You might remember Game Design‘s Sasha Dunfee from around this time last year – he was the winner of the $25,000 EA Game Design Scholarship. Maybe, like us, you followed him throughout his year at VFS as he blogged the VFS experience.
Now Sasha, along with his Game Design classmates, has graduated – and he’s already signed on as a level designer with local studio United Front Games. We thought we’d bring the story full circle and catch up with him now that he’s completed the VFS journey.
(Left: Sasha 12 months ago. Right: Sasha at his recent grad, holding the “Best Flash Game” award.)
The last time we blogged about you specifically, Sasha, you were holding a giant cheque and just getting going at VFS. It’s only been a year – how far do you think you’ve come in that time, as a game designer?
Far. I’ve really learned a ton of stuff that just isn’t possible outside of this setting, and I can safely say that what I’ve experienced over the past year, along with the people I’ve met, has definitely put me on the right path. When I first started, I had a bit of experience with level design, and now I have so much more. [ed. Sasha's scholarship application included planning documents for game levels.] The great thing about the program is that it gives you a bit of everything, so that in the end you’re well rounded and ready to explore almost any part of the game design process.
In your year in Game Design, did anything really take you by surprise? Was there anything you enjoyed doing that you didn’t think you would, or something that was eye-opening about the industry?
This Wednesday, July 23 event is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to get a first-hand look at all 13 programs at VFS, meet their Heads of Department and senior faculty, and see award-winning student work. You’ll also have the chance to meet students and grads, including some we’ve profiled on this very blog – Nicky Forsman and Tihemme Gagnon are but two examples! VFS Open House To register for this Open House, email openhouse@vfs.com or call 604.631.3590.
“This was a moving master that traveled three city blocks with 22 actors in an uncontrolled environment,” David explains. “The film was shot in just three takes the version on screen is the third take – we had a terrible crash with the joggers on the first take.” The video stars Acting for Film & Television grad Peter Breeze and features Acting alumni Michael Aaron Keith and Jillian Pasquayak, who did both Acting Essentials and the one-year Acting program at VFS. David is hosting a fundraiser on Saturday, where the full festival lineup will be announced. Keep your eyes on outonscreen.com for more festival details!
Big congrats to 3D Animation & Visual Effects grad Daniel Osaki for picking up his third Primetime Emmy nomination! Daniel’s role as Lead Model Maker on Stargate Atlantis puts him in contention for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series. He was nominated for the same award in 2005 and 2006 for Battlestar Galactica (fellow VFS grad Alec McClymont took home an Emmy in 2007, also for BSG). A number of VFS grads worked on the Sci Fi miniseries Tin Man – also up for a slew of awards. And two VFS Advisory Board Members – Digital Design‘s Matthew Mulder (The Company) and Sound Design‘s Paul Sharpe (Tin Man) – are also nominated. You can peruse the complete list of nominees here.
The Classical Animation grad – and former VFS instructor – has been storyboarding animation for 11 years, a specialization that, as she emphasizes, is as much about communication as anything else. And that ability to communicate – and the drive to give back to “the younglings” – led her to create storyboardblog.com, which she maintains along with “live-action guy” Adrien Van Viersen. It’s a practical, honest, and often hilarious look inside the animation industry and how it works, whether it’s the must-read breakdown of the importance of professionalism in animation or handy storyboard templates or the value of training for an aspiring Storyboard Artist. It’s not to be missed for anyone even thinking of joining the industry. We wanted to go directly to the source and find out from Karen – who’s worked on everything from Rugrats to Studio B‘s Kid vs Kat – what’s behind the ‘boards. As someone who’s trained in Classical Animation, what do you like about being a storyboard artist? Nothing. Next question. Alright, alright, I’m kidding – I do that… It keeps me sane. Oddly enough for me, it’s not the drawing part. I like telling stories visually and the drawings are just a means to that end. I love the challenge of working through a script that may not be the strongest and finding ways to ‘fix’ it. To make something that may read awkward work in the visual medium. I really enjoy making the characters come alive and act. I’ve done acting myself so that’s probably why it comes naturally to me. I enjoy ‘playing director’ and being in control – for the most part – of how the cartoon will turn out. And I love freelancing and pretty much being my own boss. I do my thing, hand it in on time, and everyone leaves me alone. You have to earn that, but it’s great. How did you end up doing this for a living?
