A group of metro Atlanta educators has teamed with a top Hollywood animation software firm in a pilot project that marries animation technology to physics, English and other core subjects.
The goal? Creating future animators from students who’ve been weaned on computers, are adept at Xbox, iPad and IOS, and aren’t satisfied with just reading about how something works.
The program would become the model for all Georgia schools if it is greenlighted by the state Department of Education.
“This is an exciting opportunity,” said Carol Burke, a DOE program specialist. “I anticipate we’ll see more film-related (career) pathways grow because of the growth of the industry in the state. They’re feeding directly into the needs of business and industry who are saying, ‘We need animators.’”
Teachers at two Fayette County high schools are developing the interdisciplinary curriculum and will be trained on animation software by Toon Boom, a Montreal-based animation software company whose products have created more than 70 percent of the Saturday morning cartoons, as well as “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “Sponge Bob.”
Clayton State University’s Center for Continuing Education is overseeing the project.
“It has huge implications because we’re creating a new career pathway in animation … at the high school level,” said Janet Winkler, executive director of Clayton State’s Continuing Education Center, who spends a good bit of her time getting schools and workers aligned with the needs of business and industry.
Before that happens, students and teachers at Sandy Creek High School and Whitewater High School will spend the better part of next year working out the details of the plan and trying it out in the classroom before presenting it to the Georgia Department of Education for approval.
Nine teachers in business, broadcasting, English, physics, graphic arts and CTAE are involved in the project.
The idea grew out of Winkler’s work with the Georgia Entertainment Media (GEM) Work-Ready Region, a commission that looked at ways to train more Georgians for jobs in the entertainment industry. That involvement led to an introduction to officials at Toon Boom and Bento Box. Bento Box is an Atlanta animation production studio that has agreed to give internships to Fayette students who complete the program and receive their digital animation certification.
Sandy Creek and Whitewater were chosen to create the program because they already teach animation and Web design — career education classes that fit nicely with the program developers’ vision.
“Because our students are digital natives, we see this dovetailing beautifully with where our students are,” said Fayette CTAE director Lisa Collins, who is in charge of the district’s involvement in the project. “Students get highly engaged and motivated when using these technologies. Instead of having it on paper or computer, it’s animated.”
Collins envisions students “taking a physics project and bringing it to life.”
“They need to know the physics of motion. If they want something to move correctly, they need to understand how that works. We don’t work in silos,” Collins said. “This (program) would condense what has taken years to do in the industry up until now and create it in the high school classroom.”
If all goes as planned, participating Sandy Creek and Whitewater students who are in the graduating class of 2015 will not only get a diploma, they’ll get digital animation certification from Toon Boom, which is the industry standard. Such credentials would help them leapfrog over other young people entering the job market or pursuing entertainment-related college degrees.
The Fayette County students also get experience in project management, collaboration, creative thinking and problem-solving, crucial skills in an field where demand for animators has outpaced the supply and employers don’t have time to train people to get them up to speed.
“On-the-job training becomes a big issue for companies who say that’s not their jobs,” said Mark MacLellan, director of business development at Toon Boom. “It’s like I taught you how to drive a car but when you get to your job, you have to learn standard transmission.”
For that reason, Toon Boom is working with other school systems nationwide to create programs similar to Fayette’s. Clayton State is Toon Boom’s partner in the local venture. School officials in Clayton and south Fulton also are in talks to start pilot projects, Winkler and MacLellan said.
Toon Boom is a global leader in digital content and animation creation software that’s used by Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. and Pinewood Studios, which opens its massive studio in Fayette County in January.
Fayette’s economic development chief sees the school district’s venture as a good way to sell Fayette as a key spot for more film deals.
“If we can get the jump on producing animators here in Fayette County and tie that in with Pinewood’s plans to train crew in the film industry, that’s going to make us the center point in Georgia for film and animation,” said Matt Forshee, president and chief executive of the county’s development authority.
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