It takes a certain degree of bravery to pursue a creative career path, given the fierce competition for jobs that will justify the investment in a BFA degree. That’s why the faculty at Laguna College of Art + Design (LCAD) is committed to giving students the knowledge and skills they need, along with supplying the professional tools and applications used in the “real world,” to set them up for success after graduation.
Case in point: when Rivian Automotive restored Laguna’s iconic South Coast Theater, reforming it as a creative hub and movie venue for the community, LCAD students created an interactive installation to mark the grand opening. Using Frame.io, they made a memorable—and valuable—experience for the community and themselves.
Real-world experience
LCAD offers a comprehensive curriculum with courses in video, motion graphics, 3D, experiential art, photography, packaging, CMF (color, materials, and finish), and product and brand identity—alongside a robust foundation of typography, composition, and color. Students earn a BFA in Design with minors in Motion, UI/UX, Packaging, and Action Sports. LCAD Design graduates have a diverse skill set and can work across a range of creative career paths from Motion, UI/UX, Brand, CMF, Product, Packaging, Environmental Graphic Design, Apparel, and Footwear.
But beyond the classes, LCAD industry collaborations are a keystone element of the program to bring real-world and applied experiences to BFA Design students, partnering with brands that include Vans, Kia Automotive, and Nike, institutions like the UCI School of Medicine, and the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers.
Professor Dan Jensen, who led the Rivian project, is a dedicated instructor who embraces the latest in professional technology to help students prepare for what lies beyond school. Dan has used Frame.io in his motion graphics courses for more than six years, and finds it invaluable for critiquing student work and providing quick, actionable feedback.
But for this project, Frame.io was also an integral part of the actual workflow. According to Dan, Frame.io was vital to keeping the project manageable. “We had multiple classes involved and a tight schedule,” he says.
Design students from three different courses—Motion Graphics 1, Motion Graphics 2, and 3D Animation 2— created a 30-second looping animation, rendered in layers consisting of a background, midground, and foreground. The midground layer featured a Rivian vehicle and was designed to let participants be visually integrated as the vehicle’s driver, making them the stars of each unique motion-graphic animation. This setup allowed for a parallax effect, creating the illusion of depth and movement. Frame.io helped them manage the large motion graphic files across multiple groups for feedback and input.
The midground layer featured a Rivian vehicle and was designed to let participants be visually integrated as the vehicle’s driver, making them the stars of each unique motion-graphic animation. Frame.io helped them manage the large motion graphic files across multiple groups for feedback and input.
Shared values
This project is a shining example of the innovative spirit and artistic excellence that LCAD fosters in its BFA Design students, while aligning with Dan’s own passion for exploring new techniques and technologies to help his students grow.
But this project also particularly resonated with the faculty and students inasmuch as Rivian’s desire for revitalizing the South Coast Theater was to create “an inviting place that fosters connection with communities.” As a beloved Laguna Beach landmark, it was fitting that the local students should participate in an effort that would enhance their own community.
Even more than that, Rivian’s company ethos is to create positive change that allows our planet to “sustain life and enchant future generations.” As representatives of their generation, the LCAD students also benefit from the opportunity to gain their real-world work experience alongside a company that’s committed to helping keep that world vital, healthy, and creative.
Which, again, aligns with LCAD’s mission: to help students do more than “just” learn how to use the tools. Complex projects require a lot of critical thinking to work through the logistics of execution, and making an experience like this fun and accessible while keeping the project’s overall footprint and impact small takes a lot of careful planning. All they had on the actual location was a green screen and some furniture, some lights and a camera. The backgrounds and foreground elements were pre-composed digitally using Adobe After Effects and the Maxon Cinema 4D plugin, and the green screen footage was then composited live for the delighted participants to see.
According to Dan, “Frame.io was essential for us to create consistent and functional design solutions in a short amount of time.”
A wider impact
Dan’s enthusiasm for Frame.io within his own classes has worked as a proof of concept for other faculty at LCAD. According to Dana Herkelrath, Chair of the undergraduate Graphic Design + Digital Media Department and a Professor of Visual Communication Design at LCAD, when Dan shared his applied experiences with Frame.io, they were motivated to try it, too.
“Our faculty in experimental animation, game, and entertainment design are seeing the potential for their classroom projects and reviewing student work,” she says. “It’s pretty seamless for you to engage with students in these large file formats when you’re using Frame.”
Dan explains that for people who haven’t used Frame.io, they might think of it as just another tool for uploading video like Vimeo or Google Drive. “They don’t understand how accessible and efficient it is,” he says. “Being able to share, comment, and jump in and out of projects makes it a great tool for design work in progress. I don’t think people really understand it until they use Frame.io for a little while and see that impact. I use it consistently in my studio classes and I find it extremely valuable to my teaching process and improving our student outcomes.”
I use it consistently in my studio classes and I find it extremely valuable to my teaching process and improving our student outcomes.
In the end, what was most valuable was the impact this project had on the students. Not only did it teach them how to create a project like this from start to finish, it gave them the opportunity to work with a dynamic company like Rivian—and to showcase the results of their work in their BFA portfolios.
“The opportunity to create an immersive experience at Rivian while showing professional level design work is key in our student portfolios,” Dan states. “It was great for them because they could see that within a two-week period, when they buckle down and focus, they can achieve great outcomes. Having a tool like Frame.io makes this experience possible. We can talk about and execute design projects in the studio classroom, but having a tangible opportunity is invaluable. Two of our students have interviewed for jobs at Rivian—one was hired—and that’s amazing.”
LCAD often integrates industry partners into their design studio classes. “We have had the opportunities to work on a broad range of design collaborations in diverse sectors including transportation, education, apparel, product.” Dana says. “We’re very motivated to continue to build those industry relationships as we guide the next generation of creative makers and thinkers. Creative thinkers can ignite change in our lives, experiences, and the world at large. At LCAD, we are focused on giving our grads the tools they need to jump into professional practice in industry.”
And we’re thrilled that our product is part of the tool set that helps set LCAD’s students up for future success.
