Sophia Assumption wrote:School at VSU will be training ground for the Russian animation.
Now any Voronezh can not just learn to create animations, but also get a chance to see their work on the big screen: the dream can turn into a real purpose, not leaving the city of Voronezh. Reception of applications for animation courses, open studio at VSU Voronezh «Wizart Animation» - they have created cartoon "The Snow Queen", which was produced by Timur Bekmambetov and who in January was in all theaters of the country. This month it looked more than a million people, the cartoon has earned more than $7.5 million.
Now the studio animators are working on a sequel to "The Snow Queen" and are in need of additional working hands and new talent. Decided to look for them with the Voronezh University. Animation school to become, in essence, training ground.
"Employment is not guaranteed, but we promise that all stakeholders the opportunity to be. We expect that approximately 10-15% of students will work with us in the studio, for the proper conduct these courses in order to select the best, most talented students and invite them to work with us in the studio. That is why we are not very interested in school children, but if there is a strong desire, then take the high school - but we would like to see people have already been set to work, and after the course could stay with us." Alexey Bogatyrev, director of the school, "Wizart."
Courses, though not free, but the price in comparison to similar educational programs symbolic. In fact, the university will have to invest in equipment and computer labs. Classes will be held in one of the best classes of the Faculty of Computer Science, but for future animators also need specialized equipment, such as graphics tablets.
The school will be run on the model of foreign exchange - something similar, for example, organizes company "DreamWorks Pictures" - creators of well-known cartoon characters of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and many others.
"We think that it is necessary to use the Western experience, the experience of studio DreamWorks, Pixar, which makes orientation courses at universities, and these courses provide some information, some basic knowledge, and anyone can come close to creating animation," says Vladimir Nikolayev, CEO of the studio, "Wizart Animation."
As in foreign studios to teach in school, "Wizart" are professional animators. During the day they will be working in the studio and in the evening - to teach beginners the secrets of his skill.
"Both in Russia and abroad is quite rare that the best taught, leading practitioners. In our school it is." Alex's plan, director and artist of "The Snow Queen."
The program - the five basic courses, each designed for 40 hours. Classes in the evenings and weekends are spread over 2-2.5 months. Graduates of the course will be issued certificates as a standard form of the studio Wizart Animation, and from VSU and international certificates of Autodesk.
What exactly will be included in the program, teachers will not only tell, but show. Cartoon characters literally taken apart to pieces. It turns out to translate a two-dimensional image in 3d - the one more task. First, the artist draws a sketch, and its task is draw the character, so that was clear volume. Then enters the picture, Digital sculpting, where the plane of the image on the screen of virtual clay "mold" of the character. How this is done, the director and teacher at Alex Bogatyrev shown on the screen - just a few minutes in the program Zbrush (work in it will be the topic of one of the School of Animation) shapeless lump became head of the famous French actor.
"Sculpt" multgeroya in 3d starting from the skeleton - just so his movements will be anatomically correct. Then the skeleton of "impose" muscles - in motion, each of them is also stretched and strained in their own way, and only then is the "upper layer" - hide or skin, clothes, and a cartoon character appears before the audience.
"Animation is translated as "revival," "breathe life." says Sergey Nikolaev, animator, teacher of a basic course in animation system Maya.
"It is necessary for the understanding of the essence of work. Animator - not a soulless robot that does what it says Head. He really needs to breathe life into the picture, play a scene, to show that a character is thinking or feeling. And it can show it with gestures, posture, facial expressions."
However, there are actions and present difficult. For example, to "revive" the three-second scene where Gerda tossing a closed door and finally comes into it, needed the help of the director - and very direct. Jumping director Maxim Sveshnikov over conventional door filmed and then played back on this model the dynamics of the character.
"We even had the idea to find yourself a kindness or even a rabbit to observe its habits and movements of the characters rather pass." Sergey Nikolaev, animator, teacher basic course in animation system Maya.
It is very tedious work. The average animator does one cartoon in the second day. This is about 24 frames. Easy to see that one person, working almost seven days a week, barely have time to make 6 minute cartoon for the year. Therefore, the animation studio responsibilities are clearly separated. Model the characters, working with textures, animations make different specialists, each engaged in the business.
For example, the texturing is engaged the whole department. Its director Rita Kuleshov showed the gray computer model is "as real." Division of texturing characters and objects in the model gets expanded form, similar to the pattern of the fabric. Person is presented with a flat pancake gathered in the center of the eyes and nose, Gerda coat looks just like a tailor's pattern - see the sleeves and shelves, pirate pistol generally similar to a set of fragments of different shapes.
"Our mission - to show the nature of the material to the metal was metal, wood - wood," explains Rita Kuleshov.
"Before texturing we do sketches, studies, from which tissue material to do this or that subject, how it should look."
Such separation is practiced in western studios.
"In Russia still has a practice that one person should be able to create a character zamodelit it, render, texture and animate, but these masters of all trades can be counted on the fingers," says Sergey Nikolaev.
"In the West, it is long gone, every action has its own specialists. We also have a studio in the department of modeling, texturing department ... but good animation is still not enough, they must be educated. What we are doing."
Now the studio, "Wizart," is working on a sequel to "The Snow Queen" - a full-length animated 3D-film with the working title "Wolves and Sheep." The film tells of a young wolf named Grey. Amateur fun and hunt for sheep, Gray afraid of responsibility and did not want to become the new leader of the pack, it is sure that the wolves principal in the world, and the sheep are needed only to wolves were full. But suddenly things change magically. When waking up in the morning gray sheep skin and is in a flock of sheep. The output of the project is scheduled for release in 2014. It is possible that in this project happen to anyone to participate in the future students of the school of animation.
To get to the training will be able to everyone, even though the first set is limited to the size of a computer class: can simultaneously engage only 10-12 people, which means that both can be trained no more than 60 students (compared to an open day animation school there were about 150 people ). However, anyone who does not fall into the first set, which should end in mid-February, will be able to enroll in the second, and so on. Depending on how well students will learn the subtleties of the animation may organizers of the school will expand the program of courses for "advanced users." In addition, teachers and schools promise additional courses, intensives - for carrier-case and special effects.
"It is believed that in Voronezh nothing truly meaningful can be achieved. Like, if you want to achieve something - Go to Moscow or St. Petersburg. Today's event - the opening of the school - not only has the scale of a university, but is really important for the whole city. It means that no longer deaf Voronezh province, as in the Voronezh, too, can make a quality product," rector of VSU Elena Ischenko
