Marc Russo is an Assistant Professor of Art+Design at North Carolina State University’s College of Design. Professor Russo has a BS and a MEd from Rutgers University and a Master of Art+Design with a concentration in Animation and New Media from NC State.
For over a decade, he has worked as a production artist and a freelance designer throughout the Triangle. The projects range from print collateral and art direction to interactive training websites and animation.
As an independent artist and animator, his animations have been selected by international film festivals and have won several awards, including “Excellence in Animation” from the Carrboro Film Festival and the “Experimental Film Award” from the Indie Grits Film Festival.
Most recently, Professor Russo has been the Lead Digital Artist for the IntelliMedia Group. A part of the Department of Computer Science at NC State, the IntelliMedia Group creates educational video games for elementary and middle school students with funding from the National Science Foundation and The Gates Foundation. Address: Raleigh NC
Literally and figuratively, video art is not viewed in the same way as traditional forms of art. ... more Literally and figuratively, video art is not viewed in the same way as traditional forms of art. It is often relegated off to its own room or corner of a gallery, and when we see video, we think of film and conjure the idea of passively viewing a story with a set beginning, middle, and end. This is reinforced by the fact that most video art has a playing time listed or is viewed in a darkened room in the same way as one would view a movie. Alternately, once a painting is hung, the artist is no longer in control of the way it is viewing the story. The viewer now determines the time and narrative. This paper looks at a new way of expressing video art by analyzing the installation “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”. The animations that are part of the installation are edited as the viewer is experiencing it in an attempt to approximate how we view a painting. Finally, the impact of the installation is compared to a short film created from the same footage; this time, it is viewed in...
Any animation student can tell you the right way to produce an animated short. Books like The Ani... more Any animation student can tell you the right way to produce an animated short. Books like The Animator's Workbook (White), Animation from Concept to Production (Rall), and others spell out the process from storyboarding to final render. Following this template will get you to final production, but this process is meant for a big studio or large team, not for an independent or student animator. Additionally, these books focus heavily on the technical side of animation emphasizing production. Students learning to be animators need to learn both story and production if they are going to make animated films. The focus of this paper is to find ways to help students produce better-animated films. This is achieved by focusing on storytelling and by defining a process for students that better suits the timelines and compromises they make to complete a film. Looking through the lens of independent animation production and my last animated film Sheltering Sky (2019) we discover new processes for creating a story and how the processes of the giant studios can be reworked for students and independent artists and teams.
Released in 1976 and directed by Nicolas Roeg, "The Man Who Fell to Earth", has many of the seman... more Released in 1976 and directed by Nicolas Roeg, "The Man Who Fell to Earth", has many of the semantic elements of a science fiction film. There are scenes from far-off worlds, a visiting alien, and technology that could only come from a society more advanced than ours (King and Krywinska 9). In an interview about the film, Roeg states:
"[science fiction] is an extraordinary thing, because you have total freedom of the imagination" (Gregory).
This paper explores the definition and conventions of the science fiction genre in film and how it is used and subverted in the film "The Man Who Fell to Earth" starring David Bowie and Directed by Nicholas Roeg.
Science fiction often misses its chance to create a message with any impact because it is caught in a framework that forces it to explain things scientifically (Leach 373). Roeg systematically omits explanations of vital details that are crucial to the suspension of disbelief, he alters the flow of time and forces the audience to keep asking questions, and reminds us that we are watching a film by breaking the continuity of the story with Brectian devices. Roeg, by refusing to allow the audience to get lost in the film, subverts the genre of science fiction and succeeds where most science fiction fails, in conveying a human story where we can learn from an alternate reality.
David Lynch, the director of "Blue Velvet", is aware that as the audience we are too often place... more David Lynch, the director of "Blue Velvet", is aware that as the audience we are too often placed in a passive role of just viewing a movie. We are comfortable inside the third person camera, omnipresent and all knowing. He constructs segments in this film to turn that idea on its head, and remove us from the innocent moviegoer role.
