LOOKING AHEAD: PLANNING THE FUTURE OF MOTION DESIGN

At the foundation of every videographer, designer, and marketer in our industry is an educational curriculum that was built to teach the skills and techniques needed to succeed in our line of work. What a student does or doesn’t learn in their postsecondary schooling will shape their career path in a big way and, in turn, alter the future of the marketing industry as a whole.

Recently, 321Blink had the opportunity to leave our mark on the industry, thanks to Lead Editor Alesis Heaps. Upon meeting several college-level motion design instructors at this year’s KeyFrames Conference, she was invited to sit on the Peer Advisory Committee at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL. As part of the committee, Alesis was asked to give her thoughts on the curriculum for students in Full Sail’s Digital Art & Design and Graphic Art & Design programs and weigh in on the overall direction the programs are going for the upcoming school year. As the only committee member with no prior connection to Full Sail, Alesis offered a fresh outlook for things the faculty should consider implementing. “Being from a completely different part of the country and doing the type of work that I do, it was really cool to give a perspective that they may not have heard before,” she said.

One of the things Alesis touched on was the opportunity to cross-train students in both programs on certain skills like UX design in order to make them more competitive in the job market upon graduating. She believes that learning skills outside the typical program course list provides highly practical value and promotes collaboration among teams.

Alesis also believes in giving back in order to help students reach their full potential: “I came from a similar school, and it meant a lot to have faculty that cared so much about the quality of the education they were providing – not just what they could bring to the table but thinking outside the box to help students be better and get the jobs they want.” She has not forgotten how hearing from people in the industry as a student helped to inform her own journey and is happy to have the chance to do the same for others.

Fun fact: Alesis isn’t the only Heaps in the office who cares about helping students. Our VP of Creative Services, Zakk, is on the Advisory Committee at Pittsburgh Technical College and CCAC. Like his sister, Zakk realizes the importance of helping the next generation of video production professionals reach their fullest potential in the classroom and beyond.