Two Weeks. Three Scripts. A New Approach to Animation.
To close the 2025 summer break, animation students and young professionals from across the PANEURAMA network gathered at Université Paris 8 for the Innovation Lab: ANIMATION! ACTING!! DRAMA!!! (AAD), an immersive ten-day journey into the art of performance in animation.
Under the guidance of Morten Thorning and Daniel Callaby, whose experience includes Arcane, Despicable Me, and Sing, participants explored how intention, emotion, and subtlety transform digital characters into living, breathing performances.
Over the course of the lab, students learned to:
- Translate acting references into believable animated movement
- Refine rhythm, timing, and gesture to evoke emotional truth
- Collaborate across cultures and disciplines to bring original scripts to life
The Final Films
In under two weeks, the three teams produced remarkable short scenes. Scroll the carousel below to explore each unique story:
A Journey Beyond Animation
The AAD Lab became much more than a character animation workshop – it evolved into an exploration of realistic acting based on human behavior.
Participants learned how the performance becomes the invisible bridge between digital characters and audiences, shaping not only how characters move, but how they feel and come to life.
Lessons Learned: The Foundations of Realism
Through collaboration, experimentation, and a deep engagement with acting principles, this lab revealed a shared insight: realism in animation is born from truth – not perfection.
Students discovered that the most compelling performances emerged from imperfection, subtlety, and sincerity. The nuances of subtext, timing, and identity shaped how emotion was felt rather than simply shown.
These insights became the seeds for a new educational framework now taking shape across the alliance as well as within the industry.
Stay tuned for the official release of PANEURAMA’s Seven Approaches to Realistic Animation, a framework that will continue to inspire and guide the next generation of animators toward authentic, performance-driven storytelling.
Explore even more insights and lessons from PANEURAMA’s Online SkillBASE
Special thanks to:
Morten Thorning & Daniel Callaby for leading the 10 day Innovation Lab.
Georges Gagneré and the team at Université Paris 8, Campus Condorcet for hosting the masterclasses and workshops.
Writers of our three scripts; Penguins: Zohara Sørensen, Gallery: Deng Fuxuan, Daughter: Maya Saveliev
Alexandre and Eugénie Poncet (Frenetic Arts) – for their expertise and the screening of Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters.
Actors Thomas Alden and Audrey Hall for their performances that brought nuance, depth, and invaluable reference to the animators’ work.
All mentors and participants for their dedication, openness, and creativity throughout this unforgettable experience.
Animation Team — Gallery:
Noé Doulière, Edgar Alain, Patrick de Almeida, Oumayma Tebourbi, Marceau Fougeron, Alexia Conan, Tyler-Weetensky Chérubin, Henrik Bagge Rasmussen
Additional Gallery Team Contributions:
Fanny Limachi — Lighting / Pipeline Optimisation / Rendering Optimisation
Oumayma Tebourbi — Texturing / Animation / Fix Anim / Rendering
Marie Picard — Texturing
Léo Defives — 1st AD / Post-Production Supervisor / Rendering / Editing
Maëlys Benkhelfallah — Tool Development / Compositing
Animation Team — Daughter:
Marin Monserand, Nils Perrais, Nikolay Chalakov, Eileen Kammer, Malte Fasold, Fabiana Dell’Aquila, Malene Kokholm Kristensen, Joey Tran
Additional Daughter Team Contributions:
Maëlys Benkhelfallah — Tool Development / Lighting / Compositing / Rendering
Apolline Brulebeaux — Texturing
Léo Defives — 1st AD / Post-Production Supervisor / Set Dressing / Rendering / Editing
David Perrichon — Lighting
Oumayma Tebourbi — Fix Anim
Animation Team — Penguins:
Maja Bogdanienko, Sofie Gjengstø, Liepa Lazdauskaitė, Adalie Mangelsdorf, Mingyue Liu, Aris Vakalis, Georgia Vossou
Additional Penguins Team Contributions:
Carole Bui — Set Dressing / Texturing / Rendering
Sonia Bui — Set Dressing / Texturing / Rendering
Marie Dung — Texturing
Léo Defives — 1st AD / Post-Production Supervisor / Lighting / Rendering / Editing
Ambrine Soltani — Lighting
Maëlys Benkhelfallah — Tool Development / Compositing
Oumayma Tebourbi — Fix Anim
Special thanks to all the Paris 8 – ATI students who lent us their computers for rendering.
