Watch the Best Student Animators Before They Go Pro

The California Institute of the Arts (a.k.a. CalArts) was founded in 1961 by Walt Disney himself. Located 20miles north of Los Angeles, theuniversity containsschools forfine art,dance, theater, music, and film/video. But its Character Animation program has gotten the most attention. So many CalArtsalumni — including Brad Bird, Pete Docter, and John Lassiter —have ended up at Pixar, they put references to the animationclassroom A113 in all of their films.

A113 appears in Pixar films made by CalArts alumni.

(Pixar Wiki)

Theacademic year always ends with The Producers’ Show, where the best student films are selected to screenfor representatives from animation studios. Even if job offers don’t necessarily follow, just being in The Producers’ Show can earn a studentbragging rights.

Now anyone can watch films from The Producers’ Show on Vimeo’s CalArts Character Animation channel. And “An Object at Rest” by senior Seth Boydenhas goneviral, earning praise from CalArts alumni in the industry.

Students todayare lucky. They can color and distribute their filmsdigitally.Back when CalArts alum Tim Burton spentlate nights in classroom A113, his films were made withback-lit pieces of paper, shot onblack and white video. If youwanted to see his filmafter The Producers’ Show, you’d have to watcha VHS copy atthe schoollibrary.

For another taste of the old days,here’s a filmbyEric Molinsky from the class of ’99.Any connectionto Studio 360s Eric Molinsky must be a coincidence.