Review of Gérard Raucoules’ conference at the Google Digital Workshops in Montpellier

A THIRD EDITION IN A MORE INTIMATE SETTING

The curiosity aroused by CG animation cinema and FX continues unabated. The proof is in the form of Gérard Raucoules’ conference, which will be held for the third time this year, presenting the backstage of this universe.

The scheme is always the same: to popularize CG animation and FX in order to make them accessible to the greatest number of people. The objective is that when we leave, everyone can understand how CG animated films are made, what the different professions are and the main stages of production.

This new performance took place at the Google Digital Workshops in Montpellier. Thus, a good dozen curious people took part in this meeting, in a more intimate room that offered the advantage of a greater proximity between the speaker and the participants.

A THRIVING SECTOR

The conference began with a look back to understand the history of CG animation.

As always, in order to illustrate his comments, several student short films are screened during the conference. Even if today we are fully aware of the potential of this technology, this has not always been the case.

Gérard Raucoules went on to talk about the manufacturing side of CG animation films: what are the key stages of the production pipeline, how the different departments and the multiple trades are organized and the components.

As always, the presentation concludes with a global vision of the sector and its developments. Contrary to what one might think, this CG animation does not know the crisis, even on the contrary! The studios are constantly looking for manpower and career development is extremely fast. Gérard Raucoules did not hesitate to present several studios and to mention the case of some former ESMA students who, after a few years, moved on to positions of responsibility, supervising teams of several artists (several portraits are available in our “Alumni” section).

THE NEXT GENERATION

Moreover, we were delighted to count among the participants several high school students who came with in mind the specific idea of learning about the training provided at ESMA with a view to, perhaps, entering school after obtaining their baccalaureate. The next generation is already starting to prepare and we would be more than happy to support them in making their dreams come true.

Several other participants wanted to learn more about various aspects of CG animation in order to expand their knowledge and clarify some of the points that remained unclear to them. After all, it is also a chance to exchange with a specialist who has been working in this sector for more than thirty years!

In conclusion, we would like to say that we were pleased to note that once again this theme is still of great interest, whether it is a neophyte audience coming for their general culture or to learn about their (future) career.