Christine Banna Headshot

Christine Banna

Assistant Professor

School of Film and Animation
College of Art and Design
cabpph@rit.edu
585-475-4621
Office Location
GAN-2270

Christine Banna

Assistant Professor

School of Film and Animation
College of Art and Design

Bio

Christine A. Banna is an internationally showing, multidisciplinary visual artist and educator. She works in both modern and traditional methods with a focus on experimental animation and projection design.

Her animations and projections have been shown at the CICA Museum in South Korea and in film festivals in San Francisco and Boston. Some of her former credits and clients for projection design include the National Young Arts Foundation, Greater Boston Stage Company, MassOpera, Lowell Chamber Orchestra, and Keene State College.

Born in Providence, RI, Banna grew up with a deep love of ancient history and science which has been a driving force for her since she was a young girl. This dichotomy between ancient and modern is reflected in both Banna’s subject matter and medium choices in her work. Christine A. Banna received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She received her BFA in Painting with a minor in Art History from Boston University’s College of Fine Art.

cabpph@rit.edu
585-475-4621
Personal Links
Personal Website
Curriculum Vitae
Areas of Expertise
Animation
Projection Design

Select Scholarship

Shows/Exhibits/Installations
Banna, Christine Alexa, et al. Stories from the Living Tree. Sep. 2023. Theatre at Innovation Square - Rochester Fringe Festival, Rochester. Performance.
Banna, Christine Alexa, Christina Wright-Ivanova, and asst. animators: Ren Loureiro & Amanda Connell. Hai! Oui! A Dance Between Countries: French and Japanese Piano Compositions. 8 Nov. 2020. Keene State College, Keene, NH. Performance.

Currently Teaching

SOFA-218
Concept and Character Design
3 Credits
This course will introduce students to the basics of design as applied to characters and environments for animated productions. Students will create and develop a cast of characters for an imagined property, focusing on group dynamics, visual appeal and personality development. Line, color, texture, shape, form and story are referenced when developing characters and environments. Students will institute a process of visual development through a variety of exercises, working toward a final, finished project.
SOFA-411
Animation Capstone I
4 Credits
The first of two classes designed to advance students toward the completion of a capstone. It will advance students from capstone proposal toward the completion of a project. Students will also take part in weekly critiques to present their work and discuss the work of their classmates. At the completion of this course, students should be at the halfway point of their set project.
SOFA-529
Experimental Animation
3 Credits
This course will explore the concept of animation as a fine art practice. Course content will cover various techniques and concepts within experimental animation. Lectures will be enriched through film screenings and in-depth class discussions and demonstrations. Students will explore adventurous techniques and mediums such as, but not limited to, direct-on-film processes, stop motion paint, phenakistoscopes, stratacuts, charcoal/chalk board palimpsests, maximum loop cycles, paper cut-out animation, and sound. By the completion of the course, students will have a thorough understanding of the scope of experimental animation techniques.
SOFA-537
Radical Cinema Workshop
4 Credits
Students will produce at least one completed artistic work that uses the moving image. This course demands the use of alternative expressions in concept, style, or technology, and students are encouraged to take risks, break "rules" and explore their own unique creative potential. Students may work in a variety of media, depending on their proficiencies and their vision of the project. Students will complete projects for screening at the end of the semester. Students can retake this course as a CAD elective once they have completed their Production Workshop requirement.
SOFA-541
History and Aesthetics of Animation
3 Credits
This course will explore the beginnings, the evolution, the creative and practical history of the animated film, including prehistory of animation, early film and animation history, major trends, artists, animation studios, theoretical distinctions, and international identities in animation. Issues of animation aesthetics will also be elucidated through discussions, readings, and reviews of exemplary films to emphasize the unique characteristics of the animated art form and how those characteristics are used as a means of interpretation and expression. Both orthodox and unorthodox animation will be highlighted. Films will be screened at every lecture.
SOFA-599
SOFA Independent Study
1 - 6 Credits
SOFA Independent Study will provide students with the ability to study in a specialized area with an individual faculty member. Students, with the assistance of a faculty adviser, should propose a course of study or project with clearly defined deliverables. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Independent Study Permission Form to enroll. Student must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA to apply.
SOFA-629
Experimental Animation
3 Credits
This course explores the concept of animation as a fine art practice. Course content will cover various techniques and concepts within experimental animation. Lectures will be enriched through film screenings and in-depth class discussions and demonstrations. Students will explore adventurous techniques and mediums such as, but not limited to, direct-on-film processes, stop motion paint, phenakistoscopes, stratacuts, charcoal/chalk board palimpsests, maximum loop cycles, paper cut-out animation, and sound. At the completion of the course, students will have a thorough understanding of the scope of experimental animation techniques.
SOFA-630
Animation Film Language
2 Credits
This course will introduce the historical and contemporary discourse on the theory, aesthetics and characteristics of the animated film. Lectures, readings, writing assignments, classroom discussions, and film viewings will emphasize animation’s diverse history, theories, philosophical and practical aspects. Concepts of animation production and related classification and terminology will be presented.
SOFA-637
Radical Cinema Workshop
4 Credits
Students will produce at least one completed artistic work that uses the moving image. This course demands the use of alternative expressions in concept, style, or technology, and students are encouraged to take risks, break "rules" and explore their own unique creative potential. Students may work in a variety of media, depending on their proficiencies and their vision of the project. Students will complete projects for screening at the end of the semester.
SOFA-790
Research and Thesis I
4 Credits
This is the first of two courses designed to advance a student towards completion of their thesis. Students will work independently on their approved plan of work for their thesis while meeting on a regular basis with their committee chair. They are required to meet at least twice with their full committee during the semester.
SOFA-799
Film and Animation Graduate Independent Study
1 - 4 Credits
Film and Animation Graduate Independent Study will provide students with the ability to study in a specialized area with an individual faculty member. Students, with the assistance of a faculty adviser, should propose a course of study or project with clearly defined deliverables. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Independent Study Permission Form to enroll. Student must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA to apply.
SOFA-890
Research and Thesis II
4 Credits
This is the second of two courses designed to advance a student towards completion of their thesis. Students will work independently on their approved plan of work for their thesis while meeting on a regular basis with their committee chair. They are required to meet at least twice with their full committee during the semester as well as present a final screening of their thesis.

In the News

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Featured Work

Direct on Film Workshop

students in the Direct on Film workshop Fall 2023

Documentation from a weekend, pop-up workshop focused on experimental techniques of direct-on-film animation. Over the course of 3 hours, students learned to scratch, manipulate, draw, and collage...

View More about Direct on Film Workshop

Drawing for Animation - Gannett Walkthrough Exercise

students of "Drawing for Animation" Spring 2022

A collaborative animation exercise that utilized wearable viewfinders to help us crop the environment as we drew. Every student was tasked with drawing 10 frames, taking a step after each drawing...

View More about Drawing for Animation - Gannett Walkthrough Exercise