STUDENTS who want to follow in the footsteps of notable Filipino animators that penetrated Hollywood has another reason to pursue their dreams.
Their potential to become globally competitive and recognized as such is now within reach at the iAcademy, the only education institution in the Philippines and throughout Southeast Asia to gain accreditation as a “Center of Excellence” (COE) of leading American animation software maker Toon Boom.
To the latter’s credit, Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, Lucasfilm, Dreamworks, and Nickelodeon, among others, are just some of the biggest animation and entertainment studios worldwide that exclusively use its outstanding animation software or platform.
Toon Boom is, likewise, in-demand among local animation firms. Even schools in the country use this software in their animation classes, yet some of them are neither certified nor qualified to use 100 percent of the platform. They can only teach their students 1/8th of its amazing capabilities.
Getting a COE now makes the academic institution fully qualified and equipped to expertly teach senior high-school and animation college students how to make full use of the platform.
“Having Toon Boom and their trainers to iAcademy will greatly improve the way we teach animation in our school,” said Vanessa L. Tanco, president and CEO of iAcademy.
Such recognition is awarded only to schools or universities that offer exceptional courses in Animation and Storyboarding with Toon Boom software as their program platform.
Applying for this, however, was not initiated by iAcademy itself. It came from Toon Boom Asia Pacific Director of Sales Bernard Boiteux.
Upon knowing that Toon Boom has been included in the school’s curriculum since it started offering animation course in 2008, he approached Peter Brown, faculty of Animation Department of iAcademy, and suggested to him that they must get a COE status.
In just a short span of one year of application, Toon Boom approved it and officially gave the COE certification in a recent awarding ceremony held at iAcademy’s campus in Makati City.
“The reason we chose iAcademy comes from the industry. When you take a look at the growth of the animation [sector] within the Philippines, the school’s name that comes up all the time is iAcademy. The local studios come here to grab the talent because they know it will work on the productions they do internationally,” Boiteux said. “It took us a few years just to get going, and now the school is a COE. We’re very proud of that. It’s a lot of work. The school has done a lot to become that, and the students are going to benefit heavily internationally.”
iAcademy uses in its School of Design the Toon Boom Harmony 16 in the Anipri (2-5), Thesis (1-3), and 2D Effects animation courses. The Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 6 is taught particularly in Storyboarding (1-2) and Thesis 1 subjects.
iAcademy Animation Program Chairman Weena Espardinez said they are working closely with Toon Boom regarding all the new features of the software and the latest international standards in animation.
“We’re going to be teaching them to our students so that they have to be up-to-date and whenever they go outside of the Philippines, they are well-equipped,” she said.
With its credential as a hub for teaching this top animation software and platform, the school is bullish that it will help bolster not only the enrollment for such program, but also the quality and quantity of graduates.
“By June [2019], we will actually be graduating 100, double of what we used to graduate. And we expect to have an increase in our animation graduates because this is the start of the pilot senior high-school students—thousands of them—coming into college now. So in the next three or four years, it’s going to be more than 100,” iAcademy Dean for School of Design Mark Meily said.