Unlike the title character of his student film The Heart Collector, Michael Fallik doesn’t need to absorb others’ hearts to be confident – all he has to do is show up to his new job at Global Mechanic.
A gaunt, gray figure walks into a circular room and looks up at walls full of glowing, pickled hearts. Suddenly, the jars shatter and the hearts shoot into the grey man’s chest, leaving him energized and confident. This is just one of many surreal scenes from Michael’s The Heart Collector. But Michael’s amazing student film is only one reason why he’s now enjoying gainful employment.
“I knew that, to get work, all I needed was a connection. If I could get someone to take a look at my work, I knew I could get the job on my own merits.” Michael says of his search for work after completing his year at VFS.
VFS Makeup for Film & TV instructor Patricia Murray was recently honoured for her work on the hit sci-fi show Battlestar Galactica – an affirmation of her twenty year commitment to the craft. In the past, Patricia’s work has been seen in a rack of great shows and films, including Taken and The Sixth Day. She’s also been nominated for a variety of awards, including an Emmy nomination and a CNoMA (from the Canadian Network of Makeup Artists) for her work on Freddy vs. Jason. But it was as Head of Make-up on the hit show Battlestar Galactica where Patricia finally secured her place among Canada’s greatest makeup artists, winning the Best Special Make-up Effects Artist for Television or Feature Film award. VFS caught up with her on a break between her punishing on-set schedule and her time as an instructor for the VFS Makeup for Film & Television program.
Before attending VFS, Tamara worked in photography doing custom printing and processing for professional photographers. In her spare time, she dabbled in animation, making stop motion and hand drawn shorts with a Bolex Super 8 camera. But it was in her 18 th year, when she saw the Warner Brothers’ short film “Daffy Doodles,” that her life took an unexpected lurch forward. “At that moment I knew that the skills I had been cultivating all of my life could be directly applied to animation. There was no looking back.” From that moment on, Tamara worked solely towards attending Vancouver Film School. “There were a lot of reasons why I chose VFS,” Tamara says, “The first being the faculty and the second being the glorious city of Vancouver.“ Upon finally settling in the city and getting her teeth into the Classical Animation program, Tamara knew that the wait had been worth it, “It was the first time in my life I ever felt like I was somewhere I belonged.”
As a Sound Editor, Scott gets to do it all, from organizing recording sessions to working as a foley artist for creating sound effects for a film. He now has five feature films to his credit, including Mortuary, which was released in 2005 and was directed by Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Tobe Hooper. Scott has also had the opportunity to work on other films exclusively as a foley artist. Passion for Sound Sound is Scott’s passion, no matter what form it takes, and it’s a passion he’s quick to share with others. Prior to attending VFS, he worked for many years as a house DJ and recently produced some of his own tracks. “I’ve always been interested in the manipulation of sound,” Scott says. “It’s important for people not just to hear, but to listen.” It was only natural for Scott to take Sound Design at VFS. He found the program intense, but ultimately rewarding. “It was great, especially getting my Pro Tools certification. It’s the tool I use everyday.” But learning the tools of the trade was only the beginning, Scott says. “You also need the skills to know what to do with those tools.” Pro Tools and a Little Networking Skills like networking, which has been very important in Scott’s career. “Even though a lot of time is spent solo in your editing room, you have to be outgoing. You can’t be a wallflower,” Scott says. “A big part of the job is creating and maintaining relationships with various people, from directors to video editors to mixers to delivery guys.” Scott put his own advice to good use and moved to LA just two weeks after graduating. He quickly began to hand out resumes and worked hard to meet professionals in his field. “I was fortunate to get a chance to look around at Digital Dreams’ studio,” Scott says. “When I was there, I met Clancy Troutman, the owner and long-time sound supervisor. We ended up hitting it off.” Shortly thereafter, Scott was hired. Learning from Experts Scott is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with industry veterans. “These guys have hundreds of credits in film and TV. They know what they’re doing and it’s a challenge to consistently meet their high standards,” Scott says. But meeting the challenge is a reward all in itself. “Every project is a highlight this early on in your career,” he says, “but the best thing about my job is hearing my hard work come through after the film has been mixed.”
