With exposure from CUBE, Nicolas Deveaux’s short 7 tonnes 2 has garnered the Superinfocom Valenciennes graduate three commercials and a video clip in his first year as a professional. All CUBE images © CUBE Creative.

European animation schools are turning out such good student films these days that not only are many more winning international festivals; they are raising the bar for professionals worldwide.

It’s no secret that shorts are an odd fit for broadcasters, who often either ignore the format or have little/no budget for one-offs or little/no place in their schedules. And there are fewer champions of the art form like Channel 4 (U.K.) in the ‘80s and ‘90s, although Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and MTV have made and continue to make commendable efforts to keep the short alive in one form or another (i.e., shorts, music videos, commercials, station IDs, etc.) As a result, fewer professionals are dedicating the time, budget and resources to them, especially in Europe. Unlike U.S. studios, most European studios often don’t have funding for R&D, a role the animation schools have traditionally filled. A model not unlike that for — surprise! — the high-technology sector.

Animation head Eric Riewer has successfully integrated 3D into Gobelins’ once exclusive 2D program. At SIGGRAPH this year, a Gobelins short La Migration Bigoudenn won a jury prize. All Gobelins images © Gobelins, l'école de l'

But to say that these phenomena are the cause of this remarkable trend would be a disservice to the quality of the education in European animation schools and the talent coming out of Europe. And to a surprisingly practical and professional philosophy of education that contrasts with the image of the European artist as auteur, dilettante or enfant terrible.

Bip-Bip is a music video directed by Romain Segaud of Supinfocom Valenciennes for CUBE.

Gobelins, l’école de l’image was one of the first schools in Europe to have an animation department (which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year). Gobelins is reputed to produce — and “reputed” is used only to avoid insulting the other great animation schools — some of the best animators in the world. Alumni can be found at Disney, DreamWorks, Pixar, Framestore, Electronic Arts, etc. and include, for example, Eric “Bibo” Bergeron, one of the directors of Shark Tale and The Road to Eldorado. There are approximately 600-1000 candidates for 25 spots every year.

Of paramount importance is strong drawing skill. The requirements are superb drawing and storytelling skills and there is a rigorous entrance exam. It built its reputation on strong character animation but emphasizes all of the disciplines: design, storyboard, layout, animation, editing, sound design… everything it takes to make an animated film.

Gobelins is operated by — are you ready for this? — the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP). Its mission, according to American Eric Riewer, head of the animation program there, is “to enable young artists to become working professionals.” In this, it is different from most other animation schools since its graduates “must be able to integrate to a professional environment.” The program is designed, Riewer explains, to give students “… technical mastery of the whole set of animation skills so that they can join professional studios and be immediately productive.” Meaning, so they can be hired on graduation.

With the exception of the catastrophically bad years 2001, 2002 and 2003, when few studios were hiring after having laid off hundreds of employees, Gobelins has historically had a 100% success rate in job placement. And graduates normally have a variety of options and offers, though primarily animator jobs, depending on what jobs in what companies and countries are available at the time of graduation.