The action/horror/comedy feature starring genre legend Robert Englund is the work of Brookstreet Pictures: Film grads Jon Knautz (director) and Patrick White (producer), along with producer Trevor Matthews, who also plays the titular plumber-turned-monster-slayer. (Jack Brooks Key Makeup Artist Brandi Boulet is also a VFS grad, out of Makeup Design.) Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer has been doing the festival rounds, including Slamdance, where it was picked up for U.S. distribution by Anchor Bay. All the while, it’s been winning raves: seminal horror magazine Fangoria wrote, “If it was the explicit intention… to kickstart a franchise with Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, they’re off to a pretty strong start.” Now it’s hitting select theatres in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal on July 25th. Click for the details. This is Brookstreet’s first feature after several well-received shorts: a huge transition. “It was daunting,” says Patrick. “It was a long process, and definitely a lot more risks, but that much more rewarding.” “We’ve been making short films. We’ve been working on this stuff for a long time. To get a 35mm print that’s going to be shipped to theatres… It’s fulfilling the dream.“ “I think what we’re trying to capture is fans from the ’80s horror but also people who might think that the so-called ‘torture porn’ has gone too far. We don’t hurt people – we hurt monsters.“ The trio started Brookstreet in 2004, but Jon and Patrick go back a couple of years earlier, to their VFS days. “Jon and I met at Vancouver Film School then Jon met Trev, and we all came together,” Patrick explains. “Really, this project kind of birthed itself. Jon and Trev kind of had an idea down at Trev’s cottage, so from there, we all drew on our ideas. I started thinking, ‘Okay, well, how do we get the cast involved? Where do we shoot it?’” A key part of that cast was Englund, a fixture of film and TV best-known for playing Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street films: probably the most familiar face from that era and genre. Audiences are loving it, and Patrick, Jon, and Trevor are enjoying the ride. “We just came back from Fantasia in Montreal,” Patrick says, “And there’s nothing better than being in the theatre with people screaming at the screen.” What’s next for Jack Brooks? Well, after its run in theatres, it’s bound to have a long life on DVD – Patrick hopes it becomes one of those staples, like Evil Dead, of teenage parties: “It’s going to be a great party movie down the road.” More about Jack Brooks: Here’s the trailer, for your viewing pleasure. Visit the Official Site for the higher quality version – and mark your calendars for July 25th!
The competition was open to makeup students and recent graduates from around the world, with only 8 competitors accepted for participation. The theme in the character makeup category? A Werewolf in London. The contest was hosted and judged by renowned makeup artist Michael Key, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Makeup Artist Magazine and the founder of IMATS. We had to ask Crissy more about her werewolf… What was the process like on the day of the competition? Hard! Michael Key selected 2-5 foam pieces varying in size, edge, quality, and air bubbles that fit our model. When we had our pieces, they started the clock and we had three hours to complete the look we were going for. In the Werewolf category, they added that they’d be judging the hair laying. How did you decide what style of werewolf you wanted to create? I watched almost all the movies I could Tell us about your preparation process. I did two solid weeks of prepping after work. I had already made a hair cowl and hands for the werewolf that I did at London’s IMATS [the London IMATS competition in January had the same theme; Crissy's werewolf in that competition was a female model]. The hair cowl just needed a hair cut and I put work gloves over the werewolf gloves I made. I did a teeth casting of Sean, my model, and sculpted upper and lower full dentures. I learned from the last two IMATS shows that I did that the more prep you do, the faster you’ll be, and the better your final character will look. Any particular challenges and/or aspects of the werewolf makeup you’re really proud of? I like the hair work I did. I had Michael Key and Leonard Engelman both come up to me to tell me I did a good job on my hair work. That was a great moment for me! And we can see why — incredible work, Crissy! Here’s a final shot of the full werewolf group. If you see this gang headed toward you, you might want to cross the street…
He’s also just finished two years at MIT – yes, that MIT – where he had a hand in projects with names like E15, oGFx, and Tiny Icon Factory. It’s not exactly a typical career trajectory, so we caught up with Luis – just as he was finishing his thesis – to find out how on earth he got from A to B, or from VFS to MIT. Maybe we can start with a little background. Where are you from? How and why did you land at VFS? I am an artist from Mexico City. I started working in the Mexican film and television industry as a storyboard artist, art director, and designer around 1995. Motion graphics got me interested in animation, and that’s how I decided to join VFS. Your work in film: our readers will especially recognize Amores Perros and Babel. Can you explain how that came about and what you were doing on those productions? I started working in production around 1994. When a few of my high school friends graduated from film school they invited me to work on their final projects. It all happened very organically, almost by chance. I was doing photography and learning how to make comics, so it made sense to do storyboards and still photography for them. Working on film school projects helped me meet people in the Mexican film and television world. I started making storyboards commercially. At the same time, I bought my first Apple computer to color my comic books. It turned out my emerging Photoshop skills became attractive to the art department people, and some art directors started commissioning me to do concept art for their sets. This way I met Brigitte Broch in 1997, who holds an Oscar in set decoration for Moulin Rouge. She invited me to work in many interesting projects with her, Amores Perros and Babel amongst them. I know this is a big question, but… What exactly is it that you’re up to at MIT?
