Yearly Archives: 2005

Grad David Luce Making Doc TV in L.A.

 

Fremantle Media is one of the largest international creators and producers of television programs. With 260 programs in 39 countries, Fremantle is a huge name in television. Its hit shows include American Idol and the recent success Really Bend It Like Beckham. And right there at the helm in North America is David Luce, a graduate of the VFS Writing Program.

David is the North American Manager of Documentary and Lifestyle Acquisitions, a complicated title that requires him to wear many hats. “I create and develop programming targeted to the major networks and cable stations,” David says. “I also research programs that are produced by other North American companies that Fremantle might sell overseas.”

If at first you don’t succeed…

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A Strong Foundation for an Aspiring Film Student

Injustice and corruption have a new enemy. Meet Sophie Ironthorn – filmmaker, VFS Foundation grad, and rebel-rouser extraordinaire.

“I want to make films about social issues like sweatshops, factory farming, injustice, and issues that need people’s attention.” Sophie says. Her band Atomic Influx brought her to Northern Thailand, but the people made her stay. She became fascinated with Thai culture and got involved with local English language newspapers and magazines writing freelance about her new favourite topic.

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Grad Steals the Show at Vancouver Student Film Festival

Film Production graduate Kyoko Nagata’s new film The Shortest Dream recently won four prestigious awards at a new and important Vancouver film event, the Vancouver Student Film Festival, establishing her as a filmmaker who’s worth keeping an eye on.

From Japan to Vancouver

Kyoko’s story began when she traveled from Japan in the summer of 2004 to study at Vancouver Film School’s Film Production program. After graduation, Kyoko immediately put her producing skills to work on a new short film.

With lots of ups and downs and the occasional breakdown, Kyoko – with her director Jee-Won Sul, also a VFS grad – created an effective short drama titled The Shortest Dream. “It’s a story about a Japanese writer and a Korean widow who live in 1950s New York,” Kyoko says. “ With painful memories of war and friction between two nations, this unlikely pair shares a forbidden attraction. Their connection builds within these brief moments only to be challenged by their difficult reality formed by the ravages of war and circumstance. ”

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Interface Designer Making Most His Skills

Before coming to VFS in 1999, Hugh Griffith had a background in graphic design and was looking to VFS to help him build his skills and credentials for getting into more digital design work. To get there, he figured he needed to devote time to learning the coding and programming skills needed for working in most of today’s digital industries.

Griffith found a match with VFS after searching for a program that was intense, and where he could study on high end equipment with knowledgeable instructors. “At the time, I didn’t need to learn to be a designer,” Griffith says. “What I needed was more advanced studies in HTML and how to write code.”

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Capturing Motion for EA

Once there was Pong. An object moves left. An object moves right. Left. Right. Pretty simple. Now, fifty years later, motion in video games isn’t only about changing direction, it’s about mimicking a natural fluidity of movement in a completely unnatural setting. And it is 3D grad Kirk Chantraine‘s job to do exactly that as a Motion Capture Operator for one of the world’s leading gaming companies, Electronic Arts.

Motion capture, or mocap, is one of the most important technical components of video game development. Motion capture cameras record movements of actors, and these images are digitally scanned into a computer, creating a wire frame that is later animated into a character. “Any game that is trying to mimic physical human movement like fighting or athletics should involve a mocap shoot,” says Head of VFS Game Design Dave Warfield.

After motion capture data recorded, the game design team, which includes Chantraine, must perfect each individual shot by cleaning up the f-curves (function curves – relating to the inverse and forward kinematics of the object), reconstructing missing data, applying this to a virtual actor and then finally the game model. Unlike say, feature film editing, mocap editing is more about concentrating on individual shots rather than the continuity of a composition.

Capturing Big Time Credits

In the scope of game creation, Chantraine’s work as a mocap operator entails delivering the bulk of motion that gets put into a wide variety of games. He has been credited on many top game titles like FIFA Street , MVP Baseball 2005 , Fight Night Round 2 , Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth , and Madden NFL 2005 , and is currently working on The Godfather and Marvel Nemesis .

“My understanding of motion has helped me the most,” says Chantraine. “And knowing a lot of anatomy from life drawing and animation – anything that helps you understand how, and why, a body moves like it does, helps in making decisions on how a character’s motion is cleaned up and applied.”

F-Curves and Other Good Stuff…

But how did Chantraine make the leap from studying mocap to working in it? Shortly after graduation, he contacted Head of the 3D Department, Larry Bafia for help finding work in the field. Shortly thereafter, Chantraine was visiting the EA Mocap studio, having an interview, and within two weeks, hired for the position of mocap operator.

“I think this shows that networking is indeed important to finding the job you’re looking for,” says Chantraine. “But it’s very important to have the inner drive as well.”

Chantraine points to his passion for games and a polished reel as the major factors which helped him stand out from the pack. He underscores the importance in having your presentation (reel and interview) stand out from others by paying particular attention to small details – putting inserts in your reel, doing thorough research on the company you will be speaking with, and being completely honest about your outlook.

“I remember specifically talking about staring at f-curves all day,” says Chantraine. “I brought up the fact that this was a part of the animating process I enjoyed quite a bit. Making sure a precise level of detail is met is fun for me – and I guess they took my work for it.”

