Industry-Relevant Skills: Bridging the Gap Between Classroom and Career

Authored by Mr Jeffrey

Treating the classroom as a real workplace

Having been in the animation industry for almost thirty years and having taught animation on the side for the majority of my career, I have noticed that the number of students who want to learn about animation rises with each given year.  And having been a senior teacher at YaizY now for over a year, I have come to realize that it doesn’t matter how young or old the student is, as I’ve taught students ranging from as young as third or fourth graders all the way to high schoolers.  They’ve seen animation in their favorite streaming shows, movies, and video games, and they want to see if they can take a hobby and turn it into a career.

My approach to teaching has always been the same: to treat the classroom as if it were a real-life animation studio.   I’ve worked on the Shrek, Madagascar, and Ice Age franchises, so I know what it takes to create an animated film, and I know the kind of animators that are usually hired to do the job.   

Establishing lifelong connections among the students

In my animation classes, I get my students to introduce themselves in the first class, establishing potentially-lifelong connections with each other, just as one would network in the workplace.   I also have students turn to each other and talk among themselves during the lessons throughout the year, to discuss their thoughts about the theories that are being taught and thus furthering their bonds with each other.   Furthermore, when it comes time to do the assignments and show their work for critiques, I encourage the students to congratulate each other when good techniques are featured.  My goal is not only to keep a high morale within the classroom but also create the same kind of support among classmates as animators would have on a real team.  

Encouraging student participation and engagement

Also, on the first day, each student fills out a survey which tells me their favorite activities – sports, music, and films – and I incorporate their tastes into my lectures to make what they’re learning to be more fun.  For instance, a student in one of my recent animation classes revealed that their favorite film of all time is The Lion King.  From this knowledge, I was able to incorporate the Lion King early on into such lessons as character design and color theory in film, and as a result, the student’s passion for learning was really ignited and they were always the first student to arrive and never missed a day of class.   I find that this technique creates a classroom environment in which students are more likely to express themselves and participate, just as a real studio tends to hire artists who bring new ideas and thoughts to the table.  

Instilling a strong work ethic for the future

But even as each class is designed to be as fun as possible, my goal is also to instill a solid work ethic that the students would hopefully carry through into their career, regardless of whether they enter the animation industry or another field.  Every assignment has a hard deadline, just as a real project in a studio does.   And each weekly piece of animation that we do builds up to a final 1-to-2-minute short film, showcasing their newly-acquired skills in character design, sound design, and editing, which they can use to apply for college or even an internship at a real studio.

As a teacher at YaizY, I’m proud of the curriculum that we have established, because these students are learning the same animation principles that one would learn in college or even an animation vocational school.  I view myself not only as an educator, but also as a mentor and cheerleader, for I have the opportunity not only to help these students turn their career dreams into reality but also condition them into developing traits that are necessary to succeed in a real-world working environment.