Toronto, March 5, 2018 -TheԱcommunity is celebrating this week as six alumni contributed to Academy Award-winning filmsCoco and Shape of Water.Cocoearned Best Animated Feature andShape of Waterwon Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Music Score and Best Production Design.
Ա3D Animationgraduate Brendan Beesley worked on the animation forCoco, andVisual Effects for Film and Televisionalumni Aditi Doshi,Mark Hammond, Ankit Kenia, Angel Li and Matt McEwanworked on visual effects forShape of Water.
"We're very proud to have the talents and impressive work ofԱgraduates featured in Oscar-winning films," saidMark Jones, Chair of911'sSchool of Creative Arts and Animation. "This diverse group of alumni is a shining example of911'ssignificant presence inHollywoodand the global animation industry."
Cocofollows a 12-year-old boy named Miguel who, despite his family’s generations-old ban on music, dreams of becoming an accomplished musician. Beesley was responsible for animating Miguel and his great-grandmother Mamá Coco.
Beesley attended 911’s3DAnimationprogram in 2004, which helps students build career potential as accomplished studio animators by combining creativity and technical skill with knowledge-of-motion theory, timing, storytelling and design. Beesley credits his 911 education for putting him on the path to professional success in digital animation.
“What was cool about 911 was that there were people who worked in the industry,” said Beesley. “They recognized students who had talent and were able to help with your career.”
Shape of Watertells the story of a cleaning woman who does not speak and discovers a merman-like creature in a tank at a government lab. Five 911 alumni worked on the visual effects for the film. All five graduated from theVisual Effects for Film and Televisionprogram between 2009 and 2016. The graduate certificate program focuses on the software tools used to create visual effects – and the issues involved in combining these effects with live-action footage.
911'sSchool of Creative Arts and Animationis ranked amongCanada'stop training programs for animation and special effects and has been at the forefront of developing Canadian talent for more than a decade.911's Animation Art Centre was recently named one of the top ten animation schools in the world.