December 20, 2001 - Expression is the center for motion capture and VICON 8 training

IS IT ANIMATED OR REAL? SURE ACTS LIKE REAL!

MOCAP (MOTION CAPTURE) IS BEING USED

EMERYVILLE (December 20, 2001)—Expression College for Digital Arts, the $ 28 million digital arts school, located a few pixels away from Pixar, Fantasy and Tippett Studios will have their students go to class with some the most famous faces in the movie business. Expression, the first and only school in North America authorized to certify students on the Vicon 8 system which was used to create the motion graphics for such movies as The Mummy, Star Wars Episode 1: Phantom Menace, Gladiator, and The Patriot, is now teaching how they were made in a “hands on lab"…the first of it’s kind in the world!

Located in Emeryville, California, Expression students become familiar with this system while studying the face and body movements used to create the famous motion graphic sequences of these and other digital animated landmark films.

They learn the technique and how to operate the Vicon 8 optical mocap (motion capture) system which allows actors to move freely without wires, awkward suits or large body markers, while their movements are recorded through 8 MCAM cameras that produce over 800 million pixels of resolution at 960 frames per second. The 8 MCAM cameras are built into Expression’s Meyer Hall and can easily handle 4 or 5 actors at a time with lightweight body suits and approximately 40 dots” smaller than Ping-Pong balls” velcroed thereon. Actors also have the opportunity of seeing 3D models duplicating their movements in real time on the Hall’s projection screen.

Combining theVicon 8 workstation with the school’s computers running Bodybuilder, Mobius and Maya, its animation students have the ability to achieve the same results as those amazing effects accomplished by Industrial Light and Magic, House of Moves and Foundation Imagining.

Expression College for Digital Arts was chosen by Vicon to be their exclusive United States training and certification program for the Vicon Accredited Motion Capture System. A 4-day Certification Course is offered to the public while a month long course is offered to Expression’s animation students.

Chris Coan, Expression’s Vice President of Education, states” the explosion in motion capture is just beginning. Every media outlet, from newspapers to Nightline to Newsweek, has been covering the growth in digital arts. The job demand for creative, talented, trained and certified students is unbelievable. The school is only two years old and already our graduates are creating magic for Tippett, Pixar, and Electronic Arts just to name a few.”

What’s next? How about motion capture body textures! You can best believe if it exists in the world of animation, Expression students will have it first!

About Expression College for Digital Arts
Founded in 1999, Expression is a unique, fully licensed digital arts college. Expression College for Digital Arts teaches and grants Bachelor degrees in three programs: Sound Arts; Digital Visual Media (comprising 3DAnimation and Visual Effects); and Digital Graphic Design (emphasizing Broadcast Design and Motion Graphics.) Expression utilizes a professional accelerated program and students live and learn in the culture of digital arts for approximately 2.5 years. Each class is limited to a small number of students to insure excellent and hands-on learning and the student to computer ratio is one-to-one. Students are taught by and work with the best practitioners and equipment that the industry can offer. Expression’s close ties to top industry professionals provide students with real-world client projects, mentorship and internship opportunities and a top-rated career development track that has resulted in a 80+% placement rate for graduates. When graduates leave their Expression family behind, they are prepared to assume sought-after jobs in Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and other art and high technology centers around the world. Expression College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Career Schools and Colleges of Technology, (ACCSCT).

Expression College for Digital Arts’ campus is located in an imagination-inspiring 85,000-square-foot building, at 6601 Shellmound St. in Emeryville, Calif., just across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco. For more information, please visit Expression’s Website at: www.expression.edu.

Contact:
Karen Wertman, Director of Marketing
Expression College for Digital Arts

Expression College for Digital Arts Website
www.expression.edu