-16, 2018
-Festival of Animation Berlin (Germany) Sept. 7-9, 2018
-Linoleum Festival of Contemporary Animation and Media Art (Ukraine) Sept. 6-9, 2018
-UCCA Museum: Calarts Experimental Animation Showcase (Beijing, China) Aug. 5, 2018
-Supertoon International Animation Festival (Croatia) July 22-27, 2018
-Insomnia International Animation Festival (Russia) July 19-23, 2018
-Countryside Animafest Cyprus (Cyprus) July, 19-21 2018
-Animator: International Animated Film Festival (Poland) July 6-12, 2018
-Melbourne International Animation Festival (Australia) June 2018
-Animafest Zagreb (Croatia) June 4- 9, 2018
-Anifilm (Czech Republic) May 1-5, 2018
-Calarts Film/Video Showcase: Experimental Animation Program, REDCAT (LA, USA) 4/30/18
-Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (Germany) April 24-29, 2018
-Cardiff Animation Festival (Wales) April 19-22, 2018
-Animocje International Animated Film Festival (Poland) April 8-15, 2018
-13th Athens Animfest (Greece) March 15-18, 2018

Timelines
-Open World Animation Festival. July, 12-15, 2018 (Pennsylvania, USA)
-Cine Club Sandwich. Cinematheque Luis Bunuel (Puebla, Mexico)- August 23, 2017
-11th Athens Animfest (Greece)- April 7-13, 2016

Going Through the Motions
-SESI (Salon for Experimental Sound and Image) Boston Center for the Arts (USA)- 4/6/19
-The Skin Has Eyes: Animated Visions- Boston Center for the Arts (USA)- 2/23-4/28, 2019
-Centre Pompidou- Mon Oeil– Online Animation Screening (Paris, France)-  Spring 2017
-CAA Moebius (Los Angeles, CA, USA)- 5/1/2017
-4 Zivly/ 4 Elements Film Seminar (Banska Stiavnica, Slovakia)- 8/10-14, 2016
-Insomnia Film Festival- (Yukhnovsky District, Russia)- 7/14- 7/17, 2016
-Fest Anca- (Zilina, Slovakia)- 6/29- 7/3, 2016
-Golden Kuker- Sofia International Animation Film Festival-  (Sofia, Bulgaria)- 5/9- 5/15, 2016
-Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation- Eyewash Series- (Dartmouth University,
 Hannover, New Hampshire, USA)- 5/10/16
-Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film- (Germany)- 4/26- 5/1, 2016
-AniScreen- (Prague, Czech Republic)- 4/17/16
-Holland Animation Film Festival- (Holland)- 3/16- 3/20, 2016
-GLAS Animation Festival- (Berkeley, CA, USA)- 3/3- 3/6, 2016
-Animex Awards- (England)- 2/8- 2/12, 2016
-Ghosting- (Los Angeles, CA, USA)- 1/15/16
-KROK International Animation Festival (Ukraine/Russia)- Fall 2015
-GIRAF (The Giant Incandescent Resonating Animation Festival) (Calgary,
 Canada)- 11/26- 11/29, 2015
-Sommets du Cinema d’Animation- (Montreal, Canada)- 11/25- 11/29, 2015
-Etiuda & Anima Film Festival- (Krakow, Poland)- 11/23- 11/28, 2015
-CutOut International Animated Short Film Festival-(Queretaro, Mexico)- 11/12- 11/28, 2015
-KuanDu International Animation Festival-Calarts Special Selection (Taiwan)-10/24- 11/1, 2015
-Primanima-(Budapest, Hungary)- 10/21- 10/24, 2015
-KROK International Animation Festival-(Russia/Ukraine)- 9/27- 10/3, 2015
-11th World Festival of Animated Film-(Varna, Bulgaria)- 9/9- 9/13, 2015
-Calarts Film/Video Showcase: Experimental Animation Program, REDCAT (LA, USA) 4/30/15

Running in Darkness
-Ottawa International Animation Festival, We All Hold Hands at the End of the World– 2017
-The Loring-Greenough House Film Festival, New England Animation – 2010
-New Zealand International Film Festival, Animation Now! – 2009
-Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massart Animated Films – 2009
-London International Animation Festival, Animated Documentaries– 2008
-Melbourne International Animation Festival – 2008
-Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Films – 2008
-Slamdance Film Festival – 2007
-Ottawa International Animation Festival – 2007
-Samson Projects Gallery – 2007

