COURSE

1.Villaraigosa alters course, supports council faction that seeks to avoid layoffs

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa threw a curve ball into the City Council’s budget deliberations Monday afternoon, siding with a faction that opposes many of his proposals for cutting libraries, child-care centers and other municipal services.

Six hours into the session, Villaraigosa issued a letter saying he backed efforts by council members Herb Wesson, Paul Koretz and Jose Huizar to avoid many of the cuts that he had proposed -– at least for now. Instead, the city should continue negotiating with its public employee unions to find concessions, he said.

“As I said in the State of the City address, we can do better than the budget I originally proposed -– but we cannot do it without significant, structural cost-saving measures from our labor partners,” Villaraigosa said in a statement handed out in the council chamber by his spokeswoman, Sarah Hamilton.

The letter arrived hours before the council was expected to vote on a plan to eliminate 761 jobs -– the figure contained in Villaraigosa’s financial plan.

The mayor’s request to hold off on those cuts baffled Councilman Greig Smith, who voted last week to eliminate the positions. Smith warned that Wesson’s budget proposal relies on unrealistic estimates and said the council should move ahead with the job cuts.

“The mayor said just a month ago, ‘If you folks don’t lay off all these people, I’m going to close the city down two days a week,’ ” he said. “So I can’t understand what mayor we’re talking to sometimes. One day he says, ‘Let’s do it.’ The next day he says, ‘Let’s not do it.’”

Added Councilwoman Jan Perry: “Why would you reverse yourself on your own budget?”

Wesson called last week for a budget that includes no layoffs or furloughs. As part of his alternative budget plan, Wesson is seeking $63 million in employee concessions, more early retirement for workers and increased fees for dog licenses, ambulances and other services.

Some figures in Wesson’s budget have been criticized as overly optimistic, such as a plan to get $2.4 million by increasing the amount charged for dog and cat licenses.

By comparison, a proposal from Council President Eric Garcetti would move ahead with Villaraigosa’s plan for cutting jobs starting July 1. Those reductions could be abandoned, however, if the unions offer ways of closing the budget gap.

Union leaders, who have been trying to find eight votes for Wesson’s plan, greeted the mayor’s letter warmly.

“The mayor’s letter allows us to continue to talk,” said Victor Gordo, an attorney for the Coalition of L.A. City Unions.

-- David Zahniser at Los Angeles City Hall

Email: newstips@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimescitydesk @lanow

Facebook: latimescitydesk

More in: Antonio Villaraigosa, Government, Labor, Los Angeles, Taxes

2.ACTING FOR FILM PROGRAMS & WORKSHOPS

Here's why the Film School at The New York Film Academy is on the cutting-edge of actor training:

PRACTICAL ON-CAMERA EXPERIENCE
At the New York Film Academy, we provide our acting students with as much practical film set experience as possible. Working in conjunction with the Film School programs, our students act on film sets more than at any other acting school in the world.

ORIGINAL WORK
Both our acting school and film school programs feature the production of original short films or scenes that star our acting school students.

DYNAMIC FACULTY
Our instructors are working veterans of Hollywood and independent film, Broadway and Off-Broadway who teach because they love to teach.
FILMMAKING RESOURCES
Our Acting for Film School and Film School programs work hand-in-hand to provide all of our acting and film students resources such as film equipment, live film shoots, and a network of filmmakers, screenwriters, producers, and editors that will be invaluable upon graduation and entry into the profession.

REEL MATERIALS
We provide all of our acting school students with professionally shot and edited materials that are suitable to put on an actor's reel, one of the primary ways that actors get work in the real world.

SHORT INTENSIVE PROGRAMS
Our comprehensive curricula offer students intensive programs that cover an extensive amount of material in a relatively short time. This allows students to get excellent training without taking them out of the working world for an extended period.

AUDITIONS VS. NO AUDITIONS
Because we understand the differences among our prospective students, the Academy has two admissions tracks for our One and Two-Year Acting for Film Programs. Whether you choose to apply through the Audition Track or the Open Enrollment Track, all admitted applicants follow an intensive curriculum designed to launch a career in film and television. Please  to see our audition dates and locations.

