Pedro Eboli graduated from Classical Animation in April, and the advertising-copywriter-turned-animator made the most of his VFS year: his final film, Papercut, was recently featured on YouTube, which has resulted in well over 200,000 views as of this writing, and A Pug’s Life, was blogged by Cold Hard Flash. Both films have already made it onto Channel Frederator podcasts – where Pug was just named Frederator’s Cartoon of the Month.
Now, Pedro’s a humble guy – when we caught up with him, he seemed genuinely surprised that we’d want to know more. But he’s enjoying the ride so far, and as it turns out, the development and online success of his two films offers a great personal glimpse inside the Classical Animation program – how a sudden career decision can become therapy for the ad man’s soul.
What’s your story, Pedro? Where are you from?
Sheesh, that’s a tough one. I guess I should say I’m from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – born and raised. I wish I had a big, sweeping, epic story to put here, but that pretty much sums it up. After high school, I went to university and took advertising, because I really didn’t know what else to do.
I never, ever thought of animation as a career, especially being in Rio, where the industry is not so big. It’s not like your career adviser would ever come up to you and say, “You should become an animator.” But I’ve always liked to doodle. Anytime, anywhere. Funny thing is I never, ever colored anything. So, needless to say, my Color Theory classes at VFS were pretty intense.
Why the career change?
Like I said, advertising came as a safe choice for a bachelor’s degree, being a pretty big industry in Brazil. And I enjoyed being able to work with something that involved creativity and doing a completely different assignment each day. It taught me how to be concise in my ideas and how to deal with clients that think very differently than you.
But something wasn’t right. I complained a lot, and I was having more fun doing online comics with a good friend than actually going to work. And that’s when I knew I had to get out, quickly, before my 26 years old turned into 40. After researching some, I came into VFS. And it just seemed right: the city, the curriculum and, above all, the perspective of working as an animator, of drawing for a living.
It was a month between having the idea to do animation and being enrolled in VFS.
Now, let’s talk Papercut: featured on YouTube Canada, then across all the YouTube international sites in the Film & Animation category. In a very short time, it’s racked up 200,000 views. What’s that like? To graduate in April, and already have all those people enjoying your work?
The panel was part of a curriculum module on business planning and production entities, and focused on the issues and challenges of dealing with unions & guilds — a timely topic, given the recent settlement of the writers’ strike and the possible upcoming strike by actors in the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG). Don gave the audience a snapshot of the looming actors strike, noting that there had been several days of bargaining so far, but with little progress. Don said simply: “We’re hoping.” The panelists detailed the relationships between their various organizations and the craftspeople and artists they represent… going into some detail on the infamous Tysoe Report (read here for more), why Vancouver offers great production services relative to L.A.’s (our studios are more up to date, whereas Hollywood’s were built in the ’30s and ’40s; plus a little matter of tax credits), and what one aspect of the industry keeps the rest in motion (actors… duh).
The Screenwriters Summit, co-presented by VFS, was a rousing success. Held June 7 and 8, this weekend-long event featured an all-star roster of screenwriting gurus – Syd Field, Linda Seger, John Truby, and Michael Hauge. All four speakers were kind enough to sit down with us on camera to discuss the art and craft of writing screenplays: For attendees, the Summit was an intense, productive 48 hours. Delving into everything from concept to character development to structure to dialogue, the speakers had attendees applying the lessons to their own scripts and concepts in real time – and some brave souls even acted as guinea pigs, offering up their own pitches to the audience to illustrate various points. As Hauge said near at the beginning of Day 1, “How to elicit emotion: That’s what this weekend is about.” Some snapshots from this fantastic event:
As Film instructor Bruce Marchfelder moderated, the standing-room-only student audience heard Miner talk about the early days of his career and the lessons he’s learned since those beginnings making classic blockbuster horror films on a $90,000 budget. In addition to extolling the virtues of hard work and persistence, he offered this piece of advice: “You depend on actors and need to learn to work with them” – something our Film Production students know well from their improvisation and director/actor workshops.
Todd, who graduated in 2003, is Sound Librarian for video game giant Electronic Arts. He was kind enough to answer some questions about just what, exactly, that means. So, SFX Librarian at EA worldwide – Is that right? What does a SFX librarian do, exactly? Yes, I am the Sound Librarian for EA Sports at Black Box, which incorporates approximately 9 different studios around the world. I look after the SFX library, which means listening to, mastering and databasing the SFX that already exist and new ones that will be recorded in the future. As well as collecting the libraries from the other 9 studios. We use database and search applications like Soundminer & Netmix. I will also be partaking in recording sessions as a SFX recordist. Can you tell me a little about yourself, where you’re from, and what drew you to study sound design at VFS?
Of all the amazing applicants, the person whose portfolio most impressed the panel of VFS judges was Naomi Peter-Simons! Naomi has won a full scholarship to the Foundation Visual Art & Design program, and begins in September. Benjamin noted: “We were intrigued that despite her incredible talent she is still adamant that she needs to explore and discover more. To us, this is the secret of the attitude it takes to be the best!” For her part, Naomi says: “I’m pleased as punch to have received the full tuition scholarship from VFS. In fact, I can’t express my eternal gratitude in mere, paltry words; suffice to say, whenever I manage to pay another month’s rent or afford such luxuries as breakfast, I will be thanking VFS with every fibre of my being. I hope in future to learn a lot more about various artistic mediums and create something worth creating, or maybe several somethings.” Congrats also to the phenomenal Houman Behroozynia, co-creator of the award-winning high school website FourtyFour magazine. He has won a $10,000 scholarship and will be bringing his talent to the VFS Film Production program this fall. The bronze prize of $5000 goes to Karl Schoepp, another award-winning protégé joining our Film Production program, who has what already seems like a lifetime of experience shooting, directing, and editing films. Welcome, the three of you! We can’t wait to see where your year at VFS takes you.
