Students will have the opportunity to create an “excitement reveal ad” using General Motors assets and branding.
Announcement Highlights:
- Students in the 3D Animation & Visual Effects program at VFS will create short “excitement reveal ads” using design assets from General Motors (GM).
- The collaboration gives students the chance to experience a professional production pipeline as part of their studies.
- GM Design’s Global Creative Visualization team are offering support and feedback to students throughout the process.
- GM joins a collection of companies making use of VFS’s talented network of students, alumni, and faculty to solve their creative problems and challenges.
(Vancouver, B.C.) July 24, 2024 – Vancouver Film School (VFS) is excited to announce a new collaboration with General Motors (GM Global Design) to offer 3D Animation & Visual Effects students experience working within the creative pipeline of one of the world’s largest brands.
Talks began back in September 2023, and over the next eight months students used GM assets and branding to conceive of, develop and produce an original “excitement reveal” ad for either the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV or 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV. With support and feedback from GM Global Design’s Creative Visualization (GCV) team, these students are learning how to work from a professional creative brief to create a 15–30 second advertisement that establishes an emotional connection with their audience.
“This collaboration with GM gives our students the chance to develop the critical skills that artists use every day in the 3D animation and visual effects industry,” says Colin Giles, Head of the School for Animation & Visual Effects at VFS. “Whether working on blockbuster films, hit games, or evocative marketing materials that connect companies to their customers, the skills fostered through this opportunity will apply throughout the industry and will help our students start their careers right away.”
The GM GCV team produces digital renderings, images and video footage of vehicles for GM’s four brands – GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Buick – as well as for the company’s non-brand studios and other general asset production needs within GM Design. The team’s work is often the first point of interaction for many consumers, inviting them behind the wheel of GM’s products.
“The VFS program is a great fit for our GCV team,” said Stephen Gray, Senior Global Manager, GM Design. “These students deliver high-quality creative and photorealistic executions, with a focus on working in small, collaborative cross-functional teams. This closely reflects the way our team works. I am excited to see what fresh ideas the students can produce on screen.”
GM is just one of many companies making use of VFS’s talented network of students, alumni, and faculty to solve their creative problems and challenges. VFS's creative community can step up to the plate from a multitude of creative disciplines to deliver a professional product, embedded right into the curriculum as a teaching method. This community has created everything from virtual reality training programs though the VR/AR Design & Development program, to video advertisements for web and television with Digital Design and 3D Animation & Visual Effects.
These collaborations offer students direct exposure to the industry production pipeline. Students develop their abilities to work within a team to complete a high-quality project, respond to and apply industry critique, and follow workflow methodologies. Projects will also have the potential to make use of the full spectrum of Virtual Production, Motion Capture, and VFX techniques that the 3D Animation & Visual Effects program offers, as well as using assets from the Digital Design program to create a professional level presentation of their work.
VFS graduates have worked on some of the world’s most recognizable brands, creating emotionally engaging content for companies like Google, Microsoft, and Marvel. VFS 3D Animation & VFX students often have opportunities to collaborate with industry professionals in the classroom during their studies and even before they graduate. This dynamic collaboration gives students a huge opportunity to work with a company as prominent and wide-reaching as GM.
About Vancouver Film School
VFS is Canada’s premier post-secondary entertainment arts institution, offering an immersive curriculum in film, animation, design, and beyond. VFS is known for providing high-quality education in accelerated time frames and offers 15 industry-led programs in which students graduate in 12 months as in-demand creative professionals. In 2023, alumni were credited on 8 of the top 10 domestic grossing films, 7 of the 10 best-selling games, and 8 of the 10 most streamed shows.
For more information, or to schedule interviews, please contact:
Evan Biswanger
Creative Director & Head of Marketing
Vancouver Film School
ebiswanger@vfs.com
vfs.edu
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