This paper focuses on the segment of the movie when Jeffery is hiding in the closet and is watching Dorothy through the slats. This scene created outspoken hatred for the film by critics and moviegoers. On a narrative level the next segment is used to introduce us to the real dark side of Lumberton.
In the previous segment we are rewarded, along with Jeffery, for watching, as Dorothy disrobes. Lynch then turns us, the audience, into the lone voyeur as Dorothy takes sexual advantage of Jeffery at knife point. The knock on the door disrupts this and Dorothy tells Jeffery to hide. Jeffery and the viewing audience are now returned to a position which is very familiar, observing from the dark closet. Moments ago, when we were here, we got to gaze upon the vulnerable and beautiful Dorothy. What happens after the knock parallels the previous segment, but we are now shown a different side of Dorothy and life. And this time we are not rewarded for staring.
Jeffery, like us, the audience, wants to be able to walk in and just observe. He is looking to gain an experience, not get involved. This quickly changes for him. The scene asks the question "can you just observe?,” or “is there some responsibility that comes with being an 'innocent' voyeur?” Jeffery's desire to be a passive observer mirrors our desire to sit back and watch a movie. Lynch shoots the scene in a way that removes us from that role.
The triangle between Jeffery, Dorothy, and Frank sets us up for the next disturbing twist in the movie - once caught in an abusive relationship is it possible for the stress and the anxiety to begin to feel normal? Blue Velvet shows us that this new normal can cloud our vision, confuse pleasure with pain, and suppress our desire to run.
PCA - Popular Culture Association Conference, 2022
Comics have a standard grid structure. For most of the 100-year history of comic books, the under... more Comics have a standard grid structure. For most of the 100-year history of comic books, the underlying structure of each page has been the 3x3 grid. Jack Kirby showed us the endless iterations of this structure in the 60s and 70s on the pages of Marvel and DC comics.
PCA - Popular Culture Association Conference, 2022
Comics have a standard grid structure. For most of the 100-year history of comic books, the under... more Comics have a standard grid structure. For most of the 100-year history of comic books, the underlying structure of each page has been the 3x3 grid. Jack Kirby showed us the endless iterations of this structure in the 60s and 70s on the pages of Marvel and DC comics.
Literally and figuratively, video art is not viewed in the same way as traditional forms of art. ... more Literally and figuratively, video art is not viewed in the same way as traditional forms of art. It is often relegated off to its own room or corner of a gallery, and when we see video, we think of film and conjure the idea of passively viewing a story with a set beginning, middle, and end. This is reinforced by the fact that most video art has a playing time listed or is viewed in a darkened room in the same way as one would view a movie. Alternately, once a painting is hung, the artist is no longer in control of the way it is viewing the story. The viewer now determines the time and narrative. This paper looks at a new way of expressing video art by analyzing the installation “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”. The animations that are part of the installation are edited as the viewer is experiencing it in an attempt to approximate how we view a painting. Finally, the impact of the installation is compared to a short film created from the same footage; this time, it is viewed in...
Any animation student can tell you the right way to produce an animated short. Books like The Ani... more Any animation student can tell you the right way to produce an animated short. Books like The Animator's Workbook (White), Animation from Concept to Production (Rall), and others spell out the process from storyboarding to final render. Following this template will get you to final production, but this process is meant for a big studio or large team, not for an independent or student animator. Additionally, these books focus heavily on the technical side of animation emphasizing production. Students learning to be animators need to learn both story and production if they are going to make animated films. The focus of this paper is to find ways to help students produce better-animated films. This is achieved by focusing on storytelling and by defining a process for students that better suits the timelines and compromises they make to complete a film. Looking through the lens of independent animation production and my last animated film Sheltering Sky (2019) we discover new processes for creating a story and how the processes of the giant studios can be reworked for students and independent artists and teams.
Released in 1976 and directed by Nicolas Roeg, "The Man Who Fell to Earth", has many of the seman... more Released in 1976 and directed by Nicolas Roeg, "The Man Who Fell to Earth", has many of the semantic elements of a science fiction film. There are scenes from far-off worlds, a visiting alien, and technology that could only come from a society more advanced than ours (King and Krywinska 9). In an interview about the film, Roeg states:
"[science fiction] is an extraordinary thing, because you have total freedom of the imagination" (Gregory).
