An animated journey

PUSHING for an animation industry in Baguio and the entire country has given the Cordillera School of Digitals Arts (CSDA) a colorful journey over a decade of lessons learned by paving the path to where we are today.

With a mission to be the leading digital arts school that is relevant, innovative and team driven.

At the helm of operations, CSDA president, Raul Boncan attributes success of the school to its core values of excellence committing to comply with the highest training and assessment system, uncompromising quality through the utilization of the most efficient and effective operational procedures.

Boncan relays competition and capital as the foremost challenges an animation project entails in the country starting in 2007 when the prospect of the industry was young and the prospect of success was unsure.

Boncan began the school with no on going studios in Baguio and offering quality education and a career in the animation industry which was viewed as a foreign prospect, unreachable to local animators.

Starting with 15 CSDA animators who gambled on their first project, the team was born and from there, the start of something big began, testing character and thriving with the promise of better days.

Boncan operated the business hinged on morals and business ethics capitalizing on market trends, new management ideas and steering the films in Philippine cinema to be conducted in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The Mindanao leg will be on February 20 at the Surigao State College of Technology, Surigao City, Surigao del Norte.

The Altamarino-Clasio High School in Camarines Sur will hold the Pili Arts Festival from February 20 to 24, which will comprise a four-day workshop on photography to be facilitated by Shalla Montero and on indie/documentary filmmaking to be facilitated by Riza Zuniga, and presentation of a 15minute play directed by Jec Guia. Performance Laboratory and Teatrokon will hold the Kuris Theater Fesival from February 22 to 25 with simultaneous theater performances, dramaturgy and play development workshops and readathon in Bacolod City and other places in Negros Occidental.

The University of the East-Recto will hold its own National Arts Month Celebration with “Ugnayan sa Sayaw” on February 23, and on the last week of proofs, with sworn evidence to back your stories. Once I've picked the finest men in Athens, I'll return. They'll rule fairly in this case, bound by a sworn oath to act with justice.” ~ Aeschylus, Eumenides “Law reflects but in no sense determines the moral worth of a society. The values of a reasonably just society will reflect themselves in a reasonably just law. The better the society, the less law there will be. In heaven there will be no law, and the lion shall lie down with the lamb. The values of an unjust society will reflect themselves in an unjust law. The worse the society, the more law there will be. In hell there will be nothing but law, and due process will be meticulously observed.” ~ Grant Gilmore, The Ages of American Law “This must have been how it all began with team with encouragement and innovation.

In 2008, the school landed a training project with the first all-digital Filipino produced movie called Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalya in time for the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

In 2010, CSDA was adjudged as a finalist in the Animihenasyon Film Festival held at the Ateneo de Naga, properly pitting the Baguiobased talents to the same level with: the College of St. Benilde (La Salle), Ateneo de Naga, Ateneo de Zamboanga and iAcademy, an achievement for an upstart training institution to lock horns with well-established colleges and universities.

In 2012, CSDA focused competency based training and the revamped school training systems and expanded strategies to include other in demand course under Design and Technology Programs which covers Creative Media Arts, Animation and Design and Game Development to train students in the current best practices and be taught by actual industry practitioners and not mere theorists.

In 2013, CSDA partnered with High Schools and Universities to train for K+12 requirements in the Visual Arts programs, and is also a supporter and player to the One Asean Initiative by becoming a pilot institution that will provide actual internships to member countries under the Asean Economic Community programs.

Today CSDAis an established animation school with a partner animation studio, Xentrix Toons, Inc. with a steady flow of animators working on foreign TV series projects. the month, Sininglangan Ball Pen Art Competition and performances of UE performing groups.

In Bais City, Negros Oriental, the first Mugna sa Pantawan will be held on February 24, an on-thespot painting contest for all art enthusiasts in Negros Island to tap potential artists to represent the country in Korea.

LAHAT Community Empowerment will hold PeacePond Art Festival from February 24 to 26 at the Plastic Bottle Learning Center in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental. It will involve a series of activities on music (drum clinic), cinema (film screening), dramatic (teen acting workshop) and visual arts (art exhibit).

Bataan will hold its own National Arts Month celebration on February 27 and 28 at the Bataan Tourism Center to promote the Bataeños' creativity and passion for culture and the arts.

(to be continued) • • • • • • • • Chymes," sighed Jack. "A small omission on one case, an ‘embellishment' on the next. The question is not about what's best but what's right. Chymes had confused the two and compromised notonly his own integrity but that of the police—and the due process of law.” ~ Jasper Fforde “It's a very frightening time when something as basic as due process is seen as somehow radical.” ~ John Cusack “Indictments of any kind are serious. That being said, let's not forget that an indictment is not a conviction. We still have due process in this country.” ~ Rob Simmons “The future which we hold in trust for our own children will be shaped by our fairness to other people's children.” ~ Marian Wright Edelman “Companies that are willing to share, to withhold in order to further the growth of the company, willing to try to get a better atmosphere through a demonstration of democratic principles, fairness and cooperation, a better product, those will win in the end.” ~ E. O. Wilson “I think perfect objectivity is an unrealistic goal; fairness, however, is not.” ~ Michael Pollan “Some people believe that fairness comes with obeying the rules. I'm one of those people.” ~ Al Green “Yes, the Bible should be taught in our schools because it is necessary to understand the Bible if we are to truly understand our own culture and how it came to be. The Bible has influenced every part of western culture from our art, music, and history, to our sense of fairness, charity, and business.” ~ Joel Osteen “Fairness is what justice really is.” ~ Potter Stewart “It's just better to promote love and fairness and equality than it is to promote something you think is based on your (religious) beliefs.” ~ Jane Wiedlin “We are all different. Yet we are all God's children. We are all united behind this country and the common cause of freedom, justice, fairness, and equality. That is what unites us.” ~ Barbara Boxer “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” ~ Amos 5:24 NIV “The LORD detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights. Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people." ~ Proverbs 11:1-3 gram, projects and activities as programmed and that further authorization by the sanggunian is not required for appropriations with specific purpose as decided in the case of Quisimbing vs. Garcia, G.R. No. 175527. But the council stood firm and approved the Committee Report of Committee on Laws Chairman Councilor Faustino Olowan to override the said veto. Olowan specified that what is of importance is the rationale behind the action of the council reducing the amount for Environment/Sanitary Services account in the Office of the GSO. The legislative intent is to have all contracts for garbage hauling and tipping to be submitted to the council for confirmation. He added that removing a portion of the said account is an indication that the council did not fully authorize the expenditure specifically for garbage and tipping fees and what was authorize was only the amount as appearing in the budget. With the override, the ordinance will still retain the provisions that all garbage hauling and tipping fees be subjected to contracts and the same be submitted to the City Council for confirmation and all contracts entered into by the City Mayor in the amount of Five Hundred Thousand Pesos and above shall also pass by the council for confirmation. Olowan stressed that the said provisions will be for transparency in approving agreements.

All members present voted in favor of the override except for Councilors Elaine Sembrano and Edgar Avila who were out during the voting and Councilor Roberto Ortega who has a prior commitment and wasn’t able to attend the regular session.