Sheridan College is using Side Effects Software’s Houdini package in its one-year-old educational program aimed specifically at training technical directors (TDs). “The complexities involved in technical animation are much greater than can be taught in a single year, so I developed the technical director program as an optional second year to our Computer Animation program,” said Avrim Katzman, a former TD and current director of the Visualization Design Institute at Sheridan College. "My confidence in Houdini has been well rewarded: of the recent graduating class, 80% were hired related to their knowledge of Houdini."