Winnipeg students to showcase films made with the help of Nickelodeon
Despite a pandemic-disrupted academic year, a group of animation students at Sisler High School managed to create three animated short films.
Now the students are ready to present their work to the world.
“Having that experience with my group, who have become my friends now, it’s amazing,” said Dairyl Mabunga, a Sisler student part of The Orange Tree project, a collaboration between the Sisler CREATE program and Nickelodeon Studios.
“I can’t wait for everyone to see the film,” she said.
The Orange Tree Project, in its first year, is made up of high school and post-high school students with the Sisler CREATE program working with animation mentors from Nickelodeon studies to create original animated short films.
The students were organized into three separate teams (Monarch Martians, Yam Jam Animation, Eclipse) that functioned almost like small-scale animation studios.
Each group was paired with one or more mentors from Nickelodeon who helped the students craft their films from concept to finished product.
“Having my two mentors with me, I learned a lot technically and also a lot about myself as well,” said Jemimah Suba, the Eclipse team leader.
Learning the importance of scheduling breaks for herself and her team is an example, said Suba, among the many lessons learned from her mentors who, she adds, were incredibly responsive and helpful.
“The relationship that developed between the mentors and the students was just absolutely remarkable,” said Jamie Leduc, department head for Sisler CREATE who helped launch the Orange Tree Project along with Carson Smith from Nickelodeon.
Engaging regularly with industry mentors helped keep the students on track, said Leduc, despite the many changes to the learning environment caused by COVID-19.
“The engagement level was through the roof,” said Leduc.
“I honestly believe the work that was done this year surpasses anything that was done at Sisler in any years prior to this year in the CREATE area.”
Keeping a group of people focused on the task, while not being able to meet in person, was no easy feat, said Yam Jam Animation team leader Gab Reyes.
“I was used to working alone before,” said Reyes. “It was definitely a new experience.”
But, said Reyes, the collaborative nature of working on a team and getting input from Nickelodeon mentors helped create a superior finished film.
“Hearing suggestions, critiques from different mentors and my team… it was definitely something crucial that we needed,” said Reyes.
Beyond Nickelodeon studios, other animation industry groups joined in as mentors or led classes as the academic year went on, like Rise Up Animation, a group that helps promote diversity in the animation industry.
“There is not, or has not historically been, a lot of diversity in animation” in a North American context said Rise Up Animation co-founder Monica Lago-Kaytis.
Rise Up Animation is co-hosting an Orange Tree Project student showcase on Thursday, screening the three student-made films to audiences and industry professionals across North America.
“We really want to give the students at Sisler that have worked so hard during the pandemic a platform to showcase their amazing work,” said Lago-Kaytis.
One of the teams of students, the Monarch Martians led by Lya Langit, is already helping to promote cultures not often seen in animated media.
Most of the group’s members have a Filipino background, so they decided to adapt a creature from Filipino mythology, the “Nuno sa punso,” roughly translated as the “old man of the mound,” into their short film.
“We had never really seen ourselves in media before,” said Langit, “We wanted to highlight that, at least this time, so that it can be a start.”
Throughout the year, Langit said she learned a lot of valuable lessons on the ins and outs of the animation industry, from pitching concepts to writing and production.
Trent Correy, a member of Rise Up Animation and a former student of Leduc’s who now works at Disney, says the skills students learned throughout The Orange Tree Project will prepare them for professional life in the animation industry or any adjacent field.
And, while Correy is excited to help present the student’s work, he says they’ve already accomplished a major feat.
“They’ve already won in so many ways because they finished a short film, something most artists don’t get to do in their whole career,” he said.
Many of the post-high students taking part in this year’s Orange Tree Project will be continuing their journey into animation at the Vancouver Film School, tuition and equipment paid for, thanks to a donation from the Schroeder Foundation.
The showcase takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom.
-With files from CTV’s Michael Hutchinson and Kayla Rosen
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.