ACME Corporate Web Portal

Over the summer, ACME launched its corporate community web portal at www.theacmenetwork.org.  This magazine-format website is the place to go for ACME corporate information, as well as the latest news on what's going on with the program - and in ACME's extended world.  You will find information for all of ACME's stakeholders, including Students, Parents, Teachers, Mentors and Supporters of all stripes (funders, corporate partners, others).  Additionally, you will find updated stories about student accomplishments, teachers and their programs, what mentors are doing in their professional lives, and general updates from the animation industry and the media education field. 

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For our die-hard supporters, we have set up an ACME-branded credit card through Capital One - yes, our very own ACME credit card!  Each sign-up is worth $50 to ACME, plus we get 2% of every purchase.  The link is also available on the home page.

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Professional Development Seminar

In July, ACME hosted a 3-day professional development seminar at our offices at Los Angeles Center Studios in downtown L.A.   With the launching of the new ACME platform, we felt it would be a great opportunity to help new ACME teachers get introduced to our methodology, and provide an opportunity for seasoned ACME teachers to share their best practices. 

It was also Frank Gladstone's first time in front of a live ACME audience - having hosted and mentored on ACME telecasts for so many years.  The centerpiece of the seminar was a series of tutorials that Frank conducted on core ACME exercises designed to give students a firm foundational grasp of animation techniques.  Topics included Story, Animation & Drawing, and Cinematics. 

While ACME does not endorse any single computer animation software package, we do love ToonBoom, and their sales manager, Steve Martinez was on hand during the seminar to demo the software and answer questions about how to incorporate it into an animation curriculum.  

To round things out, DreamWorks Animation hosted us for lunch at their Glendale campus, where DW execs Angela Lepito and Jim Conrads took us through a presentation on their CG pipeline. In a workshop session, DW Head of Story Dave Pimentel shared story and storyboarding process tips, the mentoring strategies he uses for the DW intern program and what he looks for in up-and-coming artists.

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Welcome New Schools!

We are thrilled to welcome new schools to ACME this fall, and wanted to share some of the innovative ways that ACME is being implemented. 

Rodayne Esmay at Utah Valley University is not only adopting ACME for his college students, he is also propagating ACME to his key feeder high schools.  He understands that better-trained high school grads will help him raise the bar in his college courses - and enable better animation. In addition to the core animation and artistic training facilitated through ACME, Rodayne (whose background is as a professional animator and filmmaker) recognizes the value of the 21st century skills that result from the ACME experience.  Giving students confidence, presentation skills, collaboration skills, and critical thinking will serve them throughout their professional lives, no matter what field they choose to enter.

David Castillo from West Hills Community College in Coalinga, CA is implementing a similar strategy.  In order to engage students in creative and 21st century skills, West Hills is bringing both Mendota Junior High School and Mendota High School onto ACME to create a learning pathway.  David believes that ACME training will give students the preparation they need, as well as the motivation, to go on to college.  We look forward to working with this community in California's central valley!  

Finally, Don Isbell, a longtime ACME teacher, has seeded another program with ACME.  Having already implemented ACME programs at Century High School,  Segerstrom High School and Valley High School. Don will be teaching an ACME-supported class at Coastline Community College in Orange County this fall.

ACME welcomes these and all new schools to the community!

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