Careers in Animation – Free Panel to be Presented
by Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting,
School of Visual Arts and Branscome International
April 23, 2009 – On Tuesday, May 5, the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, in conjunction with the School of Visual Arts and Branscome International, will host Careers in Animation, an intimate look inside the world of animation, presented at the SVA Theater on West 23rd Street. The panel is free and open to the public.
Careers in Animation will offer students and interested New Yorkers the chance to hear first hand accounts from a talented selection of New York City artists working in different media (film, television, digital content) in animation. The discussion, moderated by Associate Commissioner Julianne Cho, will feature a conversation with Academy Award nominated animator Bill Plympton as well as discourse from a panel of animators and industry experts, who will talk about their specific fields and offer career advice to the audience. A Q&A session will follow.
Panelists for Careers in Animation include:
Bill Plympton – Feature Film Animator, Idiots and Angels, Hair High, Mutant Aliens, I Married A Strange Person, The Tune; two time Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Short Film, Guard Dog and Your Face
Aaron Augenblick – Animator, Wonder Showzen; Founder, Augenblick Studios; Writer and Director, Golden Age
Debra Solomon – Animator, Mrs. Matisse, Everybody’s Pregnant; Creator and Director of the animated alter ego in Disney’s Lizzie McGuire series
David Levy – Author, Your Career in Animation: How to Survive and Thrive; President, Association International du Film d’Animation (ASIFA East); Animation Director, Blues Clues and Pinky Dinky Doo
Catherine Branscome – Founder, Branscome International, a NYC-based sales agency and producers rep firm specialized in animation
Norma Toroya – Commercial Animator, Curious Pictures, clients include Nike and United Airlines
“This panel serves as the perfect opportunity for New York City to highlight an important sector in our entertainment industry,” said Katherine Oliver, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. “Through initiatives like our career panel series and the ‘Made in NY’ Production Assistant Training Program, we are working to ensure that a diverse group of New Yorkers have access to the positions created by our thriving entertainment industry.” For more information about these programs, visit http://www.nyc.gov/film.
The panel begins at 8pm. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. RSVP to message@film.nyc.gov by Friday, May 1, 2009. The panel will take place at the SVA Theater, 333 West 23rd Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, Manhattan.