Tuesday, June 7, 2011

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/


Tuesday, May 31, 2011

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

Saturday, May 21, 2011

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.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

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/

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

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/

Monday, May 16, 2011

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/

Saturday, May 14, 2011

CONNECTIONS

In our continuing effort to develop collaboration between online students and between online students and the San Francisco campuses, we're rolling out several new ways to network.

AAU ANM/VFX Online Student Reps

Here are your current student reps. Get to know them. They can connect you with advice or advisors in order to make the most of your online education. They are passionate about helping their fellow BFA or MFA candidates! Welcome them to their new roles!
Flaminia Grimaldi (BFA Online)
maarna@gmail.com

Andrew Laverty (BFA Online)
lavertyandrew@gmail.com

Lutz Wong (MFA Online)
lutzwong@yahoo.com

AAU ANM/VFX Twitter Feed

We're providing channel access to select faculty, executive student production staff, and your online student representation to keep you abreast of department events as they happen. Follow us at:

aau_anm_onl

AAU ANM/VFX Production Office

Come hang out with your student reps and discuss collaborative projects. This office serves to host student groups comprised of mixtures of online-only and hybrid students. The AAU ANM/VFX Executive Production Team meets here, finding ways to involve online candidates with collaborative projects. Contact Executive Producer, Lutz Wong (lutzwong@yahoo.com) for more information.

Check out the office at the following url:

https://live4.academyart.edu/anmvfxoffice

Bookmark this information... because this fall, we plan to roll out the 498s, collaborative project-based classes that will bring BFA candidates thesis-quality material to their reels. In order to accommodate these new classes, we'll need to iron out our workflow. Connection is just the beginning.

Let's start building a network.

If you're graduating, connect with your faculty and your colleagues via LinkedIN. Questions? Send email to Director, Vince De Quattro (vdequattro@academyart.edu).

AAU MFA Grad Wins Emmy!

The Animation and Visual Effects Department at the Academy of Art University would like to congratulate AAU MFA Graduate, Ting Tey, as she was named among the winners of the 32nd Annual College Television Awards hosted by ATAS, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which also hosts the Emmys for the professional craft.

Please find more information here:

http://www.emmys.com/articles/mary-lynn-rajskub-24-hosts-college-television-awards

Nickelodeon Portfolio Advice

Thanks again to Nickelodeon presenters, Josilin Torrano and Ashley Morley, the Academic Outreach department at Nick, and AAU staffers Paula Criss, Jason Shaeffer and Erica Westbrook for their contributions to the project.

Industry On Campus is an ongoing series of guest lectures and presentations delivered by artists and designers in today's professional workplace. For several years we have attempted to record these presentations for our online-only candidates, so that they may benefit from current trends in the marketplace.

Last week our hard work paid off! Nickelodeon (MTV) agreed to record their on-campus presentation for us, and I hope you find it as interesting as we did! If you are an animator, focusing on traditional or digital character animation, story development or visual development, the attached recording is a must-see!

This is just the beginning of Online Industry on Campus events! There will be more to come!

https://live4.academyart.edu/p11152748

Digital Tutors

AAU has entered into a partnership with Digital Tutors. There are approximately ten one-hour concurrent licenses available for AAU student use.

If you haven't already taken advantage of this offer, enroll at the following url using your Academy email address:

http://www.digitaltutors.com/group/login.php?g=rgrslisksfsslslslplmrr

For more information and for general AAU Library resources developed for the ANM/VFX Department, click here:

http://elmo.academyart.edu/reference-help/subject-guides/animation.php#online

Thursday, May 5, 2011

LIVE Producer's Workshop

Join the ANM/VFX Production Workshop every Tuesday and Friday from 10AM to 11AM PDT to discuss collaborative production management, workflows, professional readiness, and industry news with your colleagues, both onsite and online.

We will be conducting the workshop via Director De Quattro's online office, URL below:

http://online.academyart.edu/onlinechat/vdequattro

If you are considering the position of Animation or Visual Effects Producer (Production Assistant, Production Coordinator and Producer) or if you are planning to conduct an MFA collaborative thesis project, or if you'd like to coordinate a BFA Thesis Collaborative, please join us.

No materials or pre-requisites required. You may wish to get a web-cam so we can see your smiling face.

For more information, please contact MFA Candidate and Executive Producer, Lutz Wong, (ccdrknrgy@yahoo.com) or Director Vince De Quattro (vdequattro@academyart.edu).

Never miss a workshop! We are recording workshop highlights for your convenience.

May 10, 2011
https://live4.academyart.edu/p91013115/

May 6, 2011
https://live4.academyart.edu/p96248910/

May 3, 2011, Parts 1 and 2
https://live4.academyart.edu/p70834505/
https://live4.academyart.edu/p73584780/

April 29, 2011
https://live4.academyart.edu/p95563716/

April 25, 2011, Parts 1 and 2
https://live4.academyart.edu/p27302628/
https://live4.academyart.edu/p70536951/
April 22, 2011, Parts 1 and 2
https://live4.academyart.edu/p72063842/
https://live4.academyart.edu/p13506986/

April 25, 2011, Parts 1 and 2

https://live4.academyart.edu/p27302628/
https://live4.academyart.edu/p70536951/

April 29, 2011, Part 1
https://live4.academyart.edu/p95563716/

May 3, 2011, Parts 1 and 2
https://live4.academyart.edu/p70834505/

IANV Notes:
https://live4.academyart.edu/p73584780/