Visual Effects and Animation
Cutting-edge innovation. Creative problem solving. Collaboration.
These are some of the words and phrases that define an educational experience at Flashpoint Academy as well as what the Animation and VFX Program is at its very core.
Create a destination indistinguishable from reality. Give birth to a creature indigenous to your wildest dreams, or your darkest nightmares. At Flashpoint, we give you the tools to animate characters and environments and create computer-generated visual effects, using the highest-caliber professional 3D animation software such as Softimage XSI, Maya, Adobe After Effects and ZBrush. From modeling, texture mapping and rendering to compositing your creation into a film, the only limit at this school is your own imagination. We teach the most sophisticated tools available today; no other college programs in Chicago offer hands on training, working side-by-side with animators and visual effects artists currently working in the industry. We teach you how, we teach you why, and we give you the chance to show what you can do, with an audience of professionals as your teachers and your co-workers, throughout the process.
Flashpoint Academy, a Media Arts College for the 21st century student.
Faculty pages:
Perry Harovas, Department Chair of Visual Effects and Animation
Visit Perry's Blog
Visit Perry's Online Portfolio
Additional faculty links are coming soon.
Q] Will I get to work on sophisticated visual effects shots that I can use to build up my demo reel?
A] Absolutely! Flashpoint will be providing students with footage shot at HD resolution to animate over and integrate CG elements with. Students will learn to analyze the lighting of the real footage, the grain structure of the CCD that captures the footage, how to match the colors and black levels and finally how to composite the animated elements in a believable and efficient way. There are no easy shots in visual effects and animation, just animators who either put in the effort, or don't. At Flashpoint, we will give you the tools, the knowledge and the freedom to create wonders on the screen that had previously on existed in your dreams.
Q] Do the instructors and faculty at Flashpoint have industry experience at all levels of production?
A] Yes. We have all been involved [and continue to be] in large scale animated feature film/television and visual effects work. We have both led large groups of people in [seemingly] impossible animation tasks, and been led. We also remember what it was like to be a beginner in the field, brimming with excitement and energy, but scared at all the things that needed to be learned to make a career for ourselves. If you have questions, most likely we have had those same questions. We would be happy to share the answers with you, and to also give you the opportunity to work on non-school related projects with real world deadlines and budgets.
Q] Does Flashpoint teach with industry standard animation tools?
A] Without a doubt, the tools at Flashpoint are the same ones being used throughout the world in everything from small to large animation and effects production facilities. he software was chosen by the very artists in those facilities. Animators coming out of Flashpoint will have experience with the best tools in the industry.
Q] Will I learn character animation?
A] Oh yeah! And from some of the best in the field. Character animation will be taught with the dual goal of giving the students a reel of their work that showcases their skills, and also teaches what production pipelines in the industry do everyday. You will learn from the beginning what it means when they say animate in one package, render in another, and composite in yet another. Today's animation and visual effects field is a mixed-pipeline environment, not a single application "black box" solution. And because of that, Flashpoint's approach to teaching animation and visual effects mirrors the industry so our students are more seasoned and flexible than their peers at other schools. The more flexible you are, the more attractive you are to a potential employer.
Q] Will we be able to be creative with our shots and change the assignments?
A] Yes, within proper limits. Here again, Flashpoint mirrors the very industries it teaches. In real world animation and visual effects, the artist[s] working on a shot most comply with the director's wishes, stay on-budget and schedule, and further the story. But once all that has been satisfied, the truly great artists at those facilities take it upon themselves to go one step further and bring something to EACH shot that is unique, amazing and completely above and beyond the norm. Those are the type of artists who get hired and stay hired. Those are also the type of students who we want at Flashpoint. So go ahead, open your mind and be creative. The sky's not even the limit. We want to help you be the best that you can be, or ever thought you could be.
Would you like to learn more about our Animation program?
