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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4.2 - MAY 1999
Education
Gnomon Adds New Classes. Gnomon Inc., a Hollywood-based professional
institute specializing in training for visual effects for film, television
and games, has added five new courses to their curriculum for the Spring term
which began April 12. The three foundation classes are: The History of Visual
Effects in Film (taught by Doug Nichols), Production Communication (Harrison
Ellenshaw) and Texture, Form and Surface Analysis (Andrea Paolino). Digital
Sets (taught by Eric Hanson) and Maya to RenderMan (Jason MacLeod) are the
two new computer courses. The classes are all taught by industry professionals
who work at studios such as Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Imagineering,
Dream Quest Imaging and Cinesite Digital Studios. The Gnomon curriculum has
been developed with guidance from the Alliance for Digital Production Trainers
(ADEPT) whose members are training managers from various studios including
Blue Sky, DreamWorks, VIFX and Sony Pictures Imageworks. For additional information
visit www.gnomon3d.com.
George Lucas & Steven Spielberg Give To USC School Of Cinema-Television.
George Lucas has donated $1.5 million, while Steven Spielberg has donated
$500,000 to the USC School of Cinema-Television to help fund the new, yet-to-be-built
Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts. The Lucas money will help build a
sound stage which will be named for Akira Kurosawa. In addition to the Kurosawa
digital stages with motion-control computers, the Zemeckis Center will feature
non-linear editing and shooting systems; CGI classrooms and multimedia cable
connections; a screening room with studio-quality 16mm, 35mm and video projection
capabilities; a digital editing bullpen with at least 60 stations; suites
for digital sound and picture editing; and digital compositing equipment such
as a Quantel Domino special effects workstation. Dean Elizabeth Daley praised
both individuals stating, "With his gift, George Lucas continues to demonstrate
his heartfelt support of filmmaking talent at USC. Steven is such an enthusiastic
supporter of the School of Cinema-Television. He understands how vital it
is for young filmmakers to be trained on the most advanced technological systems."
College Offers New MFA In Computer Animation. International Fine Arts
College, founded in 1965, has received approval from the Florida State Board
of Independent Colleges and Universities to offer the Master of Fine Arts
in Computer Animation. Classes will begin January 2000. The Master of Fine
Arts Degree in Computer Animation is a studio based, sixty credit program
focusing on animation utilizing the Silicon Graphics platform with Alias|Wavefront
Maya software. The Animation Studio boasts 63 SGI O2s running the latest versions
of Alias|Wavefront's Maya, 3D Studio Paint, and Composer. For editing, students
will use Discreet Logic Flint running on an Octane. International Fine Arts
College is a private, art and design college located in Miami, Florida.
SVA Animates Yale Study. Yale University's Child Study Center, a division
of Yale Medical School, has chosen New York's School of Visual Arts' Animation
Department to create an animated film for use in autism research studies.
The animation will test the brain systems involved in social understanding,
allowing investigators to test specific hypotheses about autism. The animated
experiments will portray human interaction with geometric shapes. Reeves Lehmann,
Chair of the School's Film Video and Animation Department, is the executive
producer and advisor; Aaron Geller, a 1998 SVA alumnus and staff member of
HBO NYC, is producer and director.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.