COMPUTER ANIMATION TOP DRAW.Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services The field of computer animation is exploding with fresh opportunities, with some exceptionally talented individuals commanding starting salaries as high as $80,000. And 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. is among the top schools preparing tomorrow's animators. Demand is high because new industries are finding applications for computer animation. ``Companies send out not only an annual report, but they'll also send along a video,'' says Phyllis Schaen, director of career services at Ringling School of Art & Design in Sarasota, Fla. ``Computer animators are also employed to create multimedia presentations that are used in sales, training, stockholders meetings, etc. Companies realize that color transparencies on an overhead projector just don't cut it anymore,'' Schaen says. Graduates of the top schools in the field find that jobs virtually come with the diploma. Top schools include Ringling; CalArts; Georgia's Savannah College of Art and Design SCAD enrolls more than 7,000 students from all 50 states and 100 countries. International student enrollment is 10-12 percent. Degree programs include advertising design, animation, architectural history, architecture, art history, arts administration (M.A. ; and the Pratt Institute Pratt Institute, at Brooklyn, N.Y.; coeducational; chartered and opened 1887. Founded by Charles Pratt as a school for practical training, it now offers general and professional studies, including programs in fine arts, art education, art history, library and in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . ``Talented students can expect to have a job within a month of graduation. In fact, many have jobs lined up before they collect their diplomas,'' says Dina Slothower, director of technology and program development for Pratt. Entry-level salaries can range anywhere from the low $30,000s to upper $50,000s, depending on where and how big the company is, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Ringling's Schaen. She has seen exceptionally talented students get offers for $60,000, $70,000 and even $80,000. In the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area, home to at least 7,000 animators, the average salary for those in the industry is $104,000 per year, says Steve Hulett of the union representing writers, artists and technicians working in the animation process. ``Beginning salaries of $1,300 to $1,500 per week are not uncommon and often rise to $2,000 to $3,000 per week after just a few years' experience,'' Hulett says. With these types of salaries, competition to get into the top schools is increasingly tough. Larry Coleman, associate director of admissions at CalArts, said the number of applications for the school's 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 has risen nearly 50 percent in six years - from 242 in 1992 to 380 this year. Today, parents write on behalf of their 5-year-olds asking how to prepare them for admission, Coleman said. Schools are also receiving applications from regular animators, many of whom have been in the industry for years, who want to learn how to use the new technology. The Ringling School is starting a program to meet this need. Despite the growing number of people entering school to study computer animation, the demand is still high. At Ringling, representatives from the major firms in the computer animation industry eye portfolios and tapes when students are only juniors. ``Some of the students who have taken internship positions as juniors have been hired away before returning for their senior year,'' said Ringling's Schaen. Parents may want to reconsider prepping their children for careers in medicine or law and instead encourage their artistic sides. Those who have not taken the time to find out if they have talent in this area may be missing out on great opportunities. When thinking of computer animation, often the major animation or special-effects studios in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, come to mind. However, the number of opportunities in the field of computer animation are growing nationwide in places like Boston, Connecticut, Florida, New York Florida is the name of some places in the U.S. state of New York:
``As a society, we are becoming more visual,'' says Schaen. ``People can easily relate to and better understand concepts or procedures if they can see them. For this reason, we see a growing number of uses for computer animation in the legal community as courts and law firms This list of the world's largest law firms by revenue is taken from The Lawyer and The American Lawyer and is ordered by 2006 revenue:[1]
``Computer animation is also used to train surgeons and with in-flight simulators to train pilots,'' Schaen says. Interactive entertainment and education software are also industries in need of computer animators, says Graham Clark, director of technology and program development for Savannah Savannah, city, United States Savannah, city (1990 pop. 137,560), seat of Chatham co., SE Ga., a port of entry on the Savannah River near its mouth; inc. 1789. College. Motion graphics, used heavily in television programs and advertising, is another growth area. Other areas of opportunity are television, advertising agencies, theme parks and developing Web sites and interactive CD-ROMs. |
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