Kevin Bauer
Senior Lecturer
School of Film and Animation
College of Art and Design
Graduate Program Director, Film and Animation
585-475-7403
Office Location
Kevin Bauer
Senior Lecturer
School of Film and Animation
College of Art and Design
Graduate Program Director, Film and Animation
Education
BFA, State University College at Oneonta; MFA, Rochester Institute of Technology
Bio
Kevin is a Filmmaker, Animator, MFA Director, and Senior Lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
He grew up in Rochester, NY and is an alumni from the School of Film and Animation. He teaches a wide-range of classes in the program and also manages the SoFA student archive.
585-475-7403
Areas of Expertise
3D Modeling and Motion
Animation
3D Animation
Currently Teaching
SOFA-217
Animation Production Workshop I
4 Credits
This course will provide the first practical experience of building a complete animated film from conception to finish. Students will apply their knowledge within the greater context of an animation production pipeline. Weekly workshops are focused on helping students plan, develop, and execute their work with regular milestones and deadlines. Students will practice time-management and build skills to adhere to deadlines, and will present their completed films to the RIT community.
SOFA-225
Performance Resources for Animation
3 Credits
This course will give students an opportunity to explore the visual language of acting that will strengthen their storytelling abilities. The difference between live action and animated performances will be discussed. Students will build a library of expressions, poses, and movements for emotional and visual expression. Students will study performance principles applied in silent and animated films. Students will also create their own reference material for use in future film projects.
SOFA-228
Animation Scriptwriting and Storyboard
3 Credits
This course concentrates on the structures of temporal organization for the screen in all animated productions. Particular attention is paid to the structures of scriptwriting and the layout of movements and visual composition via editing into storyboards. Various individual written script projects will be required of the student, leading to a final production script for an animated film that will be fully storyboarded and formatted. Particular attention will be paid to the visual storytelling aspects of converting a written script. Layouts from the production will also be developed.
SOFA-407
Senior Capstone II
4 Credits
Students work independently with their advisor towards completion of their capstone experience for their BFA degree. Students have a predetermined timeline and must complete all deadlines of that timeline to pass this thesis course including completion and public screening of finished work or final presentation of craft experience.
SOFA-412
Animation Capstone II
4 Credits
This course will lead students toward the completion of their capstone. Students will take part in weekly critiques to present their work and discuss the work of their classmates. At the completion of this course, students will complete their capstone and take part in a public screening of their finished work.
SOFA-518
Business and Careers in Animation
3 Credits
This course will focus on the role of the small animation business owner, the studio employee, and the individual freelance animator in developing a small business. The elements of discussion will teach students how to approach animation work in the industry from a small business perspective. This course will discuss the creation of sample reels, websites, self-promotion, contracts, pitching, fund-raising, research and interview techniques all related to the individual in animation. Ethics and individual responsibilities will also be discussed. Professionals working in the animation industry will often be guests for the class.
SOFA-541
History and Aesthetics of Animation
3 Credits
This course will explore the beginnings, the evolution, the creative and practical history of the animated film, including prehistory of animation, early film and animation history, major trends, artists, animation studios, theoretical distinctions, and international identities in animation. Issues of animation aesthetics will also be elucidated through discussions, readings, and reviews of exemplary films to emphasize the unique characteristics of the animated art form and how those characteristics are used as a means of interpretation and expression. Both orthodox and unorthodox animation will be highlighted. Films will be screened at every lecture.
SOFA-599
SOFA Independent Study
1 - 6 Credits
SOFA Independent Study will provide students with the ability to study in a specialized area with an individual faculty member. Students, with the assistance of a faculty adviser, should propose a course of study or project with clearly defined deliverables. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Independent Study Permission Form to enroll. Student must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA to apply.
SOFA-610
Graduate Seminar
2 Credits
A forum to establish among a diverse student group a common vocabulary for discussing film language and structure, collaborative relationships, and a sense of community, while exploring issues related to scene analysis, production practice and planning, story boarding, story telling, visual music, School of Film and Animation policies and professional business realities.
