Transitions

In light of recent events concerning my position at the University, I am stepping away from this blog.

I encourage you to follow my new independent production blog:

the-production-workshop.blogspot.com

The existing Twitter feed will remain with the Online Student Representatives and Online Production Teams in their continuing efforts to bring you fresh, up-to-the-minute reporting.

I will be setting up a new online office separate from the auspices of the AAU, and will post the url here.

Be sure to follow Associate Director David Nethery's blog:

hand-drawn-animation.blogspot.com/

Listed below are the ONLINE submissions that were selected as either a Winner, Runner-Up or Honorable Mention in their respective categories featured at the Annual AAU Spring Show on May 19th, 2011.

You can find the work listed below at the following URLs:

http://vimeo.com/24220910 (2D TRAD)
http://vimeo.com/24221027 (2D FLAT)
http://vimeo.com/24220869 (3D)
http://vimeo.com/24210820 (VFX)

Congratulations to everyone who submitted work to the 2011 Spring Show!

2D Character Animation Test (Runner-Up), The Window, Kasim English,
Course: ANM 362.OL Instructor: David Nethery

2D Character Dialogue (Runner Up), Mustard, William Rice,
Course: ANM 362.OL Instructor : David Nethery

2D Character Dialogue (Runner Up), Two Mechanics, Shamel Esmaeil
Course: ANM 362.OL Instructor : David Nethery

2D Effects Animation Test, (Runner Up), Balloon and Fan, Chris Harrington
Course: ANM 260.OL Instructor: David Nethery

Experimental /Stop-Motion, (Runner Up), My Familiar Restaurant, Koji Nagao
Course: ANM 382.OL Instructor: Ken Priebe

Experimental /Stop-Motion, (Runner Up), White Whale, Holy Grail, Aaron Roderick
Course: ANM 180.OL Instructor: Benjamin Zelkowicz

Experimental /Stop-Motion, (Honorable Mention), Untitled, Koji Nagao
Course: ANM 380.OL Instructor: Ken Priebe

Concept Art - Creature Design, Winner, Untitled, Hyunwoo Lim
Course: ANM 368.OL Instructor: Terryl Whitlatch

Concept Art - Creature Design, (Runner Up), Untitled, Chris Carter
Course: ANM 368.OL Instructor: Terryl Whitlatch

Background Painting, Winner, Untitled, Hye-Eun Bae
Course: ANM 471.OL Instructor: Ken Spirduso

Background Painting, (Runner-Up), Pirate Cove, Nicholas Ariztia
Course: ANM 471.OL Instructor: Ken Spirduso

Background Painting, (Runner-Up), Medieval Street Scene, Laura Taylor Charles
Course: ANM 471.OL Instructor: Ken Spirduso

Maquette Sculpture, Winner, Untitled, Renee Yoch
Course: ANM 375.OL Instructor: Jason Peltz

VFX Short Subject, (Runner-Up), Adler Space Musuem, Patrick McPike / Lu Natalino
Course: ANM 800.OL Instructor: Vince De Quattro

ANM/VFX Production Track

The AAU Production structure mirrors the industry, with a hierarchy of Executive Producers, Line Producers, Production Development, Production Coordinators and Production Assistant roles. The AAU Production Team has grown to support all onsite collaboration and in beginning to provide informal online collaboration, online MFA thesis production, and soon, will assist the new ANM 498.OL Collaborative Course offerings.

Producers have helped manage some of the best projects ever created in the ANM/VFX department, including the 2011 Student Academy Award winner, Dragon Boy, produced by AAU MFA graduate, Caitlin Satchell ('10).

For more information about the AAU MFA Production Option, please contact Director Vince De Quattro, vdequattro@academyart.edu.

For more information about the Online Production Team, please navigate to:
https://live4.academyart.edu/anmvfxoffice/

Without exception, every candidate or graduate appearing in the list below has taken the Producing course or has attended the workshop meetings for at least a year.

