What are your plans for a Saturday during a holiday weekend when you are a college student? The animation students in the Media Entertainment Arts department at the College of the Canyons attended a free Festival that showed international animation films and brought industry professionals.
The Festival was a free event for the public by the Animation department from the Media Entertainment Arts department at the College of the Canyons. The Festival was an all-day event held from nine in the morning to four in the afternoon, and every minute was packed to keep the attendees’ attention.
Even though the event was open to the public, its primary audience was animation students. With this in mind, the event organizers put together two panels focused on the animation students. The first is Carlos Daniel Vasquez, who is from Sony Pictures Animation. Vasquez put on a presentation on how to get your portfolio together for when the time comes to apply to big studios, and he also went over what are the skills and talents those studios are looking for.
Then, a panel on Identity in Animation was moderated by event organizer Jeff Baker and had panelists Samantha Goff, Marc Sanchez, and Kataneh Vahdani. When asked after the panel why Baker put on the event, he said, “It’s for the students. This event and panels give them exposure to industry professionals who come and give a current pulse to the animation industry.” The panel gave students an unapologetic view into the Animation industry with no panelists holding back, sharing deep and personal stories of struggle and getting through the industry to find a place of happiness and comfort.
Before the International Animation showcase started, there was a free lunch where students could grab a slice of pizza and then sit down with a college recruiter to have them review their portfolio and give guidance on its strengths and areas of improvement.
The Showcase features animated films in multiple styles, languages, and themes from all around the world. The movies at the festival were broken up into various categories. The lower division was for young animators in elementary and high school, and the higher division was for two-year college-level animators. There were also categories like social media and environmental issues. One film from each category also got an award as the best.
As the day came to a close, for the animation students who attended, it was more than just a day of films and panels; it was a glimpse into their future careers. From insightful presentations on portfolio building by industry professionals to candid discussions on identity in animation, every moment was tailored to empower and educate. With resorces provided by the college these animators have a foot up on their counterparts from other schools.