Animated shorts in 3-D, computer games, photographs and other creative projects will be on display at the UCF School of Visual Arts & Design’s 2013 Student Showcase on Monday, April 22.

The free event will be 6 to 9 p.m. at the UCF Center for Emerging Media, 500 W. Livingston St., Orlando, just south of the former Amway Arena.

The two films, which were two years in the making, will be shown at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. The students involved will be introduced and the audience will have an opportunity to discuss these projects and plans for next year’s animations.

The films are:

  • Ember, by student director Trey Buongiorno, and co-directors Michael Contardo and Andrew Pace. The film follows the story of a fire spirit that is summoned into the harsh Mongolian mountains to fulfill his destiny.
  • GaiaSpora, by student director Matthew Mann and co-director Matthew Trudell. The film reveals a world that has suffered an environmental calamity originating from a distant Earth.

    • Also featured in the showcase:

  • Computer games, innovative mobile-phone applications and interactive prototypes of novel-user interfaces representing the best work of students selected from SVAD’s more than 800 undergraduate Digital Media majors.
  • The preproduction development of the Character Animation class of 2014’s capstone animation shorts.
  • Education and creative design projects designed by Digital Media Masters’ students.
  • An exhibition titled “f/8″ of the photographic work of the Bachelor of Science/Photography students from the Daytona Beach campus.

    • “We are excited about the opportunity to showcase our students’ work,” said Dr. Michael Moshell, professor of Visual Art and Design and coordinator for the show. “We welcome local digital media businesses and anyone who appreciates the visual arts to attend and meet these talented students doing what they love.”

    SVAD is an interdisciplinary, multimedia school offering academic programs and areas of faculty research that include the visual arts, film, architecture, animation, game and web design, and interactive media. The school emerged from a partnership between the former Art, Film and Digital Media departments.

    SVAD also incorporates a 2+2+2 Bachelor of Design in Architecture program in collaboration with Valencia College and the University of Florida.

    For additional details about the showcase, contact Moshell at 407-694-6763 or jm.moshell@cs.ucf.edu.