BIG YOUTUBE HITS CALARTS GRADS SCRAMBLE FOR JOBS.Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS Staff Writer VALENCIA -- Graduation is show time in the CalArts animation program, with students vying for studios ready to hire them. So the online success of Alex Hirsch's six-minute video "Off the Wall" couldn't have come at a better moment for the fledgling animator. Who knew that drawing a few squiggly squig·gle n. A small wiggly mark or scrawl. intr.v. squig·gled, squig·gling, squig·gles 1. To squirm and wriggle. 2. To make squiggles. lines would grab so much attention? Hirsch's creation is an animated doodle on a wall who tries to impress live-action humans. Wallby is the kind of stick-and-circle character a grade-schooler might draw when the teacher's not looking, and Hirsch knows it. But instead of jaw-dropping art, humor and story drive Wallby's animated adventures. Hirsch's classmates Classmates can refer to either:
"I just wanted to cram all my friends into something as a parting Hallmark card to my school," said Hirsch, who graduated Friday from Valencia's California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts known as CalArts U.S. private institution of higher learning in Valencia. Created in 1961 through the merger of two other art institutes, it was the first in the U.S. . The video has been more than that for Hirsch, 21. Major studio executives saw it and were impressed, and it won Hirsch a lunch meeting with one executive who encouraged him to pitch ideas to the studio. "My portfolio probably isn't good enough to make its way to him," Hirsch said. "But the short's funny, so that's worth its weight in gold." Hirsch is on the job interview circuit, as are fellow students. At a CalArts job fair a couple of weeks before graduation, students tried to catch the eye of representatives from The Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co., Pixar Animation Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Nickelodeon and other companies. And they did it with their portfolios alone, since they are barred from being in the same room with potential employers rifling through their work. After a few hours, students come back and look for their names on a list. If a company listed a student's name, it means he or she won a short job interview in a "speed-dating" kind of format at the school. Over the years, students finding their names absent from the lists have been reduced to tears. For Adrian Molina, 21, last year's job fair got him a job at Pixar. He cut through the competition with his short film "Unicorn vs. Narwhal narwhal (när`wəl), a small arctic whale, Monodon monoceros. The males of this species, and an occasional female, bear a single, tightly spiraled tusk that measures up to 9 ft (2.7 m) in length. ," a mostly hand-drawn animation depicting an epic battle in the clouds Battle in the Clouds is the third minicomic in the Masters of the Universe series. It was packaged with Mer-Man and Teela's action figures. The art was drawn by Alfredo Alcala. . Molina was working at the CalArts library while studio representatives were poring over his portfolio. Then, his good friend Hirsch called to tell him his name was on the list, and Molina took off from the library to interview for his dream job as an animator. The months of working every day on his short film -- with 18-hour days toward the end -- paid off at the job fair. "It's an exciting day and an awful day, depending on who calls you back," Molina said. CalArts students such as Molina not only invest their time in the hopes of landing a great job, but their money, too. Tuition at the school is $31,290 a year. More than a quarter of students pay it all, while the rest rely on various forms of financial aid, ranging from work-study to full scholarship, said Margaret Crane, a spokeswoman for the school. To its credit, CalArts has a long list of alumni who have graduated from its animation programs and done more than just find paying jobs in the industry. Tim Burton is virtually a cult figure cult figure n → idole f cult figure cult n → Kultfigur f cult figure n → idolo ; Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise co-directed "Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale (type 425C -- search for a lost husband -- in the Aarne-Thompson classification). The first published version of the fairy tale was a meandering rendition by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in "; Craig McCracken  This article relies largely or entirely upon a .Please help [ improve this article] by introducing appropriate of additional sources. created "The Powerpuff Girls"; John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter (born January 12, 1957) is an Academy Award-winning American animator and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering. became an executive at Pixar after having directed both "Toy Story" movies and "A Bug's Life." When he was a student at CalArts before going on to direct episodes of "The Simpsons," Jim Reardon Jim Reardon is a director and storyboard consultant, best known for his work on the animated TV series The Simpsons. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series, and was credited as a supervising director for seasons 9 through 15. made a 1986 Peanuts parody called "Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown is an animated short done by Jim Reardon, who would later become director and storyboard consultant for The Simpsons. It was made in 1986 while he was at CalArts. ." Reardon works at Pixar. In Reardon's gory go·ry adj. go·ri·er, go·ri·est 1. Covered or stained with gore; bloody. 2. Full of or characterized by bloodshed and violence. CalArts classic, Charlie Brown shoots his way through the revenge fantasy audience members have probably always had for him. The short film shares space on YouTube.com with the more recent creations of Hirsch and other current and former students. Cynthia Overman o·ver·man n. 1. A person having authority over others, especially an overseer or a shift supervisor. 2. See superman. tr.v. , associate director of the character animation Character animation is a specialized process of the animation process, concerning the animation of one or more characters featured in an animated work. It is usually as one aspect of a larger production, and often to complement voice acting. program at CalArts, has fond memories of seeing Reardon's short when she was a student a year behind him. Since then, things have changed because animation is computer-based instead of film-based and the job market is different, she said. "I think it opens up a lot of opportunities for new stories to be told that aren't necessarily being told in Hollywood, as it is now," she said. An animator with a laptop can make animation for sale to all sorts of clients, from Web sites to cell-phone companies, she said. "When I (studied) here, you worked in television or you worked in feature (animation), and that was it if you ever wanted to have a job," she said. Some graduates never find jobs in animation. But Molina, the recent graduate, said such failings can usually be blamed on not putting in the work. During the all-nighters they pull working on their projects and chugging energy drinks, students build strong bonds with each other. The year culminates with a boisterous marathon showing of all the students' animation shorts. Students down alcohol and cheer each other on at the "open show." Then comes the "producer's show," when only the best shorts are showcased and students dress up to hobnob hob·nob intr.v. hob·nobbed, hob·nob·bing, hob·nobs To associate familiarly: hobnobs with the executives. with studio execs -- another stepping stone to a potential job. "It's like the open show is the bachelor's party and the producer's show is the wedding," said student Dimitri Frazao, 25, who helped Hirsch with his video. As he stood near the CalArts entrance with a couple of collaborators on his "Off the Wall" short, Hirsch, a rapid-fire talker with a triangular face and a wispy wisp n. 1. A small bunch or bundle, as of straw, hair, or grass. 2. a. One that is thin, frail, or slight. b. A thin or faint streak or fragment, as of smoke or clouds. 3. beard, paused to wave at girls who played minor roles in his live-action animation. Friends Hirsch, Frazao and Nick Butera, who all worked on "Off the Wall" together, didn't want to talk about their job prospects in front of each other. But they said they hoped to stay in contact, something Hirsch later said was a foregone conclusion. "Animation's a small industry, and no matter where you go you're going to meet your friends from CalArts," he said. alex.dobuzinskis@dailynews.com (661) 257-5253 CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1 -- 5 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) "Off the Wall" creator Alex Hirsch, left, clowns around with co-creators Nick Butera and Dimitri Frazao, all animation students at Cal Arts. Their animated short has become a hit on YouTube. Above, a look at "Wallby" and "Unicorn vs. Narwhal." (6 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) "Wallby" creator Alex Hirsch, a student at CalArts, draws out his YouTube celebrity. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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