Animation, Special Effects Academy Opens at College

A new Santa Monica College entertainment and technology academy opened Monday to 140 students from around the world seeking to learn computer animation and special effects.

Started with $1.25 million in state funds, the academy includes advisors from nearly every major studio in town, said college spokesman Bruce Smith.

“We’re even getting faculty members going to the studios to learn the latest in technology so they can bring it back to campus,” he said.

The academy is part of a $20-million statewide community college development program that addresses “a desperate need in the industry to find people with the artistic and technical skills to pull off the increasingly fancy effects we see in movies,” Smith said.