It’s Hip to Be Square

Cube your fun quotient with The Boxtrolls and SpongeBob SquarePants, plus DC’s Throne of Atlantis, Tom & Jerry’s latest and the must-see Studio Ghibli documentary. By Mercedes Milligan.

Last fall, LAIKA’s third stop-motion feature proved once again that there is room for all types of animation on the box-office charts. Painstakingly hand-crafted and augmented with inventive cinematography, stereoscopics and seamless CG elements combined with a unique story plucked from Alan Snow’s Here Be Monsters! helped win over audiences and earned the neo-Victorian fantasy a 13-strong majority of Annie Awards nom- inations. Directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi, the film centers on a young boy raised by the misunderstood Boxtrolls who, with the help of a plucky little rich girl, infiltrates the surface world to face off with a power-hungry exterminator to save his unconventional family.

Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning, Sir Ben Kingsley and Jared Harris lead the voice cast, which also includes Toni Collette, Richard Ayoade, Nick Frost, Tracy Morgan and Simon Pegg. Special features include behind-the-scenes looks at voice world with our own may be drifter Arthur Curry, a man with strange powers. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman et al must fend off the warmongering Orm, an army of sea creatures, otherworldly weapons and perilous odds with the help of superheroic newcomer Aquaman — voiced by Matt Lanter ( Star Wars: The Clone Wars).

Directed by Ethan Spaulding ( Avatar: The Last Airbender) with dialog direction by Andrea Romano, Atlantis also features the voices of Sam Witwer (Orm), Jason O’Mara (Batman), Christopher Gorham

If you’re looking for a guiding light on your studio’s journey, you could do worse than turn to Pixar co-founder and current DisneyPixar president Ed Catmull. Written for managers looking to inspire their teams to new creative heights, Catmull has created a manual for those striving for originality, handing you the keys to create working environments that allow inventiveness and talent to shine. Delving into the nerve center of Pixar — into the meetings, postmortems and brain-trust sessions where some of the world’s most successful films are fine-tuned — Catmull leads you by example toward the clearest path to fostering a creative culture.

If that creepy Second Life documentary didn’t scare you off the topic of virtual worlds forever, this brand-new offering from awardwinning, 20-year veteran of virtual environment design Cudworth is a comprehensive look at the subject and principles. The 400-plus-page book explores the intertwining of 2D graphics, 3D models, lighting, sound and storytelling, and illustrates how these elements come together to create accessible virtual environments for teaching, research and entertain-

