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Tshimologong gets animation boost

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 20 Jun 2019

South African start-up innovation hub, the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, has received a boost in its animation ventures.

This, after Tshimologong and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) strengthened their ties with international partners by signing official partnership agreements at the 2019 Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

The agreements are with Paris-based animation school, Gobelins, and the French Embassy in SA.

Animation is a method in which pictures are manipulated to appear as moving images, sometimes using computer software. The software that will be used to teach the animators includes TVPAINT for 2D animation, MAYA for 3D animation and Photoshop for visual development and storyboarding.

The goal of the partnerships is to grow the animation industry skills by offering training, internships and scholarships to animators in Africa.

Tshimologong Animation Studio art director Lesego Vorster says the collaboration with the French-based school will give the interns an opportunity to hone their visual development skills.

“The partnership with Gobelins offers interns strong support from one of the best schools in the world, not only in raising the standard and quality of the work to come out of the Tshimologong Animation Studio, but also to broaden the horizons of all interns,” says Vorster.

Earlier this year, 20 students were welcomed at Tshimologong Animation Studio with hopes to further their understanding of high-end animation under the direction of recent Gobelins master’s graduate, Vorster.

According to Vorster, the co-designed internship programme focuses on establishing authentic African aesthetics through appropriate referencing and understanding of design and storytelling fundamentals. Furthermore, the internship forms part of an active role in empowering black youth in a field that was previously relatively inaccessible to them.

The agreement with the NFVF and the French Embassy in SA addresses training needs, scholarships, skills exchange and co-production opportunities.

The NFVF will contribute around €16 000 (R257 000) for a scholarship for the Gobelins “Character Animation and Animated Filmmaking, Master of Arts” qualification. The Animation School (SA) and Campus France will also fund this scholarship. South African aspiring animator Karien Benz was awarded the scholarship.

The NFVF’s head of industry development and promotions, Joy Mawela, says he hopes the partnerships will help South African animators to further grow their skills.

“South African animators have been creating soundwaves across international borders over the past decade. This partnership will ensure the development and growth of the film industry in South Africa. I look forward to a beneficial partnership that will see a significant step towards the further growth of the animation sector in South Africa,” says Mawela.

By joining forces with the international partners, the two organisations hope to strengthen their support for the South African film and TV industry and to foster better co-operation between South African and French ecosystems in film, TV and new formats.

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