Exceptional Minds

Exceptional Minds
Location
14144 Ventura Blvd. Suite 100

Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles
,
California
91423

USA
Information
School typeA non-profit vocational center and animation studio for young autistic adults
Established2011 (2011)
Websiteexceptional-minds.org

Exceptional Minds (EM)[1] is an American non-profit digital arts academy with attached animation and VFX studios. Established in 2011, it is the first animation studio and digital arts school specifically designed for autistic adults.[2] It is located in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California.[2] Exceptional Minds is comprised of a vocational academy, post graduate program, and professional post-production studios. The organization's mission is to cultivate the talents and skills of artists on the autism spectrum to facilitate their employment, self-advocacy and sharing of stories.[3] In addition to the academy and studios, Exceptional Minds offers corporate education in the inclusion of individuals on the spectrum in the workforce.

Background

Exceptional Minds was founded in 2011 by nine entertainment industry professionals with family members on the autism spectrum. They developed a media enrichment academy, funded by Bob Stevenson and Neil Young, designed specifically for artists on the autism spectrum to help those artists find gainful employment in the digital arts and entertainment industry.[4] The first class of eight students graduated in June 2014, with Ed Asner serving as commencement speaker.

The Exceptional Minds VFX Studio was founded in 2014, hiring alumni directly from the academy's alumni population. Since its inception, the EM VFX Studio has provided VFX and Titles services to over a hundred professional productions, with clients including Marvel (EM has been responsible for the end titles to every Marvel movie since Avengers: Age of Ultron), Netflix, Warner Brothers, Disney, and NBCU, HBO.

The first major project for Exceptional Minds was the end title sequence for Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer.[5] In addition, EM graduate artists have also worked on post-production visual effects for films such as American Hustle (rotoscoping),[6][7] Lawless (end credits),[6] and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (VFX roto work in stereo).

In September 2013, University of Southern California doctoral student Laura Cechanowicz released her documentary about EM titled Exceptional Minds in Transition for the USC School of Cinematic Arts video-based website, "Interacting with Autism".[8][9] Later, in 2014, EM partnered with Sesame Street in an initiative that will spread "autism acceptance".[2]

The Exceptional Minds Animation Studio was founded in 2016 to provide career pathways to graduates of the academy who had a focus on animation. Since its inception, the Exceptional Minds Animation Studio has completed projects for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, CBS Sports, Sloomoo Institute, and PATH Water.

In 2025, the Exceptional Minds Animation Studio launched the Autism Enlightenment Library (AEL), a public library of videos that help people understand individuals on the autism spectrum and appreciate them and love them for who they are. Each video in the AEL is created by a graduate of the Exceptional Minds Academy.

Filmography

Video clips and interviews

Notes

  1. ^ "Exceptional Minds Digital Arts Academy Prepares Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum for Careers". EdTech Times. April 30, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Ross, L.A. (April 22, 2014). "'Sesame Street' Partnering With Exceptional Minds School for Autism Initiative". The Wrap. Archived from the original on October 3, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  3. ^ "General Information - Exceptional Minds". August 7, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  4. ^ Minds, Exceptional. "Autism After High School, Exceptional Minds Begins Year Four". www.prweb.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  5. ^ Lytal, Cristy (June 15, 2011). "'Judy Moody' has the benefit of Exceptional Minds". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ a b Khatchatourian, Maane (December 20, 2013). "Exceptional Minds School Helps Kids with Autism Find Their Niche". Variety.
  7. ^ Villacorte, Christina (December 1, 2013). "Exceptional Minds trains autistic students for Hollywood gigs". Los Angeles Daily News.
  8. ^ a b Evashenk, Lauren (September 26, 2013). "New autism website to launch Sept. 28". USC News.
  9. ^ "Exceptional Minds in Transition.". Interacting With Autism, USC School of Cinematic Arts.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.