The Hong Kong Arts Centre's Art School is set to launch a series of new higher diploma media arts programmes next month. The new courses, which will be more comprehensive than the diploma programmes currently on offer, aim to prepare students for the TV, film, photography and design industries. One of the new programmes is the higher diploma in computer animation. Programme co-ordinator Stanward Ng Wai-kei told Young Post: 'To train students to become [all-round] animators who can design, create and direct animation, the programme will cover theoretical knowledge, practical skills, creativity and project management.' Moreover, students will have plenty of opportunities to visit computer animation and graphics companies and production houses. Mr Ng said the programme would attract young people who want to explore animation as a form of self-expression. The Art School is one of the few places that offers qualifications in computer animation. It has just held its third graduation ceremony for the diploma/certificate in computer animation and the foundation certificate in arts and design. An exhibition of the graduates' work was also held. A graduate of the diploma in computer animation, Tang Yiu-wah, won the Most Creative Award with his final project Fading Pearl. '[The state of] Hong Kong has deteriorated since 1997. My story is based on what has happened recently in Hong Kong. 'Most of the scenes are familiar to us because they are about what happens around us every day,' said Mr Tang. Another graduate of the diploma in computer animation, Mandy Tsang Wai-man, won the Best Storytelling Award and the Best Visual Effect Award with her final project Dandelion. 'I'm used to designing, but the work feels very commercial. So, I took the course to develop my artistic talents. 'The story is just like my life,' said Ms Tsang. 'Good storytelling is based on working hard. Good visual effects depend on a sense of colour and conveying that to the audience. Computer animation is wonderful because it is just like a mini-film,' she said. Jacky is a summer intern from Hong Kong Shue Yan College
