Dr Carla MacKinnon
- Tutor (Research)
- Animation MA
Dr Carla MacKinnon is an animator and researcher working predominantly in experimental non-fiction.
Carla’s role as a tutor draws on both her practical experience as an animator, and her industry background across interdisciplinary production and exhibition.
Carla graduated from Royal College of Art in 2013, and in 2021 she completed a PhD at Arts University Bournemouth, focusing on animated documentary production.
Key details
School, Centre or Area
Gallery
More information
Research Interests
Carla’s research approaches fall into two main strands. The first is research into the organisational and structural contexts of creative production. Through looking at communities of practice, exchange of capital, and communication across boundaries, she aims to expose persistent inefficiencies and inequalities in the way that creative work is produced, particularly in interdisciplinary contexts.
Carla’s second key strand of research focuses on the potential for innovative representations of reality using animation. This includes evocation through haptic materiality, non-linear and depersonalised narratives, and non-traditional use of genre signifiers.
Practice
Carla’s work has been shown at the Wellcome Collection, the Institute of Contemporary Art and FACT Liverpool. It has been broadcast on BBC4, and through online platforms and publications including the Guardian, NOWNESS, and Aeon Films. Her films have been programmed at festivals and events worldwide, and have won a number of awards.
Carla’s professional background also includes work as film festival producer and programmer, as well as working in producer and production manager capacities on animated and live action films, and creative technology projects.
Research Funding
PhD Studentship, Arts University Bournemouth, 2015-2020
BBC4 and BFI, 2018
Wellcome Trust Engaging Science Award, 2015-16
Arts Council England (through London Short Film Festival), 2015
Film London, 2015
Wellcome Trust Arts Award, 2012-13
UnLtd. The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, 2006
Screen Yorkshire, 2005
Awards
Best Animadoc (Student Jury), Rising of Lusitania AnimaDoc Festival, 2020
Best Artist Film and Audience Award, Southampton Film Week, 2019
Best Short Documentary, Cineglobe Film Festival, CERN, 2013
Best Short Film, Defy Film Festival, 2016
Publications, exhibitions and other outcomes
When a Woman Sits Alone: a creative response to Julian of Norwich. Paper at New Visions of Julian of Norwich, Somerville College, Oxford, UK, July 2022.
Linear and Dialogic methodologies in 21st Century animated documentary production. Paper at Animation in the 21st Century: Rethinking Images and Technology. Roma Tre University, Italy, November 2021.
Animated Documentary as a Collaborative Therapy. Paper at AnimaScapes, CINEANIMA. Espinho, Portugal, November 2021.
MacKinnon, C. (2019). Autobiography and Authenticity in Stop-Motion Animation. In: Ruddell C., Ward P. (eds) The Crafty Animator. (2019). UK: Palgrave Animation. pp.99-126.
O Hunter Heart. 2018. [short film]. UK: Wingspan Films
Short Animated Documentary Production in the UK. Paper at Media Industries Conference, Kings College London, UK, April 2018
Production Challenges in Animated Documentary. Paper at Society for Animation Studies 29th Annual Conference, Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy, July 2017
Immersion and alienation: animated virtual realities. Paper at Ecstatic Truth Symposium, Royal College of Art, UK, May 2017.
(2016) States of Mind: Tracing the Edge of Consciousness. Wellcome Collecion. London, UK.
An Approach to Authenticity: Using stop-motion to evoke physical and psychological experience in animated documentary. Paper at Ecstatic Truth Symposium, Royal College of Art, UK, May, 2016
OUT OF BODY. 2015. [performance-based animation]. Exhibited at Institute of Contemporary Arts, UK; FACT Liverpool, UK; Watershed Bristol, UK; Latitude Festival, UK; Triskel Arts Centre, Ireland.
Devil In the Room. 2013. [short film and cross-platform public engagement project]. UK: Royal College of Art.
Selected Screenings
MUMIA Underground Animation Festival, Brazil, 2021
Rising of Lusitania AnimaDoc Film Festival, Poland, 2020
Big Muddy Film Festival, USA, 2020
Athens Animfest, 2020
Encounters Short Festival, UK, 2013 & 2019
UNDER_the_RADAR Festival and Conference, Austria, 2019
Underwire Festival, UK, 2013, 2016 & 2019
Lichtspielklub Short Film Festival, Germany, 2015 & 2019
REX Animation Festival, Sweden, 2019
London Short Film Festival, UK, 2002, 2014 & 2016
Cork Film Festival, UK, 2014 & 2016
Aesthetica Short Film Festival, UK, 2016
Galway Film Fleadh 2016
Manchester International Film Festival 2016
East End Film Festival, UK, 2014 & 2016
Wiz-Art Lviv International Short Film Festival, Ukraine, 2016
Valetta Film Festival, Malta, 2016
Flatpack Festival, UK, 2014
Leeds International Film Festival, UK, 2002 & 2014
IMAGINE Fantastic Film Festival, Netherlands, 2014
Imagine Science Film Festival, USA, 2014
KLIK! Animation Festival, Netherlands, 2013
London International Animation Festival, UK, 2013
Branchage Festival, Jersey, 2014
State Experience Science Festival, Germany, 2014
Shuffle Festival, UK, 2014
Chitrakatha Film Festival, India, 2013