Year

$1,900 per

Michal

Year-

4 times

Provo, UT animation.byu.edu Phone: (801) 422-8773 E-mail: sonya_schiffman@byu. edu Degrees/Certificates offered: BFA in Animation, Computer Science BA with Animation Emphasis, BFA in Illustration with Concept Design Emphasis Number of students in animation program: 75 Cost of program: $2,425 per semester for LDS students; $4,850 per semester for non LDS students Head of animation & admissions: Kelly Loosli Time of year offered: ter schedule, Fall start Application deadline: June Equipment: Multiple labs running 2D and 3D software on workstation grade machines; traditional animation lab; screening room. San Francisco | Oakland, CA cca.edu Phone: (510) 594-3600; (800) 447-1ART E-mail: ndahl@cca.edu School of Film/Video Valencia, CA calarts.edu Phone: (661) 255-1050 Fax: (661) 253-7710 E-mail: admissions@calarts.edu Degrees/Certificates offered: BFA and Certificate in Character Animation. BFA, MFA, Certificate and Advanced Certificate in Experimental Animation Number of students in ani- mation program: Character Animation: 170, Experimental Animation: 86 Cost of program: $41,700 Head of animation: Maija Burnett (Character Anim.); Maureen Furniss (Experimental Anim.) Head of admissions: Molly Ryan Time of year offered: ber through May Application deadline: Preferred deadline: December. Regular deadline: January. See website. Equipment available: Equipment Cage offers a range of film and video equipment, from underwater camera systems to portable digital stop-motion kits, allowing students to shoot on the school’s production stages, in front of a green-screen, at home or on location. The Equipment Cage features video and film cameras, lighting kits, microphones, digital sound recorders, stereoscopic systems and video installation equipment. School facilities also include 2D and 3D animation computer labs, stopmotion shooting stages, sound recording and mix theaters, a digital image/compositing lab, multimedia lab, an installation gallery space, production sound stages and post-production editing facilities. Northridge, CA csun.edu Phone: (818) 677-1200 Redwood City, CA canadacollege.edu/multimedia Phone: (650) 306-3330 E-mail: naasp@smccd.edu Cleveland, OH cia.edu Phone: (216) 421-7000 E-mail: admissions@cia.edu Sunnyvale, CA cogswell.edu Phone: (800) 264-7955 E-mail: admissions@cogswell. edu Santa Clarita, CA canyons.edu Phone: (661) 259-7800 Chicago, IL game.colum.edu Phone: (312) 369-7750 E-mail: admissions@colum.edu Columbus, OH ccad.edu Phone: (614) 224-9101 E-mail: admissions@ccad.edu Chicago, IL www.cdm.depaul.edu Phone: (312) 362-8714 Fax: (312) 362-5185 E-mail: admission@cdm.depaul. edu Degrees/Certificates offered: BA Animation, BFA Animation, BFA Animation - Game Art concentration, MA Animation, MA Animation - Technical Artist concentration MFA Animation Number of students in animation program: 270 Cost of program: Undergradu- ate full-time tuition: $33,390 per year Head of animation: Roberts Head of admissions: Liz Friedman Time of year offered: round Application deadline: Contact Admissions (312) 362-8714 Equipment available: 50+ Cintiq workstations in Animation labs. Hand-drawn: Adobe Creative Cloud, Flash and Toon Boom. 3D: Maya, Motionbuilder, Mudbox, Zbrush and Unity, Stop Motion lab with DSLRs and Dragonframe, OptiTrak motion capture studio, motion control and green-screen studios. Redmond, WA digipen.edu Phone: (866) 478-5236 Fax: (425) 558-0378 E-mail: admissions@digipen. edu Degrees/Certificates offered: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, BS Computer Science and Game Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Art and Animation, BA Game Design Number of students in animation program: 239 currently enrolled as of December 2014. Cost of program: $106,240 Head of animation: Jazno Francoeur Head of admissions: Danial Powers Time of year offered: Fall, Spring, and Summer. Students begin fall semester. Application deadline: Applications close about a week before fall semester begins Equipment available: .NET Framework, Active Pearl, Active State Python, Adobe CS5, Anvil Studio, AppInventor, Audacity, Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suite, Blender, Borland Turbo C++, Carapace, CMake,

