May 6, 2024

5 Great Student Films from the 2024 CalArt Producers Show

The CalArts Producers' Show is an annual screening of selected student works from the school's leading character animation department, and is attended by a wide range of industry professionals to preview new talent entering the animation industry.

This year's screening took place last Tuesday at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, where 23 films produced by the program were presented to a packed house under the direction of program director Mya Barnett. What struck me most about the screening, at least for me, was how boldly the current student productions diverge from the type of work currently being produced in the commercial animation industry.

The work on display was not limited to copying the same kind of animation aesthetics found in the mainstream. Rather, there were a number of exciting approaches to design, motion, and compositing that seemed to definitively push in new directions.

The big question is whether the commercial industry can find a way to create space for these fresh voices or whether it will continue to expect adaptability. In years past, if the industry did not know how to handle talent, young artists were out of luck. But thanks to the Internet, that is no longer the case. Now, artists with ambitions beyond the industry have a clear choice. Projects such as "Amazing Digital Circus" and "The Husbin Hotel" have reached huge audiences online and overturned the conventional idea that only companies and networks can launch original animated concepts.

The growing potential of Internet distribution, combined with an ever more cautious IP-driven approach in the commercial industry, has created a large amount of uncertainty and confusion, but also unprecedented opportunities. This year's Producers Show inspires confidence that the future of U.S. animation has never been brighter. Whether these creators leave the industry or forge their own paths, audiences can expect many exciting productions.

Below are the five films screened at the Producers Show. These are by no means the only outstanding films screened. Many of the other films that were in the Producers Show, as well as others that were not selected for screening, can be found on the 2024 Calarts Youtube playlist.

Director Messidor has a strong eye for character design and costume, but makes a really well-constructed and efficient documentary short about fashion, getting his points across with the same stylish confidence as the people interviewed for the film.

I have never been so immersed in a tween turf war, and when the short was over I found myself wanting to see more of these characters. Vaknin's voice is well-crafted, funny, character-driven, and rooted in observation. If this were a pilot, I would have given this one a white feather.

The work is distinct from the rest, both tonally and stylistically. Excellent visual choices throughout, from the comic book-like framing to the subdued color palette, add to the drama and tension of a story inspired by historical events.

An unlikely choice for a character animation program, Knight created this film in Blender as a week-long exercise. The best film concepts are often the ones that seem obvious and later you wonder why no one did it before. This is definitely a film that should be seen with an audience and deserves to be shown at a film festival.

It is visually playful, has strong directorial instincts, and is so much fun that you may not even notice Woo's powerful message about how wealth isolates us from our communities. Capitalism shouldn't be this interesting.