Catalog
-Rice Bowl Gallery, Boston, MA- 2007
-Hiroshima Educational Film Market- 2006

Recognition
-Visiting Artist/ Keynote Speaker- Vermont Animation Festival, Spring 2021
-Vimeo Staff Pick- The Bill Jennings Mysteries- 11/22/2020
-Short Pick of the Day- The Bill Jennings Mysteries- Cartoon Brew- 11/21/2020
-Special Mention for Best Portrait- The Bill Jennings Mysteries- Rising of the Lusitania
-AnimaDoc Film Festival- 2020
-MICE (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo) Mini Grant Winner
 Scenes from the Life of General George Washington– 2019
-Golden Durian for Best Film The Northeast Kingdom– Cartoons Underground- 2018
-Best Student Film- Anima Syros International Animation Festival
-Special Mention Linoleum Festival of Contemporary Animation and Digital Art
-Selected for “Best of the Fest” Screening- Northwest Animation Festival
-Special Mention Cardiff Animation Festival
-Student Academy Awards Semifinalist- The Northeast Kingdom– Summer 2017
-Vimeo Staff Pick- Timelines– Summer 2017
–The Jules Engel Scholarship in Experimental Animation- Calarts- Fall 2016
-Best Workshop Film Going Through the Motions Primanima Animation Fest- Fall 2015
-Special Mention Going Through the Motions– Sommets du Cinema d’Animation- Fall 2015
-Artist Fellowship Grant from the Somerville Arts Council- 2009
-Anarchy Online Film Competition- November Winner– Slamdance Film Festival- 2007
–Square Peg/ Round Hole Award– Animation Excellence Award- MassArt Spring 2007
-CAA New England Regional Conference: Selected to represent the Animation Dept. at
 MassArt- Spring 2005

Experience
Animation
Freelance Projects
Unmasking Malaria with a Cheap Magnet and a Laser Pointer. National Public Radio (NPR). Jan. 2019.
Directed and Animated a short film on malaria detection for NPR.

How to Start a Business for The School of Life. Nov. 2017.
Designed, animated a 2D animated short for their short film series.

Introduction to Scaffolding and Differentiation. Community Arts Partnership- Summer 2017.
Created 2D animated content illustrating key teaching concepts for a student instructor training video.

Icebergs. Assistant Stop Motion Animator for a short film by Eirini Vianelli- Spring 2016.
Animated a brief puppet sequence for a Calarts MFA film.

Off the Air- Cartoon Network. January 2016.
Designed and animated a brief segment for the New Year’s Eve program.

Internship with Martha Colburn, Independent Animator- Summer 2006.
Assisted in shooting 16mm film for her projects Meet Me in Wichita and Destiny Manifesto.

Open the Portal- Stop Motion Animation Studio- Fall 2017
Design/ Direction/ Animation/ Fabrication
2018 New Year’s Spot. Collaboration with Kaitlyn Van Der Zweep. Dec. 2017.
Designed and animated a brief under the camera stop motion sequence.

Pinocchio’s Biggest Lie, spot for Comedy Central. Nov. 2017.
Storyboarded, directed and animated a short 2D animation.

Logo animation for Open the Portal. Nov. 2017.
Designed, fabricated and animated a short stop motion sequence.

Halloween Spot. Oct. 2017.
Designed, constructed and animated a short stop motion sequence.

Fabricator for a series of 3 Quaker Oats Commercials. Sept. 2017.
Constructed various replacement pieces for stop motion advertisements.

Teaching
Massachusetts College of Art and Design- Fall 2018-Ongoing
Professor of Animation

Animation I: Basics. Fall 2021, Spring 2022.
Intro to the basics of animated movement and filmmaking.

Animation II. Spring 2019, Spring 2020. Spring 2021, Spring 2022.
A survey of experimental animation subjects and techniques.

Animation III. Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2021.
Storytelling course covering storyboarding, animatics, and animation production.

Comics Crash Course. Fall 2021.
Intro to comics, from single panel to 8 page minis.
This class features an original syllabus I designed for this course.

Introduction to Animation. Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021.
Introduction to the fundamentals of movement and filmmaking.
Course covers: Traditional Drawn Animation, Dragon Frame, Premiere.

