INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION SCHOOLS PROGRAMS

Three representatives of different international experiences in the teaching of animation are present in this panel of the Anima Forum, during the Anima Mundi in Rio de Janeiro:

Eric Riewer - Gobelins (France)
Marlene Nascimento - Audio and Visual Course from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Maureen Furniss - CalArts (USA)

As a complement of their visit and the debate, the festival will present showcases of graduation films by former students of these schools.

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"CALARTS... and its Distinguished Alumni" Showcase

The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, has been one of the most respected schools ever since its inauguration in 1961 by Walt and Roy Disney, and was created as a merger of the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and the Chouinard Art Institute. 

Today, CalArts maintains its tradition of promoting a unique and privileged environment where students of all artistic fields can interact intensively, in full collaboration. The professors are working professionals, and serve as examples and motivation for the students, so that they may develop their artistic qualities through creative experimentation and critical thought, embracing diversity.

It is no wonder that most of the school's alumni have become extraordinary and renowned artists. The "CalArts... and its Distinguished Alumni" showcase presents films by some of these talented artists that are now valued professionals in the universe of animation cinema.

Some of them studied in the Experimental Animation Department, created by Jules Engels, which focuses on the practice and the principles of the fine arts, understanding animation as a dynamic art form in constant evolution. The development of the students' personal expressions is a fundamental objective.  

Other alumni, who are incredibly gifted and influent in today's animation industry, graduated from the Department of Character Animation, created in 1975, which focuses mainly on classical training in animation, connected to a deep comprehension of the acting technique, which can also be applied to modern techniques, such as computer graphics.

This program, consisting of two showcases, mixes and alternates both views of animation teaching, reflecting the healthy and stimulating interaction between experimentation and application of the art of animation, just as it happens every day on the campus of the school, in Valencia.

GOBELINS

The animation department of GOBELINS, l'école de l'image, a school of applied arts, print and digital media affiliated to the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was founded over thirty years ago to prepare artists for the growing needs of the French animation film industry in the 1970s. Today, Gobelins graduates from the animation course are present in French studios throughout the country, but also in major studios around the world, including DreamWorks, Sony, Disney, Pixar and many more, where they are praised for their creative and technical excellence as well as their professional level.

The reason for this is that the course goes beyond the spheres of fine drawing and the professional needs for skilled artists well practiced in the production chain of animation films and series. Working professionals, who take time out from their busy schedules, do nearly 90% of the teaching. The course also includes the visit of animation artists, directors and producers from around the world, who are happy to share their experiences and skills in a school that is renowned worldwide.

The three years program builds on a traditional curriculum, providing the students with the opportunity to work with both traditional (hand-drawn) and digital techniques for animation, including 3D, while at the same time nurturing their creative edge. It seeks to train young artists who will help shape the future of animation in France and around the world. As such, the program takes into account a rapidly evolving industry, enabling students to work with new methods and technologies while still enhancing their classical animation skills, like acting, timing and observation.

This showcase presents Gobelins' student animation shorts from the past two decades. As an introduction, the films that have served as the openers or "curtain-raisers" at all the official screenings (for already 25 years) of the International Animated Film Festival that takes place in Annecy, France, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2010. This will be followed by a selection of graduation films in a longer format, in both 2D and 3D. Three of these films include a "making of", showing their production process.

UBA

The Audio and Visual Design Course from the Architecture, Design and Urbanism School (FADU) of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), in Argentina, has existed since 1989.

The course is four years long, providing the students with a vast training in the audiovisual language, and preparing them for the professional field with a solid aesthetic, technical and technological education in the different branches of creation and production.

In the final stages of the course, students are offered the Audiovisual Design 3 - Animation class, in which basic concepts of animation and its different techniques are presented. Classes include practical assignments and mandatory exercises, project elaboration, theoretical classes and the screening of films as examples.

The program includes project management and resource administration, aiming at the production of films and their potential market assimilation, both in the public and the private sectors.

