< ECU Directory

Vanessa Schwartz

Lecturer

Availability:

Education:

MFA Experimental Animation
California Institute of the Arts

Bio

Vanessa Schwartz is an animator and educator whose films have earned international recognition. She received her MFA in Experimental Animation from the California Institute of the Arts and won multiple honours, including a 1994 Academy Award nomination, a Student Academy Award and Best First Film at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Vanessa worked as a 3D character animator on Antz at Pacific Data Images (now DreamWorks) before moving into teaching. She has taught animation at several California institutions and now teaches gesture drawing and animation at ECU, where she has also led life drawing workshops for Pixar employees.

24/25 Courses

Course Name Department Course Code Term
Foundation Studio Courses FNDT 185 26/SP

Description

This course exposes students to the possibilities of the broad practice of animation, focusing on foundational skills that include drawing, animated movement, composition, visual/cinematic storytelling, and video/sound production. Students will explore animating with a range of materials including traditional drawing/painting media, digital drawing/painting, and stop-motion animation using physical materials. Screenings include a range of historic and contemporary animation, exposing students to a wide range of approaches to the medium. Students will work both individually and collaboratively on a series of assignments and engage in critical reflection on their work.

Pre-requisites

No prerequisites.

2D Animation 2DAN 210 26/SP

Description

Continuing with the study of essential animation principles, students work at creating sophisticated movement phrases through a series of short assignments that focus on drawn animation. Students practice developing their animation by iterative refinement based on class feedback, progressing from rough to polished stages of production. An emphasis is placed on acting, staging, and timing. In addition, students employ film grammar, develop storyboards, and create short narratives by linking characters' motives and movement sequences with a variety of scenes, shots, camera angles, and editing points. A variety of relevant films are presented, relating contextually to lecture topics.

Pre-requisites

No prerequisites.

2D Animation 2DAN 211 26/SP

Description

In conjunction with Animation II, students continue to learn digital production methods. In addition, individuals are introduced to experimental two-dimensional techniques, and interactive animation. Key aspects of filmmaking like pre-production research, animatics or Leica reels, digital video editing, and sound design are covered. Students spend concentrated periods of time on projects that represent the complex nature of the medium.

Pre-requisites

No prerequisites.