NEWTOWN was a two-week workshop and video project created and led by Chris Rackley at the Rochester Art Center in August, 2015.

The workshop culminated with a single-channel video projection depicting a landscape in which all elements were handmade using cardboard, paper, glue, tape and paint by the students. Each element was filmed with an iPhone 4 against green-screen and digitally composited together by Chris Rackley into a 3-minute animated loop using After Effects. The movement of the animals was created by students acting as puppeteers for their creations using fishing line. Ending where it begins, the video can be looped endlessly, creating a continuous cycle of day to night. The project is inspired by the work of Shanghai artist Yang Yongliang who uses a strategy of collage in his looped videos, such as Before the Rain, 2010, to explore the relationship between landscapes and viral urban growth.