Many animation students dream of working on Disney-level productions someday. Six DigiPen BFA in Digital Art and Animation students just got to live that dream, and earn their first professional paychecks along the way.
Thanks to Department of Animation and Production Associate Professor Jazno Francoeur, the DigiPen crew, recent Class of 2025 graduates James Waldron, Mia Starrfrank, Hania Bielec, Maddie Montana, and Roberto Velasquez, along with current student Ethan Koss, helped produce an animated proof of concept for Decoder Ring, a feature film pitch that premiered at October’s LightBox Expo.
The 2D project hails from Pencilish Animation Studios, founded by twin brothers Tom and Tony Bancroft, veteran Disney Renaissance animators who worked alongside Francoeur on classics such as Mulan, The Lion King, Tarzan, and Beauty and the Beast.
“We want to plant seeds and grow the next generation of artists by giving them a taste of real production,” Francoeur says. “It’s important as a teacher to pay it forward. This was a golden opportunity for our students, and because DigiPen is already so project-based, they took to it like fish to water. It’s a really snappy, fun little short.”
Although the final sequence runs under two minutes, it demanded a tight three-week turnaround. Pencilish tapped Francoeur for his expertise in 2D visual effects (VFX), covering everything from lighting and energy blasts to other non-character animation work for the proof of concept.
“We’re not privy to the full feature’s storyline yet,” Francoeur explains, “but our sequence features a young girl who accidentally summons a hero named Dynamo through a mysterious ring. Suddenly, her refrigerator transforms into a robot that tries to eat her. Dynamo saves the day before getting pulled back into the ring.”
The production used Toon Boom Harmony, 2D animation software the students had already mastered in their DigiPen coursework. “Since they were already experts, they didn’t have to level up much to get up to speed,” Francoeur says.
The real growth came from daily production check-ins with Pencilish. “As the boots on the ground stateside, while I helped remotely from many time zones away, they had to stay in touch with Pencilish and provide frequent updates. Once they figured that out, they were golden. Everything went great.”
Following the debut of Decoder Ring at the LightBox Expo in Pasadena, California, Pencilish hopes the proof of concept will attract funding for the full My Hero feature. If it does, Francoeur says the DigiPen crew is ready to swoop in and save the day once again.
“My hope is that Pencilish will see us as a proven crew to turn to,” Francoeur says. “They already have a team they don’t need to train — they’re ready and raring to go.”