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Miami is known for many things but until now, it hasn’t been seen as a significant center for animation and game design. MDC is going to change that with MAGIC, the Miami Animation and Game Design Complex. The newly built, state-of-the-art animation studio had its formal opening on August 21, 2015, just in time to welcome fall semester students to this new academic program. The aim is to prepare students with the creative and technical skills need for employment in the growing industry of animation and game design. Built in collaboration with Pixar, MAGIC is intended to function like a working production house. This will allow students to work on projects following the typical production pipeline of most studios. The recently-built facility adds an exciting new component to the constellation of buildings that form MDC’s Wolfson Campus in downtown Miami.
Upon entering MAGIC, students face a large, open space featuring 30 state-of-the-art work stations wired to “the Brain,” a gigantic screen that dominates the room. The Brain is connected to every workstation and production area in the entire complex, allowing instructors and students to share work at any time. Technology is key at MAGIC, a nearly paperless environment with various production spaces featuring the same advanced technology and equipment that major studios use for character design, artificial intelligence, 3-D modeling, and many other feats of creative magic. There is no learning space like MAGIC in all of Florida, and few others throughout the country. Within the complex, one can find a motion capture studio, a color suite, a sound studio, pre and post production facilities, 3-D and large-scale printers, and many other impressive features.
Students will also have the enviable opportunity of being mentored by professionals who are currently working in the industry. Mentors from Disney, NBC Universal, and the Cartoon Network, among others, will guide students as they develop their skills and, in the second year of studies, work together to complete an animation project as a team. Sponsors include gaming hardware manufacturer Alienware, Pixar who has provided conceptual advice and access to their rendering software RenderMan, and Univision Communications, who will offer newsroom internships to students.
Industry insiders who were given a sneak peek at MAGIC raved about it, affirming the significant impact that it will likely have on students, Miami-Dade College, and the community at large. Registration is now open and classes are filling up quickly.
Students can earn an Associate in Science in Computer Programming and Analysis with an option in either Animation and Game Art, or Game Design. For more information, please contact Mylinda Auguste at (305) 237-7851 / mauguste@mdc.edu or the EnTec Administrative Office at (305) 237-3676.