Conference
The Art of Animation
Raw & Relevant
ON SITE
Raum Reutlingen
Thursday, May 08, 11:15
AI@AI 2 – The Alumni & Teachers
Video on demand
Case study 4: PASTA!
It starts with a craving for pasta – and ends in a global feeding frenzy.
Out of control, pasta takes over homes, cities, continents… the world.
A bold, visual satire on greed and excess – pushed forward by the same old melody, ending with an espresso that couldn't be more bitter.
Technique
The short film Pasta! combines traditional filmmaking techniques, such as live-action footage and custom-recorded music, with AI-generated elements of varying intensity.
Presented by Gottfried Mentor
Case study 5: Survivor
Animationsinstitut R&D department developinged AI-assisted software tools and pipelines designed to streamline and enhance workflows for 3D animated film productions. These tools aim to empower filmmakers and animators to create bipedal character animations in real-time with the aid of the latest advances in machine learning.
AnimHost, an integral component of the TRACER ecosystem, addresses these challenges by connecting animation generators to Digital Content Creation (DCC) applications and other clients. The generated animations can be exported, further processed and refined in standard DCC applications such as the open-source software Blender. This integration allows animation artists to remain within their familiar creation environments while utilising machine learning capabilities and maintaining ultimate creative control over their content.
To test, evaluate and visualise this workflow in a realistic production environment, we produced an animated short film titled SURVIVOR:
Set in a dystopian, desolate world of rusted metal, the film follows a lonely old robot racing towards an unknown destination. Pursued by an all-consuming red fog, he climbs a massive mountain to protect his precious cargo. Faced with an insurmountable obstacle and the danger closing in rapidly behind him, he must make a critical decision to ensure his survival.
https://research.animationsinstitut.de/survivor
Presented by Volker Helzle & X
Case study 6: From Love & Theft to Dr. Dr. Themefart
Which musicvideos would David Bowie do, if he´d still be alive? We don´t know. But one thing is for sure: He would use AI. In this spirit filmmaker Andreas Hykade and AI-artist Isabel Kohlhagen joined forces to do Bowie justice in an anagrammatic exorcism of the 70s called: „Dr. Dr. Themefart, frustrating himself, posed as gay old Nazi SS“
Presented by Andreas Hykade, Maximlian Pfisterer and Isabel Kohlhagen
Volker Helzle, Head of Research and Development, Animationsinstitut, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Prof. Volker Helzle is in charge of Research & Development at Animationsinstitut of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. After graduating from Stuttgart Media University in 2000 he moved to California and worked at Eyematic Interfaces on the eve of marker-less facial tracking tools and content. In 2003 he joined Filmakademie to supervise Research & Development. He established the the Technical Directing course and is FMX program consultant. In 2013 Volker received the honorary professorship of Filmakademie.
During the past 20 years Volker raised funding for a substantial amount of regional and European Union projects in the scope of Animation, VFX, Virtual Production and Immersive Media. The most recent projects are EMIL, the European Media and Immersion Lab (emil-xr.eu) and MAX-R (max-r.eu) . Being a C-64 kid of the 80ties, Volker's life was strongly influenced by video games and early computer graphics. To this day he is a passionate gamer but also finds interest in analog activities like mountain hiking, gardening or yoga. As of January 2019 an improved version of Volker is available that keeps him busy day and night.
Andreas Hykade, Head of Animation Directing, Animationsinstitut, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Andreas Hykade was born in the summer of love in the pilgrimage place Altötting, Upper Bavaria. Since he has been an adult, he has been making animated films for adults (Ring of Fire, The Runt, Love & Theft). Since becoming a father, he also realizes animation films for children, among others the interactive animation series Tom & the Slice of bread with Strawberry Jam and Honey. Hykade's work has received more than 70 international awards.
From 2015-2022, Prof. Andreas Hykade was director of Animationsinstitut at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Since September 2022, he has been Head of Animation Directing at the institute.
Isabel Kohlhagen, Grafik/Motion Designerin, Frischvergiftung
After completing her apprenticeship as a business administrator back in 2015, Isabel Kohlhagen realized that the world of office management wasn’t quite the right fit for her. Driven by a passion for creativity to visually communicate ideas, she decided to pursue a different path by catching up on her baccalaureate to prepare for a career in design. In 2021 she began her studies at Merz Akademie, focusing on classical Graphic Design and Illustration. However, she soon ended up in a study program she never thought was for her and finished her bachelors degree in New Media in February 2024. Since 2022 she has worked in creative agencies, honing her skills in Motion Design. For the past year she has been part of the team at Frischvergiftung as a Motion Designer, creating engaging motion graphics with a strong focus on video editing.
Gottfried Mentor, Award winning Filmmaker. Freelance Director and Screenwriter
Gottfried Mentor is an independent writer, director, and filmmaker based in Stuttgart. Since earning his diploma from the Animation Institute of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in 2012, he has led and co-created numerous projects for television, cinema, and advertising.
Known for blending emotional depth, subtle humor, and precise timing, his films have reached millions and won multiple international awards.
Among his best-known shorts are Oh Sheep!, Head Up! and Benztown, as well as Lambs, which he developed into a 26-episode TV series with Studio Film Bilder as lead producer.
Each project demands its own visual language, and Mentor draws from stop-motion, 2D and 3D animation, live action, and photogrammetry. Recently, he has begun integrating AI-supported techniques, applying them for the first time in his project Pasta! alongside live-action footage.
Maximilian Pfisterer, Managing Director, Frischvergiftung
Maximilian Pfisterer is one of the managing directors at Frischvergiftung, a Stuttgart-based animation studio he co-founded with his longtime collaborator, Willy Löbl. Their journey began by creating live visuals for techno events—an experience that allowed them to fuse their background in graphic design with the world of animation. Today, Frischvergiftung produces engaging event media for music festivals, award shows, and concert tours, leaving audiences spellbound with each new creative endeavor.