Though the average movie audience member might have a hard time differentiating foam, gelatin, or bondo makeup prosthetics, Makeup Design grads are trained to know the benefits of each and how to apply these pieces to an actor in the most realistic – or fantastic – way.
As we’ve recently blogged, select Makeup Design students have the chance toward the end of their year to apply the skills they’re accumulating at VFS in high-stakes mentorship projects at local special makeup effects studios.
Now, those students will be all the more prepared for the industry’s evolving demands due to the Makeup Design department’s newly-introduced silicone prosthetics curriculum.
While using gel-filled silicone appliances can be a more time-consuming and expensive route to go, many film studios are turning to this material to provide the highest quality makeup prosthetics for their productions. Films like Watchmen, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and the upcoming The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair illustrate the kinds of visuals makeup artists can achieve with silicone.
Very few makeup programs in North America are taking the same approach to teaching silicone prosthetics. Starting later this spring, students in their final term will get a comprehensive, hands-on experience in creating and applying gel-filled silicone appliances — a skill that will help to significantly enhance their portfolios and highlight Makeup Design’s ability to recognize and meet the industry’s ever-changing demands.
If you haven’t already, check out our video tours of Makeup Design’s campuses or see students at work in our flickr page photos.
Update! Check out this video exploring the use of silicone at VFS:
Jacob recently gave a special screening of the film and shared some war stories with current VFS students from Film Production, Digital Character Animation, Classical Animation, Acting, and Entertainment Business Management. Everyone who attended would likely agree that the shooting of Summerhood was not without its drama. After only two weeks of pre-production, Jacob’s team began to shoot a 140-page script with a large cast of child actors, all of whom had very limited work schedules and “hands-on” entourages. The impending winter weather threatened their filmic illusion of summertime. They were missing a lead actor, which meant Jacob had to step in and direct from in front of the camera. And then, to top it all off, their budget fell apart — coming out of pre-production, they only had a few grand with which to pay everyone. “Every Monday we had $0, and every Friday we paid our cast,” Jacob explained. While shooting, he spent many lunch hours dialing for dollars, raising money to keep moving forward on his dream project. In the end, he had a four-hour film that made no sense. It took another couple of years’ worth of re-editing footage before they finally had a film ready for audiences. Then came the challenge of finding distribution — the field to which Jacob now devotes much of his energy. Not surprisingly, he’s got some interesting plans for the future… You can read our recent VFS Blog interview with Jacob here or see more images from his talk on VFS’s flickr page here.
So last week’s premiere of the film at the VFS Café was both a culmination and a celebration – a chance to screen the film and thank everyone who helped. Pitched as an “intimate” evening, the premiere turns out to be standing room only, a party packed with cast and crew, friends, classmates, and faculty. When we sit down with Rebeca and Diana, Jenny’s off making last-minute preparations for the screening. The vibe is good. Oh, and there are blueberry tarts. “It’s a double big day, because today we submitted our actual final project – the production bible and the short film,” Rebeca tells us. “And it’s the premiere, so after this.” “We’re done,” Diana finishes the sentence with a laugh. The 12-minute Mora Azul is a simple, gently romantic story – following the tribulations of a young man working in a café and trying to win a girl’s heart with her favourite blueberry pie – but no production is simple. But the end result, which was filmed at Vancouver’s Aphrodite Café, feels polished and, well, professional. (The team, dubbed Holy Guacamole, was also guided along in part by Film Production Head Jonathan Wacks.) There’s an overwhelming feeling of pride at the premiere. “It’s a multicultural short film,” Rebeca explains. “Not only the actors, but also the production. So it’s a pretty broad and multicultural short film, and we’re really proud about that.” Although Diana came to VFS with some professional experience in Mexico, she’s quick to point out that distributing a feature film and producing and distributing a short are very different ballgames. It’s a new challenge, but a rewarding one. ”The short film is our short film, so it’s different. It’s more exciting. You have more responsibility.” The three served as producers, overseeing the many aspects of getting the film made – developing the story, finding crew who could deliver on their vision, securing locations, developing a distribution strategy, and keeping everything moving along. “It’s a really, really tough job, but it’s worth it,” Rebeca tells us. “At the end of the day, the results are your baby, your creation. Even though it’s the business side, it’s the glue that sticks everything together. It also involves a lot of creativity. There’s a lot of creativity involved.” The trio graduates in February, but the plans for Mora Azul don’t end there. ”Our objective from day one was to be screened at at least three international festivals,” says Rebeca. “Hopefully that will happen,” she laughs. “That’s our main objective – to be really proud of it, and to use it as a marketing tool for ourselves, for our future.” “This industry’s really rewarding,” says Diana. “So if young filmmakers want to be part of this industry, they just have to follow their dreams and do it.” To find out more about Mora Azul and its producers, visit Mora-Azul.com. Left to right: Diana Garcia Mendez, Jenny Bourne, Rebeca Ricoy, and project mentor Jonathan Wacks.