See blue screen in the Showcase This of course was the concluding scene to Back to the Future. We see the DeLorean’s wheels lift up. The car blasts down the street, turns, and heads toward the camera before disappearing… into the future. In 1985, when the movie was released, flying cars were still difficult to come by in the average feature film. What made this scene possible was a still recent technology (for the time) called the blue-screen.
“At Animal Logic we look for people who can process information while assimilating artistic creativity. We are always trying to find lateral problem solvers,” Kobayashi said. Speaking to students in the main theatre, Kobayashi spoke at length about the importance of merging artistic talent with the ability to solve complex problems.
From Argentina to New Zealand, Digital Character Animation grad Juan Guiraldes has scoured the face of the earth in search of the perfect animation job. He just found it – at the famous Weta Workshop in New Zealand. From an early age, Juan was fascinated with images. He read comic books, watched cartoons, and was wowed by the special effects in his favourite movies. But, as Juan puts it, “Something was missing. I was on the wrong side of the camera.” With the aid of his friend and mentor Cristina Cesares, a former VFS student and now head of Laluna Studios, Juan traveled to beautiful British Columbia and enrolled in Classical Animation at VFS. After a successful year of study, Juan was offered a scholarship into the Digital Character Animation program. He accepted. “Intense,” he says in regards to his time at VFS. “It was intense.” But with the help of his instructors, Juan persevered and, a week after graduation, was working for Bardel Animation in Vancouver. “They liked my stuff and called me in. It was a flash animation project and they asked me if I had any flash animation experience. I told them I was an expert but in reality I had no idea how to use the software [since, at that time, VFS didn’t teach Flash]. I showed up the next day and said I’m ready to go. I think they were impressed. I’ve been in animation ever since.” Just Another Giant Dragon On his present exploits, Juan casually reports, “I’m working for Weta in New Zealand.” Weta is the Academy Award-winning special effects house that brought life to The Lord of The Rings’ famous characters Gollum, Shelob, the Orcs, and the up-and-coming King Kong. Juan is primarily in charge of animating the Dragon on the children’s television show Jane and the Dragon for Weta’s digital division. “I animate the Dragon and his interactions with Jane, the rest of the secondary characters, plus props, and other creatures, [but] Vancouver Film School was my first real glimpse into the animation world. They molded me into the person and professional that I am today.” Juan has big plans for his future. Not only does he intend to perfect the art of animation, he wants to take the skills, stories, and knowledge he has acquired and share it with his home country of Argentina: “I just want to help the people and the industry.”
“What excites me about computer animation is the ability to express emotions and personality in limitless ways, in making things come alive and giving them character,” says Hill. “The potential for the medium always amazes me, and keeps me interested and curious. In every different style of animation that I have worked in, the mix of technology and art is constantly inspiring.” Hill brings an exciting pool of knowledge, both professionally and culturally to the job. After completing a degree in English Literature and travelling to Australia , Asia, and South America , she knew that creativity needed to be a fundamental part of her future and decided to focus on the two things she loved most – words and pictures, a natural springboard to animation. With this is mind, she studied 3D Animation and, shortly after graduating, landed a job animating for a TV show at Klick Animation in Montreal.
VFS Makeup Instructor Recognized for Laser Wounds
VFS:
So you’ve been in make-up since 1985… that’s a long time. What keeps you going?
PM:
Wow. I just keep having fun. I have as much passion applying make-up today as I did the first day I applied make-up 20 years ago – and I will keep painting as long as that passion is ignited!
VFS:
What shows are you working on now?
PM:
Ok, you ready? Battlestar Galactica’s 3rd season is coming up! I’m Head Makeup on the series. I not only do makeup physically, but I also run the department. I have a great crew and they work very hard (2 to 3 people) so we shoot main unit and 2nd unit and I’m also prepping 3 to 4 scripts in advance so that I can make the specific calls and line up the correct meetings. We work with prosthetics/out-of-kit effects/beauty and breakdown makeups. We have a large cast of 15 or more at a time.
VFS:
Any crazy stories?