This paper explores the definition and conventions of the science fiction genre in film and how it is used and subverted in the film "The Man Who Fell to Earth" starring David Bowie and Directed by Nicholas Roeg.
Science fiction often misses its chance to create a message with any impact because it is caught in a framework that forces it to explain things scientifically (Leach 373). Roeg systematically omits explanations of vital details that are crucial to the suspension of disbelief, he alters the flow of time and forces the audience to keep asking questions, and reminds us that we are watching a film by breaking the continuity of the story with Brectian devices. Roeg, by refusing to allow the audience to get lost in the film, subverts the genre of science fiction and succeeds where most science fiction fails, in conveying a human story where we can learn from an alternate reality.
David Lynch, the director of "Blue Velvet", is aware that as the audience we are too often place... more David Lynch, the director of "Blue Velvet", is aware that as the audience we are too often placed in a passive role of just viewing a movie. We are comfortable inside the third person camera, omnipresent and all knowing. He constructs segments in this film to turn that idea on its head, and remove us from the innocent moviegoer role.
This paper focuses on the segment of the movie when Jeffery is hiding in the closet and is watching Dorothy through the slats. This scene created outspoken hatred for the film by critics and moviegoers. On a narrative level the next segment is used to introduce us to the real dark side of Lumberton.
In the previous segment we are rewarded, along with Jeffery, for watching, as Dorothy disrobes. Lynch then turns us, the audience, into the lone voyeur as Dorothy takes sexual advantage of Jeffery at knife point. The knock on the door disrupts this and Dorothy tells Jeffery to hide. Jeffery and the viewing audience are now returned to a position which is very familiar, observing from the dark closet. Moments ago, when we were here, we got to gaze upon the vulnerable and beautiful Dorothy. What happens after the knock parallels the previous segment, but we are now shown a different side of Dorothy and life. And this time we are not rewarded for staring.
Jeffery, like us, the audience, wants to be able to walk in and just observe. He is looking to gain an experience, not get involved. This quickly changes for him. The scene asks the question "can you just observe?,” or “is there some responsibility that comes with being an 'innocent' voyeur?” Jeffery's desire to be a passive observer mirrors our desire to sit back and watch a movie. Lynch shoots the scene in a way that removes us from that role.
The triangle between Jeffery, Dorothy, and Frank sets us up for the next disturbing twist in the movie - once caught in an abusive relationship is it possible for the stress and the anxiety to begin to feel normal? Blue Velvet shows us that this new normal can cloud our vision, confuse pleasure with pain, and suppress our desire to run.
PCA - Popular Culture Association Conference, 2022
Comics have a standard grid structure. For most of the 100-year history of comic books, the under... more Comics have a standard grid structure. For most of the 100-year history of comic books, the underlying structure of each page has been the 3x3 grid. Jack Kirby showed us the endless iterations of this structure in the 60s and 70s on the pages of Marvel and DC comics.
PCA - Popular Culture Association Conference, 2022
Comics have a standard grid structure. For most of the 100-year history of comic books, the under... more Comics have a standard grid structure. For most of the 100-year history of comic books, the underlying structure of each page has been the 3x3 grid. Jack Kirby showed us the endless iterations of this structure in the 60s and 70s on the pages of Marvel and DC comics.
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Papers by marc russo
"[science fiction] is an extraordinary thing, because you have total freedom of the imagination" (Gregory).
This paper explores the definition and conventions of the science fiction genre in film and how it is used and subverted in the film "The Man Who Fell to Earth" starring David Bowie and Directed by Nicholas Roeg.
Science fiction often misses its chance to create a message with any impact because it is caught in a framework that forces it to explain things scientifically (Leach 373). Roeg systematically omits explanations of vital details that are crucial to the suspension of disbelief, he alters the flow of time and forces the audience to keep asking questions, and reminds us that we are watching a film by breaking the continuity of the story with Brectian devices. Roeg, by refusing to allow the audience to get lost in the film, subverts the genre of science fiction and succeeds where most science fiction fails, in conveying a human story where we can learn from an alternate reality.
