California College of the Arts Animation Program
The Animation Program curriculum explores time-based motion and form, combining traditional character animation with a more experimental, interdisciplinary approach. Students begin the program by studying shifting weight, locomotion, characterization, timing, and emotional expression through traditional drawing and filmmaking courses.
Students later apply their skills to a wide variety of individual and collaborative cinematic projects, including in-depth character studies, film production, interactive media, motion graphics, narrative storytelling, and video.
The program's framework is centered on the idea of multiple iterations—designing and creating films frequently and with variety—as opposed to focusing on a single finished piece.
Students benefit from the college's 21 undergraduate programs in architecture, design, fine arts, and the humanities, which provide an unlimited depth of resources, as well as from collaborative relationships among the Animation Program and several venerable Bay Area institutions.
Faculty members are drawn from local animation studios, digital graphics firms, film studios, and advertising firms. Graduates will have completed a wide variety of projects upon graduating from CCA, with a reel of work that will help them succeed in either commercial or noncommercial venues.
Animation Program students have a dedicated lab that includes storyboard, pencil test, and MacPro digital animation stations, as well as access to all Film Program facilities and equipment, including film and digital cameras for still and motion photography alike, digital and analog audio recorders, lighting equipment, and pre- and postproduction facilities equipped with industry-standard software packages.
Students later apply their skills to a wide variety of individual and collaborative cinematic projects, including in-depth character studies, film production, interactive media, motion graphics, narrative storytelling, and video.
The program's framework is centered on the idea of multiple iterations—designing and creating films frequently and with variety—as opposed to focusing on a single finished piece.
Multidisciplinary Approach
Students benefit from the college's 21 undergraduate programs in architecture, design, fine arts, and the humanities, which provide an unlimited depth of resources, as well as from collaborative relationships among the Animation Program and several venerable Bay Area institutions.
Faculty
Faculty members are drawn from local animation studios, digital graphics firms, film studios, and advertising firms. Graduates will have completed a wide variety of projects upon graduating from CCA, with a reel of work that will help them succeed in either commercial or noncommercial venues.
Facilities
Animation Program students have a dedicated lab that includes storyboard, pencil test, and MacPro digital animation stations, as well as access to all Film Program facilities and equipment, including film and digital cameras for still and motion photography alike, digital and analog audio recorders, lighting equipment, and pre- and postproduction facilities equipped with industry-standard software packages.
