With five entries and its multiple prize-winner Oktapodi, Gobelins dominated this year's SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival. The school consistently has turned out strong student works. © Gobelins.

I am sure with a title like this I am going to get into all kinds of trouble! There are many schools with great programs; however, these are the schools whose graduating students are consistently turning out complete, outstanding narrative films that have caught my eye again and again. These "student films" could go head-to-head with any festival film, and, in fact, frequently show up their professionally-done brethren. The stories are complex, interesting and well told and their artistry and command of techniques and tools is superb.

Gobelins L'Ecole de L'Image
Dominating this year's SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival with five entries and the multiple prize-winner Oktapodi, Gobelins consistently has some of the strongest student works out there. Funded by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris, the school is best known for the Cinéma Department of Animation, which was founded in 1975 by Pierre Ayma. The school prides itself on being almost 90% taught by working professionals and constantly monitors real-world production pipelines to make sure that their graduates have the necessary skills to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation. During the three-year program, the students produce a wide range of work that remains influenced by a strong tradition of drawing while incorporating the latest digital tools. While learning CGI software, the students are also pushed to hone such time-honored animation techniques as acting and timing. This shines through in their final works. Just watch Oktapodi for proof. The facial animation and a few subtle tentacle waves from the film's two octopi protagonists are what really help deliver on this story of never-dying love. Moreover, during holidays and breaks the students do internships at different production companies and studios. The students' third year is devoted to not only classes, but also their senior thesis film, which is done in groups. They may use whatever techniques they would like. Each year, Gobelins students do a different short film for each day of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Anima Facta Est and Le Building, which were featured in numerous other film festivals, are two recent stand-outs. Blind Spot is another one of their brilliant student films this year, which re-creates a crime scene using surveillance footage. From Europe to Asia, this school's films have won too many awards to mention.

Supinfocom's films frequently strive to tell stories that are well-paced and timed. Recent favorites include Bolides (l) and Marin. Courtesy of Superinfocom. 

Supinfocom (École SUPérieure d'INFOrmatique de COMmunication)
With a title that roughly translates into the School of Communication Science, it is not hard to see why this school is frankly one of the best of the best in producing stunning narrative films. Founded in only 1988 in Valenciennes and then expanding in 2000 to Arles, this French school is fabulous. The first two years of study are preparatory courses in design, art history, sculpture, 2D animation, color, perspective, etc. Then the students move onto three years of intensive 3D study, focusing on not only software, compositing and production, but also scripting and storyboards. The final year is spent working within a group to create a short CG film. Beginning in 2007, they expanded the program from four to five years. I cannot say enough about the high quality of their graduates' films. They are fantastic from both a technical and narrative perspective. When the school started, and CGI was a much younger art form, their films were mostly technical exercises but they have quickly grown into a leading narrative school. When considering their last year's works what really strikes one is the variation of styles and stories. Moreover, their films frequently strive to tell stories that are more than one off jokes. They are well-paced and timed. Some of my recent favorites are Bolides by François-Xavier Bologna, Théophile Bondoux , Lyonel Charmette and Vincent Le Ster, featuring late night shenanigans in a retirement home, and the beautiful Marin directed by Alexandre Bernard, Pierre Pages and Damien Laurent, where CG takes on the look of puppets and paper cut-outs. The year before yielded the hip noir Story Ville, created using, as an example of the student's technical prowess, 3ds Max, Premiere, After Effects and Photoshop; and the lovable Goodbye Canine, a thriller involving mice acting as the tooth fairy. The school is preparing to open a new campus in India.