Thursday, May 15, 2008

Iron Giant Animator will visit Art Institute of California-Inland Empire



(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Producer/director Adam Henry will give a presentation on animation, storyboarding and directing at the Art Institute of California-Inland Empire 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17.

The presentation will largely focus on one of Henry’s major past works, the highly-acclaimed Iron Giant cartoon, which grossed $5.7 million on its opening weekend in 1999, and has grossed more than $103 million in the nine years since.

This movie takes viewers on the adventures of a boy who in 1957 makes friends with an innocent alien creature that a paranoid government agent is bent on destroying. It was directed by Brad Birds and featured the voices of stars such as Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr. and Van Diesel .

“Adam Henry will talk about his work on the Iron Giant, what it was like to work for Brad Birds and what he’s doing now,” said Santosh Oomen, academic director for the Art Institute of California-Inland Empire’s Graphic Design and Animation & Media Arts departments.

Since creating animation for the Iron Giant, Henry has added a long list of films to his resume, where he has served as as an animator and character layout artist, and more recently, editor, director and producer. Among his other credits: Rugrats Go Wild, Rugrats in Paris, The Wild Thornberry’s Movie, Eight Crazy Nights and Quest for Camelot.

Additionally, in 2004, he created his own production business, Adam Henry Media. In this capacity, he has produced, directed and edited films for clients such as American Movie Classics (AMC), Comedy Central, 20th Century Fox and others.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Game Art & Design, Culinary Management, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Interior Design, Fashion and Retail Management and Media Arts & Animation. There are also Associate of Science degrees in Graphic Design and Culinary Arts. Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

It’s not too late to start classes. Courses begin July 14, with offerings in the days, evenings and on weekends for new and reentry students. For details or a tour of the campus call (909) 915-2100, or go on line to artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire.

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The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of The Art Institutes (artinstitutes.edu) with 40 educational institutions throughout North America providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.