SOFA-698
Film And Video Graduate Internship
1 - 6 Credits
Provides the student with on-the-job experience in the field of film/video/animation. The student seeks and acquires a school approved internship position in a business or industry. The working environment provides the forum for learning more about the student's chosen career. A final interview with the internship coordinator assists the student in evaluating the experience. The coordinator should be the faculty member most familiar with the student's internship field.
SOFA-717
Animation Workshop
4 Credits
This course is the student’s second experience producing a complete animated film individually or in collaboration with a classmate. In this workshop-style course, students will design and implement all phases of an animated film production and produce a short film with sound. Students will rely only on techniques learned in previous classes. The final film must be screened for the school community at the end of the course.
SOFA-790
Research and Thesis I
4 Credits
This is the first of two courses designed to advance a student towards completion of their thesis. Students will work independently on their approved plan of work for their thesis while meeting on a regular basis with their committee chair. They are required to meet at least twice with their full committee during the semester.
SOFA-799
Film and Animation Graduate Independent Study
1 - 4 Credits
Film and Animation Graduate Independent Study will provide students with the ability to study in a specialized area with an individual faculty member. Students, with the assistance of a faculty adviser, should propose a course of study or project with clearly defined deliverables. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Independent Study Permission Form to enroll. Student must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA to apply.
SOFA-887
Film and Animation Part-Time Co-op
0 Credits
Cooperative Education will provide Film and Animation students with hands-on experience in their field, directly related to a student’s major with an established studio or related business. Students will need to apply for co-ops, and interview as part of the selection process, based on available positions posted by the Co-op and Career Services Office, or found through the students’ own research. In programs where co-op is a degree requirement, students must obtain permission of their program or graduate director prior to enrollment. Co-ops are typically paid work experience, and can be part-time (150-479 total hours within the term), or full-time (480+ hours within the term). Co-ops may be one or two consecutive terms - fall, spring, or summer – with department permission.
SOFA-890
Research and Thesis II
4 Credits
This is the second of two courses designed to advance a student towards completion of their thesis. Students will work independently on their approved plan of work for their thesis while meeting on a regular basis with their committee chair. They are required to meet at least twice with their full committee during the semester as well as present a final screening of their thesis.
SOFA-892
Continuation of Thesis Film and Animation
0 Credits
Continuation of thesis course provides MFA students’ additional semester(s) to complete their thesis research and supporting documents. Taking COT before a Thesis film is screened needs to have the approval of the Graduate Director.
In the News
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March 21, 2023
![Graduate students collaborate in a lab.]()
Multi-million dollar animation renovation fosters collaboration, community
RIT's School of Film and Animation recently completed a 10,000-square-foot renovation and expansion of its animation complex, equipped with any tool or resource animators need.
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November 14, 2022
![A 2D animation of a boy looking in a bucket next to a body of water.]()
MFA student's films a big draw at festivals
Diane Lee ’24 MFA (film and animation) — who goes by the artist name Diane Catsburrow Linnet — has found comfort at RIT meshing her abilities as a creative writer, storyteller and artist.
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March 15, 2022
![Gabriel Ponte-Fleary, Anna McClanahan and Shanti Thakur on set for Say Cheese.]()
RIT, NTID make history with Coca-Cola-sponsored film
Film and Animation students Anna McClanahan (BFA) and Gabriel Ponte-Fleary (MFA) are finalists in Coca-Cola's Refreshing Films program. They are producing what is thought to be the program's first finalist film dealing with deaf and hard-of-hearing themes.
Featured Work
Ani-Motion
Kevin Bauer
Ani-Motion is a course that was developed by myself and Mari Jaye Blanchard. As animators, we feel that the best way to learn about movement, is to move. This undergraduate-level wellness course...
That Damn Goat
Kevin Bauer
In 2021, I was able to work on some early elements of the upcoming video game, That Damn Goat. The game is being produced by MAGIC Spell Studios at the Rochester Institute of Technology and is being...
2022 Student Reel
Kevin Bauer
A compilation of my student work from 2020-2022 at The Rochester Institute of Technology.