{"id":29,"date":"2022-11-09T13:51:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T13:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/2023\/07\/09\/solutions-for-your-own-business\/"},"modified":"2023-09-10T14:14:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-10T14:14:33","slug":"its-a-snowball-effect-how-winnipeg-animation-students-could-make-the-city-an-animation-hubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/2022\/11\/09\/its-a-snowball-effect-how-winnipeg-animation-students-could-make-the-city-an-animation-hubs\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s a snowball effect&#8217;: How Winnipeg animation students could make the city an animation hubs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[be-booster-favourites]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Getting paid to create artwork \u2013 or working in the arts at all \u2013 seemed pretty far-fetched to Kimberley Chau when she first started at Sisler High school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like many parents do, Chau`s pushed for her to focus on science and math, subjects known to provide employment opportunity. Chau was on that path until she started taking classes as part of the Sisler CREATE program and quickly discovered her love for animation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An added bonus: Chau learned the animation industry has plenty of employment opportunities, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.jasperplayer.com?brand=CTV_NEWS&#038;destination=ctvnews_web&#038;language=EN&#038;contentId=2571248\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI didn&#8217;t know anything about it but I knew that there were jobs and there was an option for me to do art and also make money from it,\u201d said Chau, who is currently a student in Sisler CREATE`s post-high program for young adults interested in entering creative industries like animation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chau, along with several other post-high classmates, is now working as an intern at Nelvana, a major Canadian animation company. It&#8217;s an opportunity Chau credits to the CREATE programs focus on collaborating with industry partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2026 had a bunch of these opportunities and mentorships and I saw the light to entering the industry,\u201d said Chau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/winnipeg.ctvnews.ca\/content\/dam\/ctvnews\/en\/images\/2022\/11\/25\/animation-students-working-in-winnipeg--1-6168982-1669404876395.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\">Sisler CREATE post-high student Kimberly Chau is already working on projects for major animation studios.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Xierra Cansino, another post-high program student interning at Nelvana, also had misconceptions about finding steady work in the animation industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was before meeting industry professionals who told Cansino about the array of opportunities awaiting animators in Canada and abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI knew animation could be a job,\u201d said Cansino, \u201cBut I didn&#8217;t think I could actually do it through school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sisler CREATE students have had the chance to be mentored by professional animators at Nickelodeon, Toon Boom Animation, Nelvana and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Getting to meet and connect with folks directly involved in the animation industry is a major boon to current Sisler CREATE students, says Kara Vallega, who graduated from the program in 2017 and is now working as an animation compositor in Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSisler is so much more different now compared to when I was there before,\u201d Vallega said, \u201cThey have tons of partnerships and they talk to studios all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat they&#8217;re doing is so insane and crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVallega, who has worked on projects like Detective Pikachu and Maleficent, says networking is an important part of staying employed in the animation industry and credits her teacher at Sisler CREATE, Jamie Leduc, for making that a focus during her time in the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe was really able to help me get into that mindset so I could network with other people in the industry to get those kinds of jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new industry collaborator with the Sisler CREATE program is Reel FX, a major animation studio with offices across North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When last year&#8217;s Sisler CREATE students were graduating and showcasing their final projects, a few Reel FX employees were in attendance, planting the seed for a future partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was mind blowing,\u201d said Linda Aleksanyan, director of talent development at Reel FX, \u201cFor us, it felt like the quality of the work and their passion was comparable to university students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3D CGI artists from Reel FX are currently providing master classes in animation to Sisler CREATE students, with a mentorship program slated to start in January. One of the goals of the collaboration is to teach students exactly how the industry pipeline operates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo that way they&#8217;re going to get a real feel for what it&#8217;s like to receive feedback from the director, or animation supervisor on a project,\u201d said Aleksanyan<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Animation is an ever-evolving industry, adds Emmanuel Laurent, vice president at Reel FX, meaning the skill-sets needed to work in the field are always changing, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat we&#8217;re doing now will be slightly different in six months and vastly different in five years,\u201d Laurent said, \u201cWhat&#8217;s important that the people we are teaching and mentoring want to keep learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Passion for animation is something Laurent sees in Winnipeg animation students, both at Sisler CREATE and Red River College&#8217;s animation programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He adds, that, growing a domestic talent pool is the start to a `snowball effect` that could lead to Winnipeg becoming a well-known animation hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs soon as you have this cycle starting \u2013 talent training, attracting talent from outside and studios installing themselves in the location in Winnipeg \u2013 it&#8217;s going to grow, that&#8217;s the only way it can go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That&#8217;s certainly something Chau and Cansino would like to see happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both are heading to the Vancouver Film School \u2013 on full scholarship \u2013 next year, but would like to be able to come back to their home city, if possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m hoping that Winnipeg will pop up with new studios, said Cansino, \u201cSo that way we don&#8217;t have to move, or spend extra money on moving if we don\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"358\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image.png?resize=640%2C358&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-589\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image.png?w=1020&amp;ssl=1 1020w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image.png?resize=300%2C168&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image.png?resize=768%2C430&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getting paid to create artwork \u2013 or working in the arts at all \u2013 seemed pretty far-fetched to Kimberley Chau when she first started at Sisler High school.<\/p>\n<p>Like many parents do, Chau`s pushed for her to focus on science and math, subjects known to provide employment opportunity. Chau was on that path until she started taking classes as part of the Sisler CREATE program and quickly discovered her love for animation.<\/p>\n<p>An added bonus: Chau learned the animation industry has plenty of employment opportunities, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,824],"tags":[17,18,16],"class_list":["post-29","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animation","category-create-news","tag-animation","tag-futuregeneration","tag-highschool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image.png?fit=1020%2C571&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":598,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29\/revisions\/598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}