By Rachel Reyna
This past spring, the School of Animation & Visual Effects (ANM) opened its virtual doors to Academy students and the public to learn more about the department’s top-tier program during their Inside StudioX event. Hosted by 3D ANM Executive Director Catherine Tate, Inside StudioX highlighted the different courses offered and provided a look inside a live StudioX classroom.
“StudioX is our premier program. It’s all-inclusive,” Tate explained at the top of the event. “Every student who comes to [the Academy] in the animation and visual effects department, we encourage you to take StudioX. It is the part of the program that provides practical, hands-on experience in a real-world environment, similar to working in professional studios.”
Tate, in collaboration with ANM faculty, launched the StudioX program 15 years ago with the goal of students getting that rare hands-on experience while still in school and preparing them for real-world scenarios after they depart the Academy.
“We want you to feel comfortable going into a studio. We consider it our bridge program,” said Tate. “Generally, when people graduate college, they still don’t have those hands-on experiences, that collaborative experience of working in a team. And this is what StudioX is in terms of how it’s set up. It’s class-based, so every class in every area assembles the studio, and each of those classes has an industry professional mentoring the students and getting the work to finish to a professional level.”
Tate introduced the various classes that StudioX offers, including VFX Compositing, 2D Short Film, Stop Motion, and Story Development. Each StudioX course exists within a production pipeline, allowing students to collaborate on projects across genres and skill levels. Students have the opportunity to grow into leadership roles, just like in a real studio. Often, those who have been a part of StudioX longer serve as mentors for newcomers.
“I worked at IBM for 12 years. I worked for Framestore in London. I’ve been here at the Academy for almost 20 years, mainly. Most of it was building the studio with my colleagues and teaching and dealing with curriculum, and now I’m the director of the department, but I teach the VFX compositing class, and we also run that in the summer,” shared Tate. “For those of you who don’t know, compositing is the base of the last part of the pipeline where you put everything together: the computer-generated elements, the green screen, and dynamics. You put it together into one environment, and that’s what I focus on, and that’s what the compositing class focuses on.”
Tate stressed the importance of students working in a pipeline where they commit to a specific role in a larger production, where all hands are on deck to contribute different moving parts. One of the main goals of StudioX is to have students in artistic collaboration with one another. Tate explained that 3D students often collaborate on projects of all kinds, including with those who specialize in 2D film.
“2D Short Film is a wonderful class taught by Daisy Church,” said Tate. “As a StudioX class, it’s independent and the students create several short films during one semester, and it’s really been wonderful to see the things that can be created in one semester.”
Tate introduced Stop Motion, a class taught by ANM Stop Motion Lead Aaron Guadamuz that focuses on stop-motion set building and character sculpting. The Stop Motion program at the Academy is one-of-a-kind and the place to be as stop-motion animation becomes increasingly popular.
“The stop-motion class is fun, and we actually worked with them, too, on a project called ‘Gonzo Girl,’ directed by Patricia Arquette,” said Tate. “Aaron Guadamuz is the instructor, and he is awesome. They have made the most fun, cool stuff, and I highly recommend [the class].”
The Story Development class is for those interested in developing a project’s storyline, including aspiring writers.
“Story development classes run in the fall and spring, and those classes deal with pre-production, the beginning of the pipeline, like how to get a story to the point where you can make it a real project,” explained Tate.
After reviewing StudioX class offerings, Tate showcased some of the previous projects worked on by StudioX students. Several StudioX projects have been screened at major film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, and received major accolades.
“‘American Murder’ with Idina Menzel and Ryan Phillippe, ‘Strawberry Mansion,’ ‘I’m No Longer Here,’ which we were nominated for visual effects, an Aerial Award in Mexico for Best Visual Effects. We were proud of that because it wasn’t a student nomination. It was actually just a proper nomination. And that’s on Netflix right now,” said Tate
Attendees also had the opportunity to sit in on a live StudioX class over Zoom that was in session. Students were presenting dailies—raw and unedited film or animation footage. The classroom consisted of students who were physically on campus, as well as students who were logged in from other parts of the country. Of note, StudioX is open to all Academy students, regardless of major, both in person and virtually. Students introduced themselves while fixing aspects of their shots, such as color, adjusting track sounds, and fine-tuning small details.
Above all, StudioX prioritizes a fun and safe workspace where students can grow and be in community with those around them.
“We like nice people and with very little drama and just do the work in a safe environment where you’re still learning, and you can fall flat on your face, and you’re going to be okay, and we’ll pick you back up, and we’ll figure out how to move you forward,” said Tate. “This is a special hidden gem that the Academy of Art University has that can get students ready for the real world.”