This course introduces students to the field of moving image practice in the field of contemporary art, providing foundational skills, concepts, and contexts for working with time-based media. With a focus on video, animation, and experimental screen practices, students develop both technical proficiency and critical awareness through studio-based projects. Emphasis is placed on artists’ approaches to moving image as a space of inquiry, process, and experimentation, where questions of duration, sequence, montage, and visual narrative are tested through making.
Seminars and tutorials complement studio activities by introducing relevant histories and contemporary debates in moving image art. Depending on the topic, students will engage with a diversity of practices, spanning video art, animation, installation, and screen culture, and consider how artists’ moving image operates within galleries, festivals, public space, and emerging digital environments.
This course is designed as a point of entry into moving image practice and is a prerequisite for advanced 2000-level topics in immersive media, VR, and AR (ARTV2651). Students may enrol in this course more than once, up to a maximum of 12 units, provided they complete a different topic each time. Course content, assessment, and reading lists vary according to the topic and the expertise of the convenor. Please refer to the class summary for details on the specific topic offered in a given semester.
Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:
Introduction to Video Art, Editing and Montage
This topic introduces students to the foundations of moving image practice through video art, found footage, DSLR video capture, and montage. Creative projects focus on camera work, editing techniques, and sequencing, while seminars consider historical and contemporary artists who employ montage, appropriation, and time-based strategies. Students gain experience with DSLR video production and editing workflows, developing artworks that explore the aesthetics and politics of the cut. Through iterative making, students are encouraged to experiment with narrative and non-narrative forms, reflecting on how technical choices shape the experience and meaning of moving images.
Expanded Animation
This topic introduces students to experimental animation as a foundation of artists’ moving image practice. Working through studio-based exploration, students will experiment with a range of approaches that may include stop-motion, frame-by-frame drawing, digital compositing, projection, and combinations of these techniques. Emphasis is placed on playful inquiry, process, and material experimentation as a way of discovering how moving images can operate across different contexts and platforms. Students will develop independent studio research by refining processes, testing installations, and considering how animation can be expanded to intersect with contemporary art and hybrid media practices.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- identify and use basic techniques and principles appropriate to moving image practice;
- employ safe and professional studio work processes using the specialised equipment;
- explore and evaluate the creative possibilities of materials and techniques in response to set projects; and
- develop works that respond to contemporary moving image practice theories and art practices.
Other Information
School of Art & Design studio courses have a limited enrolment capacity. Students are advised to enrol as early as possible to maximise the opportunity of securing a place.
This course will have a Materials Fee. At the ANU School of Art & Design, each workshop sources appropriate specialist materials, which are made available to students to facilitate their working effectively, efficiently and safely within our programs. The School of Art & Design is able to supply materials that don’t compromise ANU obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS), and that have been assessed as suitable for each course. The Materials Fee is payable for the School of Art & Design to supply consumables and materials that become your physical property. You can choose to pay the Materials Fee and have these materials supplied to you through the School of Art & Design, allowing you to take advantage of the GST-free bulk purchasing power of the ANU. These materials are also WHS compliant. The exact cost of the Materials Fee will be updated in the Class Summary for each semester in which the course is offered. The full SOAD policy can be read here: https://soad.cass.anu.edu.au/required-resources-and-incidental-fees.
Indicative Assessment
- Portfolio of studio work (Project 1) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Portfolio of studio work (Project 2) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Portfolio of studio work (Project 3) (40) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Critical refection, equivalent to 1000 words (May include visual diary and/or written reflection) (20) [LO 3,4]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 48 hours of contact over 12 weeks: lectures, tutorials, critiques and supervised studio practice; and
b) 82 hours of independent studio practice, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
As listed on Wattle
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 12
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $4200 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $5820 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to animation and artists' moving imag | ||||||
| 3942 | 23 Feb 2026 | 02 Mar 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | 29 May 2026 | In Person | N/A |
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to animation and artists' moving imag | ||||||
| 8966 | 27 Jul 2026 | 03 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2026 | 30 Oct 2026 | In Person | N/A |