The ANM/VFX Production Hall of Fame

Shauna Lacoste (MFA '11) Lucasfilm, Pixar
Caitlyn Satchell (MFA '10) Lucasfilm
Rebecca Noulles (MFA '10) Nihilistic
John Duguid (MFA '11) Image Movers Digital, ILM
Melanie Kay (MFA '09) Shot Rocket Productions
Dallas Dietrich (MFA '09) Blue Sky Pictures
Heather Han (MFA '09)
Ruheene Masand (MFA '08) Evil Eye Pictures
Elana Hokin (MFA '08) Venable Bell & Partners

Justin Chan (BFA '09) ILM
Robert Cardoso (BFA '09) Independent
Jessica Ladd (BFA '10) AAU
Sara Chin (BFA '09) Image Movers Digital, DreamWorks SKG
Patrick Johnson (BFA '09) DreamWorks SKG
Sally Garcia (BFA '09) DreamWorks SKG
Cheryl Vanderbilt (BFA '10) Academy of Sciences
Kate Selzer (BFA '10) ILM
Eli Tuttle (MFA '12)
Jesus Villarreal (BFA '12) Tippett Studios

The 2011 AAU Producer Awards

Last night, at the 2011 ANM/VFX Spring Show in Morgan Auditorium, our dedicated group of producers, both MFA and BFA, were honored for their integral roles in the recent successes of departmental and independent collaboratives.

It was fitting. For more than three years, a select group of BFA and MFA candidates have been quietly transforming themselves into a production team, helping grow projects, bridge communication gaps, and develop great stories into great entertainment.

The first-ever Director's Award for Outstanding Performance in a Producer Role was awarded to Shauna Lacoste (MFA '11) and Jonathan Rollins (MFA '12). Next year, a Producing category will be part of the standard Spring Show submissions.

The 2011 AAU Production Core (in alphabetical order):

Producers

Anwei Chen -- Fall Animation Festival, Karma (2012), Magic Test (2012)
Vish Kumar -- Hired Gun
Shauna Lacoste -- Prelude, Desert Veil, Photon Effect
Jessica Ladd -- Lighting Collaborative
Alex Lujo -- I Am Not Vietnamese
Janet Petros -- Walking With Giants
Jonathan Rollins -- Heart Mountain, Crazy Beat Strong (Every Time), Exposure (2012), Alien Vision (2012)
Victoria Simiele -- Just Looking (2012)
Paul Slice -- Prelude, Your Basic Cable Weatherman
Jesus Villareal -- Junior Giants, Monkey & Robot, Project TBA
Andy Wood -- Junior Giants (2012), The Horse Project
Lutz Wong -- I Am Not Vietnamese

Coordinators

Michelle Eisley
Carla Ginsberg
Lorraine Goodrich
Ann Hurley
Brittany Kikuchi
Elena Morillo

We would like to personally thank each one of these students for their incredible perseverance, patience under fire, and ability to keep their respective productions on track, while balancing their own coursework during each semester.

Department Show

The Annual Department Spring Show will take place tomorrow at Morgan Auditorium, 491 Post Street, San Francisco. Doors open at 6:30PM PDT, show starts at 7:00PM PDT and runs for about two hours.

For our online only students, we're planning on shooting some DV coverage of the event. I'll let you know via the Twitter feed if we'll be streaming it via our grainy webcams. We want you to be part of what's happening in San Francisco!

For more information about the Department Spring Show, the submission formats and current categories, navigate here:

http://vfxgateway.com/ss11/

Interview Advice

Since we're nearing some major milestones in your early careers, like graduation and, hopefully, your first job interview, I thought I'd post a few interviewing tip recordings:

Introduction to Interviewing

https://live4.academyart.edu/p10374051/

What Not to Wear (Interview Fashion Tips)

https://live4.academyart.edu/p35658909/

Linux Workshop Recordings

I've made recordings of our live, Friday Linux Workshop broadcasts. If you plan to work in the industry, and you don't know what Linux is, they are worth a listen.

Intro (34 min.)

https://live4.academyart.edu/p19326709/

Basics: (46 min.)

https://live4.academyart.edu/p24827259/

Basics II:(45 min.)

https://live4.academyart.edu/p70522829/

Scripting (45 min.)

https://live4.academyart.edu/p45951697/

Scripting II (65 min.)

https://live4.academyart.edu/p61783280/