Even before James Cameron’s mainstream masterpiece was released, the buzz was hard to ignore. Everything was top secret, from the characters to the world designs and — probably — the exact shade of Na’vi blue. In the lead up to the hard release date of Ubisoft’s James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game, Film Production grad Kevin Shortt took the reins as Lead Scriptwriter, charged with delivering a storyline that would satisfy what would soon be a legion of Avatar fans. Talk about pressure to perform. As we recently blogged, Kevin and Writing for Film & Television instructor John Meadows were quickly immersed into the world of Avatar and worked directly with Cameron’s staff and some of the film’s stars. Kevin graciously made some time to answer our questions about the demands of writing the game adaptation of one of the biggest films in recent history. Could you start off by talking about what you currently do at Ubisoft? Kevin: I’m a scriptwriter and story designer at Ubisoft Montreal. I’ve been with the company for over three and a half years. I started as the Lead Scriptwriter on Lost: Via Domus, then I wrote for Far Cry 2. And now I’ve just completed James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game. What was your role on the game adaptation ? Can you explain how you collaborated with Cameron’s team on this project?
For an in-depth look at the facilities in which VFS students spend a year learning an array of industry-standard makeup techniques, click here or visit vfs.com/makeuptour. You can also check out some behind-the-scenes photos of each Makeup Design campus on our flickr page.
In many VFS programs, a student’s final project is their big chance to execute the skills they’ve been building up throughout an intense year of learning-by-doing. In Entertainment Business Management, it’s no different. The following trailer is for a short feature film titled Dilemma, which was written, produced, and directed by EBM grad Basak Buyukcelen. As an ambitious final project, it pushed the limits of what can be achieved in a short time with minimal resources. To complete this project, Basak relied on the assistance of many VFS students, grads, and staff. You can catch Basak’s film when it premieres at Vancouver’s Pacific Cinematheque on February 7, 2010 at 2:00pm. There will be a reception at 1:30pm, and the screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Basak and Dilemma‘s cast. Update: Update 2:
Jeremy Bowker, a Sound Design for Visual Media grad who works with Skywalker Sound, has been nominated for a Golden Reel Award. The awards are handed out by the MPSE (that’s Motion Picture Sound Editors). Jeremy and and a few others are up for “Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Music, Dialogue and ADR in an Animation Feature Film” for the film 9, on which he served as Sound Effects Editor. It was a busy year for Jeremy, whose other credits included A Christmas Carol, Whip It, and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. Jeremy was also nominated for a Golden Reel last year for Horton Hears a Who. The 57th Golden Reel Awards will be taking place February 20. Here’s a video interview we did with Jeremy a few years ago – we knew him when!
