Fall 2020
Centennial College is Now a Houdini Certified School
We are proud to announce that Centennial College is now included on the list of official schools certified to teach Houdini - a 3D animation software developed by SideFX. This certification confirms that our programs are set-up to provide students with a wealth of knowledge on this industry-standard software to better prepare them for the workplace.
Click the link below to hear from 3D - Animation and Digital Visual Effects instructors who have implemented Houdini in their course material, as well as thoughts from Kim Davidson, President and CEO of SideFX.
Centennial Grads Contribute to Visual Effects Work on Hit TV Series Mrs. America
The visual effects produced within the award-winning series Mrs. America included the talent from some of our very own Centennial 3D -Animation and Digital Visual Effects grads! Folks VFX hired numerous grads who worked directly on the project, each contributing to various scenes.
Leonardo Silva, CG Supervisor at Folks VFX, says, "The Centennial grads were great to work with; they took direction well and learned quickly. It was critical to be able to have them jump into a live production and be able to adapt and take direction as things changed quickly."
Check out this VFX breakdown from Folks VFX featuring their work.
Children’s Media Grad Writes Book: Do You Want to Play? Making Friends with an Autistic Kid
Daniel Share-Strom, a Children’s Media graduate, has recently written a children’s book that insightfully explores what friendship may look like for a child who has autism, but from the perspective of a child who does not.
This skillfully written book is backed by understanding and personal experience. To learn more, check out the article below.
Storyworks
Storyworks is a course that students at the Story Arts Centre take to help build real-world skills within their industry. This course embodies experiential learning. It allows students to practice professional client interactions, work with real project deliverables and build their portfolios. Past clients have included the Toronto Zoo, Rogers Media, Interactive Ontario, the City of Toronto, and more.
Check out a few recent projects and watch this space in future editions for more about Storyworks.
Storyworks
PR Students Tap Into a New Market for Maple Syrup
Public Relations - Corporate Communications students partnered with Muskoka Lodge Maple Syrup to create a campaign surrounding - you guessed it - maple syrup! Landon French, Owner and Founder of Muskoka Lodge Maple Syrup, says, "My experience with the students from Centennial College was first class. They took the kernel of an idea and turned it into something wonderful, valuable and tasty! The project has helped my business and helped me prove a concept I had been considering for a while. I was impressed with the professionalism of the team and they taught me a few things along the way as well."
Storyworks
PR Students Organize #GENCONNECT Campaign with the GenWell Project
The GenWell Project collaborated with our Public Relations - Corporate Communications program to organize a campaign that connects younger and older generations during a time where connection is essential. Students were able to collect and share the stories of those who electronically reached out to a senior, whether it be a grandparent or neighbour, to the GenWell Project’s social media platforms using #GENCONNECT, and this generated a collection of posts that helped to further the message of human connection.
Find out more on the project, including thoughts from Pete Bombaci, Chief Connection Officer and Founder of the GenWell Project, and students who participated in the full article.
Storyworks
Social Entrepreneur Ashraful Hasan Tells His Experience as a Storyworks Client
Ashraful Hasan is one of the most recent clients to take part in our Storyworks course. As a social entrepreneur, Ashraful worked with students to help them better understand his field and complete meaningful work for his company, Impactrio. In turn, this allowed Ashraful to learn from the students as well.
Graphic Design Grad Wins Multiple Awards with Project Turned Business: In Dogs We Trust
In Dogs We Trust began as a thesis project for Samantha Mok, a recent Graphic Design program graduate. After the project won the RGD 2020 SoGood Design Award in May, Samantha had no idea she would win multiple awards for the same project and turn it into a business just a couple months later!
Learn more about the awards and Samatha's new business by clicking through to the full article.
Interactive Media Management Trade Show Interact 2020 Moves Online
Interactive Media Management is a one-year graduate certificate program that emphasizes designing interactive digital experiences. Each year, students organize a trade show to present their portfolio and final projects to attendees. Usually held in-person, this year's trade show, Interact, went online using unique software that created virtual booths for students.
Find out from those who took part, what made this year's event so special and how certain elements will continue to be implemented for years to come.
Bosco da Costa, a 2020 graduate of the Broadcasting – Radio, Television, Film & Digital Media program, transitioned from law school to filmmaking and is now celebrating two self-directed films that have hit the festival circuit! His unique journey has led him to uncover important stories through his documentaries, including one of his most recent, This-Ability.
Find out more on Bosco's work, early-life, and where his work has premiered by checking out the full article.
Children’s Media Grad Wins Canada Council Funding for Webcomic Camp Coup
Molison Farmer, a recent Children’s Media graduate, worked with illustrator Mirka Loiselle to create an incredible children’s webcomic called Camp Coup, which was recently selected to receive funding by the Digital Originals initiative created by The Canada Council for the Arts.
