News

You are currently browsing the archive for the News category.

Bulletin: Pitch your shorts to Nickelodeon

February 6, 2013 in Briefs, Calls for Submissions, News | No comments

Jeremy Kahn is here to tell you about great opportunities to share your work. Image: Jeremy Kahn

By Jeremy Kahn

As some may be aware, Nickelodeon holds a pitch contest every now and then for new animated programs. Well, it’s that time of the year again. Nickelodeon is opening up their submissions page to potential animators and their ideas.

The opportunity won’t be here forever though, with the deadline coming up in just a few short months. Interested animators have until March 29 to submit their work to Nick at their website.

Submissions must be comedic, character driven and have kid appeal with about 2-3 characters in total. Additionally, they should be given the basic concept treatment. This means character descriptions (both design and written descriptions). It also means that you should be prepared to include either a two-minute rough storyboard thumbnail or a two-minute script/outline. Resumes and related credits are required, including links to any work you may have online. Further details can be found in the aforementioned link.

Other parts of the submission such as character designs, layouts and links to additional pitch content are not required, but not prohibited.

When coming up with your story, keep in mind that your characters must be relatable to kids, 6-11, while appealing to both boys and girls. If you do a story about non-human character, try to make their mindset like a kid.

Remember, the deadline is March 29. Good luck to everyone who decides to participate.

SCAD offers free CS6 download

October 5, 2012 in Briefs, Graphic Design, News, Student Life, Technology | No comments

By Carlos Serrano

It began not with a bang, but with a whisper. One seemingly innocent Twitter post thanking SCAD for a free download of some sort, followed by another one asking how to actually download the program. Pretty soon it seemed everyone had heard the news. SCAD was offering a free download of Adobe CS6 for all current students, as well as incoming freshmen and transfer students.

Photography major Jessicla Clickner is one such student. “I was ecstatic when I got the email about the CS6 download.” She says, “I had almost paid the $250 student rate to get Photoshop alone.”

It’s not just about saving money of course. The opportunity to use CS6 should help students be better prepared for schoolwork, and hopefully make things easier for them as well.

As with most new things, there were a few hiccups. Freshmen had to wait until the start of the new school year to receive their download code, which caused some confusion among the newest students. There was also the unfortunate reality of slowdowns and downed websites.

Of course, that was all to be expected, after all, with so many students vying for the same link, it would have been naive to think there would be no bumps. Thankfully for everyone involved, things settled down, and students began to download CS6 in earnest, just in time for a fresh new quarter.

If you haven’t yet taken the time to download your free copy, yo should. It’s an easy process, made even easier by the fact that at this point in the quarter, you’ll have beaten the initial rush of students. Various SCAD-affiliated social media pages have already shared the steps to take in order to download the software, but because sharing is caring, you can also find them in this article:

To request your free copy of CS6, just log into MySCAD, hit up the Resources tab and click on SCAD Deals. If all goes well, you should be designing like a pro in no time flat.

Asked about what she thought of SCAD’s decision to offer this download, Clckner had this to add, “To get the free CS6 software was not something I was expecting, and this school continues to surprise me.”

With surprises like this one, it seems like everyone wins.

 

Thinking Outside the Bookstore

August 14, 2012 in From Student to Student, News, Student Life | No comments

Thinking outside the box is something art students do well, so in that spirit today we’re going to talk about alternatives for getting your textbooks.

Renting Digital Textbooks
Amazon, Coursesmart, Barnes and Noble, and other sites have made a number of textbooks available in a digital format. Aside from flat-out selling books digitally, they provide another option which allows you to rent an e-book version of their available textbooks. The way this works is, you purchase and download the textbook to your preferred e-reader. This download comes with a unique DRM that expires after a certain amount of days. Upon expiring, the e-book is deleted from the reader (similar to how you’d rent movies through Amazon Instant Video or iTunes). If you look, you can find many services that provide a similar feature like Google Play or even your local library (many of which have started using this type of service to lend books).

Now, this is all fine and dandy for those who like or can stand digital books, but what about those that still prefer printed material?

Renting Old-School Textbooks
Many services lend out physical books with a time limit on how long you can have it, similar to borrowing from a library. The only main difference is the rental fee and that the book is shipped to you and when you’re finished you have to ship it back to the company. So basically, it’s like a mail-order library. The good thing is you get pre-paid postage so shipping the book back doesn’t cost anything.

Many of these service also offer their books through a couple of rental plans. These plans tell you how long you can keep a book for example 60, 90, or 125+ days. Since SCAD runs on a trimester (a.k.a quarter) schedule, being able to rent a book for fewer days is an advantage. Storefronts like textbookrentals.com allow you to compare and contrast a wide array of online rental services’ prices and options.

