Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Hollywood of the Southwest

Recently, A Bunch of Short Guys had a weekend gathering at Collin County Community College in Plano; and today's Dallas Morning News has an article (Toon Town) related to it about the animation scene in Dallas, mentioning DNA, Reel FX and Janimation.

They have also mentioned the Art Institute of Dallas and CCCC's Applied Graphic Design Technology Department as good sources of talent for the animation and gaming industries.

It's about time ATEC make a name for itself too!

Maybe a website showcasing student work would be a good start (Hint to Betsy & Dr. Linehan).

5 comments:

Freya said...

I want a presence in Dallas! It scares me that UTD wasn't even mentioned in this article. I would like the kind of commentary that refers to UTD as the real source of talent in the Dallas area (in a league with Cal Arts and NYU), and mentions that locally we also have CCCC and the Art Institute of Dallas -- for beginners!

But to address the crucial point... a website showcasing student work would be a very good thing, both to promote the program to potential students (perhaps those graduating from CCCC?) and to let industry know that our program exists.

Rajesh Nidwannaya said...

I agree UTD needs a bigger presence than CCCCD, but consider this, they have been on the cutting edge for a very long time (I got my start in Multimedia there in 1991). They teach the basics as well as the advanced skills.

We can aspire to be better but we can't ignore the market, since UTDs students are competing against the students graduating from the Art Institiute and CCCCD.

I am all for being recognized by the Observer and Wilonsky and also to be on the same list as Cal Arts and NYU, but unless we have a better curriculum, it will be a very diffiicult task.

Like Freya said, most people don't even know we exist; believe me, I've talked to a lot of folks wh are not aware UTD has an Arts & Technology department.

A web showcase and some marketing effort would go a long way to pusing us into the limelight.

Freya said...

Uhmm, this discussion seems to be taking a turn toward, "Stop complaining and do something!" Wouldn't it be better to discuss what we CAN do to raise the profile of our program (which seems to be something we all want) -- like a web showcase? Or some other ideas?

Actually I _am_ involved in a project which I hope might help improve the cirriculum. The cirriculum is developing and evolving, and will need to continue to do so if graduates are to compete in the marketplace,

Rajesh Nidwannaya said...

Ok, let me be clear. I am not knocking ATEC down or saying CCCCD is better than ATEC. I am just giving credit where it's due.

As far as the curriculum goes, I haven't been silent. Last semester in Chip Woods' class we all had to write/make suggestions about how to improve ATEC and raise it's visibility. Believe me I had plenty to say.

The only point I was trying to make without making a big issue out of this is that talent counts. And at the moment, the two schools mentioned in the DMN article are puting out students with the skills that are needed in the industry.

They may or may-not be as good as ATEC students, that's not for me to judge. It is good that we have high ideals and lofty ambitions for this program, but what ultimately counts is are we being noticed and are our graduates getting the jobs.

I am all for finding ways to promote this department and the idea of a web showcase was one way to do it. Heck, if Dr. Linehan want's to have a student portfolio site, I would be glad to take it on as my graduate project.

Nuf said! I'm going to sleep.

Rajesh Nidwannaya said...

P.S. Thanks Freya for your balanced views.