Animation and Digital Arts FAQ: Tisch School of the Arts Asia

Do you have any particularly notable animation alumni or examples of outstanding student work?

Please view the most recent issues of the Animation and Digital Arts Newsletters here:
http://tischasiablog.com/newsletters/summer11.html
http://tischasiablog.com/newsletters/fall11.html

You can also view the latest Animation and Digital Arts student-related news here:
http://tischasiablog.com/category/animation-digital-arts/

Also, check out some of our recent student work on our Vimeo page here:
http://vimeopro.com/nyutischasia/anda

How much film/animation is it average for one to have crafted at the end of graduating from the program?

For each class, students produce about 10 assignments and one final project per semester. After four semesters, they will have completed a year-long thesis project, approximately 16 final projects and more than 150 weekly assignments.

How much instruction in traditional, hand-drawn animation is given in the Tisch Asia program?

ANDA (the Animation and Digital Arts Program) does place a strong emphasis on drawing and hand-drawn animation. 2D and hand drawn animation are covered in-depth in the following production courses:

Digital Tools for Communication
Drawing in Motion
Traditional Forms of Animation

Animation studio, Modeling and Design / Construction, Motion Capture, From Phones to Theme Parks and Thesis are production classes offering the possibility of using 2D techniques. For example, hand drawn animation can be generated by capturing live action or hand gestures in the motion capture class. In addition, storyboards are an integral part of our projects which involve the need to incorporate hand drawn elements into the student projects.

More on each course on the curriculum webpage at http://www.tischasia.nyu.edu.sg/object/ANDAcurriculum.html

Several 2D animators are on the faculty. For example, Thomas Thesen and Patrick Smith. Patrick uses hand drawn animation for his professional work.
More at http://www.tischasia.nyu.edu.sg/object/facultydirectoryanda.html

I noticed that the course and program description discussed allowing students to sample a range of animation techniques and interests, does it allow for specialization as well?

This is a great question. The answer is yes. We teach and advise students to choose an area of specialization. Second year students tend to develop a specialization or a personal type of production through specific courses, thesis or internships (in Singapore or elsewhere during the Summer). Students can develop an Independent Study on special topics with a faculty. Students participate to extra-curricular events where they meet professional animators and digital artists. During master classes, weekly Friday talks and Internship Days, students can evaluate different kinds of specializations and evaluate how their skills fit with the demands of the industry. This is an integral part of helping students with their "exit strategy" after graduation.

Regarding electives:

Electives are not required courses. Students can graduate without having taken all of the electives. Aside from the mandatory courses, students have the choice to take independent studies, internships, classes in other departments or to take Tisch summer courses elsewhere that can count towards their required cumulative credits.

Regarding production periods:

Unlike other departments, the production period for most of our classes are 14 weeks long. Each week is organized with several contiguous days reserved for personal production in the lab – free of class time. The challenge of production for a freelance animator or for someone working for a studio is the ability to balance several projects while remaining creative. In our effort to condition the students to be comfortable with a complex workload that they may encounter, we prepare students to embrace time management as part of their school experience.

Throughout the 14 week semester we plan out the periods of production and the reviews, and advise students about optimizing their production process and being more realistic about what they want to achieve. In addition, although students cannot take more than 4 production classes during a given semester, two of the production classes are organized to work side-by-side on the same final assignment.

Regarding Storytelling in Animation and Media Arts

Animation and Storytelling:
Thomas Thesen writes, "Animation design is all about storytelling, though not literally but visually, as every image, composition, color, character, attire, shape of a tree or even the size relationship between the characters are all part of visual storytelling...Story in this regard is the foundation of everything we design and vice versa everything we design tells a story."

This is applicable to a number of the animation track classes including:

Regarding Digital Arts and Storytelling:
Thomas Thesen writes, "Digital Arts has a very wide scope. From phone applications to computer games to art installations and interactive projects, Digital Arts is not easily definable...This starts a communication between project and user, a communication that goes beyond what traditional animation or film is capable of. But in terms of storytelling, Digital Arts follows a similar structure as Animation does...However, the look and design of every party of Digital Arts projects is part of the narrative or sometimes the narrative itself."

This is applicable to a number of the new media track classes in our curriculum including:

What are the facilities like in Singapore?

In addition to classrooms, we run three labs:

Main Lab for digital projects
Dirty Lab for construction and the
Mocap Lab for motion capture

The labs are generally open to students all day, evenings and week-ends.

Students have access to all the equipment and supplies in the Lab and can check additional equipment as needed for their projects. Please check the website at http://www.tischasia.nyu.edu.sg/object/animationproductionresources.html. A pdf with the lab layout is available on the same webpage.

Your classmates, like you, are going places

Tisch Asia attracts strong, dedicated, adventurous emerging artists. Our students are already appearing as festival winners and young professionals. Your peers at Tisch Asia will form your first, and most important, professional network as you embark on your career.

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