ECAS, A Free Eight-Month Animation Course In France, Is Expanding

ECAS, a pioneering free animation course established by TeamTO, is adding storyboarding to its curriculum. The French studio is partnering with Toronto’s House of Cool for the new module.

Classes will be taught onsite at TeamTO’s campus in Valence, France and virtually from House of Cool’s offices in Canada. They will begin in the fall. The eight-month course also includes tuition on 3d character design, animation software, backgrounds, and more. Students’ fees and expenses are paid by the government and TeamTO.

ECAS was launched in 2018 with a remit to broaden access to the animation industry. Application is free and no prior study or professional experience is required, but the applicant must be resident in France. The placement rate is high: of the 95 people who have graduated from the course so far, 77 are now working at TeamTO, with another eight employed in the animation industry.

Corinne Kouper, TeamTO’s svp of development and production and co-founder of ECAS, said in a statement: “Many of these students’ stories are very touching, some had never even moved from their hometown. Because of their social origins many of these young women and men would not have had the means to go to this kind of school, learn this skill and thrive in an exciting, creative new profession.”

TeamTO has produced hit shows like Mighty Mike and PJ Masks. We recently spoke to its team about their work on Netflix’s City of Ghosts. House of Cool is specialized in pre-production services, and has storyboarded on the likes of Netflix’s Trollhunters series, many recent films from Blue Sky Studios, and Fox’s The Book of Life.

Image at top: ECAS class in 2018