Art Or Game Development And Design Program Mdc

Animation studio (photo supplied by MDC)

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Animation studio (photo supplied by MDC)

"No one has this. Miami can be proud!" —Mauricio Ferrazza, designer/chairperson of Miami Dade College's sparkly new Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex.

I visited MDC's enchantingly named M.A.G.I.C. (Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex) this past week at the downtown Wolfson campus and was gobsmacked, as the British say, by the breadth and high level of cutting edge technology. It's all packaged in a rockin' spiffy new facility, designed by the renowned architecture company Harvard Jolly, that leaves everything to the imagination, progressive to the nth degree. Before I meander on with this Complex tale from nugget of imagination to full blown reality, let me introduce you to the force of nature that is instrumental in bringing together the fractured cells of animation to concentrated reality.

Summer Camp animation instructor Leif Pedersen with Mauricio Ferrazza (Photo by Irene Sperber)

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Summer Camp animation instructor Leif Pedersen with Mauricio Ferrazza (Photo by Irene Sperber)

Mauricio Ferrazza was my guide, the brains and brawn behind this exiting venture. President of the board and MDC's M.A.G.I.C. department chairperson as of this past January, Ferrazza has been in film, TV and the animation production biz in both the United States and Brazil for over 25 years.

He is the mastermind behind the successful Miami Animation Conference & Festival (Oct. 16 and 17, 2015) now being hosted by Miami Dade College. In charge of programming and curriculum for the new complex, Ferrazza also designed, named and gathered info needed to convince Florida that an animation school would benefit the state run facility.

Slated for an Aug. 21 official opening, Ferrazza illuminated projections. "A year ago MDC hired me as a consultant to design the studio and seven months ago we broke ground."

Classroom (photo by Irene Sperber)

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Classroom (photo by Irene Sperber)

I covered Ferrazza's first 2009 animation festival and have seen how far and fast this educational concept was pushed forward. His concept, the annual MIA Animation Conference & Festival, is now in the official calendar of Miami-Dade College. MDC is in the throes of last minute work getting ready for the first animation semester, but a summer camp is in currently in progress. "I invited 20 faculty from Miami Dade County public schools to teach them about animation and video game design. They are our ambassadors."

I asked what sort of criteria does one need to be an animator. He told me that the school is creating an Associates in Science degree (2 year). "I wrote both programs for Miami-Dade College. I did it opposite.... I went to Los Angeles to every single studio. Depending on what sort of professional they most needed, I wrote the curriculum. When you get out of here, you can get a job in the industry."

We passed a 3-D lab en route to introducing me to the summer camp instructor, Leif Pedersen, who is on faculty and also works for Pixar.

"I threw a lot at them," Pedersen informed us, "and they've been responding very well. They're at different levels, some have no expertise at all and they're doing things that are great."

Ferrazza added: "I opened the Summer Camp for two weeks and we had to open a third."

We wandered into a gorgeous studio, designed by Ferrazza, of course, with its green screen and all. I felt like a cartoon already. "We will have three technologists which allows us to create NY in 3-D and place the actors (into the scene)". We also have Motion Capture....with the suites."

"Motion Tracking technology, from England, will allow us to create a monster in 3-D and an actor will then interact, just like Avatar," Ferrazza interjected.

They have a gallery of screens on one studio wall, to show their animations and video games. "We're offering two new majors: Animations and Game Art and Game Development Design. There is an open lab with wall sized monitor. "This will be used for students to come and work; I can have lectures, show a movie, guest speakers, everything is wireless."

Motion Capture studio (photo supplied by MDC)

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Motion Capture studio (photo supplied by MDC)

Ferrazza also looks forward to producing his own short stories with the group of professionals on board. "We're going to produce cartoons, in Miami, just like the Fleischer family," referring to Popeye, Betty Boop and Superman, which were produced in the Fleischer Studios on NW 30th Avenue from 1938 to 1942.

Mauricio Ferrazza gave some background: "Animation is just not cartoon anymore; it's health care, architecture, forensic. There are three huge companies in Miami, doing forensic animation for court." "In the last five years we've seen an increase in gaming studios (about 20) opening in Miami." We are creating a correct climate so these companies can open here."

"The second year (of a two-year program) students will go into a Capstone project. Every student has to pitch a project, they pick two or three to go into production, the others will be placed in the groups. "I have agreements with Walt Disney Animation studios, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Pixar. We will have mentors come to Miami, match the students to a studio, and work two to three to a group for three days to start production; then weekly conference calls for the rest of the semester.

There is no other program in the country like Ferrazza's. They will learn to launch into festivals, social media, packaging, scheduling, pitching, marketing, and advertising.

There's a pre-requisite to take courses at MAGIC. You must have a high school diploma.

Students leave with an Associate in Science degree in Animation and Game Art. When students go through the Capstone project they can also learn how to open a business by utilizing The Idea Center, an entrepreneurial school at MDC.

Wait! There's more! Alienware, a subsidiary of Dell (computer manufacturer), is a leader in PC gaming and is creating the Alienware Scholarship Program to help the next-gen developer create on the latest technology.

I connected with the president of the Wolfson Campus, José A. Vicente, who weiged in on this new venture: "MAGIC emanated from a post MIA Animation Conference meeting. We were reassessing what had to be done for the 2014 MIA Animation Conference. As the discussion evolved, I realized the workforce need in the field and the potential to have Miami Dade College to be the part of the solution by providing the pipeline of a well-trained workforce… a distinction that MDC enjoys across the industries, and as an academic institution, across the curriculum. For me, it has been an eye opener. The first thought that comes to mind when we talk about animation is films and cartoons. As one further reflects on it, architects use animation to develop and showcase their designs. The medical fields from the research to the creation of body parts, you name it, animation has become a critical element.

"At last year's MIA Animation Conference, we brought a number of the individuals that are on the forefront of the animation field to present at the conference. We had had the opportunity to meet with them earlier in the year when we went to L.A. At the conference, we unveiled MAGIC's architectural design (of course through animation). They were most impressed to see that what we would build is a state of the art replica of what you would find in the top animation studios from conceptual, technological, and facilities perspectives."

It has been said that Miami is the new Silicon Valley. I'd say that Miami, the Magic City through its Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex will be the key place to be trained for animation and gaming. By establishing MAGIC, we further validate MDC's motto "Opportunity Changes Everything." This is an opportunity for the industries in question, an opportunity for the community we serve, an opportunity for the future students that will come, an opportunity for our institution to once again distinguish itself as well as for MDC to be part of the solution in Miami, the MAGIC City."

Miami-Dade College: www.mdc.edu/main/

MIA Animation Conference & Festival (photo supplied by MDC)

Photographer:

MIA Animation Conference & Festival (photo supplied by MDC)

And there you have it. Don't miss the Animation conference this year. Time is right to prepare your submission.

Important markers in the calendar of animation this season:

MIA Animation Conference & Festival 2015
October 16th and 17th
Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus
Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex.
MIA Animation Festival
Deadline for submissions, September 15, 2015
The Pitch to the Industry
Deadline for submissions, August 31, 2015
Game On - An Indie Game Competition
Deadline for submissions, July 10, 2015