Mark Rober, Jimmy Kimmel, and Kate Jorgensen
EM Alumni and all around rockstar, Kate Jorgensen was the lead story on the YouTube livestream that reached over 5 Million people. Mark Rober’s team reached out to Exceptional Minds to highlight our students and the work we do on his Color The Spectrum event with Jimmy Kimmel. The April 30th event was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel […]
MindShare June 2021 Special Edition: Graduation
Congratulations Graduates! Next week, Michael Hardin will graduate from Exceptional Minds and start his career in animation as an intern at Nickelodeon. 2021 Exceptional Minds grads Jackson Meigs and Liam Brosnan also start summer internships at gaming company Niantic, while several other grads begin their careers in the Exceptional Minds studio working on projects from […]
On The Spectrum: Our Voices
HBO Max’s On the Spectrum began streaming in the U.S. on World Autism Day. From yes Studios, the producers of Netflix’s Fauda, On the Spectrum is a hit Israeli series that received nine Israeli Television Academy Awards including Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Series. The series follows three young adults with autism navigating love, careers, and friendships. HBO Max acquired the English language rights […]
Inclusion for Our Animators. More Diversity for Cartoons.
From Cartoon Network comes Cartoon Cartoons, an artist-driven program with a mission of cultivating diversity, equity, and inclusion in the animation industry. As part of our involvement, Cartoon Network Studios is dedicating an entire program slot to Exceptional Mind‘s animators, who will be given the opportunity to share their unique perspectives, talents, and voices through […]
People.com Features Exceptional Minds
Interest continues in our Exceptional Minds graduates and students who were hired as voice over actors in the HBO Max version of On The Spectrum. People.com ran a feature that highlights the work and opportunity this project created. “The original actors, none of them are on the spectrum. So, they had to rely on the research they were doing […]
Ryan Lowry: Letter To His “Future Employer” Breaks Hearts and the Internet
The profound effect one’s authenticity can have on the world should never be underestimated. And authenticity, a word that is often used in an effort to be so, more often than not just happens. It however seldom happens by design and almost always happens unexpectedly and in the most delightful ways. In the case of […]
“WandaVision” Brings our Academy and Studio Together!
WandaVision is the 15th Marvel Cinematic Universe project our EM studio artists have completed work on since we opened our studio in 2014! And while it’s only number six for Thomas Harmonson, a lifelong fan of Marvel and now a professional artist in the studio, if it’s up to him it will be 25 in […]
A Space to Create
“A Space to Create” is exactly what happened when our friends at Toon Boom asked our graduate artists to produce an original story to demonstrate the animation software company’s brand new Storyboard Pro 20 software. Toon Boom not only funded this animatic, or “moving storyboard,” but also provided training for Storyboard Pro 20. After speed […]
What is Creative Diversity?
Exceptional Minds is uniquely positioned in that pivot between contributing to content for major studios and creating original content for those studios and other platforms. As we continue to cultivate a diverse talent pool of notable creators and storytellers, it is critical that this growing group harness every opportunity to explore their voices and skills. […]
Student Spotlight: Rolly Crump and the Art of Amusement
When you hear the word “Imagineer,” who’s the first person that comes to mind? Most people would usually say someone like Tony Baxter, Marc Davis, Joe Rhode, or Bob Gurr. But one of the most unique and talented Imagineers out there has to be Rolly Crump, a man who has learned to think kinetically outside […]