The Los Angeles Eco Village: the Animated Film

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Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

We understand that there are stark inequities for underprivileged community members that are also underrepresented within the animation industry. When trying to find pathways into this creative field, these Angelenos are faced with multi-layered barriers due to limited resources from their communities. For instance, they are less likely to receive adequate foundational art training during their high school years because of underfunding from public schools. The unfortunate result is limited entry into competitive animation higher education institutions, as their art portfolio materials tend to be lower in quality when compared to their socioeconomically advantaged counterparts. Those few underprivileged Angelenos that are selected for these animation programs are often faced with the additional challenge of taking on significant financial debt to receive the necessary training, which is a risk due to the uncertainty of job placement within the highly competitive animation industry.

In partnership with East Los Angeles College (ELAC), Legends Animated has co-created a pre-apprenticeship program that provides animation training to all that are students at the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). Starting August 2024, Angelenos can enroll as ELAC pre-apprentices at no to low cost. The pre-apprenticeship has courses that simulate the production pipeline of an independent animation studio, where pre-apprentices work in teams led by ELAC faculty to create projects provided by Legends Animated. The animated film that Legends Animated is co-producing with Urban Soil Tierra Urbana (USTU) will spread awareness about USTU’s community-oriented model: a nonprofit housing cooperative that maintains permanent affordability and ecological sustainability. Legends Animated has also partnered with the BRIC Foundation, a nonprofit that manages a CA registered apprenticeship program focused on animation, VFX, and gaming. With funding from LA2050, BRIC apprentices would be hired to provide production support for the film, while receiving training that meets CA’s program competencies. Students that complete ELAC’s pre-apprenticeship are encouraged to pursue a BRIC apprenticeship to further hone their skills, receive more film credits, and obtain additional materials for their portfolios; thus creating a pathway that is cost effective and provides more career readiness than that of typical animation educational programs.

Based on growing interest from students and faculty members of other community colleges, this initiative can significantly improve the lives of underserved Angelenos by offering an equitable template that can be replicated in other educational institutions, which would scale up this creative career readiness initiative on a county-wide level. Through this work based learning model of pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships, the traditionally inaccessible path to employment within creative industries is addressed at its core, as this model removes financial barriers and offers on-the-job training opportunities that fill in educational gaps caused by limited individual and community resources. The scalability of this initiative has the capability to transform Los Angeles County into a more inclusive and equitable creative economy, known for its accessible training programs, diverse professional talent, and creative projects that authentically reflect and celebrate its community members.

This initiative’s success will be measured for its short term and long term impacts on both career readiness and job placement. Its short term goals include, (1) at least 70% of students enrolled in ELAC’s pre-apprenticeship would receive its certificate of completion, (2), at least 75% of ELAC pre-apprentices would receive at least one BRIC Digital Badge from a portfolio review, and, (3) all BRIC apprentices would successfully meet CA program competencies during their employment at Legends Animated. To measure long term success, Legends Animated and its partners would track the following goals: (1) 80% of ELAC pre-apprentices would be accepted into the BRIC apprenticeship or another program, receive employment, or become self-employed within a creative industry within two years of receiving a certificate of completion, and (2) 80% of BRIC apprentices would receive employment or become self-employed within a creative industry within two years of employment at Legends Animated.

Both Legends Animated and USTU are co-producers of the Los Angeles Eco Village animated film; while Legends Animated addresses the managerial needs of the production, USTU provides creative leadership to ensure that the film’s subject matter remains authentic and aligned with USTU’s mission statement. Legends Animated’s community partnership with ELAC provides in-kind support by offering production team members (i.e, its faculty and students), access to its animation labs, as well as equipment. In exchange, Legends Animated provides ELAC’s animation department with client based projects that its faculty uses for its animation pre-apprenticeship program. BRIC has a separate partnership with Legends Animated that offers additional production support through its state registered apprentices.