Character Animation. Fall 2020.
Intro to the principles of Character Animation

Intro to Digital Animation 2D. Fall 2020.
2D Digital Animation course covering: Photoshop, Animate, After Effects and Toon Boom.

Drawing for Animators. Spring 2019, Spring 2020.
An intensive class focused on how to use moving references in animation.

CAP (Community Arts Partnership) Spring 2016- Spring 2018.
Associate Lead Animation Instructor. Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock. Fall 2017- Ongoing.
Create curriculum, supervise student instructors, lead core lessons

AmeriCorp Scholar– California Institute of the Arts- Summer 2017.
Assist in developing curriculum, lead lessons in animation fundamentals

Student Instructor– Spring 2016- Spring 2017.
Assist lead instructors, prepare classroom equipment and materials, lead short workshops

 

California Institute of the Arts
Teacher Assistant– First Year Shorts MFA course- California Institute of the Arts- Spring 2017, Fall 2015- Spring 2017.

Thesis Talk– Jan. 2017. Led a discussion about the process behind my thesis film, including: generating ideas, film/story structure, character and background design, creating an animatic and the first stages of film production.

 

Workshops
Animation and Printmaking.
Framingham State University. April 12, 2021.
Discussed multiple approaches for combining printmaking and animation techniques.

Experimental Flipbooks. Vermont Animation Festival.
Northern Vermont University, Lyndon. Mar. 27, 2021.
Workshop featured flipbook creation using straight ahead animation and Muybridge video reference.

Portfolio Reviews. Vermont Animation Festival.
Northern Vermont University, Lyndon. Mar. 26, 2021.
Evaluated illustration and animation student portfolios.

Artist Talk– Massachusetts College of Art and Design and SMFA- Spring 2018.
Discussed Calarts, the filmmaking process and critiqued student work.

DIY Flipbook Workshop- Boston Center for the Arts- Summer 2012.
Designed/ ran a workshop on how to make your own flipbook.

Drawing on Film Workshop- Harvard University- Fall 2011, Massachusetts College of Art- Winter 2011.
Designed/ ran a scratching and painting on film workshop.

Artist Talk- Somerville Public Library- Dec. 16th, 2009.
Screened a slide show and clips from a film in progress and held a Q +A about the making of my film, “Timelines.”

 

Curation
Selection Juror- The Northwest Animation Festival– Spring 2018 and 2017.
Selected films for competition in The Northwest Animation Festival (Portland, Oregon)

Unnatural Selection– Automata Arts- Los Angeles, CA. Fall 2017.
Selected and screened independent animated shorts from around the world.

The Vermont Animated Film Festival- Summer 2011- Ongoing.
Creator and curator of an annual animation screening of contemporary and historical animated shorts.
Design programs and promotional materials for the event.

Published Articles
Portfolio Day. Spiralbound. Medium Corporation (US). June 26, 2019.
Original comic published by Medium.com.
https://medium.com/spiralbound/portfolio-day-b167c05310ba

Mom’s Guitar. Spiralbound. Medium Corporation (US). Dec 19, 2018.
Original comic published by Medium.com.
https://medium.com/spiralbound/moms-guitar-6fc26c1979a8

Interview with David Daniels. Edge of the Frame. Spring 2018.
Interview with animation pioneer David Daniels about the creation of stratacut and his career.
http://www.edgeofframe.co.uk/david-daniels/

 

Mini Comics
All of the following are self published independent comics.

Skiin’: The Rise and Fall of Norwich University Ski Area (2020)
Black and White and Color. 56 pages, 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″
This book features a 2 color silkscreen cover printed by New Duds, Colchester, VT

Fake Italian (2020)
Green and Red on White Paper, 8 pages, 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″

Cheryl (2019)
Black and White on Cream Colored Paper, 56 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2”
This book features a two color risograph cover printed by Wing Club Press, Portland, Maine.

Pull My Finger/ Choose Your Own Adventure (2019)
Color, Two sided Accordion Fold Book.
Folded 2 3/4” x  4 1/2”/ Unfolded 2 3/4” x 67 4/8”
This is a two sided book, Pull My Finger on one side.
Flip the book over to read Choose Your Own Adventure.

