VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, MEDIA ADVISORY–(Marketwire – July 26, 2010) – Artists from Pixar Animation Studios will be presenting a unique Masterclass in Animation & Story Development on September 24/25th in Vancouver, Canada.
This exceptional 2-day event takes place at the Simon Fraser University, with instructors Animator Andrew Gordon and Story Artist Matthew Luhn, both of Pixar. This masterclass has toured the world, this being one of only two North American stops in 2010.
Geared toward experienced and enthusiast animators and storytellers, it offers a rare opportunity to learn from the industry’s top talent, providing participants with the tools to help create their own stories and feature-quality animation.
The event is being presented by the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts (aka VanArts). It has been scheduled to coincide with the running of Pixar’s latest feature film “Toy Story 3”, which both Andrew and Matthew helped create.
CURRICULUM:
Details available on the event info page at: http://www.vanarts.com/pixar-vancouver. Sessions run from 9:00am – 5:00pm on both September 24th & 25th, 2010.
REGISTRATION:
Tuition is C$499 for the 2-day program. Tickets are now selling, with limited seats available for purchase online at: http://www.vanarts.com/pixar-vancouver.
VENUE:
Fletcher Challenge Theatre at the Simon Fraser University (downtown campus), located at 515 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC, Canada.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS:
Andrew Gordon
Andrew has been animating characters professionally for over 13 years. He joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1997 where he has been an animator on A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Ratatouille. The characters he has worked on include Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Gill from Finding Nemo and Edna Mode, the costume designer in The Incredibles. Andrew also worked as supervising animator on the short film Presto.
His work has also included directing several promotional spots for Broadcast, Web and Blue-ray content. Mr. Gordon studied animation in Vancouver and New York, and prior to his work at Pixar, he worked in the Looney Tunes division of Warner Brothers. He was awarded “Outstanding Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture” by the Visual Effects Society for his work in Finding Nemo.
He has been teaching animation in California since 2000. He has lectured on animation around the world, including Masterclasses in China, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Canada and Italy. He is a contributing teacher to AnimationMentor.com and the CSU Summer Arts program. He is one of the founders of Spline Doctors, a blog dedicated to animation education. He is currently teaching animation at California College of Art in Oakland and animating on Pixar’s Toy Story 3.
Matthew Luhn
Matthew began his career at Pixar Animation Studios in 1992 as an animator on the very first CG feature Toy Story. Since that time, Matthew has worked in the Story Development department, storyboarding on Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Cars, Ratatouille, Up and Toy Story 3.
Prior to Pixar, Matthew attended the California Institute of the Arts, and would later be hired as an animator on The Simpsons and at Industrial Light & Magic.
Matthew grew up in the San Francisco Bay area where his family has owned and operated Jeffrey’s Toys stores for over three generations. Along with working at Pixar, Matthew teaches seminars all over the world on how to create great stories and characters.
ABOUT VANARTS:
The Vancouver Institute of Media Arts is a post-secondary training institute offering accredited diploma programs for the visual, media and performing arts to students from around the world. It is located in Vancouver, Canada and offers industry-leading programs in both 2D and 3D Character Animation. For more information, see: http://www.vanarts.com.
For more information, please contact
Wayne Gilbert, Animation Department Head, Vancouver Institute of Media Arts
Primary Phone: 604-682-2787 ext. 106
Toll-Free: 800-396-2787
E-mail: wayne@vanarts.com