Christine

Fall and

Fall/

45 days

Los Angeles, CA smorgasbord.tenzeroseven. com/class Phone: (213) 925-9918 E-mail: projects@smorgasbordproductions.com Degrees/Certificates offered: Educational classroom experience that trains beginning to advanced artists while creating an original animated group project that rewards participants with industry experience, credits and the possibility of film festival awards and on-going paid jobs in the industry! Number of students in animation program: 10 Cost of program: $900 for 12 week program, 3 hour classes meet once a week. Head of animation/admissions: Dahveed Kolodny-Nagy Time of year offered: Ongoing Application deadline: Ongoing Equipment available: Drawing materials, Adobe Creative Suite, Flash CS6 and After Effects. Wacom Penabled Laptops will be available for rent during class. Los Angeles, CA studioarts.com Phone: (323) 227-8776 E-mail: office@studioarts.com Department of Visualization College Station, TX viz.arch.tamu.edu Phone: (979) 845-3465 E-mail: vizinfo@viz.tamu.edu Philadelphia, PA uarts.edu Phone: (215) 717-6049, (800) 616-ARTS E-mail: admissions@uarts.edu Animation Workshop Los Angeles, CA animation.filmtv.ucla.edu School of Visual Arts & Design Orlando, FL svad.cah.ucf.edu Phone: (407) 823-2676 Fax: (407) 823-6470 E-mail: svadadvising@ucf.edu John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts Los Angeles, CA cinema.usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-3986 Fax: (213) 740-5869 E-mail: dsigismondi@cinema. usc.edu St. Louis, MO webster.edu Phone: (800) 981-9801 E-mail: admissions@webster. edu Degrees/Certificates offered: B.A. in Animation, Minor in Ani- mation Production, and Certificate in Animation Production Number of students in animation program: 65 Cost of program: $24,500 Head of animation: Chris Sagovac Head of admissions: Andrew Laue Time of year offered: round Application deadline: 1 Equipment available: Software: Maya, Toon Boom, ZBrush, Dragonframe and all Adobe Products. Studios and Equipment: 24 hour animation lab with PC computers and Cintiq 22HD Touch drawing stations. Drawing lab with light tables and animation discs. 24 hour animation suite with animation production stands, PC pencil test workstations and a stop motion area. The Media Center offers equipment for overnight check out ranging from DSLR cameras and lighting to Wacom tablets and stop motion armatures. Burbank, CA woodbury.edu/mcd Phone: (818) 252-5149 Fax: (818) 394-3305 E-mail: dori.littell-herrick@woodbury.edu Degrees/Certificates offered: Bachelor of Fine Arts Number of students in animation program: 60 Cost of program: $34,440 Head of animation: Dori LittellHerrick Head of admissions: Ashraf (Ash) Zawaideh Time of year offered: Spring semesters Application deadline: Rolling Equipment available: Students engage in interdisciplinary projects with the departments of Filmmaking, Game Art & Design and Media Technology, sharing state-of-the-art computer labs, stop-motion and live-action stu- dios. Dedicated studio space for junior and senior years. North Vancouver, BC www.gradshow.com Phone: (604) 983-7516 Fax: (604) 990-7867 E-mail: anim@capilanou.ca Vancouver, BC thecdm.ca Phone: (778) 370-1001 Fax: (778) 370-1020 E-mail: admissions@thecdm.ca Degrees/Certificates offered: Master of Digital Media program Number of students in animation program: 55 Cost of program: $35,951.24 Head of animation: Richard Smith Head of admissions: Yasmeen Awadh Time of year offered: ber Application deadline: ary 15 Universite de Quebec a Chicoutimi Montreal, QC centrenad.com Phone: (418) 545-5011, (800) 463-9880 E-mail: info@centrenad.com Sudbury, ON collegeboreal.ca Phone: (705) 560-6673, (800) 361-6673 E-mail: info@collegeboreal.ca

Vancouver, BC ecuad.ca Phone: (604) 844-3800, (800) 832-7788 E-mail: admissions@ecuad.ca Toronto, ON maxthemutt.com Phone: (416) 703-6877; (877) 486-MUTT E-mail: info@maxthemutt.com Toronto, ON senecacollege.ca Phone: (416) 491-5050 E-mail: admissions@senecacollege.ca Oakville, ON sheridancollege.ca Phone: (905) 845-9430 E-mail: infosheridan@sheridancollege.ca North Vancouver, BC tttc.ca Phone: (604) 990-8265, (888) 990-8265 E-mail: info@tttc.ca Vancouver, BC, Canada vanas.ca Phone: (604) 612-1171 E-mail: info@vanas.ca Degrees/Certificates offered: Concept Art 3D Character Animation Matte Painting Number of students in anima- tion program: Cost of program: $14,900 Head of animation: Mario Pochat Head of admissions: Leduc Time of year offered: ter, Spring, Summer Application deadline: Winter, Spring, Summer Equipment available: Computers, Online Campus, Cintiqs Vancouver, BC vfs.edu Phone: (604) 685-5830, (800) 661-4104 E-mail: admissions@vfs.com Vancouver, BC, Canada vanarts.com Phone: (604) 682-2787 E-mail: info@vanarts.com Degrees/Certificates offered: 2D Character Animation 3D Character Animation Visual Effects for Film and TV Game Art and Design Plus many more... Number of students in animation program: 20 Cost of program: CAD Head of animation: Wayne Gilbert Head of admissions: Shane Moore Time of year offered: September Application deadline: admissions Equipment available: Maya and ToonBoom Harmony, Yiynova tablets, fully equipped working animation studio. Each student has their own workstation for full year. London, U.K. animationapprentice.org E-mail: info@animationapprentice.org Viborg, Denmark animwork.dk Phone: ?? E-mail: taw@viauc.dk Degrees/Certificates offered: Bachelor of Animation in Character Animation and CG Arts Bachelor of Graphic Storytelling Number of students in animation program: 50 Cost of program: Tuition: approx. $16,600 per year. Materials fee: approx. $4,000 per year Head of animation: General director Morten Thorning Head of admissions: Director of the Bachelor Education Michelle Nardone Time of year offered: Summer Application deadline: March 15 Equipment available: Animation drawing board, various pencils and paper, various text books and readers, sketch books, peg bars, and the use of Maya, various Adobe programs, printers, Wacom boards etc. Bournemouth, U.K. aucb.ac.uk Phone: +44 1202-533-011 E-mail: hello@aub.ac.uk Ireland bcfe.ie Phone: 00353 1 6269421 E-mail: info@bcfe.cdetb.ie Degrees/Certificates offered: Certificate in Animation Drawing Studies, HND in Classical and Computer Animation, HND in illustration, HND in Graphic Design, BA(Hons) in Visual Media (Animation), BA(Hons) in Visual Media (Game Design) Number of students in animation program: 180 Cost of program: $950.00 - $3,400 depending on program. $4,400 for entrants from outside EU Head of animation: Head of admissions: Ms. Ciara Bell Time of year offered: ber through May Application deadline: Check the website. Equipment available: Fully equipped 3D studios, fully equipped traditional animation studios. Life Drawing rooms, digital studios equipped with the latest animation software, Adobe Creative Suite, Autodesk Suite, CelAction. FUlly equipped TV studio, green-screen capability, recording/editing equipment, pencil test room, stop-motion equipment. Lyon, France bellecour.fr Phone: +33 (4) 7892-9283 E-mail: info@bellecour.fr

