Week 9 - Life in the "Boutique" Animation Studio; 3D Layout Workshop; Major Milestone due

2 PM Lecture J102:  The Business of the Boutique Animation Studio 

Trent Locke and Marianne Culbert, Portfolio Entertainment

Trent and Marianne will give you an overview of working life in Portfolio Entertainment,  a typical "boutique" Toronto animation studio. Topics include: 

·         How to Maintain a creative culture within the studio.

·         Technology and R&D in a studio environment.

·         What it takes to keep the pipeline full and the studio busy.

Portfolio Entertainment is a leading media company specializing in the production, distribution and animation of content for television and digital content providers worldwide. It has a diverse catalogue of high quality children’s live action, animation, factual and lifestyle content produced in house and acquired from independent producers worldwide, including The Cat In the Hat Knows A Lot About That!, Words Are Weird, and Freaktown.

Trent Locke is Vice-President of Finance and COO of Portfolio Entertainment where he oversees strategy, new business development, finance and day-to-day operations and serves as a member of the Executive Management and Strategy teams. He joined the company in March 2014 with a mandate to help grow and diversify the business. He brings over 15 years of broadcast executive experience to Portfolio. He most recently was Vice-President, Business Operations for TELETOON Canada Inc.

Marianne Culbert is Vice President of Production of Portfolio Entertainment where she oversees the production of all of the company’s animated properties as well as managing Portfolio’s animation studio. Prior to joining Portfolio, Culbert served as the VP of Production at major studios like Arc Productions, Mercury Filmworks and Nelvana.

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4 PM Workshop, 4th Year Studio:  Advanced 3D Layout

Rob Skiena 

You may remember Rob from the 3D Layout workshop he did last fall. This semester Rob is back with advanced techniques for 3D Layout in Maya, and to answer your questions about building and shooting sets in Maya. 

Rob Skiena is an experienced animation industry verteran with over 20 years of credits for animation, layout and previsualiztion.  With stints at large studios like Dreamworks, Sony and Laika, he is currently a Layout and Previs Supervisor at Industrial Brothers.

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MILESTONE 4 DUE 

2D -100% Cleaned Animation

3D -  50% Completed Animation

Stop Motion: 90% Completed Animation