Special attention is given to the exchange of technical and theoretical knowledge through practical work, in constant activities involving the correction and precise review of each stage of the project and its development. As a graduation project, the students produce a short length film, individually or as a group, using a technique of their own choice and a theme proposed by the school.

Some examples of the works developed by the students have been selected by Prof. Marlene Nascimento, a current professor of the Animation course.

South Africa Showcase

For most South Africans, 2010 is a landmark year because, for the first time in soccer history, an African country has hosted the World Cup. But for those of us working in and building the South African animation industry, we hope that 2010 will also be remembered as the year that local animation entered the world stage!

This collection of animation from South Africa is the first of its kind and highlights the diversity of this fledgling industry. A compilation of quirky music videos, award-winning short films, and cutting-edge commercials features some of South Africa's finest animation and showcases the variety in style and aesthetic of our home-grown industry. It is by no means exhaustive and only offers a taste of the incredible talent that reflects the color, chaos and contradictions of living in South Africa.

South Africa is a country that is still relatively unknown in the animation world. But this is about to change. A strong stop-motion industry emerged in SA in the 1990s, yielding the politically-charged charcoal animations of internationally acclaimed artist William Kentridge, as well as the masterful clay animations by XYZoo, and the fun, educational pieces for Sesame Workshop, using wire and clay, by Triggerfish. The industry, however, was largely built on commercials and it is only recently that larger projects have begun to emerge. Thanks to government support from institutions such as the Cape Film Commission, the Services Seta, the National Film and Video Foundation, the Department of Trade and Industry, as well as the Industrial Development Corporation, large-scale jobs are providing employment, and allowing for the development of skills and infrastructure. Companies like Clockwork Zoo now do service work on a number of international television series while others such as Sunrise Animation are producing homegrown series like Jungle Beat (catch the festival-favorite Because You're Gorgeous in this program). And not one but three locally produced feature films are due for release in the next year (The Lion of Judah, Jock of the Bushveld and Zambezia).

This program was compiled by Animation SA, a non-profit representative body for animation in South Africa, with the goal of creating a vibrant and transformed Animation and New Media industry. Together with the government, the local animation industry has committed itself to creating sustainable job and business opportunities and to produce a diverse range of content and services that is unique and globally competitive.

Anthony Silverston

Anthony Silverston, born in 1979 in Cape Town, left a career in science to pursue his love for animation. He studied stop-motion animation at VanArts, in Vancouver, and his first film "The Slipper Cycle", was awarded in Tampa, Florida, and the NTVA Stone Awards. Anthony is now Head of Story and Creative Producer/Director at Triggerfish, in Cape Town. He is one of the founding members of both Animation SA and animationXchange, and a driving force behind the website www.animationsa.org.

ANIMATV

Anima Mundi is proud to present (in free screenings in the festival) and discuss (with a panel in Anima Forum) the results of the first development program for the production and television broadcast of brazilian animation series - ANIMATV.

With the objective of stimulating the development of the Brazilian animation industry, ANIMATV has selected 17 pre-projects for animation series (aimed at 6 to 14-year-old children) for the production of an 11-minute pilot and a complete animation series project. The program also offered workshops with renowned consultants to help writers and producers develop their projects according to the standards for insertion in the international market.

The pilots were broadcasted by TV Cultura, TV Brasil, as well as 20 other networks that hold partnerships with the ANIMATV Network. Based on surveys that identified the penetration of the animation shows amongst the target audience, two projects were chosen by a jury to sign a co-production contract for 12 more episodes. CARRAPATOS E CATAPULTAS and TROMBA TREM, the chosen series, will have their production completed by March 2011.

The program was developed by the Audiovisual Department and the Department of Cultural Policies of the Ministry of Culture, Empresa Brasil de Comunicação - TV Brasil, Fundação Padre Anchieta - TV Cultura, Brazilian Educational and Cultural Public Networks Association - ABEPEC, with the support of the Brazilian Animation Cinema Association - ABCA.