Blog > Digital Bootcamp 2019 Mission Report

Digital Bootcamp 2019 Mission Report

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The characters have been animated, the models photographed, the films edited and with that, Digital Bootcamp 2019 has come to a close for another year! We boasted last year that Bootcamp 2018 was the BEST BOOTCAMP EVER…well we are happy to say that Bootcamper survey results have now made Digital Bootcamp 2019 the BEST BOOTCAMP EVER!

This year we hosted 100 students from grades 10, 11 and 12 at our Kelowna campus and it was so great to see so many familiar faces and meet quite a few new friends too! Bootcampers and family came from as far East as Cumberland House SK and from as far North as Mackenzie BC!

Monday morning started off bright and early for registration at 8:00am at the Coast Capri Hotel, where Bootcampers were greeted by their Mission Leader in a designated mission; Get Animated, The Perfect Photograph, Counter Hacking Operative, DJ Sampler, Make a Film, Brand Me and Doorway! Once Bootcampers had gone through a brief Orientation presentation, they split up into their groups and marched back to campus, following their Mission Leader. Parents were invited to stick around for a Parent Session – focusing on Finance, Full Time Programs and Admissions. Parents were also invited to attend full campus tours on Monday afternoon to get a first hand look at our campus and their Bootcampers in action!

Tuesday, Bootcampers were back at it, and most were looking forward to attending our Bootcamp Industry Night, happening on campus Tuesday evening! Industry Night is an event where Bootcamp parents and Bootcampers have an opportunity to speak directly to working members of our creative industries as well as internal industry members (Department Heads etc.). This year’s Industry Night was very well attended with almost all Bootcampers and family in attendance. We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all industry members in attendance, your willingness to speak candidly to Bootcamp attendees is wonderful and allows an open dialogue about creative industry careers.

Wednesday, Bootcampers were back in at 9:00am and ready to take on another full day of classes! For those in our Get Animated mission, Wednesday is the day they swap between 2D Animation and 3D Animation, so the 2D group was shown to their new room and the 3D students were brought down to our 2D art room! Classes were in full swing for all missions today; professional models, hair and makeup were hired for our photography students, the film kids were in action all over campus getting the perfect shots for their film, the DJ Sampler students were busy perfecting their beats, the Doorway students were working on 3D models and it was clear that everyone was having an amazing time! Wednesday evening marks another fun evening event; the Squad Social! This is a chance for our Bootcampers to truly chill, meet Bootcampers from other missions, dance, play video games, eat pizza and feel at home on campus. The Squad Social is a fully chaperoned event on campus and this year we even had a special DJ performance by DJ Sampler Student Tyler Chang (@tchang2000)

Thursday marks the final day of Bootcamp and one that is often bittersweet for our Bootcamp team. Bootcamp is such a truly uplifting experience, where we the CAT staff, get to see students come out of their shell, realize that they have peers with similar interests and a career in the arts, is a very real possibility! One final attendance was taken in the afternoon, certificates handed out and everyone on campus prepped for the Student Showcase! This portion of the final day sees parents visiting their Bootcampers in classrooms around campus, oohing and ahhing in amazement at what has been accomplished in 4 short days! Mixed emotions were felt all around, happy for the new friendships made, the projects completed, but sad to see it all end so quickly! The biggest critique we hear for Bootcamp is that it is not long enough, so technically we take that as a compliment!

Two full galleries of behind the scenes images and Bootcamper projects is live on our Facebook page!

Enrollment for Bootcamp 2020 starts in September 2019 with many popular missions filling up before Christmas, so keep your eyes on our Bootcamp page to be sure you get in on the action for 2020!