Riding High as an Effects Artist

A giant tidal wave levelling the city of New York. Ice creeping up the Empire State Building. A house crumbling off the side of a cliff in a hurricane. It wasn’t long ago that visual effects were only peppered through a movie, added here and there to give extra punch to a scene, but now with movies likes Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow, they are more than supplements to a movie, they have become the movie.

There is no denying the appetite audiences have for bigger, better, and more visual effects, nor Winston Fan‘s appreciation for the role of effects in cinema. Once an engineer in Taipei, Taiwan, Winston left his job to come to the 3D Animation Program.

“I really love movies with cool special effects,” says Fan. “You see a lot of effects out there but they’re so subtle you don’t even really see them. To me, these are best ones, so good you hardly notice.”

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Jason Simpson Stars in Young Blades

Jason Simpson is a working actor. Since graduating from VFS several years ago, he has been featured in radio commercials, animation, and video games, and has been teaching in the VFS Acting Program for four years. This is the life of a working actor, piecing together various roles, waiting for a chance at the big part.

And earlier this year Jason got this chance when he was asked to audition for the part of Fishface on the new family drama Young Blades. After being given a brief physical description of what the directors were looking for, he went to the audition prepared but still a little cautious. “I thought I would act like my eyes were bulging out and my lips were swollen, but then they told me to stop half way through. I thought I botched the whole audition,” Jason says.

But contrary to what he thought, the audition was cut short because the directors knew immediately that in Jason they had found their Fishface.

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Head of Game Audio for Skywalker Sound speaks to Sound Design students

In the last ten years video games have become the fastest growing area of the entertainment industry. With their franchise rights among the most sought-after properties in Hollywood , and profit margins that rival blockbuster films, video games are attracting more attention and better talent than ever before.

Yet, despite record-breaking sales and loyal fans, most video games still lack the prestige afforded feature films among people in the entertainment industry. While there is increasing respect for video games, the artistic value of games is still questioned by people who continue to see them as just that – games. “It’s considered sort of the bastard step-child,” says Nick Peck, “It’s still not as cool.”

Sound Catches Up with Visuals

Peck, who is currently Supervisor of Video Game Audio for George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound , spoke recently to VFS Sound Design students. His twelve year career has included working as Sound Supervisor at Lucasarts , and as Lead Sound Designer on the films Adaptation and Being John Malkovich. Peck’s video game credits include nearly ten Star Wars games, Secret Weapons Over Normandy, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, and most recently, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

According to Peck, the look of video games has been revolutionized by the introduction of digital animation. But as animation has become more sophisticated, the quality of sound has only now begun catching up. Much like the film industry, most game companies treat sound design as an afterthought, investing heavily in the visuals, and leaving tight budgets, as well as tight time constraints, for sound.

But as video games continue to propel the entertainment industry forward, there is a push for games to become more cinematic. The use of Linear Cineractive Elements – the short movies interspersed between levels of game play – is part of a trend toward higher production values. Meanwhile, more memory is being dedicated for sound in video games, allowing sound designers to match the richness of the visuals. “Games are going Hollywood ,” Peck said.

The Future is Foley

For Peck, the real future of game audio lies in the addition of Foley. Foley is the process of capturing the sound of everything you see on screen. The introduction of Foley to game audio creates a more complex sound experience which captures increasingly realistic human sounds.

“If you are operating a person, and you are moving him around in a first-person-shooter game, it’s extremely important to be able to reinforce the illusion by having the armour jingling and the gun jingling, the right sound of boots on the hard crunching snow,” Peck said, highlighting the significance of being able to add to games the details and nuance of sound.

While Peck stressed the importance for aspiring sound designers of improving their technical proficiency, he also emphasized the need to build relationships with people in the industry. Admitting that all of his work has developed through his existing relationships, Peck advised students to keep knocking on doors, even when they appear to be closed, adding, “Keep learning, keep trying new things, keep meeting people.”

Still, Peck was careful to remind students that connections will get you in the door, but only your skills will get you the job. “If you have programming and aesthetic [skills] you are the holy grail for game companies,” Peck said.

Film Grad Duo Invited to 7 International Film Festivals

Brookstreet Pictures is a young production company with an impressive resume of award winning short films. Their most recent project, Still Life, has already been accepted into seven film festivals, including both Toronto and Montreal. The producer-director team at the heart of Brookstreet is VFS grads Patrick White and Jon Knautz.

Patrick and Jon met in the VFS Film program in 2001. Patrick had just finished a degree in Communications and Jon, a self-described film addict, was looking for a way to feed his habit. The two connected immediately.

Pat appreciated Jon’s passion. “Jon and I were really enthusiastic. We knew we wanted to work together, but we never had the chance on the student projects. It wasn’t until we did Apt. 310 towards the end of the program that we were able to do so.”

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First Game Design Grads Already at Work

Barely a month out of the gate, and graduates of GD01 – the first-ever VFS Game Design class – are already making games.

Near the end of their last term, students were sweating it out before the final showdown – the critical “industry pitch,” where students present their final game projects to the developers, designers, producers, and owners of the most prestigious game companies in Vancouver. The stakes were high; a good pitch might turn into a dream job: designing games for a living.

The event was a total success. After a flurry of job offers, inter-studio maneuvering, and contract negotiations, the dust settled… and VFS grads were making games. We caught up with the students after a few weeks of work and learned what they’re doing, what games they’re working on, and the lowdown on the games industry in Vancouver.

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