Michael Langan
Encyclopedia
Michael Langan is an American film director. He grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, where he began his artistic career as a professional stage actor, and is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design
.
Langan's first short student film, Snail, premiered at Ann Arbor Film Festival
in March 2007 and went on to screen at a number of film festivals. His thesis film, Doxology, has received widespread acclaim, garnering fourteen awards at over eighty film festivals worldwide.
Notable awards include a Student Academy Award nomination, Most Promising Filmmaker at Ann Arbor Film Festival
, and Best Experimental Short at Slamdance Film Festival
.
Langan's films typically involve technical experimentation, resulting in works that reinterpret time and images to create unique observations of familiar subjects. Bizarre situations and surreal sequences appear frequently in his films. He is known for his use of the experimental animation technique, pixilation
.
His artistic influences include singer/composer Bobby McFerrin
and filmmakers Norman McLaren
, Zbigniew Rybczyński
, Steven X. Arthur, and Jan Švankmajer
.
Slamdance Film Festival
commissioned Langan to complete a film under five minutes in 2008. The resulting film, Dahlia, which premiered at the festival the following year, has since screened at film festivals across the globe. The film is a three minute portrait of San Francisco, Langan's home at the time, featuring a musical score composed by the filmmaker.
In 2010, Langan collaborated with author Brian Christian
on a short film adaptation of Christian's poem, "Heliotropes."
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
.
Langan's first short student film, Snail, premiered at Ann Arbor Film Festival
Ann Arbor Film Festival
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Ann Arbor in the U.S. state of Michigan. Established in 1963, it is the third-oldest film festival in North America ; and the oldest experimental film festival...
in March 2007 and went on to screen at a number of film festivals. His thesis film, Doxology, has received widespread acclaim, garnering fourteen awards at over eighty film festivals worldwide.
Notable awards include a Student Academy Award nomination, Most Promising Filmmaker at Ann Arbor Film Festival
Ann Arbor Film Festival
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Ann Arbor in the U.S. state of Michigan. Established in 1963, it is the third-oldest film festival in North America ; and the oldest experimental film festival...
, and Best Experimental Short at Slamdance Film Festival
Slamdance Film Festival
As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent in the film industry; it is also the only major film festival fully programmed by filmmakers. Slamdance counts among its alumni many notable writers and directors who first gained notice at the...
.
Langan's films typically involve technical experimentation, resulting in works that reinterpret time and images to create unique observations of familiar subjects. Bizarre situations and surreal sequences appear frequently in his films. He is known for his use of the experimental animation technique, pixilation
Pixilation
Pixilation is a stop motion technique where live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor becomes a kind of living stop motion puppet...
.
His artistic influences include singer/composer Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin
Robert "Bobby" McFerrin, Jr. is an American vocalist and conductor. He is best known for his 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". He is a ten-time Grammy Award winner.-Life:...
and filmmakers Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren, CC, CQ was a Scottish-born Canadian animator and film director known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada...
, Zbigniew Rybczyński
Zbigniew Rybczynski
Zbigniew Rybczyński is a Polish filmmaker who has won numerous prestigious industry awards both in the United States and internationally. He was also a teacher of cinematography, and digital cinematography. Currently he is a researcher of blue and greenscreen compositing technology at Ultimatte...
, Steven X. Arthur, and Jan Švankmajer
Jan Švankmajer
Jan Švankmajer is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his surreal animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, the Brothers Quay, and many others.- Life and career :Jan...
.
Slamdance Film Festival
Slamdance Film Festival
As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent in the film industry; it is also the only major film festival fully programmed by filmmakers. Slamdance counts among its alumni many notable writers and directors who first gained notice at the...
commissioned Langan to complete a film under five minutes in 2008. The resulting film, Dahlia, which premiered at the festival the following year, has since screened at film festivals across the globe. The film is a three minute portrait of San Francisco, Langan's home at the time, featuring a musical score composed by the filmmaker.
In 2010, Langan collaborated with author Brian Christian
Brian Christian
Brian Christian is an American author and poet, best known for his book The Most Human Human. He competed as a "confederate" in the 2009 Loebner Prize competition, attempting to seem "more human" than the humans taking the test, and succeeded...
on a short film adaptation of Christian's poem, "Heliotropes."
Filmography
- Heliotropes (2010)
- Dahlia (2008)
- Doxology (2007)
- Snail (2005)