Already highly respected by gamers and critics, the company is smack in the middle of a hot streak of epic proportions, between last fall’s acclaimed Dragon Age: Origins and the upcoming Star Wars MMO The Old Republic. But it’s not unreasonable to suggest that today’s release of Mass Effect 2 could top them both. Reviews are over-the-top good. We’ve already got a Game of the Year candidate on our hands. Jordan Ivey, a graduate of the Sound Design for Visual Media program, was one of five VFS alumni on Mass Effect 2‘s audio team. (It’s fair to say VFS grads were an influential part.) That’s pretty special in its own right, but when the project at hand is a well-reviewed sequel to one of the best-liked RPGs of recent years, from a developer renowned for its innovative approach to interactive narrative… it’s something else altogether. Jordan, taking time out of a well-deserved vacation to share his thoughts on the release, says the team’s overwhelming focus was on immersion. ”Be it a powerful biotic or the blast of a shotgun, the places you visit, or the creatures you battle, our goal is to make it as real and believable as possible,” he says. “To make you feel powerful when you’re taking on a swarm of enemies or panicked when alarms and lights start flashing while your ship is under attack.” Mass Effect 2 is epic. At upwards of 30 hours of gameplay, almost one hundred voice actors, a sweeping plot full of galactic action, drama, and intrigue, and a narrative system that’s been described by reviewers as “the future of storytelling in video games”, the game has what Jordan calls “an incredible amount of material,” which might be putting it lightly. That means the audio team needs to be large, talented, and on-the-ball. Most of all, they need to be involved in the big picture. ”We work quite closely with all the departments across BioWare,” Jordan explains. “I think it’s part of that interaction that helps us create the kinds of games that we do. I speak to designers every day to make sure that I’m as in the loop as possible for any changes that might come down the pike. In fact, if anything, the biggest challenge might be meeting the colossal expectations that come with any project bearing the BioWare logo. ”The bar [for audio] on ME2 was set very high,” says Jordan. “But that’s true of all departments.” “We know that the fans expect a lot from our games. There’s a lot to live up to with each release, but we have such a great group of people here that have really made something special.” “We take what we do seriously, but we have a lot of fun doing it as well.” Mass Effect 2 is in stores today. For more, visit the official site. To find out more about the other VFS alumni who worked on it, check this post.
The partnership is the first of its kind for Pixologic in Canada. The agreement will primarily benefit students of VFS’s Animation & Visual Effects programs, particular 3D Animation & Visual Effects. VFS students will have access to the latest innovative tools available in ZBrush, upgrades, and technical support. “Pixologic enthusiastically supports education and is committed to providing artists with the most innovative cutting edge tools of their craft,” says Pixologic Chief Operating Officer Jaime Labelle. “From illustration to animation and visual effects to game design, we at Pixologic recognize the standard of excellence that comes from the entire VFS community and are thrilled to partner and support them in their creative process.” ZBrush’s place within the Animation & Visual Effects curriculum means that students are provided with skills and experience in a tool that is widely used on top films like Avatar, Watchmen, and District 9, and games like Gears of War 2 and Dragon Age: Origins, all properties on which VFS Animation & Visual Effects graduates have worked. “This partnership really allows us to take advantage of what Pixologic brings to the table with their products,” says VFS’s Managing Director Marty Hasselbach. “It also allows Pixologic to benefit from what VFS does, and that is create fantastic work using their cutting-edge software, ZBrush.” Find out more about the partnership at vfs.com/pixologic. Visit the official site for more about Pixologic and ZBrush.
