"Can You Tell Me How to Get, How to Get to...Rutgers–Camden?"

Rutgers–Camden Sesame Street animators have been featured in the Feb. 17 edition of the Burlington County Times. View story, here.

CAMDEN – Big Bird may not look 40, but this November the tall yellow-feathered icon and his fellow Muppets are all concluding their fourth decade. A team of Rutgers University—Camden animators have been hired to create surprise 3D episodes for Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary season.

Now comprised of about 30 staffers, Speakeasy FX of Westfield, NJ, started out as a two-person animation studio. Prior to winning a contract with Sesame Street in 2008 to produce 13 eight-minute 3D segments, the company consisted of founder Scott Stewart and Dean Jones,  who studied animation at Rutgers–Camden. 

“After I finished the Rutgers animation program, I posted my modeling reel online and was contacted for a job,” says Jones, 37, the current head of layout at SpeakeasyFX. When Jones found out his company won the Sesame Street bid, he immediately thought of Rutgers–Camden as a resource for securing talented colleagues.

Speakeasy FX also employs Rutgers–Camden alums Andre Zazzera (2008), head of 3D, and Eric Thivierge (2008), technical director, and current Rutgers–Camden student Mitch Lotierzo, junior 3D generalist.  

“The job I have now would not have been possible without my training at Rutgers–Camden,” adds Jones, a sculptor who enrolled at Rutgers–Camden in 2003 for computer modeling experience. “It also introduced me to amazingly talented people that I’ve been so glad that I could bring along with me.”

Zazzera, 22, joined SpeakeasyFX a few weeks before he graduated from Rutgers–Camden. The electronic arts major is now translating 2D Sesame Street characters into the third dimension, which involves digitally manipulating color, texture, and lighting.

“Back in my diaper days, instead of trying to break out of my playpen, I would actually hop the wall back in just to watch Sesame Street,” says Zazzera. “We’ve got a 40-year standard of excellence to live up to, so you could say that the pressure is on.”

Details of the surprise 3D segments are under wraps, but Thivierge can’t hide his excitement.

 “As a child I was a fan of Sesame Street. Puppets are plain fun, you can’t argue it,” he says. “But the cool thing about Sesame Street is that it’s fun and educational.”

Thivierge , 25, who recently taught Animation Fundamentals and Character Animation at Rutgers–Camden, says his work on the Sesame Street project includes modeling props, backgrounds, and characters to make it all look seamless.

“If a character picks up a piece of wood, then that piece of wood needs controls on it to move around the scene and to be handled by characters. The characters themselves need controllers and skeletons for them to be able to move around, I ensure that that happens properly,” he notes.

Lotierzo, 22, who is set to graduate from Rutgers–Camden this May, is thrilled to already be working in the industry.

“I’m extremely excited and grateful that I am part of this project and have not even graduated yet,” he says. “Rutgers–Camden introduced me to the world of 3D animation, but the connections I made with past and present students and professors are what have benefited me the most.”

Directed by Associate Professor LiQin Tan, the Rutgers–Camden animation program enriches students in comprehensive coursework and provides on-campus laboratory space equipped with top-of-the-line workstations. Other alums from this growing program have contributed to feature films like “Horton Hears a Who” and “Ice Age II.”

Founded in 2003, Speakeasy FX is an award-winning studio dedicated to creating high-end computer generated character animation and visual effects for the broadcast, feature film, and commercial industries.

Jones resides in Pennsauken and graduated from Quakertown High School Quakertown, Pa., in 1989.

Zazzera resides in Fanwood and graduated from Camden Catholic High School in 2004.

Thivierge resides in Fanwood and graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School in 2002.  

Lotierzo resides in Maple Shade and graduated from Maple Shade High School in 2004.

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