Among the many sites out there that provide physical book rentals are Ebay’s Half.com, Barnes & Nobles, also Amazon. In addition to these main online retailers, some lesser-known  sites are Book Renter or even online used book sites like Abe Books.

The point being, there are plenty of alternatives for acquiring your text books if you just look hard enough. Honestly though, I’ve found more success in buying them cheaper used, sometimes the rental program end up more expensive. Just remember to thoroughly look at all your options before you buy. Also, make sure to take into account the time from when you purchase the book to the time your classes begin. There’s nothing as bad as getting your text book a week late due to slow shipping.

Effects of the Colorado wildfires

June 27, 2012 in News, Reports From the Field | No comments

Jamie Hurt, ITGM M.F.A. student, shares pictures he took at Jeffco Airport (Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport) in Denver, Colo. Jeffco is the home base for the large air support vehicles battling wildfires in Colorado. SCAD has 14 eLearning students living in Colorado, most of whom are located in the Denver- and Colorado Springs-areas where evacuations are taking place.

Get your work noticed with the International Manga Awards

May 29, 2012 in Briefs, News, Sequential Art | 2 comments

Jeremy Kahn guides you through the world of tech. Image: Jeremy Kahn

By Jeremy Kahn

The 6th International Manga Award Competition has begun. Set up to promote the work of aspiring manga artists based outside of Japan, this competition helps bridge gaps in the manga industry.

Most manga artists stateside have to go through independent publishers or web venues to sell their works. With this contest you have the chance to turn the tables.

All work must be composed of 24 pages or more and made in countries outside of Japan. No digital files are accepted, only print with two copies of the work made available. The submission period runs from April 2012 to June 15, 2012. All entries must be submitted by June 15.

The address to submit you work, as well as the form needed alongside it, is located within the PDFs below.

For further rules and rewards (in English) check out this PDF http://www.manga-award.jp/6th_form/6thManga_Guidance_E.pdf

For the Japanese version go here http://www.manga-award.jp/6th_form/6thManga_Guidance_J.pdf

For an entry form click this link http://www.manga-award.jp/6th_form/6thManga_ApplicationForm.doc.zip

Good luck to all who enter.

Fine Tuned Delivered: Motown anticipates homecoming of restored piano

April 27, 2012 in Historic Preservation, Music, News | No comments

Sir Paul McCartney and chief curator Linda Stephens during the former's visit. Photo: Motown Museums

By Sheryl Davis

The original studio piano of Hitsville USA will soon return home to Detroit following its restoration at Steinway & Sons in New York. A visit to the Motown Historical Museum prompted Paul McCartney to commission the effort.

Before his concert at Comercia Park last July, McCartney paid a visit to Motown, or “the holy grail” as he referred to it later when reflecting on the experience.

While in Studio A, he requested to play the 1877 Steinway grand piano he recalled on many of the records he listened to as a kid in Liverpool, England. “He was disappointed when we told him it didn’t play,” remarked Motown Historical Museum CEO Audley Smith, Jr.

When McCartney learned of the instrument’s fragile condition, he immediately offered his assistance, calling the museum a day after his concert. In October 2011, the museum officially announced McCartney’s support and the Victorian rosewood piano was carefully transported by train to Queens, New York.

The Motown Historical Museum’s chief curator Lina Stephens accompanied McCartney on his tour and received the call from him later about his excitement and confidence in the project following a conversation with Steinway & Sons.

Myriad recently connected with Ms. Stephens to ask her about the forthcoming special occasion.

Myriad: What are your thoughts as curator on the piano’s restoration and anticipated return? Will there be any special events for its homecoming or have there been any changes at the museum to prepare for its arrival?

Stephens: I am very excited about the return of the piano. The restoration is only a plus as the piano will be playable with the sound quality a Steinway piano should have.  As far as a special event to mark the homecoming of the piano, there have been many things talked about, but nothing concrete.

Myriad: Will the piano now take a more active role in the museum’s tour experience?

Stephens: I don’t think the general tour will change with the return of the piano.

Myriad: Is there any chance that Sir Paul will return to Motown to inspect the restoration work for himself?

Stephens: We would love for Sir Paul McCartney to come back and see the piano, but there are no plans for that to happen.

The piano contributed to the “Motown Sound” on recordings from 1960 to 1972, including tunes such as “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” “What’s Going On” and “Tracks of My Tears.” It was last featured on The Commodores’ “Machine Gun” album in 1972.

“Steinway & Sons is honored to restore the historic Steinway piano that was used by such legends as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder – and to do so in the very same New York factory where it was originally built in 1877, “ said Ron Losby, President of Americas, Steinway & Sons. “We’re especially proud, as an American company, to help the Motown Museum in preserving the legacy of the Motown Record Company, whose artists and albums played such a vital role in one of the great eras of American music.”

« Older entries