Dark Igloo, co-founded by Digital Design grad Mark Miller, is at it again, this time with an incredibly hilarious – and very successful – new video for The Pump Energy Food, a New York chain of health-conscious eateries. And the video (“Sans Crap”) is suddenly all over the place, blogged by everyone from the mainstream to foodies to designers – Boing Boing, The Huffington Post, Kottke.org, Kitsune Noir, and Serious Eats, to name but a small handful. Check out the video (right here) and you’ll know why – it’s fast-paced, packed with sight-gags, and razor-sharp satire. So we asked Mark about the process. “First of all, we had a lot of fun with this piece,” he tells us. “The Pump CEO, Adam Eskin, warned us he was a ‘very tough client’ and ‘hard to please’ which is never a good sign… He also let us know that we had a small budget to work with, and no media buy to support the piece.” A viral, grassroots campaign, then? Well, mission accomplished. Mark and co-founder Dave Franzese came to the table with five ideas before they agreed on this one. “Both sides agreed this was perfect for the post New Year resolution crowd, and overall the strongest.” The art direction was inspired by everything from “old Life magazine ads to modern day gimmicks.” “Dark Igloo has incredible illustration/storyboarding capabilities thanks to Dave’s hand. So going into the two days of shooting, we knew pretty much exactly what we were trying to capture and we could focus on the food styling and performances we needed.” It seemed like the biggest challenge would be the shot (pictured above and in the behind-the-scenes shot below) with three salad dressing bottles, smothering a salad in sync. (“You only get one take,” Mark says.) But the really difficult part was actually still to come. “It turns out the hardest part of the project was the final edit,” Mark says. “We were extremely happy with the spot when it was two minutes and thirty seconds long – nearly twice what it is now. But after focus grouping it with rad people, we determined it would be better to speed it up, keep the pace moving, not allow people to get bored with it, and thus encouraging multiple views.” Watch the video (and download wallpapers!) here See Dark Igloo’s work in their Mind Expanding PDF Check out our 2009 interview with Mark about Dark Igloo
Summerhood’ Screens at VFS
Classical Animation grad Jacob Medjuck is either completely mad or a genius. With a devoted crew that included talented VFS alumni from Film Production, Sound Design, Foundation, and Digital Design, he wrote, directed, and co-starred in his first feature film Summerhood. EBM Producers Premiere Short Film Mora Azul
When Entertainment Business Management students Diana Garcia Mendez, Rebeca Ricoy, and Jenny Bourne chose producing a short film called Mora Azul as their final project in the program, they knew what they were in for: six months of hard work.
Film Grad Drives Avatar Game Adaptation
There’s no doubt Avatar is huge. Like, Titanic huge.Inside Makeup Design’s Campuses
Stan Edmonds, Head of the Makeup Design for Film & Television program, recently hosted a video walk-through of the three Makeup Design facilities at VFS: 198 West Hastings Street, 392 West Hastings Street, and 1248 Franklin Street.EBM Student Feature Premieres at Pacific Cinemateque
We’re very happy to announce that Dilemma has won the Best Short Film Award at the 2nd annual Montreal Turkish Film Week, and also the Best Student Film Award at the Ion International Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkey.
And the awards keep coming. Dilemma has won the Rising Star Award at the Canada International Film Festival, and is in contention in Best Student Film. Chara Berk is also nominated for Best Actor at the No Limits Student Film Festival in England.
Sound Grad Snags Golden Reel Nomination
The Sound of Mass Effect 2
BioWare is on fire.
That is to say, for a sound designer who wants to be challenged – by scope, by subject matter, by complexity – the Mass Effect 2 team was the place to be. For Jordan, who also worked on Dragon Age, it was also a welcome change of pace. Then often get paired on bookshelves, but for a sound designer, the fantasy and sci-fi genres are polar opposites. “Being able to work in a world of elves, mages, warriors, and dwarfs and then jumping to the outer reaches of space allows us to work in nearly every type of environment conceivable. It’s as varied a palette as you could have, and it’s a fantastic balance to have,” he says.
The buzz, the excitement, and the early reviews – that’s gravy. “Watching the reviews come in and watching the excitement grow on the forums over the months is awesome,” he says. “It’s very a very rewarding experience to be able to be part of something like this.”VFS and Pixologic Announce Official Partnership
VFS and Pixologic, maker of the award-winning 2D/3D sculpting, texturing, and painting application ZBrush, today announced an official partnership agreement to provide VFS with full access to educational licenses for Pixologic’s cutting-edge software, ZBrush.Hilariously Disgusting: Grad’s Vid for NYC Restaurant
