Dr Jane Shadbolt
Senior Lecturer
School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci
- Email:jane.shadbolt@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone:(02) 4921 6369
Handcrafting the future of animation techniques
Ms Jane Shadbolt is a designer and animator who uses traditional animation techniques while making the most of today’s technology to explore practicalities for – and effects on – stop-motion animation.
In 1927 German cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan refined and popularised a special effects technique, now known as the Schüfftan process. Similarly to modern day green screen, the effect was used as a set extension – a way of combining live action actors into miniature sets using mirrors and actual objects. Today, Jane is using this process to look deeper into what type of effects these old techniques create.
“I am exploring why special effects work, how special effects work and how stop-motion animation as a special effect works,” she explained.
Jane, who is a lecturer in the School of Creative Industries at the University of Newcastle, will complete her PhD in 2017, which is titled, The impossible qualities of illusionary spaces: stop-motion animation, visual effects and metalepsis.
“There is a whole school of thought that talks about frames and spaces in-between frames, and I am talking about the space inside frames and in-between layers, and how we are sort of fooled and not fooled by special effects all at the same time,” Jane said.
“My research is very visually based: how does a look contribute to your understanding of what’s going on? How does the look contribute to the story? And it does. It’s a very wordless narrative. It’s something that the viewer isn’t necessarily aware of; they don’t notice it and they are not supposed to. I want to look closer at some of those techniques the viewer doesn’t notice in film but the artist can use to their advantage.”
Jane’s PhD is realised through an art installation recreating a modern Schüfftan process.
“The installation is a great big room full of mirrors with animations projected into them and you are the camera. You line yourself up and see five shots – so it’s a kind of abstract five-shot film about animation composited together by all these two sided mirrors,” she explained.
In the future it is hoped film practitioners and researchers could use Jane’s work to look deeper into what type of effect these techniques create.
“My area is stop-motion animation and I have often wondered why stop motion animation is so creepy and what makes it so creepy? How these mismatched things all fit together and why they are so right and so wrong all at the same time,” she said.
Jane’s work in stop-motion animation is indeed creepy, but also so right – winning Australian Production Designer Guild Awards and being screened at numerous international festivals. Her award-winning 2011 short animation film, The Cartographer, uses puppets and stop-motion animation to tell the story of a girl adrift in a storm in a sea of letters, and features Australian film star Joel Edgerton as the voice of the Envoy.
“I am really into how technology can enable handmade things. So all my puppet work is handmade and a bit kooky, but the thing that underpins it and makes it all possible is digital technology,” Jane said.
Jane also brings her focus on traditional techniques and modern filmmaking to her classroom, where she teaches animation design to students who aren’t necessarily illustrators.
“My students come with any type of skill at all and we can work out an animation that suits them. They choose the type of animation that works for them – they can use cut out bits of paper or draw or make puppets, and I can show them how to use technology to enable their handmade creations,” she said.
Her 2015 project with her class, in which each student animated a number of frames for a music video, was a huge success in and out of the class. Their remake of the Taylor Swift Shake it Off video garnered 1.3 million views on YouTube before being removed by Taylor Swift’s record company.
Following the success of the Taylor Swift animation, Daniel Johns accepted the offer to film a video for his song: Going on 16, which competition entrants could animate as part of the 2015 Newcastle International Animation Festival. The music video, which compiles 43 individually animated segments, has over 173,000 views on YouTube and Facebook as well as featuring on Rage.
“These projects have students look at frames, which is something students don’t do anymore with digital film,” Jane said.
“There is a lot of value in the old techniques and what they can bring.”
Jane is also the organiser of the annual Newcastle International Animation Festival, which she originally brought from Melbourne to Newcastle in 2015.
“It’s so important to bring international events to Newcastle. It’s important for my students to see all types of animation. I don’t think I would I have had the results from my class that I did last year if I hadn’t been showing them contemporary, independent animation and saying: ‘You can do this. There are other types of animation besides Disney or Pixar, which seem completely out of reach, here are some other creative ideas that you can do yourself,” she said.
Handcrafting the future of animation techniques
Ms Jane Shadbolt is a designer and animator who uses traditional animation techniques while making the most of today’s technology.
Career Summary
Biography
Jane Shadbolt is a designer and animator. She is the director of the short stop motion animation The Cartographer, winner of two awards at the Australian Production Designer Guild Awards, which has screened at numerous international festivals. She has worked as a freelancer on feature and short films. She joined the Design department at the University of Newcastle in 2008.
