Two students from the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Animation VFX & Motion Design at IT TRALEE, have been named as finalists in ‘The Big Pitcher’ awards at Animation Dingle being held on March 22^nd and 23^rd at the Dingle Skellig Hotel.  

Deborah Christie Tan and Jack Finnerty were selected as two of the six finalists from higher level Institutes across Ireland to pitch their ideas to an esteemed judging panel of leading industry professionals and broadcasters, such as Pixar, Cartoon Saloon, Cartoon Network, Netflix UK, Brown Bag Films, Amazon, BBC, Disney, and Jam Media. Deborah who is currently in her final year of study and Jack is in his first year, worked extensively on their ideas to enter this prestigious competition.  The ultimate winner will get the opportunity to undertake a 6 month internship with Jam Media where they will develop their idea further. Previous winners have had their developed ideas chosen by Pixar and other leading giants within the animation industry.

Sponsored by Jam Media, the Annual Animation Dingle Festival industry and third level participants join together to celebrate the best in class of animated content. The event is made up of conferences, screenings, workshops, and the Student Animation Awards. This year the competition attracted a record number of entries from animation students all over Ireland.

Commenting on the achievement, Rosie Dempsey Animation Lecturer at IT Tralee said, ‘This is a golden opportunity for our animation students to potentially catapult their careers working with the very best in the animation industry.  The Dingle Animation Festival is one of the biggest festivals in the world, and has truly established itself on a global scale to attract the very best in the film and animation industry.  On behalf of all lecturing staff within the Creative Media and IT Department, would like to wish Deborah and Jack the very best of luck at Animation Dingle.’

Through its Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Animation VFX & Motion Design programme, IT Tralee prepares graduates for successful careers within the animation industry, game art VFX, illustration and motion design by providing a modules that offer unification of 2D/3D animation, stop-motion, illustration, VFX, storytelling, post-production techniques, editing, sound design, compositing, concept art for games and animation and creative concept generation.

‘Students are encouraged to continually challenge themselves in creating strong storylines with conceptual artwork that is aesthetically engaging and ready to inhabit a dynamic three-dimensional digital world. Our students are currently on work placements within Ireland and abroad, the Dingle Animation festival and international locations’, continued Rosie.

Students can apply for the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Animation Visual Effects and Motion Design (TL801) at IT Tralee through the CAO application process. For additional information please contact admissions@ittralee.ie or call 066 7145638.