Digital Arts Aid Proposed

Responding to the entertainment industry’s cry for more digital artists, Gov. Pete Wilson has proposed spending $1.2 million to train Californians with artistic talent for high-paying jobs that are now going to workers recruited from overseas.

Enthusiastic executives from movie and special-effects studios are working closely with local college officials to set criteria for awarding scholarships to 500 students who will enroll next fall in computer arts courses.

The proposed pilot program, which requires approval from the Legislature, could offer selected student artists up to $7,100 a year in grants to cover college tuition or other fees.

“I tell all of the young people, ‘Think about this as a career,’ ” said Jean Picker Firstenberg, director of the American Film Institute. “This is the area of the future.”

The supply of qualified digital artists in California has lagged far behind the demand for those trained in computer animation, set design, interactive games, CD-ROM graphics and related computer special effects.

More than 80,000 jobs have been created in the last two years, according to industry estimates, with yearly salaries ranging from $40,000 to $150,000. What’s more, the demand for digital artists is likely to grow 20% a year for the next five years, the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance predicts.

Companies in Southern California, the center of the booming industry, complain that they must scour the globe for talented artists who work with computers.

“We have about 80 people who are digital artists, and more than half of these people come from other countries,” said John Hughes, president of Rhythm & Hues.

The Los Angeles-based digital effects company, which won an Academy Award last year for the motion picture “Babe,” now spends hefty sums on recruiting and training, Hughes said.

“We are very happy to be working with the government and coming up with a program that produces more digital artists in Los Angeles,” he said.

Wilson proposed the $1.2-million California Grants for Digital Artists pilot program after Hollywood executives told him during a meeting last summer that their single greatest need was for artists. The entertainment companies said they looked for well-rounded artists, not computer technicians, to fill their jobs.

“Everyone on the creative end of the business is very, very excited about this program,” said Rosalie Zalis, the governor’s liaison with the entertainment industry.

She has been meeting with dozens of studio and college representatives to work out eligibility for the scholarship money--which would mark the first Cal Grants restricted to students being trained for a specific industry.

Under the proposal, industry leaders will have a hand in selecting those who qualify for the grants. Unlike the stringent grade-point average requirements for other Cal Grants, this program would moderate such standards to give weight to artistic ability.

“We would be asking industry people to rank students on the basis of their artistic portfolio as well as their academics,” said Dana Callihan, deputy director of the California Student Aid Commission. “That’s the expectation.”

Wilson included the $1.2-million program as part of his proposed budget, with about $200,000 to be used in administrative costs, Zalis said. The proposal also calls for the industry to supply $1 million in matching grants, but the governor has yet to make an appeal for private contributions, she said.

Although the Legislature does not have to vote on the budget until July 1, college officials are operating under the assumption that the scholarships will be in place for students enrolling in the fall. Zalis predicted legislative support in light of the importance of preparing low-income students to enter a bright spot in the state’s economy.

“I will certainly do what I can to foster the relationship between the entertainment industry and the state over job training,” said Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-Santa Barbara), chairman of the Senate budget subcommittee on education.

He said Wilson boosted the program’s chances by proposing an extra $1.2 million rather than taking money from other Cal Grants, which help needy students with academic merit attend four-year and community colleges and even vocational schools.

In addition to consulting entertainment leaders, Zalis has been working with colleges that offer digital course work, including UCLA, USC, Cal Arts in Valencia, the American Film Institute and Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles.

In collaborating with 17 studios and entertainment companies, Santa Monica College will offer courses in computer animation, interactive computer game development and theme park design.

The notion of Cal Grants for computer artists thrilled Nadine Washington, branch manager of First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles.

After learning of the film industry’s need for animators, Washington invited studio representatives to meet last month with jobless inner-city residents.

“Our hope,” she said, “is to put people to work who are using their talents [in a way] that most of us are unhappy with: graffiti.”

Washington was prepared for 200 to 300 people at the church-sponsored job fair Jan. 30, “but we had 500,” she said. “And there were some graffiti artists.”