December 8, 2004 - Combining a Centennial College certificate in digital animation with a university degree in kinesiology gave T.J. (Todd John) Galda a unique bundle of skills that propelled him to the top of his craft in a few short years.

Galda, a class of 2000 Centennial graduate, has won the 2004 Premier's Award in the category of Recent Graduate. He is one of five community college graduates recognized for their outstanding social and economic contributions to Ontario.

Galda never imagined he would be applying his knowledge of the human body and biomechanics to anyone other than live human patients. Yet today, working as a "rigger," he figures out how imaginary characters will move on screen after examining models presented in clay.

"My job is to put the skeleton and bones in to make it move," Galda says of his contribution to the 2004 DreamWorks hit movie Shark Tale. He consulted with supervising animators, studied textbooks and utilized some imagination to realize how a creature with half-shark, half-human features might look and act.

Growing up in the tiny hamlet of Oustic, Ont., Galda's love of the outdoors and physical exercise fed his curiosity about the human body. He enrolled in the University of Waterloo's kinesiology program with the expectation that he would eventually practice medicine.

A chance encounter with an animation artist prompted Galda to look into the medium as a career field. After completing his degree, he enrolled in Centennial's digital animation program, which came highly recommended. The intensive 30-week program immerses students in every aspect of the trade, from story and character development, to 3-D modeling, animation, lighting and texturing.

After graduating from Centennial, Galda worked at a few Toronto animation companies, eventually ending up at Nelvana, Canada's premier animation studio. His talents were recognized by California-based DreamWorks, which offered him a position. At the age of 27, he relocated to Los Angeles to join one of the world's top animation studios.

Galda recently returned to Toronto to begin a new job at Soho Digital Film, and has also begun teaching part-time in Centennial's digital animation program.

Galda will receive his award from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty at a gala dinner in Toronto on February 21. The annual awards were established in 1992 by the Ontario Council of Regents to mark the 25th anniversary of the college system.

Centennial College School Profile

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