Two weeks ago, AtomFilms announced that it has locked the first-ever,
exclusive, on-line distribution deal with the University of Southern
California (USC) School of Cinema-Television to broadcast student
films from the illustrious film school's catalog, giving USC students
a worldwide public venue for showcasing their work. As part of the
deal, for the next 18 months, USC will provide AtomFilms with
exclusive on-line distribution rights to 100 student titles which
includes shorts from famed alumnus George Lucas and Robert Zemeckis.
AtomFilms will showcase the shorts in their entirety. This deal marks
one step forward in the development of industry-education
partnerships. These deals have become essential for schools trying to
stay on top of animation technologies and to ensure job placement for
graduates -- schools tout their successes with the number of people
they places in the industry. On the other side, animation and digital
effects studios, desperate for fresh ideas and qualified talent, are
investing money and resources into schools, to forge relationships
with students before they enter the industry playing field. For
instance, Nickelodeon collaborates with animation programs at USC and
Cal Arts by providing resources and donations in exchange for access
to students' original ideas and projects. In fall 1998, USC launched
a course called "Nickelodeon Experimental Animation," in which
Nickelodeon staffers guest teach and lecture. In exchange,
Nickelodeon has a "first look deal" for student projects produced in
the class, and the option to develop and acquire projects for
commercial distribution.
Many schools offer excellent training in their specific domains.
Former students from CalArts' Character Animation department,
Sheridan College and CFT Gobelins, to name just a few, are holding
influential positions at most of the major studios. But at the same
time, schools are accused of being merely a breeding ground for a
generation of factory workers, to the detriment of creativity. "These
[student] shorts, one to ten minutes long, are almost always
one-offs," noted Marv Newland of International Rocketship in an
article about Canadian animation published in Animation World
Magazine in June 1998. "The students make one picture and then go
into a career as an animator of TV commercials, or as storyboard
artists for bulk animation producers like Nelvana or DIC. There is no
second film, no development or growth, no risk, no pain, no
exploration." In the same article, Frédéric Back said, "Schools
should teach arts and culture in an academic way first, in order to
prepare autonomous individuals able to make choices of the kind of
art of communication in which they want to evolve. Or able to adapt
to the kind of work they may find, and transform a 'job' into
'creativity!'" Back continued, "Too many continuities are made
without art, beauty, poetry, or inspiring qualities of ideas...If,
for [some] reason, the animation industry collapses, all these young
people who have been taught a certain way to work in animation will
be jobless, without another way to find a living. Too many times we
see the results of such short-viewed politics which lead to big scale
disasters (e.g. Korea's recent collapse)."
A significant number of animation schools do promote themselves as
'Art' schools first. To prevent restrictive specialization, students
are encouraged to take a wide range of courses, as well as to develop
personal exploration, in order to continue to grow as artists and be
able to use animation as a fine, applied or commercial art. The
reality of the industry is that most graduates start out as
in-betweeners or doing clean-up animation. The hope is that once
animators gain the technical experience in their work, their creative
style will naturally follow the animation process and allow them to
move to a more creative job. Students are now offered alternative
ways to work and express their creativity utilizing the Internet as
well. In the end however, it is up to each individual student to
decide his/her own path -- be that independent or studio-based -- to
reach their goals.
Schools, Schools and More Schools!" Before jumping into a program,
it is best to know what they are offering and what you want. Pamela
Kleibrink Thompson explains in the January 1999 issue of Animation
World Magazine.
"It
Takes Three to Tango." Through a series of pointed questions we
take a look at the relationship between educators, industry
representatives and students. School profiles are included.