Mark’s A Great Big Robot from Outer Space Ate My Homework won the ‘Joe Robot Award’. Choom’s In The Beginning won the ‘Bad Ass Bunny Award’, while her other VFS film, Bobble & Sqweek, took ‘So Cute It Hurts’ honours. You can see the video announcing the winners (including a Choom cameo!) right here, or just head straight to the the press release. Congrats! Update: Do not miss this podcast, featuring much more Choom!
Last month, we told you about recent Classical Animation grad Pedro Eboli‘s A Pug’s Life being spotlighted by Cold Hard Flash, then featured in an episode at Channel Frederator. Well, Pedro’s final VFS film, Papercut, is currently featured on the homepage of YouTube Canada. Check out this perfect piece of inspired lunacy for yourself:
Out of Rhythm & Hues, 3D Animation & Visual Effects alumni who worked on it included Tony Etienne (Look Development Lead), Pearl Hsu (Effects Technical Director), Thom Roberts (Character Animator), and Joshua Herrig (Lighting Artist). From Image Engine, we’ve got Shawn Walsh (Visual Effects Executive Producer) and James McPhail (Visual Effects Technical Director). Josh Herrig shared his thoughts when we were catching up with him about Metal Gear Solid 4 a little while ago: “It was by far the best project I’ve worked on! The lighting scenarios we had were absolutely paramount for any lighter. I was able to light several hero shots and had a chance to light the Hulk poster. They were intense characters to light and render and I think lots of people will be impressed with the CG in this film!”
We caught up with him for some background, and as you’ll see, he has strong opinions about the state of the industry and his motivations for coming to VFS… For someone who’s pretty established, why on earth are you here? I started in the entertainment industry by producing club nights and one-off concert events, raves, hip-hop shows and the like in northern California. After 5 years of operating my production company Compression I had built a reputation that was unsurpassable, a following similar to that of a cult, and processed nearly $2,000,000 in grossed income through my hands. Now that sounds very exciting, and the value attached to it is definitely something to be proud of, but behind the scenes, my end of the year Net, around $50k, did not equal time spent and risks took. So who was making the money? ‘Cause it sure as f*** wasn’t my partner or me. The performers were definitely making money; from UK Drum & Bass acts bringing in 3-5k for a 2-hour DJ gig, to the mainstream urban performers making 10-40k per gig. What about the outsourced services we used to run our business? Printing, Radio, Distribution, Print advertising, sound, lights, so on… Interview continues after the jump:
The Drama Behind the Drama
Last Thursday night, Entertainment Business Management students were treated to a panel discussion featuring some key players behind film production in BC: Paul Altilia from the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), Don Cott of the BC branch of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), Tom Adair of the BC Council of Film Unions, and the event was moderated by Gordon Hardwick from the British Columbia Film Commission.
It quickly became clear how crucial it is for anyone considering joining the film industry as a producer, production manager, or agent to understand the factors involved in keeping all branches of the industry running smoothly. Many of the EBM students in attendance are working towards becoming film producers. All of the panelists agreed that relationship are everything. Tom put it plainly: “If you don’t keep your word in this industry, you will not survive.”
Screenwriters Summit’s a Wrap
Steve Miner Visits Film
Director/Producer Steve Miner – whose extensive list of credits includes films like Friday the 13th Part 2, Lake Placid, Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, and Halloween H20 and TV series like The Wonder Years, Dawson’s Creek, and Smallville, visited with students in our Film Production program this week.
SFX Librarian at EA
Sound Design for Visual Media alum Todd Mason isn’t the kind of librarian who’ll shush you just for being alive – in fact, it’s quite the opposite.High School Scholarship Winners
This year’s BC High School Scholarship Competition was an astounding success — attracting some of the most creative and passionate graduating high school students we’ve ever seen here at VFS. Director of Admissions and Student Services Benjamin Colling says: “I was overwhelmed with the quality level of this year’s BC Grade 12 students. Digital skills in particular seem to have grown by leaps and bounds just in the past 3-4 years.”Trio of Frederator Awards
The 2008 Channel Frederator Awards have been announced, and 3D‘s Mark Shirra and Classical Animation‘s Choom Lam are both winners. In fact, Choom won twice!Papercut Stars on YouTube
Grads SMASH!
Even those of us who were kinda disappointed by Ang Lee’s Hulk are looking forward to this week’s reboot of the franchise, The Incredible Hulk.Multi-Faceted EBM
Entertainment Business Management student Ian McDonell was already leading a complex professional life in San Francisco, from promoter to magazine producer to DJ. And now that he’s at VFS, he’s taken on even more. But Ian’s finding ways to keep his ongoing projects alive while he delves into the one-year EBM program, and he’s already putting to use what he’s learning here.
The short answer is to broaden my horizons, raise my potential pay scale, and get that official piece of paper that the corporate world values so greatly. But how the decision came to be was developed over 8 long years of my career.