During the Fall 2020 semester, while we were all isolated for health and safety, students in Allen Anderson’s Advanced Composition class (MUSC 266) in the Department of Music at UNC joined forces at a distance with students in Professor Marc Russo’s animation studio (AND 460) in the Department of Art and Design within the College of Design at North Carolina State University.
Both animators and composers were presented the prompt “Dreaming Through Walls” to activate their creativity. Rather than composing to completed films, composers and animators worked simultaneously, making adjustments and calibrations as needed. With many more animators than composers, some composers scored several films and a few scores appeared in more than one animation. While all composers in the class created music, not all the associated films were completed to the animator’s satisfaction. The UNC student composers were Noah Bell, Daniel Bennett, David Green, James Larkins, Alex McKeveny, Jason Reiser, and Liz Yardley.
A sampling of the work produced is presented below, and altogether in one playlist here.
Daniel Bennett
Kaylynn Crowder, Dreaming Through Walls
David Green
Alex McKeveny
Jason Reiser
Akina Obata, Dreaming Through Walls
Heike Schneider, To Dream Alone
Liz Yardley
RJ Washington, Dreaming Through Walls: The Door
Noah Bell
Dreaming Through Walls (no film)