University of Colorado at Boulder alumnus and director of animation for Comedy Central's hit animated show "South Park" will advise students on animation in two classes in the school's film studies program on April 28 and May 1.
Eric Stough graduated from CU-Boulder's film studies program in 1996, where he went to school with "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Stough has won two Emmy awards and a Peabody award for his work on the show and he won awards for his short film "Revenge of the Roadkill Rabbit" at the 2000 Athens International Film and Video Festival.
"I am excited to return to the place where we started a franchise that has entertained people for 12 years, "said Stough. "I remember building sets and filming my student projects in the empty rooms of the dormitories. The university's facility has changed tremendously and I'm anxious to see how it has changed the experience of producing student projects over a decade later."
Stough directed such classic episodes as "Scott Tenorman Must Die" and "Butters' Very Own Episode." According to Parker, the character of Leopold "Butters" Stotch on "South Park" is, in fact, a lampoon of Stough.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for students to engage with a professional who successfully bridged the cultures of the academic and larger filmmaking community," said Chris Pearce, a CU-Boulder lecturer and art educator, animator and artist in experimental film and commercial animation training.
On April 28 and May 1, Stough will talk with students who are finishing projects in the "Animation Production" class, taught by award-winning animator and instructor Stacy Steers. He will review the entire process of how a "South Park" show is produced from script to post production and will bring examples of drawings and artwork.
On April 28 and April 30, he will work with students in "Experimental Digital Animation," taught by Pearce.