Research Expertise
My research investigates the relationship between stop motion animation and special effects in live action cinema. It looks at ideas of illusion and the visual representation of the impossible through theory and practice.
Teaching Expertise
My teaching covers image making, graphic design and motion graphics.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sydney
- Bachelor of Arts (Visual Communications), University of Technology Sydney
- Bachelor of Arts (Film and Television), Australian Film, Television & Radio School
- Master of Animation, University of Technology Sydney
Keywords
- Animation
- Experimental design
- Graphic design
- Image making
- Metalepsis
- Motion graphics
- Special Effects
- Stop motion animation
Fields of Research
Code | Description | Percentage |
---|---|---|
360599 | Screen and digital media not elsewhere classified | 100 |
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
Title | Organisation / Department |
---|---|
Senior Lecturer | University of Newcastle School of Creative Industries Australia |
Academic appointment
Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
---|---|---|
1/1/2011 - | Membership - Australian Production Designers Guild | Australian Production Designers Guild Australia |
Awards
Recipient
Year | Award |
---|---|
2012 |
The Encore/APGD Award for Design on a Short Film Australian Production Designers Guild |
Invitations
Participant
Year | Title / Rationale |
---|---|
2012 |
Film Festival Screenings Organisation: Film Festival Selections Description: Festivals 2012 / LA Indie Film Festival / Las Angeles / USA 2012 / St Kilda Film Festival / Melbourne / Australia / Nominated: BEST ANIMATION 2012 / Dungog Film Festival / Dungog / Australia 2012 / Pineapple Underground Film Festival / Hong Kong 2012 / CineGlobe / CERN / Geneva / Switzerland 2012 / Melbourne International Animation Festival / Melbourne 2012 / Australian International Animation Festival / Melbourne 2012 / WOW Film Festival / Tricky Women Animation Screening / Sydney 2012 / Flickerfest / Sydney / Australia / IN COMPETITION 2011 / St Louis International Film Festival / St Louis / USA 2011 / Lady Filmmakers Film Festival / Beverly Hills / USA 2011 / Australian Animation and Effects Festival / Sydney / Australia / Nominated: BEST ANIMATION |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Chapter (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
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2021 |
Shadbolt J, 'Coraline's 'Other World': The Animated Camera in Stop-Motion Feature Films', Coraline: A Closer Look at Studio LAIKA s Stop-Motion Witchcraft, Bloomsbury Academic, New York 115-134 (2021) [B1]
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Nova |
Journal article (2 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
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2023 |
Kerrigan S, Grushka K, Chand A, Street K, Shadbolt J, Lawry M, 'Creative industries careers: shifting aspirations and pathways from high school to university-a NSW case study', AUSTRALIAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER, 50 1663-1681 (2023) [C1]
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2013 | Shadbolt JB, 'Parallel Synchronized Randomness: Stop-motion Animation in Live Action Feature Films', Animation Studies Online Journal, 8 1-10 (2013) [C1] | Nova |
Conference (2 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 |
Grushka K, Lawry M, Kerrigan S, Gruppetta M, Shadbolt J, Street K, Chand A, 'The politics of Funding: Re-positioning the Arts- A Creative Industries HEPPP equity initiative case study', The politics of Funding: Re-positioning the Arts- A Creative Industries HEPPP equity initiative case study, Canberra (2017)
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2017 |
Gruppetta M, Grushka K, Lawry M, Shadbolt J, Street K, Chand A, 'Creating Creative Industries (CI) opportunities with Indigenous secondary school students', Canberra (2017)
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Creative Work (13 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 |
Foulcher N, Shadbolt J, Neural Noise, Newcastle Museum (2022)
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2021 |
Foulcher N, Mcgrath J, Shadbolt J, Lighting Activation James Street Plaza, James Street Plaza, Hamilton (2021)
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2020 |
McGrath J, Carson S, Shadbolt J, Bailey K, Pool Party, https://hunterprimarycare.com.au/storysong/ (2020)
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2019 |
Kelly M, Pohlman S, Marlin S, Shaw G, Shadbolt J, Freeman E, et al., Brain @ Watt Space, Watt Space Gallery, Newcastle, Australia (2019)
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2019 |
Foulcher N, McGrath J, Shadbolt J, Lightscape, Break Block Park, Newcastle, Australia, Break Block Park, Honeysuckle (2019) [J1]
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2018 |
Foulcher N, Shadbolt J, Railway Workshop Projections, 1 Wright Place, Honeysuckle (2018)
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2018 |
