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Luigi Allemano, MAA

  • Associate Professor, Film Animation Undergraduate Program, Cinema

Research areas: animation, drawing, music making, improvisation, sound, cinema, sound design, visual music, music composition, film scores, film/media production, abstraction in visual art, sound effects, media arts, animation theory, pre-cinematic animation, experimental animation, transdisciplinarity, animation studies, aleatoric music

Contact information

Biography

(ENG) Luigi Allemano is an Associate Professor at Concordia University, Montreal, where heads the Film Animation Program. He is also an animation filmmaker, music composer and sound designer. His animation, music and sound appear in many productions of the National Film Board of Canada, five of which received Academy Award (‘Oscar’) nominations. Allemano was the researcher and sound editor for the NFB documentary Norman McLaren: Animated Musician (2014). His works Improvisation no.1: Cumulative Loops and RGBebop/Anthropology were nominated for Best Animated Film by the Canadian Screen Academy (2015) and awarded Excellence in Sound Design by ASIFA (2018) respectively. He presents workshops on visual music and hand-drawn animated sound at many international academic conferences. Most recently, he created the music and the sound for the NFB production The Flying Sailor, nominated for the 2023 Best Animated Short Academy Award. Allemano is showcased at the 2023 ASCAP Composers Spotlight at the Sundance Film Festival.

(FR) Luigi Allemano est professeur à l'Université Concordia, Montréal, où il est directeur du programme Film Animation. Il est également cinéaste d'animation, compositeur de musique et concepteur sonore. Son animation, sa musique et sa conception sonore se retrouvent dans de nombreuses productions de l'Office national du film du Canada, dont cinq ont reçu des nominations aux Oscars. Allemano a été recherchiste et monteur sonore pour le documentaire de l'ONF Norman McLaren : Animated Musician (2014). Ses œuvres Improvisation no.1: Cumulative Loops et RGBebop/Anthropology ont été nominées pour le meilleur film d'animation par la Canadian Screen Academy (2015) et récompensées par l'excellence en conception sonore par l'ASIFA (2018) respectivement. Il présente des ateliers sur la musique visuelle et le son animé dessiné à la main lors de nombreuses conférences académiques internationales. Plus récemment, il a créé la musique et le son de la production de l'ONF Le Matelot Volant, en nomination pour l'Oscar du meilleur court métrage d'animation 2023. Allemano est présenté au 2023 ASCAP Composers Spotlight au Sundance Film Festival.

Education

MAA (Media Arts), Governor General's Gold Medal, Emily Carr University of Art and Design (2013)
BFA (Film Animation), Emily Carr University of Art and Design (1997)
Diploma (Music Performance), MacEwan University (1990)

Areas of expertise

film animation, music composition, sound for film

Research activities

Paper presentations

Animated Graphic Scores in Visual Music Composition 33rd Society for Animation Studies Conference. Teesside University, UK. 2022.

Sound in Short Form Animation: A Phenomenological Approach 
32nd Society for Animation Studies Conference. Tulane University, New Orleans. 2021.

Teaching Audio to Animators: Rethinking Sound Pedagogy in Contemporary Animation Curricula 
(Paper presentation). 31st Society for Animation Studies Conference. Universidade Lusófona de 2019 Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisboa, Portugal.

Illustrated radio: Verbocentrism as contaminant and catalyst in contemporary animation filmmaking
(Paper presentation). 30th Society for Animation Studies Conference. Concordia University, Montreal. 2018

Towards a Pedagogy of Animated Visual Music Composition. 29th Society for Animation Studies Conference. University of Padova, Italy. 2017

Animation and Improvisation.
26th Society for Animation Studies Conference. Sheridan College, Toronto. 2014.

Silent and Still: Origins of Visual Music. Understanding Visual Music Conference. Concordia University, Montréal. 2011.

Conference panel discussions

Experiments in 3-D: Norman McLaren. Society for Cinema & Media Studies. Concordia University, Montreal. 2015.

Consultation

Norman McLaren: Animated Musician. Luigi's research in the area of optical 'animated sound' is a primary contribution to the NFB documentary Norman McLaren: Animated Musician (2014).

NFB iPad app McLaren's Workshop. Luigi's consultation and research contribute to the Synthetic Sound module of the NFB iPad app McLaren's Workshop (2013)

Teaching activities

Undergraduate Courses

2022-23
FMAN 340/2 A Sound for Animation Film
FMAN 340/2 B Sound for Animation Film
FMAN 340/2 A Sound for Animation Film
FMAN 446 Professional Internship
FMAN 448 Independent Study
FMAN 448 Independent Study
2021-22
FMAN 340/2 A Sound for Animation Film
FMAN 340/2 B Sound for Animation Film
FMAN 498 A Special Topics in Advanced Sound for Animation
FMAN 448 Independent Study
INDS 671 Independent Study
2020-21
FMAN 340/2 A Sound for Animation Film
FMAN 340/2 B Sound for Animation Film
FMAN 340/2 A Sound for Animation Film
2018-19
FMAN 340/2 A Sound for Animation Film
FMAN 340/2 B Sound for Animation Film
FMAN 402/3 A Advanced Animation Filmmaking

Graduate Courses

2015-16
FMPR610 Film Production I

Graduate Students Thesis Supervisor

PhD THESIS SUPERVISOR

Year

Student

Degree Program

Supervisory Role

2018- (in progress)

Aristofanis Soulikias

PhD INDI Program

Co-supervisor

2017- (in progress)

Patrick Gauvin

PhD INDI Program

Co-supervisor

MASTERS THESIS SUPERVISOR

Year

Student

Degree Program

Supervisory Role

2018-2022

Gabriela MacLeod

MFA Studio Arts, Film Production Concentration

Principal Supervisor

2017-2022

Catherine Slilaty

MFA Studio Arts, Film Production Concentration

Co-supervisor

2017-in progress

Narges Haghighat

MFA Studio Arts, Film Production Concentration

Principal Supervisor

2016-19

Farid Yahaghi

MFA Studio Arts, Film Production Concentration

Principal Supervisor

2015-18

Marie-Josée Archambault

MFA Studio Arts, Film Production Concentration

Principal Supervisor

2015-18

Stanila Syarova


MFA Studio Arts, Film Production Concentration

Principal Supervisor

2015-18

Shaghayegh Yassemi

MFA Studio Arts, Film Production Concentration

Principal Supervisor

2014-16

Etienne Rochon

MFA Studio Arts, Printmaking

Principal Supervisor

2013-15

Alisi Telengut

MFA Studio Arts, Film Production Concentration

Co-supervisor

2013-15

Marina Kerber

MA Media and Audiovisual Processes, University of Sao Paulo (ELAP Scholarship)

Exchange Supervisor

Publications and Filmography

Mickey-mousing Without the Mouse: The Enduring Appeal of a Maligned Musical Device

Encyclopedia of Animation Studies Volume 4. Bloomsbury. (forthcoming, planned publishing in 2024)

FILMOGRAPHY

Please download the latest CV for a complete filmography.

Participation activities

Workshops

16mm Animated Sound Workshops. Edinburgh, Glasgow and Sterling Scotland. June, 2014.

Accolades

Awards and Nominations

2018 ASIFA Awards: Excellence in Sound Design
2015 Canadian Screen Awards: Nomination - Best Animated Short
2014 Dérapage Festival: Award - Best Animation
2013 Governor General's Gold Medal, Highest Academic Standing in Graduate Studies, Emily Carr University of Art and Design
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