CVHS Student Kelly Mitchell Wins 3 Animation Awards

CAPISTRANO VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WINS THREE ANIMATION AWARDS
Mission Viejo, December 10, 2008–Kelly Mitchell, a student in Kent Baker’s animation class at Capistrano Valley High School, has just won her third ACME Animation competition since September. Kelly already has two first place wins, and this week, received third place for her entry in ACME Animation’s “Mr. Bean-Boing Lifts Weights” contest. The competition included other high school and Regional Occupational Program students throughout California and five other states.
Baker’s students actively participate in ACME Animation, a program of The ACME Network, a non-profit organization. ACME connects middle and high school classrooms to professional animators from all of the major studios and to college animation programs in an online community targeting animation, mentoring and effective communication. “We’re lucky at Capo Valley,” says Baker, “to participate in both the ACME teleconferencing and website. Live professional feedback really gets the students excited, and they can begin tackling college-level challenges with the help they receive online from animation students at a number of universities and art schools. ”
For the recent ACME competition, Kelly’s work was first selected by the students in her class to represent their class. The contests were judged by John Ramirez and Dave Master. Ramirez is a professional animator whose credits include films such as “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “Hercules,” “Toy Story II,” “Tarzan” and “Looney Tunes, Back in Action.” Master is an internationally-recognized educator, former Director of Artist Development for Warner Bros. and a founder of the ACME Animation program.
It doesn’t surprise Master that a student in Baker’s class came out with two first place and one third place win in ACME’s blind review process. “We see a lot of work on ACME Online and ACME On-Air,” says Master. “Kent Baker’s class puts out some really great work for beginning students. You can tell that Kent’s building a class culture that’s serious and squeezes the most out of every suggestion they get. It shows in what they say and write, and what they draw. Kelly’s work shows she’s put in a lot of pencil miles, as we say in the business.”
“ACME is a model of the future for ROP,” says Dr. Rick Bogart, CEO of Capistrano-Laguna Regional Occupational Program. “It helps good teachers bring professional expectations into their classroom every day, no matter where they are.” Animation is a vitally important field for our local and national economies, and with ACME, Capo-Laguna ROP is making it possible for Kelly Mitchell and her classmates to build the skills they need to succeed in the profession.”