Ware SA, Flatman N, Sauni A, Reilly W, Chapman M, Martin K, et al., Honeysuckle Placemaking, Honeysuckle Precinct and Foreshore, Newcastle, NSW Australia (2018) [N1]
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2015 |
Brooker CJ, Cross K, Minichiello M, Roxburgh M, Howells A, Atkins D, et al., Making it Known, Curve Gallery, http://www.making-it-known.com/catalogue/ (2015) [J2]
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2015 | Shadbolt J, Boulton K, Going on 16 - Daniel Johns, Sydney Australia (2015) [J3] | ||||
2015 |
Brooker C, Cross K, Making It Known (2015) [J2]
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2011 |
Shadbolt JB, The Cartographer, -, Sydney, Australia (2011) [J1]
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Nova | |||
2009 | Shadbolt JB, Map 9 K11 exhibited at Mapping Sydney: Experimental Cartography and the Imagined City, DAB LAB, Sydney, NSW, Australia (2009) [J2] | ||||
Show 10 more creative works |
Report (2 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 |
Ware SA, Sparks K, Richardson J, Guthrey E, Foulcher N, Shadbolt J, Uon Students, 'Honeysuckle Placemaking', University of Newcastle, 105 (2019)
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2018 |
Grushka K, Kerrigan S, Chand A, Street K, Lawry M, Shadbolt J, Gruppetta M, 'Creative Industries Careers: Re-imagining Regional and Remote Students opportunities.', Department of Education and Training, 17 (2018)
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Thesis / Dissertation (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Shadbolt J, The Impossible Qualities Of Illusionary Spaces: Stop Motion Animation, Visual Effects And Metalepsis, University of Sydney, Sydney College of the Arts (2019) |
Grants and Funding
Summary
Number of grants | 12 |
---|---|
Total funding | $671,521 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20212 grants / $58,624
Lighting Animation for James Street Plaza$57,364
Funding body: Newcastle City Council
Funding body | Newcastle City Council |
---|---|
Project Team | Mr Jack McGrath, Doctor Nicholas Foulcher, Doctor Jane Shadbolt |
Scheme | Small Research Consultancy |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2021 |
Funding Finish | 2021 |
GNo | G2101192 |
Type Of Funding | C2300 – Aust StateTerritoryLocal – Own Purpose |
Category | 2300 |
UON | Y |
CHSF Early Advice Scheme 2021$1,260
Funding body: College of Human and Social Futures | University of Newcastle
Funding body | College of Human and Social Futures | University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Scheme | CHSF - Early Advice Scheme |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2021 |
Funding Finish | 2021 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20203 grants / $217,085
Singleton Laneways Activation$140,000
Funding body: Singleton Council
Funding body | Singleton Council |
---|---|
Project Team | Professor Paul Egglestone, Professor Mario Minichiello, Doctor Andrew Howells, Doctor Kristefan Minski, Associate Professor Jon Drummond, Doctor Nicole Carroll, Doctor Jane Shadbolt, Doctor Ralph Kenke, Dr ZI SIANG See, Doctor Ari Chand |
Scheme | Research Grant |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2020 |
Funding Finish | 2021 |
GNo | G2001494 |
Type Of Funding | C2300 – Aust StateTerritoryLocal – Own Purpose |
Category | 2300 |
UON | Y |
Media and Entertainment Research Centre (MERCury) establishment program$70,000
Funding body: Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of Newcastle, Australia
Funding body | Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of Newcastle, Australia |
---|---|
Project Team | Dr Simon Weaving (Lead); A/Prof Craig Hight; Dr Simone O'Callaghan; Dr Jane Shadbolt; Dr Ben Matthews; Dr Stuart McBratney; Mr Jack McGrath; Dr Zi Siang See; Claire Pasvolsky; Karen Nobes; Prof Richard Vella. |
Scheme | Research Programs Pilot Scheme |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2020 |
Funding Finish | 2021 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
Drawing Education Network$7,085
Funding body: Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Project Team | Dr Ari Chand (Lead), Dr Caelli Brooker, Dr Jane Shadbolt, Mr Carl Morgan, Dr Andrew Howells, Mr Alex Barnes-Keoghan, Dr Lisa Thurlow |
Scheme | Strategic Network and Pilot Project Grants Scheme |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2020 |
Funding Finish | 2020 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20192 grants / $63,006
Lightscape: Brake Block Park$61,006
Funding body: Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation
Funding body | Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Nicholas Foulcher, Doctor Jane Shadbolt, Mr Jack McGrath |
Scheme | Newcastle Port Community Contribution |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2019 |
Funding Finish | 2019 |
GNo | G1900438 |
Type Of Funding | C2400 – Aust StateTerritoryLocal – Other |
Category | 2400 |
UON | Y |
31st SAS Annual Conference, 17-21 June 2019, Portugal$2,000
