This is the first in a series of profiles on DMA courses and instructors. Our first profile focuses on the art of animation. Digital Media Academy offers a wide range of courses in animation. From beginning cartooning to 3D animation with Maya, DMA offers professional instruction in digital arts and brings students face to face with today’s most vibrant art form, digital media. 

Course: Animation

Instructor: Geoffrey Beatty

Education: University of the Arts; Philadelphia, PA (Major: Animation)

Professional Portrait: A freelance animator and designer of world-class expertise, Geoffrey Beatty began his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s cutting-edge Media Lab, developing animation for MIT research projects into AI and robotics. Founder and coordinator of the Animation program at Philadelphia University (where he still teaches), Geoffrey has also lent his talents to creating powerful interactive museum exhibits, as well as character-based web-interactive projects and web-to-TV convergence properties. He also leads workshops on 3D animation for instructors, media professionals and kids – and remains one of only a handful of Autodesk-Certified Instructors in Maya, the leading 3D animation software program.

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“This could very well be the most exciting time to be learning animation.”

Geoffrey Beatty, Animation Instructor, at Digital Media Academy’s Computer & Digital Arts Summer Camp ought to know. He remembers back when he was a college student majoring in Animation, before technology triggered a revolution in animation. Back then, he and his classmates had to hand-render designs and shoot them on 16mm film, which was then carefully hand-cut with razor blades and assembled with splicing tape, with the final, edited product loaded onto reels. In other words, lots of slow and tedious work.

Maya, the movie and video game industry standard is used in the Digital Media Academy studio classroom.

Fast-forward to today, and not only are computers everywhere, but the same animation software used by professionals is available to students at reduced cost, or sometimes even through a free Internet link. Not only that, but now you have the ability to instantly share your creation with the world, either through a YouTube video clip or downloadable game mod. So access to animation software is easier to obtain and there are more ways to get your creative vision across to a mass audience. So now the question becomes: How do you sift through all these choices without growing totally overwhelmed? And how will you learn to really harness the power of this complex software?

That’s where DMA’s Animation program comes to the rescue. DMA instructors such as Geoffrey Beatty know not only the latest versions of the leading software that’s involved in creating great animation, but they also bring real-world professional experience to class sessions. As artists themselves, they understand what’s involved in taking a unique creative vision and translating it into animated form. They know how to get the best efforts from students, by actively encouraging their growth as animators. “I love the intense, hands-on approach of both the Professional and the Teen DMA classes,” Geoffrey reports. “This allows me to work closely with the students to create the best possible work – work they can be proud to show their colleagues, families and friends.”

Teens and Pro Series adults experience learning all of Maya’s powerful animation capabilities.

DMA’s Animation program is offered at the Kids Adventures, Teen and Professional levels. Beginning-to-intermediate students will learn basic animation principles, including character animation using pre-built rigs. Instruction for students at the Teen and Professional levels contains special emphasis on Autodesk Maya, the industry standard software for 3D animation. It’s an amazing tool that can unlock whole new worlds of imagination, and there are few instructors in the U.S. that can claim to have as much experience with the program as Geoffrey Beatty.

“I started using Maya more than ten years ago,” he recalls, “And since then I have used it to animate games, a television pilot, broadcast promos, museum exhibits and augmented reality graphics. I never would have imagined – back in school with the light tables and room-sized animation camera – that I would get the chance to create something as cool as this.”

Bring to life video game or comic book characters with animation. DMA offers computer and visual arts summer camps and courses in both traditional hand-drawn art as well as digital animation. Learn more or register for a summer camp by visiting Digital Media Academy.

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“Hop” has just bunny-hopped into theaters. Universal’s film blends live action with computer-animated characters and features the voices of Russell Brand (Brand plays E.B., a bunny with an attitude, who’s also the Easter Bunny’s son) and James Marsden as comical rabbits. David Hasselhoff also stars, as himself. The movie follows E.B. as he searches for stardom on the streets of Hollywood.

Don’t confuse this bunny with the regular chocolate variety. This guy has dreams of stardom!

