College of DuPage to host 16th annual Animation Night showcasing student projects
Students from College of DuPage’s Animation Portfolio class will screen their year-end projects during the 16th annual Animation Night at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 21, at the Belushi Performance Hall inside the McAninch Arts Center on the college’s Glen Ellyn campus, 425 Fawell Blvd.
Animation Night is an event for students to share the capstone projects they worked on throughout the semester with an audience made up of friends, family, community members and industry professionals. Some projects created by students in other COD animation classes and partner high schools will also be screened at the event. Animation Night is free to attend.
“It’s a celebration of animation at COD,” said Tony Venezia, Motion Picture/Television professor and program chair. “The students have been working really hard, and I think it’s very important that we honor that.”
This year, 24 COD students from Venezia’s and Paul Kritikos’ Animation Portfolio classes will screen their work, ranging across a variety of genres and styles, including fantasy, horror and feel-good.
COD student Allison Pivaral’s project “The Perfect Spot” follows a dog looking for her ideal resting spot after her bed is taken away to be washed. Pivaral drew inspiration from her personal life to create the story.
“The project I’m working on is based on my little dog that I have at home, whom I adore so much,” she said. “Having that connection in my projects is a good motivator.”
COD student Raymond Stull combined music with a car animation for his project “Placeholder,” a music video for “Spectra Ocean Dream Circuit” by Starjunk 95.
“My project is an homage to a song that I really enjoy and reminds me of nostalgic feelings of the PlayStation One and PlayStation 2, those arcade video games that are car-based,” he said.
Similarly, student Katie Teske said she’s excited to share her music video animation “BBQ Brawl” with guests at Animation Night.
“I’m looking forward to seeing people’s reaction to it. Hearing feedback from people is always my favorite thing whenever I show someone a project that I’m working on,” she said.
COD alum Jacob Nader returned to the Animation Portfolio class to create a project for the event after missing the in-person experience in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He will share his project, “Of Moss & Magic,” an animation about a genie who arrives in a ruined world where he finds a dying plant that he nurtures.
“I’m looking forward to getting that experience in the Belushi Performance Hall with everybody,” he said. “I really love being there and seeing everybody’s films at the end of the year.”
Professional tutor and COD alumna Nikki Patel, who participated in Animation Night in 2022, said she’s excited to help students prepare to share their projects for one of her favorite events in her academic journey.
“Hearing the collective laughter and reactions to my animation was amazing,” she said. “That experience is something I want to share with the students.”
Learn more about COD’s Animation/Motion Graphics program at cod.edu/academics/areas/mptv/animation.html.