THE ACTING SCHOOL AT THE NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY OFFERS CUTTING-EDGE ACTOR TRAINING

HOW DO YOU BECOME A PROFESSIONAL ACTOR?
Well-trained professional actors who have discipline, technique, and a working knowledge of the entire filmmaking process are rare. This is why the New York Film Academy's Acting for Film school is on the cutting-edge of the actor-training field. In addition to full immersion in the craft of acting, we also believe that well-trained actors are made even better by understanding all of the rigors and nuances of a professional film set. Better than any other school in the world, the Acting School at the New York Film Academy is equipped to provide all of our acting students with a real-life professional filmmaking experience. Actors work closely with the Film School students in class as well as in on-location short film productions. In the process, important networks are formed between screenwriters, directors, producers and editors. Unlike other acting schools, we provide all of our acting students with a basic education in a variety of filmmaking crafts: directing, producing, screenwriting, and many different crew positions. Students come away from the Acting for Film School program not only with solid acting training, but with practical filmmaking experience under their belt as well.

MANY OF OUR ACTING STUDENTS ARE:
• People with little or no acting experience
• People who have some theatre experience but little or no film experience
• An eclectic group of people with diverse backgrounds, from all over
the world

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
• An intense learning experience
• Total immersion in the craft of acting
• On-camera training within the first few days
• A professional working atmosphere
• A complete spectrum of acting classes
• Access to veterans of stage and screen
• Opportunities to work on actual film scenes and productions

Designed equally for beginning actors as well as those with experience, our Acting for Film School programs provide actors with modern on-camera acting techniques plus a foundation of acting training rooted in time-honored theatrical traditions. Our instructors are all professional, working actors, writers, directors, and producers - veterans of Hollywood, independent film, television, Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theatre - and they give each student the personal focus and rigorous discipline necessary for launching a career in film and television. 

Designed equally for beginning actors as well as those with experience, our Acting for Film School programs provide actors with modern on-camera acting techniques plus a foundation of acting training rooted in time-honored theatrical traditions. Our instructors are all professional, working actors, writers, directors, and producers - veterans of Hollywood, independent film, television, Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theatre - and they give each student the personal focus and rigorous discipline necessary for launching a career in film and television. 

Best Acting School

Take center stage and learn to act at the New York Film Academy
www.nyfa.edu

3.Animation and Cartoon Courses

Introduction: Creativity, even in the very recent past, could not earn a person a monthly salary but now the scenario is completely different. In the booming market of cartoons and animations, one can easily satiate his creative spirits and take home a handsome pay packet.

The art of animation, a creative field dominated by the West, now has India running as one of the most serious contenders. Cartoons are illustrations of a single diagram with varied meanings, while an animation is a rapid display of 2-D or 3-D images to create an illusion of motion.

There are several career institutes offering Animation and Cartoon Courses in India.

These career courses entail intensive career training for the job requirements in the field of animation and cartoons.

Animation and Cartoon Courses Institutes in India

There are various courses on animation and cartoons offered in colleges all over the country. The major colleges are:

Global School of Animation & Games,White House, NBCC Plaza Sector - V, Pushp Vihar Saket, New Delhi - 110 017 National Institute of Design (NID, Ahmedabad) J.J School of Arts Zee Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA) Industrial Design Center (IDC), IIT - Mumbai & Guwahati Academy of Animation and Gaming Even though both diploma and degree courses are available across colleges in India, post graduate degree courses in animation and cartoon is very rare. Among the colleges mentioned above, the Industrial Design Centers in Mumbai and Guwahati offer post-graduate degree courses. Qualification: For applying for a diploma course in animation, one has to pass the 12th standard examination from any recognized board with a minimum of 45% marks. For the bachelor's degree program the same eligibility criterion is applicable, while for the PG program one must have a bachelor's degree. Benefits: As the animation & multimedia industry is growing rapidly, pursuing a course in these fields can boost your career. Moreover, if you have a knack of drawing or creating characters it would help satisfy your creative spirits. Animation and Cartoon Courses Career Prospects in India Scope in India: Animation in India has come a long way with Indian animations catering to the needs of several private and public sectors and indigenously produced animated films constituting the bulk. Various T.V programs, advertisements / commercials and computer games are demanding a huge quantity of manpower from the Indian market. Animation is also being used in titling films, creating special effects or in web entertainment programs. Thus the scope for students of animation is huge in the context of the emerging Indian market. Scope Abroad: Though cartoons and animations hardly seem to be products meant for outsourcing, yet Indian cartoonists and animators have begun working for foreign companies. Indeed, Indian companies are moving ahead of their South East Asian counterparts in the field of animation. The western countries are favoring India over any other country for outsourcing animation because of the following reasons: Vast base of English speaking manpower Cost advantage Abundance of well-equipped studios Please click on the list of states mentioned below to know more about the Animation and Cartoon Courses in each state of India