Florida Man (2019)
Black and White on Cream Paper, 12 pages, 5 1/2 x 4 1/4”

How to Make an 8 Page Mini (2019)
Black and White on Pink Paper, 8 pages, 5 1/2 x 4 1/4”

Strange Tales (2019)
Black and White/ Color, 76 pages, 5 1/2 x 4 1/4”
Printed on white, cream, green and blue paper. Full color card stock cover. Hand sewn binding.

Strange Tales contains 4 short stories:
Scenes from the Life of General George Washington
Divine Luncheon
Pukeface
An Unexpected Guest

Interiors (2019)
Color. Risograph, 36 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2”
Printed at Wing Club Press, Portland, Maine

Moleman & The Beast (2019)
Black and White/ Color, Eight 3 x 5” cards. Includes exterior box with instructions.
This is a Myriorama, a 19th Century Invention.
These illustrated cards can be rearranged to create different panoramas.
Each card in the set has two sides, one for the Molemen sequence, the other for the Beast.

Options (2019)
Color. Risograph on Pink Paper, 8 pages, 5 1/2 x 4 1/4”
Printed at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Zoo (2019)
Black and White, 16 pages, 5 7/16 (or 5.5) x 2 1/16”

Scenes from the life of General George Washington (2018)
Black and White, 44 pages, 5 1/2 x 4 1/4”

Divine Luncheon (2018)
Color, 16 pages, 5 1/2 x 4 1/4”

Lunatic (2018)
Color, 12 pages, 2×3”

Outside Moab, Utah (2018)
Color, 8 pages, 3×4”

Rejected New Yorker Cartoons (2018)
Black and White, 8 pages, 5 1/2 x 4 1/4”

A Primer on Greek Gods & Hangers On (2018)
Black and White, 20 pages, 5 1/2 x 4 1/4”

Everyday Hero (2018)
Black and White on Yellow Paper, 8 pages, 5 1/2 x 4 1/4”

The Northeast Kingdom: The Missing Link (2017)
Black and White, 8 pages, 5 1/2 x 4 1/4”
This mini features a scene cut from The Northeast Kingdom (2017), my thesis animated short from Calarts.

 

Comic Conventions
Mini MICE (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo). Cambridge, MA. Aug. 29, 2021.
CAB (Comic Arts Brooklyn). Brooklyn, NYC. Nov. 2, 2019.
MICE (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo). Cambridge, MA. Oct. 19-20, 2019.

 

Press
Alan Jennings: Finding the Way Home. Digital Exhibit.
Catamount Arts. Mar. 12- Dec. 31, 2021.
Digital survey featuring drawing, painting, sculpture.
https://www.catamountarts.org/visual-art/digital-exhibits/

Keynote Address: Vermont Animation Festival.
Northern Vermont University, Lyndon. Katherine Renner. Mar. 26, 2021.
Discussed inspirations, idea development and film production techniques.
https://vimeo.com/532417440

Local Animation: Vermont Animation Festival. WCAX 3. Central Vermont Television.
Author: Scott Fleischman. Mar. 28, 2021
https://www.wcax.com/video/2021/03/28/animation-festival/

Catamoment #20: Interview with experimental animator Alan Jennings.
Author: Molly Stone. CatamountArtsVideo. Mar. 14, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAL5aE3hG88

An Extraordinary Man Who Looks Ordinary. Review of The Bill Jennings Mysteries.
Author: Ece Burgas. Nov. 25, 2020
https://bigumigu.com/haber/siradan-gorunen-sira-disi-bir-adam/

Cartoon Brew: Short Pick of the Day: The Bill Jennings Mysteries.
Author: Amid Amidi. Nov. 21, 2020
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/cartoon-brew-pick/short-pick-of-the-day-the-bill-jennings-mysteries-by-alan-jennings-198979.html

Cartoon Brew: Short Pick of the Day: The Northeast Kingdom. Author: Amid Amidi. Nov. 2, 2018
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/student/short-pick-of-the-day-the-northeast-kingdom-by-alan-j ennings-165895.html

Going Through the Motions. Director’s Notes. Author: MarBelle. Jan 25, 2017.
Article about the making of Going Through the Motions.
http://directorsnotes.com/2017/01/25/alan-jennings-going-through-the-motions/

Grincer du dentier. Article featuring Going Through the Motions at Sommets du cinéma d’animation. Art Fact Stories. Nov. 29, 2015.
https://artfactstories.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/grincer-du-dentier/