DePaul Game, Cinema, & Animation Summer Academy

Veteran Disney character animator Brian Ferguson, Animator in Residence at DePaul, conducted a live character animation masterclass on Zoom on May 30. Here he’s demonstrating how to maintain structure when rotating Panic, a character he animated for the feature film “Hercules”. Brian also teaches in DePaul’s Game, Cinema, & Animation Summer Academy for high school students (July 19-23).

DePaul Game, Cinema, & Animation Summer Academy instructor Brian Ferguson, a veteran Disney character animator and Animator in Residence at DePaul, will be conducting a character animation master class online. The live Zoom is free and open to the public at the link below.

Study hand-drawn character animation with former Disney Animator and DePaul Animator in Residence Brian Ferguson, and Scott Roberts, chair of the DePaul Animation Program, at the DePaul Game, Cinema, & Animation Summer Academy for high school students - online July 6-17

Tracks include Hand-Drawn Character Animation, 3D Modeling and Animation, Game Design, Screenwriting, and Film & TV Production.

In the DePaul Summer Academy hand-drawn character animation track students will be introduced to the basics of classical hand-drawn character animation through live online demonstration and practice. The program of study will draw from DePaul’s college-level Animation Mechanics and Hand-Drawn Character Animation courses. Students will utilize character design and storyboarding to plan and produce an animated short film.

This section will be led by Brian Ferguson and Scott Roberts. Brian is a 23-year veteran Walt Disney Feature Animation animator whose filmography spans 15 feature films, several as supervising animator, including the classic animated feature films Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Mulan. He’s taught character animation at DePaul for over 5 years. You can email Brian with questions at [email protected] Scott Roberts is the chair and co-founder of the DePaul Animation Program. He’s a cartoonist, animator, and artist, whose sculptures, video installations, animations, and comics have been exhibited internationally. You can email Scott with questions at [email protected]

To accommodate students from time zones across the country, the main hours of instructor lectures and instruction will mostly take place within a range of 11am to 3pm Central time.

Find out details and register at CDM.DePaul.edu/SummerAcademy

Music: 7th Floor Tango - Silent Partner
Support by RFM - NCM: https://youtu.be/8Myv4ggip_8

Study game design with indie game designer and DePaul professor Mike DeAnda at the DePaul Game, Cinema, & Animation Summer Academy for high school students - online July 6-17

Tracks include Game Design, 3D Modeling and Animation, Hand-Drawn Character Animation, Screenwriting, and Film & TV Production.

DePaul’s game design programs are nationally recognized. The Princeton Review ranked our undergraduate program #28 on its list of the Top 50 Undergraduate Schools to Study Game Design in 2018, and Animation Career Review ranked DePaul #7 nationally in their Top 50 Game Design Schools of 2018.

In the DePaul Summer Academy game design track students will work in teams, along with students in the 3D modeling and animation track, to brainstorm, design, program, and produce assets for a 3D computer game. Students will have the opportunity to explore multiple roles in the game production process. The games will be designed and programmed using Unity and C #. At the end of the two week course students will have a fully functioning game.

This section will be led by indie game designer and game scholar Mike DeAnda. Mike earned his Ph.D. in Humanities and Technology from Illinois Institute of Technology. As a scholar-practitioner, DeAnda's research and game design practices centers on experimental approaches to designing games that center on marginalized communities and social justice. His games have been showcased at international events, including Meaningful Play, Different Games, Q***rness and Games Conference, and the Melbourne Q***r Games Festival. You can email Mike with questions at [email protected]

To accommodate students from time zones across the country, the main hours of instructor lectures and instruction will mostly take place within a range of 11am to 3pm Central time.

Find out details and register at CDM.DePaul.edu/SummerAcademy

Music: 7th Floor Tango - Silent Partner
Support by RFM - NCM: https://youtu.be/8Myv4ggip_8

Study 3D modeling and animation with TV/feature film animator and DePaul professor Josh Jones at the DePaul Game, Cinema, & Animation Summer Academy for high school students - online July 6-17

Tracks include 3D Modeling and Animation, Game Design, Hand-Drawn Character Animation, Screenwriting, and Film & TV Production.

In the DePaul Summer Academy 3D modeling and animation track students will learn the basics of computer animation and modeling using Maya. Along with students in the game development track, students will work in teams to brainstorm, design, program, and produce assets for a 3D computer game created in Unity. Students will design, model, and texture creatures, vehicles, and environment objects, and learn how to import them for use in a working game.

This section will be led by Josh Jones, animator, film maker, and Associate Professor at DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts. He received a BFA from Syracuse University in Computer Graphic Arts, and an MFA in Animation from The University of Southern California where he created the student Academy Award-Nominated film “A Short Lifetime's Poem of Memory.” As a stop motion animator at Will Vinton Studios, Jones animated on 8 episodes of the 3 time Emmy award winning show “The PJ's,” and the 2 time Emmy award winning UPN show “Gary and Mike.” Following his stint as a puppeteer, Jones found renewed interest in his electronic roots, and went on to work as a CG animator in feature film and television. He has animated for studios and clients including Fox TV, Fox Kids, Warner Brothers, Crystal Sky, Creative Visual EFX, Skyler Animation Studios, Oregon Public Broadcasting and National Geographic. You can email Josh with questions at [email protected]

To accommodate students from time zones across the country, the main hours of instructor lectures and instruction will mostly take place within a range of 11am to 3pm Central time.

Find out details and register at CDM.DePaul.edu/SummerAcademy

Music: 7th Floor Tango - Silent Partner
Support by RFM - NCM: https://youtu.be/8Myv4ggip_8

Study screenwriting with Hollywood screenwriter and DePaul professor Brad Riddell at the DePaul Game, Cinema, & Animation Summer Academy for high school students - online July 6-17

Tracks include Screenwriting, Film & TV Production, Hand-Drawn Character Animation, Game Design, and 3D Modeling and Animation.

A SCREENWRITER is the first casting agent, the first director, and the first editor on any project. Without his or her vision, there is no blueprint for the crew, and no dialogue for the cast. An expensive camera and elite editing software cannot make a great movie from a terrible story, because it all starts on the page. Whether you want to direct, shoot, edit, act, or produce, knowing how to create a good story and tell it well, will make you a better filmmaker.

The DePaul Summer Academy screenwriting section will focus on teaching students the fundamentals of screenplay format, visual writing style, character development, and narrative story structure. Students will complete a number of creative writing exercises that will develop their individual voices and allow them to begin practicing the craft of cinematic storytelling. By the end of the Academy, students will have written the first draft of a short screenplay. Daily activities will include conversations, interactive story-breaking, team exercises, short individual projects, and daily screenings of films and TV shows. No screenwriting experience is required.

This section will be led by Brad Riddell, a screenwriter and director who has written films for Universal, Paramount, MTV, and Fox. His first film was American Pie: Band Camp, and he is currently writing a skateboard comedy for Tony Hawk’s 900 Productions and Branded Pictures Entertainment.

To accommodate students from time zones across the country, the main hours of instructor lectures and instruction will mostly take place within a range of 11am to 3pm Central time.

Find out details and register at CDM.DePaul.edu/SummerAcademy

Music: 7th Floor Tango - Silent Partner
Support by RFM - NCM: https://youtu.be/8Myv4ggip_8

Cinema and Screenwriting students took a trip this afternoon to see the DePaul Cinespace. Film sets, professional equipment, and a guided tour were all highlights of the trip. Students also learned about Project Bluelight opportunities, saw sets in the midst of construction, and learned about the accessibility of the Cinespace's vast collection of professional equipment.