Kris Krug, Internet Technologies instructor in Entertainment Business Management, was profiled this week in the free daily newspaper Metro. For more on how arts and business combine to make for one exciting career, read the article now.
Graduates from 3 programs (3D Animation & Visual Effects, Classical Animation, and Sound Design for Visual Media) played their part in the production, including Aaron Gilman – Animation Supervisor, Julianna Kolakis – Concept Artist and Modeler, Geeta Basantani – Matte Painter and Senior Compositor, Jelmer Boskma – Lead Creature Modeler, Christopher Downs – Lighting Technical Director, Jeremy Elzinga – Technical Support: Sound, Yann Tremblay – Animator, and Giorgio Bertolone – Character Technical Director. The movie promises to be the summer’s perfect kid-friendly popcorn flick… especially since it’s playing in 3D in select IMAX theatres. Read about star Brendan Fraser‘s feelings about the technology here.
Open House Reminder, July 23
Have you RSVP’d for the upcoming VFS Open House yet?
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
6pm – 8pm
VFS Café
390 West Hastings StreetActing Instructor’s Vid to Screen
“Laugh At Me”, an anti-homophobia music video by Acting Essentials instructor David C. Jones, will be featured twice at the Out On Screen Festival in August.Grad Earns Third Emmy Nom
Behind the Storyboards
Karen J. Lloyd knows a thing or two about being a Storyboard Artist – but best of all, she wants you to know, too.Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is about to make its theatrical debut.
Jack Brooks should appeal to anyone who remembers the great popcorn horror movies – Patrick cites The Fly, Gremlins, and Evil Dead. “It’s a real fun movie. It definitely is a throwback to movies we enjoyed back in the ’80s.”
“We never thought we’d ever get him,” says Patrick. “We had a list, and everybody was on the left and he was on the right. The shorts came in handy, because we were able to send him a short we made called Still Life that did really well in the festival circuit. He read the script and saw that it was a meaty role. He was going to have some fun.”
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer Official Site
Brookstreet Pictures
Canadian Theatrical Release Info
Apt 310 – the short Jon and Patrick made at VFS
An Award-Winning Werewolf
Recent Makeup Design for Film & Television graduate Crissy Renaud placed 2nd in the 2008 Make-Up Artist Magazine International Student Make-Up Competition, taking place at IMATS in Pasadena on June 21st and 22nd.
get my hands on that had Werewolfs in them and picked things that I liked about them — like hair color, the ones that were more wolf than human, teeth, eyes, hands, and skin color. I spent hours on the internet looking at pictures of dog hair to see the direction of hair growth, as well as different variations of wolf men. We worked on a werewolf at work [WCT] for the show Reaper, and I always loved that it had a mohawk, so I knew I wanted to have that. But it all came down to a clean, simple look on the day, which meant a lot of prep work.
I ended up making a latex chest that I ran from a mold at work that was from Smallville, then painted it up and laid hair on it. Finally, Bill Terazakis from WCT lent me a pair of contacts from Wrong Turn 2 that had just finished a werewolf look.
VFS to MIT
Luis Blackaller already had a foot in the film industry – including a stint as a designer on the acclaimed 2000 film Amores Perros – before he even started 3D Animation & Visual Effects at VFS.EBM Instructor in the News
To the Center of the Earth
Seems every major blockbuster this summer has VFS grads involved — including today’s big release Journey to the Center of the Earth!