Molison goes into detail on the inspiration behind the webcomic and how she has implemented the material from her program into this new venture.
Journalism Programs Partner with Maclean’s for: They Were Loved - The Maclean’s Obituary Project
Maclean's has partnered with Journalism programs across the country to undertake the sizeable task of creating an obituary for every Canadian who has died from COVID-19. This project is a terrific opportunity for our Journalism students to demonstrate their journalistic abilities on a large-scale project that is both honourable and important.
Graphic Design to be Offered at Suzhou Centennial
Suzhou Centennial, the only Canadian College in China, will offer our Graphic Design program to its students! Dr. Chris Jackman, Academic Chair of Arts and Design at Centennial, says, "Recognizing the strength of careers in graphic design and the strength of Centennial College as an institution in this area, determined this was an area in which they wanted to begin offering programming."
Discover more about Suzhou Centennial and what this opportunity provides to its students.
Game – Development Program Goes Online with New Flipped Classroom Method
Brian Sinasac, Program Coordinator and Professor of the Game-Development program, has changed how he delivers his material to students by utilizing YouTube as his classroom.
Get an in-depth understanding of Brian's reasoning for this switch and what this "flipped classroom" method means for his courses' future.
Program Spotlight: Communications - Professional Writing
Communications – Professional Writing, a one-year Post-Graduate Certificate, embraces the vast communications field by providing students with the opportunity to explore several diverse areas, such as technical writing, visual design, web copywriting, project management, eLearning, and more.
Find out first-hand from program graduates and the Program Coordinator, Kelly McConvey, just how unique this program is.
Our Public Relations - Corporate Communications program has once again had an impressive showing at the annual CPRS Toronto Ace Awards taking home Gold and Silver in the Best Student Campaign category. Read more about these projects below.
GOLD - The GenWell Project: #FaceToFaceFeb
#FacetoFaceFeb was an initiative brought forward by students who worked collaboratively with the GenWell Project to create a 29-day challenge on social media to encourage in-person interactions as a way to combat loneliness. Their work was recognized by Toronto Mayor John Tory and generated an immense amount of buzz online, leading them toward winning the Best Student Campaign category this year.
SILVER - Civic Action Project: For A Friend
PR students worked alongside CivicAction to create "For A Friend" - a social campaign that aims to better inform students of the statistics, signs and resources regarding sex trafficking.
PR grad Lyndon Ray Dizon says, "Working on a sensitive topic such as Sex trafficking is both a challenge and a responsibility for me. It is not every day that you are given the chance to lend your voice to raise awareness and create a huge impact on a society that has always been affected by such heinous crime. I am honoured to be recognized alongside four amazing women and this is something I will always be proud of."
While fellow PR grad Anusha Bhardwak, says, "Sex trafficking is a grave matter and we as a team were aware of it. We created and executed a public-oriented campaign as we wanted to help spread awareness about this issue. It was amazing to work alongside a reputed organization such as CivicAction and a diverse group of hardworking teammates. I am thankful to CPRSToronto for acknowledging and rewarding our work."
Congratulations to all of the students and faculty involved with these award winning projects.
Centennial Grad and Professor, Margot Van Sluytman, Talks Poetry, Social Justice, and Being Nominated for Poet Laureate of Ontario
Margot Van Sluytman studied at Centennial in the early '80s for Book Editing and Design (now Publishing - Book, Magazine and Electronic), which has since propelled her into writing poetry, starting a publishing press, winning numerous awards for her writing, and teaching at Centennial.
Learn more about Margot's background and her nomination for Poet Laureate of Ontario in the article below.
Interactive Media Management & Graphic Design Programs Now Offered Online
In addition to our highly regarded in-class programs, our Interactive Media Management and Graphic Design programs will now be offered entirely online. Through an asynchronous format, students can benefit from the same material from anywhere in the world.
Find out more on each program and the benefits this online learning opportunity provides.
Fine Arts Studio faculty member David McClyment has a lot on the go right now. In addition to teaching the current cohort of art stars, he has been putting in time to show off some of his own work.
David currently has three exhibitions showcasing his work.
- Won’t Go To Waste (pictured above) is featured in the John B. Aird Gallery's online publication: Dog Days,
- Xcess & Ohhs, a collaborative installation of images with poetry by Sue Bracken, is on display at the Starving Artist Cafe, and
- Fish Bite Just Before The Rain is showing in the Carmichael Canadian Landscape Exhibition: Tradition Transformed.
Credits:
Created with images by Natalie Parham - "Fall leaves during a bright golden sunset" • Scott Webb - "Can’t Miss this Museum" • Fredrick Tendong - "Person with headphones looking at screen" • Surface - "Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 in Platinum Shot by: Nathan Dumlao "