Students make movie for credit

Tucked away in a University computer lab, 13 students are frantically putting the finishing touches on their final class project: a two-minute animation about an iconoclastic chameleon named Leon. Scheduled to debut Wednesday on campus, the movie promises to be the most polished project yet to come out of the University’s unique animation arts class. But the real hits will be the students themselves, who are likely to be scooped up by top animation studios and graduate schools nationwide.

The class has been transformed into a full-blown production studio in which art, music and computer science students blend their diverse talents to produce a movie—from storyboards to soundtracks. This approach prepares students for work in the animation industry like no other university program in the country, says Cassidy Curtis, a visiting instructor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering and animation studio veteran who is teaching the class.

“You can’t understand the real production process without a team project,” agrees Brad West, a former UW student now working on “Toy Story 2” for Pixar. “In production, it’s rare that one person does it all. So, to achieve the necessary level of quality and consistency, there’s a great number of interdependencies.”

As Wednesday’s screening date approaches, the animation arts laboratory has taken on the frenzied atmosphere of a real-life studio facing production deadlines. While the movie will have a limited release after its campus debut, the students who created it can expect a long and prosperous run at the industry “box office.” ¶

Greg Orwig, News and Information