Freeride in C. Repetitions and Loops as a Form-building Element in Music and Auteur Animation - Edmund Jansons

PANEL 4: MUSIC IN ANIMATION Wednesday, June 10th, 14:00-14:30

Freeride in C. Repetitions and Loops as a Form-building Element in Music and Auteur Animation
Edmund Jansons (Atom Art / Art Academy of Latvia)

The presentation focuses on the process of creative research and the development of the animated short film Freeride in C. It is a non-narrative animated short and a creative experiment exploring ways to bring the methods of animated filmmaking closer to the compositional methods of a musical work. The theoretical study developed during this process, “Repetitions and Loops as a Form-Building Element in Auteur Animation”, reflects the main stages of the research connected to the making of this film. Freeride in C is an attempt to evoke a synesthetic effect in the viewer, allowing them to experience an organic fusion of music and moving image. In this work, the interaction between sound and image is formed not only through synchronization during the editing process, but also through a deeper structural correspondence. Terry Riley’s 1964 composition In C consists of 53 short numbered musical phrases that performers repeat in sequence for as long as they consider necessary. This freedom of choice makes each performance of the piece entirely unique, with unpredictable rhythmic combinations of musical motifs. Repetition and looping are an organic part of the expressive vocabulary of contemporary composers and musicians, but they are just as intrinsic to animation. Beginning with pre-cinematic optical toys, continuing with film loops in experimental cinema, and later in the GIFs of the internet era, looping and repetition have long been a natural part of the animator’s vocabulary. Freeride in C explores the formal similarities between animation and musical composition, attempting to combine them into a more organic audiovisual work. The theoretical research focuses on the use of loops and repetition in animation and attempts to examine their application as broadly as possible, comparing and analyzing similar examples from animation history, such as Canon by Norman McLaren, Tango by Zbigniew Rybczyński, and Revolver by Jonas Odell.

Edmunds Jansons is animator, director, illustrator and founder of the animation film studio Atom Art. He studied TV directing at Latvian Academy of Culture, graduated MA at Estonian Academy of Art – the masterclass by Priit Pärn in 2012. In 2024 he finished professional doctoral studies in Art Academy of Latvia. His filmography notably includes the animated documentary film Little Bird's Diary (2007); animated shorts Choir Tour (2012), The Isle of Seals (2014), Guard of Honour (2021), Freeride in C (2024), pre-school series Shammies, and 25-min Christmas story Pigtail and Mr. Sleeplessness. Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs (2019) is his first feature film and currently he is working on his next feature Born in the Jungle (2026). In addition to his main line of work, Edmunds is a recognized and beloved children’s book illustrator.