Program Type(s)
Certificate of Achievement 18+ Semester (27+ Quarter) Units
Program Goals
The Digital Media - Animation & Motion Arts Certificate of Achievement focuses on introducing students to design and animation principles and techniques to produce time-based animation content for a variety of media domains.
With the recent and unprecedented expansion of interactive technology communication, the figure of the animator is being rediscovered in multiple ways. The goal of the 'Digital Media - Animation & Motion Arts' program is to prepare the students for these new professional opportunities.
The renewed interest in professional animation artists is locally driven by the Los Angeles’s tech industry expansion– especially that of Silicon Beach, in the city’s Westside region, whose economic ramification reverberates into the adjacent geographical areas. Silicon Beach is home to over 500 tech start-ups and also includes major companies such as Google, Yahoo, YouTube, and Snap Inc. As technology communication expands its capacity to deliver rich and diversified media content to its users, the demand for content creation increases.
Using industry-standard technologies, students will develop foundational skills for entry-level design/animation positions in a variety of fields including, but not limited to: web design, app design, game design, webcasting, branding/communication design, advertising, broadcasting, and social media. This is all in addition to the traditional entertainment industries and cinematic arts.
This program will empower students interested in the field of animation to produce a competitive portfolio for admission to 4-years programs in related majors. The Greater Los Angeles Area is the home of some of the most competitive and sought-after public and private institutions both regionally and nationally. These institutions offer baccalaureate in Art and Design. These include UCLA, USC, CalArts, CSULA, CSULB, Otis College of Design, ArtCenter College of Design, Loyola Marymount University, and Woodbury University, among others. All offer BFAs in Animation and related fields. They have admission policies requiring the submission of a portfolio. The sequence in the proposed Digital Media - Animation & Motion Arts program is composed of mostly transferable courses. The culminating capstone course, while non- transferable, is aimed at developing and refining a personal body of work, such as a portfolio, enhancing the successful transfer of students to a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) offering institution.
Moreover, the proposed Digital Media - Animation & Motion Arts program supports the mission of the college to provide 21st-century education. The rapid technological changes in animation require an attitude of constant learning and problem solving. Students in this field must simultaneously strive for professional expertise and artistic excellence.
Employing effective communication strategies using visual and cinematic language, students identify visual storytelling, animation principles, production and post-production processes. By the end of the program, students will be able to identify, pitch, develop and produce an independent, animation project while exploring strategies for teamwork, self-production and project promotion. The program promotes exposure to mentorship and professional feedback through invited guest critics.