“Hop” comes from the same creative team that brought us “Despicable Me,” and like that critically acclaimed animated feature, the computer-generated characters in “Hop” really pop off the screen. The characters are beautifully animated and reasonably believable, as talking rabbits go.

Of course, you could avoid holiday crowds at the Cineplex by staying home to celebrate Easter this year. Why not break out the family size Orville Redenbacher and curl up on the couch with family and friends to enjoy a classic Easter movie? Here are three great films that span the spectrum of wholesome Easter entertainment:

Easter Parade (1948)

Entertainment legend Gene Kelly (“Singin’ in the Rain”) was originally set to star in this 1948 classic, but after breaking his ankle, Kelly suggested a replacement: Fred Astaire. The rest is musical history. In “Easter Parade,” Astaire is down on his luck when dance partner and love interest Ann Miller decides to split from their toe-tapping duo for a solo shot. Plucky chorus girl Judy Garland helps put pep back in Fred’s step and together they attempt to dance their way to stardom before the next Easter Parade. If you’re a fan of “Glee” or “High School Musical,” you’ll more than enjoy this one. Fred Astaire is still generally considered the greatest dancer in the entire history of film. “Easter Parade” shows why.

King of Kings (1961)

Hollywood’s last two major films about Jesus Christ (“The Last Temptation of Christ” and “The Passion of the Christ”) were both controversial and contained elements not particularly suited to family viewing. For something the entire family can enjoy together, Jeffrey Hunter stars in the lead role of “King of Kings,” a 1961 biography that sticks pretty close to its New Testament script. You’ll see a moving Sermon on the Mount, a sleek Salome dance for King Herod, and a gripping account of the crucifixion. Photographed magnificently in 70mm Super Technirama, this movie should look great on your flat screen.

It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974)

Follow the ever-lovable “Peanuts” gang as they prepare for Easter. Watch Sally go shoe shopping for her Sunday finest while Peppermint Patty gets crafty with colored eggs. Then tag along as Snoopy and the rest of the gang goes on a hunt for eggs and a search for the Easter Bunny. Let’s be honest: Holidays are like baseball games; they’re just not the same without Peanuts.

Make your own Easter Classic
Maybe you have a young filmmaker of your own at home? Send them outside with a video camera to capture those magical moments on Easter Sunday. Or send them to Digital Media Academy this summer, DMA’s Summer Camp courses may not fit into a colorful plastic egg, but they’ll sure make for a great Easter morning surprise. Whether you’re looking to become certified in Final Cut Pro or learn the secrets of the movie-making industry, Digital Media Academy has a course for you. Register for a summer camp today.

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Digital Media Academy is the #1 summer camp destination for kids and teens and the premier professional computer training center for adults. What? You didn’t know DMA was also a certified Apple Training Center? It’s true, DMA is a summer camp program and so much more. Digital Media Academy offers a summer camp and professional learning experience unlike any other.

Developed by technology educators from Stanford University, DMA has been featured in The New York Times and now has been named as one of the world’s top ten summer camps by Worth.com.

Unlike other summer camp programs that use college students to teach their programs, Digital Media Academy’s programs are taught by working industry professionals. You’re learning real-world experience from people who professionally practice what they teach, everyday. DMA’s summer camps and professional computer training give people of all ages hands-on experience with cutting-edge digital media and related technology.

Learn 3D Video Game Level Design and character making using Maya, the industry standard for creating 3D objects.

Want to learn how to make an iPhone app? DMA has a course for that. Don’t have an iPhone? Are you more interested in developing for the Android platform? No problem, DMA has a course for that, too. From music production to filmmaking, video games, apps and everything in between, if it’s digital media, DMA can help you learn more about it, at one of ten prestigious college campuses across the U.S. and Canada. Unlike other programs that spread staff and resources thinly over 50-plus locations, DMA focuses on quality over quantity.

Don’t just take our word for it, see for yourself why Worth.com called Digital Media Academy, “one of the world’s ten best summer camps.” Then get yourself or your child registered. Once the word gets out, DMA’s camp spaces are sure to fill up fast! Register now for summer camp at Digital Media Academy.

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