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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, January 18, 2013 · 22 Students enjoy program despite heavy workload Continued from page 21 spent three weeks in Beijing where they presented the film. At that time, the schools also started on a new series of films. The in-school internship is a busy one for students. They have a limited amount of time to complete one film before they begin another. Animated films are drawn object-by-object, frame-by-frame and incorporated into the layered film. Despite a rush to finish, last summer's inschool intern students were excited to be part of the project. "Everyone has their own thing that they love. If you love it, you work on it as hard as you can," said one collaborator, Brandon Cheong. Another student, Kim Newton, said the hard work is worth it for the end result. "I'm here for the love of art and creating something and seeing it move on the screen. To bring something to life is exciting," she said. Cheong acknowledged he had a hard time getting into the program originally. He went to a high school that was high on academics and not on art, which made it difficult for him. "I had to try a couple of times before I got accepted into the program," he said. There are some things students can do to improve their odds of getting accepted. Cheong took Sheridan College's one-year Art mashutaha: Pictured is a screenshot from the film Mashutaha, produced by Sheridan College animation students during their in-school internship last summer. Fundamentals program, which introduces students to various arts. It also eases the application process as students get a chance to build and improve their portfolios. There may be other roadblocks for students as well. Tuition is deregulated for the program so it is higher than the standard university tuition rate in Ontario. However, Stukator said, this pays for the hardware and software that students gain access to. It also pays for such things as bringing in horses to the campus for the students to draw. The students also go on excursions. Furthermore, this is a degree program, not a college diploma course as Animation switched formats in 2003. There were a number of reasons for the change, Stukator said. "It is now a kind-of standard of education to have a bachelor's degree. We did it also to allow students to have further pathways after graduation. They can go to graduate school, get a Master's degree, or they could go into Teacher's College," she said. "(Also) it became very difficult after 9/11 to secure visas and having a degree eases the process of securing a visa to work internationally." Stukator said after second year, students work mostly in 2D, but have the option to make films in traditional cartoon, 2D, 3D or stop motion. However, the school has been adding more 3D courses into program in recent years as there has been a boom in the film industry. "The innovation and artistry of 3D has been evolving over the last decade or so and the possibilities are endless," she said. "I don't think 2D will ever die. It's labour intensive. It's a different aesthetic and we really do try and make the students understand the style is inexplicably bound to the story you're telling." Sheridan is known for its strong 2D program, but as the industry changes more and more to 3D, Stukator said Sheridan will evolve too. "As we evolve, and we're always evolving, and more 3D films are made, I anticipate we'll be known for excellence in 3D animation." To help the animation program stay up-todate, the animation faculty hold their Program Advisory Committees at least twice a year. They include members of the industry. Aside from the two meetings, there is constant dialogue between faculty and the industry all year round. Sheridan also offers further opportunities to its students when they complete the animation program. The school has several eight-month, post-grad certificate programs. They are computer animation, digital character animation, and digital visual effects. While the animation program touches on all of these, these certificate programs allow students to specialize in those skills even further. To help the students deal with their heavy workloads, production studios are available to students in third and fourth years to work on their film projects. They stay open until 2 a.m. Graduates also end up in major video game studios, including Electronic Arts, Microsoft Games Studio and Blizzard. However, the school has launched its bachelor of applied arts in game design program this past September. Stukator said this won't result in changes to the current animation program, but there may be a shift in enrolment as students interested in game design will likely apply for the new program. bignamessmalltheatre T H E O A K V I L L E C E N T R E F O R T H E P E R F O R M I N G A R T S Paradiso Restaurant presents THE NUMBER 14 Friday January 25, 2013 "Delightful, dazzling, brilliant...astounding! This bus ride is so exhilarating that you don't really care where you get off." ~ New York Daily News Oakville Nissan presents PETER & THE WOLF Sunday January 27, 2013 "...a stunningly picturesque and musical play that brings young audiences into deep connection with the wonders of music." ~ KEVIN BRUCE, kbamonline.com "As we evolve, and we're always evolving, and more 3D films are made, I anticipate we'll be known for excellence in 3D animation." Angela Stukator, associate dean Department of Animation and Game Design Oakville Infiniti presents PEGGY BAKER Saturday February 9, 2013 "Like fine wine, she gets better with age... today her dancing embraces the power of stillness and the resonance of silence." ~ MICHAEL CRABB, National Post Dan Cooper presents CARLOS DEL JUNCO & THE BLUES MONGROLS Saturday February 16, 2013 "Really outstanding. Carlos is happening!" ~ CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE All performances are at THE OAKVILLE CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS To order tickets call: 905-815-2021 or go to www.oakvillecentre.ca About five years ago, the program introduced stop-motion classes. Even though it's more of an introductory course, with puppetry basics and puppet-making classes, it has gained momentum quickly and is already highly regarded. Instructor Chris Walsh oversees the fourthyear final student films and specializes in stopmotion animation. He said there are opportunities for graduating students in the stop-motion industry as major films and TV series are constantly coming out. "It's a specialized form of animation," he said. "When there is a production and you're trained in it, your odds are good for being hired because you are specialized." Sheridan grads have gone on to work at some major studios on stop-motion productions, perhaps among the biggest of players is Laika. The studio has released such films as Coraline and, recently, ParaNorman. "We've had graduates walk right out of this room in fourth year to making a film to Laika and other major feature film studios. They have the skills to get themselves in the door and then they continue to learn from there," Walsh said.