Montevideo, Uruguay biosportal.com Phone: +598 2719-3373 E-mail: edco@bios.edu.uy Santiago, Chile duoc.cl Phone: 800-215-001 E-mail: duoc@duoc.cl School of Communications & Design Montevideo, Uruguay ort.edu.uy Phone: +598 2902-1505 Mexico City, Mexico westbridge.edu.mx Phone: +52 1328-1818 E-mail: rp@westbridge.edu.mx Johannesburg, South Africa learn3d.co.za Phone: +27 (411) 326-1520 E-mail: info@learn3d.co.za Degrees/Certificates offered: 2D Concept Design & Animation, 3D Architectural & Design/Visualization, 3D Animation & Visual Effects, Games Development Number of students in animation program: 15 Cost of program: USD $5,100 Head of animation/admissions: Gustavo Corrêa Time of year offered: Full year Application deadline: January Equipment available: Windows PCs, Wacom tablets, motion capture suite, Oculus Rift New York, NY 3dtraining.com Phone: (877) 746-4338 E-mail: info@3dtraining.com Seattle, WA aniamtionatelier.com E-mail: tony@animaticus.com Degrees/Certificates offered: Foundation Certificate in Animation. Will also provide Certificate graduates with a unique opportunity to apprentice on real projects with top professionals. Number of students in animation program: N/A - opening summer 2015 Cost of program: $1,500 Head of animation/admissions: Tony White Application deadline: round Equipment available: Online program requires students to have access to their own minimal equipment - such as drawing board, ToonBoom Studio & Photoshop software, etc. Emeryville, CA animationmentor.com Phone: (877) 326-4628 E-mail: admissions@animationmentor.com Van Nuys, CA 2d.cgmasteracademy.com E-mail: info@cgmwonline.com Degrees/Certificates offered: Certificate of completion. Number of students in animation program: 500+ Cost of program: $799/class Head of animation: Sophie Hamel Head of admissions: Garcia Time of year offered: Quarterly Application deadline: See website for details Oklahoma City, OK www.digitaltutors.com Phone: (405) 601-4806 E-mail: info@digitaltutors.com www.td-u.com Phone: (614) 657-6715 E-mail: headmasters@td-u.com Degrees/Certificates offered: Course completion certificates upon request Number of students in animation program: 200 Cost of program: $599 for eight week workshops, $449 for five week workshops Head of animation/admission: Michael Tanzillo/Jasmine Katatikarn Time of year offered: Round Equipment available: For lighting, compositing, and texture painting courses, we offer a free student license of the Arnold renderer for the duration of the course and a discounted package of software from the Foundry (Nuke, Mari, Moto, and Hiero).