PM:
Well, there are so many… they range from standing in the pouring rain to keeping makeup fresh in the desert to keeping makeup on in the freezing cold! I’ve been covered head to toe in blood splatter while picking up a coffee at 7 eleven during rush hour! I’ve dropped off body parts during the day from the trunk of my car while innocent bystanders gasped in horror! I’ve laughed so hard from pure exhaustion that even the camera man couldn’t roll the camera… I’ve laughed and sometimes cried but have never stopped being truly amazed and honoured to work with the many talented artists that I’ve had the opportunity to work with.
VFS
And now you’re an award winning make-up artist. How does that feel?
PM:
I was nominated for Freddy vs Jason in 2004, which was awesome. And this year I won for Battlestar Galactica. The award was Best Special Make-up Effects Artist for Television or Feature Film. It’s a peer award… meaning my peers voted me in… It’s an honour to receive such recognition from people I respect so much.
Grad Tamara Knoss finds Amaze-ing Job
At 18 years of age, Tamara Knoss had an epiphany – she realized she loved cartoons. Now, Tamara is a lead artist at Amaze Entertainment in Kirkland, Washington.Five Feature Films on Sound Design Alumni Scott Westley’s Resume
Digital Dreams is a busy sound studio in Burbank, California. The studio was founded by industry veterans Clancy Troutman and George Nemzer, and provides every post-production service from sound editing to the creation of foley and sound effects. Among Digital Dreams’ most recent credits are What The Bleep Do We Know? and Toolbox Murders. And among their most recent hires is VFS grad Scott Westley.Acting Gets the Blues
Remember Michael J. Fox saying “Hey, Doc, we better back up, we don’t have enough road to get up to 88,” and Christopher Lloyd responding ” Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads.“Empathetic Acting
It is a common sight these days to see Kathryn Meushaw crossing the street with a cane in her hand. Set to graduate this month after a year at VFS, the cane is part of Kathryn’s preparation for her role as Scarlett Deer, a woman diagnosed with cerebral palsy, in the Judith Thompson play Lions in the Streets . Along with classmate Kasia Riddle, Meushaw is performing the one-act play as part of Series of Dreams , an evening of theatre hosted by the Acting department.The cane, as it were, is only a sign of the deeper emotional transformation Katherine has experienced since coming to know her character. Distinctive walking motions and slurred speech patterns are only a small part of what Kathryn is learning about cerebral palsy. “By the first three lines of the script I was taken by the emotion behind the story,” says Kathryn. “But I found I knew nothing about cerebral palsy. I was scared at first, but Bill [Marchant] persuaded me to take this as an opportunity to really stretch my abilities. If Bill hadn’t asked me to do this role, I probably wouldn’t have done it.”Terminator 2, Antz, Godfather III Veteran Pays Visit to VFS
Hael Kobayashi is Head of Production at the Australian-based production studio Animal Logic. He is also a member of the 3D Animation Advisory Board, and was recently in town to visit with VFS animation students. He brought with him insights gained from an impressive career as a leader in the industry, and a few tips about becoming a professional animator.Juan Guiraldes Animating at Weta
Getting Connected: Digital Domain Visits VFS
Fielding questions from enthusiastic animation students, Laurence Plotkin of Digital Domain accepted reels from students and provided counsel on professional development and the future of the animation industry during a recent visit to VFS. California based Digital Domain is one of the leading Effects houses in the world, creating animation sequences for Lord of the Rings, I, Robot, and The Day After Tomorrow. Plotkin, who is the company’s Director of Human Resources and Recruitment, is also a member of the 3D Animation advisory board.”This is an excellent time to be doing what you’re doing,” Plotkin told a packed house in the main theatre. “From my perspective I see things looking good in the industry. I’m constantly being told that we need to find more artists.”The Scope of Sarah Hill
Walt Disney once said that “animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive.” It can be a window into the mind of its creator. No other medium has quite the same ability to capture and bring to life the infinitesimal space of the imagination. For Sarah Hill, recently hired as Animation Supervisor in the 3D Department, this is exactly one of the aspects that originally attracted her to this art form.