 

• Top Animation Companies in India(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/top-company.html)
• Famous Personalities in Animation Sectora(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/famous-personality.html)
• Animation Courses in Andhra Pradesh(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/andhrapardesh/)
• Animation Courses in Delhi(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/delhi/)
• Animation Courses in Gujarat(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/gujrat/)
• Animation Courses in Haryana(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/haryana/)
• Animation Courses in Jaipur(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/jaipur/)
• Animation Courses in Jammu(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/jammu/)
• Animation Courses in Karnataka(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/karnatka/)

• Animation Courses in Madhya Pradesh(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/madhyapradesh/)
• Animation Courses in Maharashtra(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/maharashtra/)
• Animation Courses in Orissa(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/orissa/)
• Animation Courses in Pune(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/pune/)
• Animation Courses in Punjab(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/punjab/)
• Animation Courses in Tamil Nadu(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/tamilnadu/)
• Animation Courses in Uttarancha0l(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/uttaranchal/)
• Animation Courses in Uttar Prades(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/uttarpradesh/)
• Animation Courses in West Bengal(http://www.indiaedu.com/career-courses/animation-cartoon-courses/westbengal/) 

Certification Courses Offer Food Science Expertise to Industry Professionals

FoodProcessing.com
05/06/2009
By Martha Filipic, The Ohio State University
Without enough food science professionals to fill jobs available, many scientists working in the food industry are chemists, microbiologists or engineers who have never been trained specifically in food science.
That's why Ohio State University's Department of Food Science and Technology offers an online series of five courses leading to a Certificate of Proficiency in Food Science. Jeff Culbertson, professor of food science, teaches the courses in addition to the classes he teaches on campus.
Across the nation, only about 70 percent of the food science and processing jobs requiring a degree can be filled. Attracted by the career opportunities and the program's quality, undergraduate enrollment in Ohio State's food science program has more than doubled in the last three years to 150.
Culbertson offers one certification course per quarter. Classes can be taken in any order, so professionals can sign up at any time. Participants don't have to take a class every quarter if their schedule doesn't allow for it; they can wait to take a class the next time it's offered.
In the three years since the courses have been offered through Ohio State, about 300 food industry professionals have taken online classes, and about 30 certificates have been issued in recognition of series completion.
The courses are:

• "Introduction to Food Processing," being offered currently.
• "Introduction to Food Science," to be offered this summer. Interested participants can sign up beginning June 1; the class begins June 22.
• "Food Biosecurity," offered in autumn 2009.
• "Food Safety and Quality," scheduled for winter 2010.
• "Food Chemical Safety," scheduled for spring 2010.

Culbertson has about 20 or 30 students a quarter from a wide variety of companies, including Cooper Farms, Smuckers, Procter and Gamble, Silliker Labs, Abbott Nutrition and Rudolph's Foods in Ohio, Gardenburger (Utah), Trident Seafoods (Seattle and Alaska), McCormick Spice (Baltimore), as well as Heinz, Starbucks, Land o' Lakes, Pepsico/Frito-Lay and many others.
Each course is $500 with a discount offered for three or more employees from the same company. The department uses the funds earned in the course to upgrade technology used in online teaching, to support graduate students and for general department needs.
More information is available at http://fst.osu.edu/Certificate_in_Food_Science.htm or by contacting Culbertson at culbertson.34@osu.edu or (614) 688-4219.