Funding body: Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Scheme | FEDUA Conference Travel Grant |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2019 |
Funding Finish | 2019 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20182 grants / $138,797
Placemaking in Honeysuckle$135,797
Funding body: Hunter Development Corporation
Funding body | Hunter Development Corporation |
---|---|
Project Team | Professor Sue Anne Ware, Doctor Jane Shadbolt, Doctor Nicholas Foulcher, Doctor Warren Reilly, Professor Michael Chapman, Mr Nicholas Flatman, Ms Amber Sauni |
Scheme | Newcastle Port Community Contribution |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2018 |
Funding Finish | 2018 |
GNo | G1800360 |
Type Of Funding | C2300 – Aust StateTerritoryLocal – Own Purpose |
Category | 2300 |
UON | Y |
Railway Workshop Projection (Honeysuckle Placemaking Project)$3,000
Funding body: Newcastle City Council
Funding body | Newcastle City Council |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Nicholas Foulcher, Doctor Jane Shadbolt |
Scheme | Community Place Making Grant |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2018 |
Funding Finish | 2018 |
GNo | G1801251 |
Type Of Funding | C2300 – Aust StateTerritoryLocal – Own Purpose |
Category | 2300 |
UON | Y |
20171 grants / $109,009
Creative Industries Careers: Re-imagining Regional and Remote Students’ opportunities$109,009
Funding body: Department of Education and Training
Funding body | Department of Education and Training |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Kathryn Grushka, Doctor Miranda Lawry, Associate Professor Susan Kerrigan, Associate Professor Maree Gruppetta, Doctor Jane Shadbolt |
Scheme | Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme (HEPPP) |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2017 |
Funding Finish | 2017 |
GNo | G1601086 |
Type Of Funding | C2110 - Aust Commonwealth - Own Purpose |
Category | 2110 |
UON | Y |
20091 grants / $5,000
New Staff Grant 2009$5,000
Funding body: University of Newcastle
Funding body | University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Jane Shadbolt |
Scheme | New Staff Grant |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2009 |
Funding Finish | 2009 |
GNo | G0189921 |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | Y |
20081 grants / $80,000
The Cartographer$80,000
Funding body: Screen Australia
Funding body | Screen Australia |
---|---|
Project Team | Jane Shadbolt |
Scheme | Professional Development grant |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2008 |
Funding Finish | 2011 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Not Known |
Category | UNKN |
UON | N |
Research Supervision
Number of supervisions
Current Supervision
Commenced | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | PhD | Examining Audio-Visual Correspondence through Abstract Animation | PhD (Design), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
2020 | PhD | Can Human Geography, Ecology and Contemporary Art be Combined Through Installation Art Practices to Share the Concept of the Human Self as Part of the Environment? | PhD (Fine Art), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2017 | PhD | Story Design in Contemporary Children's Picture Books: How Narrative and Meaning are Constructed | PhD (Design), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
Past Supervision
Year | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Masters | (Re)Writing The Little Mermaid | M Philosophy (Comm&Med Arts), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2020 | PhD | Exploring the Panel: Producing a Feature Length, Horror-Themed Motion Comic Based on a Comic and Screenplay | PhD (Design), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
News
News • 18 Jul 2017
Humanities workshop kicks off design start-up
A Humanities Startup Workshop run by the University of Newcastle’s Centre for 21st Century Humanities in conjunction with Slingshot has assisted in the creation of a design service and research studio within the School of Creative Industries.
News • 20 Oct 2016
Congratulations to FEDUA's HEPPP grant awardees
FEDUA researchers from the School of Education and the nascent School of Creative Industries who have been awarded competitive Federal Government funding in the 2016 Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme (HEPPP) National Priorities Pool round announced this week. The two FEDUA-led projects are responsible for more than 50% of the total funding awarded to UON.
News • 17 May 2016
UON students animate another quirky clip
Aussie band Peking Duk struck gold when they convinced Orange Is The New Black legend Matt McGorry to star in their clip for Say My Name, and now a group of UON animation students have turned the band’s work into rotoscoped technicolour.
Dr Jane Shadbolt
Position
Senior Lecturer
School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci
College of Human and Social Futures
Contact Details
jane.shadbolt@newcastle.edu.au | |
Phone | (02) 4921 6369 |
Office
Room | Level 4 |
---|---|
Building | NewSpace |
Location | City Campus , |