This paper focuses on the segment of the movie when Jeffery is hiding in the closet and is watching Dorothy through the slats. This scene created outspoken hatred for the film by critics and moviegoers. On a narrative level the next segment is used to introduce us to the real dark side of Lumberton.
In the previous segment we are rewarded, along with Jeffery, for watching, as Dorothy disrobes. Lynch then turns us, the audience, into the lone voyeur as Dorothy takes sexual advantage of Jeffery at knife point. The knock on the door disrupts this and Dorothy tells Jeffery to hide. Jeffery and the viewing audience are now returned to a position which is very familiar, observing from the dark closet. Moments ago, when we were here, we got to gaze upon the vulnerable and beautiful Dorothy. What happens after the knock parallels the previous segment, but we are now shown a different side of Dorothy and life. And this time we are not rewarded for staring.
Jeffery, like us, the audience, wants to be able to walk in and just observe. He is looking to gain an experience, not get involved. This quickly changes for him. The scene asks the question "can you just observe?,” or “is there some responsibility that comes with being an 'innocent' voyeur?” Jeffery's desire to be a passive observer mirrors our desire to sit back and watch a movie. Lynch shoots the scene in a way that removes us from that role.
The triangle between Jeffery, Dorothy, and Frank sets us up for the next disturbing twist in the movie - once caught in an abusive relationship is it possible for the stress and the anxiety to begin to feel normal? Blue Velvet shows us that this new normal can cloud our vision, confuse pleasure with pain, and suppress our desire to run.
Talks by marc russo
Conference Presentations by marc russo
"[science fiction] is an extraordinary thing, because you have total freedom of the imagination" (Gregory).
This paper explores the definition and conventions of the science fiction genre in film and how it is used and subverted in the film "The Man Who Fell to Earth" starring David Bowie and Directed by Nicholas Roeg.
Science fiction often misses its chance to create a message with any impact because it is caught in a framework that forces it to explain things scientifically (Leach 373). Roeg systematically omits explanations of vital details that are crucial to the suspension of disbelief, he alters the flow of time and forces the audience to keep asking questions, and reminds us that we are watching a film by breaking the continuity of the story with Brectian devices. Roeg, by refusing to allow the audience to get lost in the film, subverts the genre of science fiction and succeeds where most science fiction fails, in conveying a human story where we can learn from an alternate reality.
This paper focuses on the segment of the movie when Jeffery is hiding in the closet and is watching Dorothy through the slats. This scene created outspoken hatred for the film by critics and moviegoers. On a narrative level the next segment is used to introduce us to the real dark side of Lumberton.
In the previous segment we are rewarded, along with Jeffery, for watching, as Dorothy disrobes. Lynch then turns us, the audience, into the lone voyeur as Dorothy takes sexual advantage of Jeffery at knife point. The knock on the door disrupts this and Dorothy tells Jeffery to hide. Jeffery and the viewing audience are now returned to a position which is very familiar, observing from the dark closet. Moments ago, when we were here, we got to gaze upon the vulnerable and beautiful Dorothy. What happens after the knock parallels the previous segment, but we are now shown a different side of Dorothy and life. And this time we are not rewarded for staring.
Jeffery, like us, the audience, wants to be able to walk in and just observe. He is looking to gain an experience, not get involved. This quickly changes for him. The scene asks the question "can you just observe?,” or “is there some responsibility that comes with being an 'innocent' voyeur?” Jeffery's desire to be a passive observer mirrors our desire to sit back and watch a movie. Lynch shoots the scene in a way that removes us from that role.
The triangle between Jeffery, Dorothy, and Frank sets us up for the next disturbing twist in the movie - once caught in an abusive relationship is it possible for the stress and the anxiety to begin to feel normal? Blue Velvet shows us that this new normal can cloud our vision, confuse pleasure with pain, and suppress our desire to run.