It’s been a steady rise to fame for Vancouver singer-songwriter Dan Mangan – punctuated by a number of spikes in popularity following the release of his newest album, Oh Fortune. Mangan’s notoriety has been aided, no doubt, by two stellar music videos from Blatant Studios.
Founded by Digital Character Animation and Classical Animation grads Jesse Davidge and Jon Busby, the Gastown studio is behind the Leo Award-winning video for Mangan’s “Road Regrets” and recently worked with him again for “Rows of Houses“.
Watch the video below or visit Blatant Studios’ website to see their impressive portfolio of work.
Read the article on Straight.com. Now a “multifaceted designer” at Digido Interactive, Annie came to VFS after winning a Women in Games scholarship that has played a big role in changing the course of her career. We posted an interview with Annie last year while she was still slipping into the VFS groove. Check it out to learn more about her experience inside Game Design. Interested in learning more about the Women in Games scholarship? Don’t miss the Open House at this year’s Game Design Expo!
As the Senior Vice President of The Characters Talent Agency (West), you could say he’s well-versed in the inner workings of the film industry. He’s one of the reasons Acting grad Adam DiMarco has had such an incredible year, having made the behind-the-scenes connections that resulted in getting Adam seen by dozens of decision-makers. Seated comfortably for a moderated Q&A, Tyman also reflected on signing Head of Department Bill Marchant: “I remember seeing you. I remember to this day: I am repping you.” Over an hour and a half, he shared a lot of promising stories and hard lessons, as current Acting for Film & Television student John Connolly has been kind enough to recap for us. Guest Post by John Connolly The classroom was filled to the brim with students waiting for Bill Marchant and our guest speaker, Tyman Stewart, to arrive. It was an unprecedented event for the Acting for Film & Television program, and our current three classes were the fortunate ones to be present for it. Tyman Stewart is the Senior VP of The Characters Talent Agency, the second largest agency in Canada, which currently represents VFS faculty members Bill Marchant and Jennifer Clement, as well as quite a few VFS alumni. The agency has branches in Los Angeles and Toronto as well as here in Vancouver. Tyman has also produced a few films, including Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning, and the upcoming A Little Bit Zombie. Over the course of an hour and a half, students asked about anything they could think of: outside influences on the industry, work in the US, even haircuts. The questions varied from personal to inclusive, and Tyman would respond with stories and examples from his personal experience as well as the general standard among other agencies. He made it very apparent that he wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything for our benefit. It may have made some students uneasy at first, but that soon passed as they realized how his personality visibly reflects his attitude toward his job: professional, yet personable. The recurring theme throughout the session seemed to be stereotypes, or the fear of being pigeonholed into one specific character. “If your talent surpasses that,” Tyman answered, “then you shouldn’t worry.” Build a reputation as a great actor and possess great skills, then there will be no boundaries. Focus. Make sure you continue your training, learn techniques, and always keep an ear to the ground as to what’s happening in the business. He also made it clear that “you can be as good as you want, but if you’re an ass, no one will want to work with you.” While it may seem obvious, there are indeed actors in the world who may disregard that advice. From beginning to end, the evening was a constant outbreak of overwhelming information and each of us left with something valuable to bring into our future endeavours. Thanks, John! Visit VFS on Flickr to see photos from Tyman’s visit.
Now — even while Antonio’s been busily creating award-winning work at Tribal DDB here in Vancouver — he’s managed to be named the 2011 Young Blood Interactive winner and is once again gracing the pages of Applied Arts magazine in the current issue. Check out Oomph for the full scoop and an exclusive Q&A with Antonio!
Peter will be spending a few days with students in Digital Design, reviewing their work and sharing his high-profile experience. (Check out his schedule at VFS, as well as a full background on his career, on Oomph.) His much-anticipated visit begins with an upcoming talk on design, where he’ll focus on the role of mentorship and human-powered solutions. If you’ll be in Vancouver and you’re passionate about design, we encourage you to come! “Remembering That We’re Human – Elusive Perspectives On a Career in UX” RSVP with your name (and those of any guests) to leslie@vfs.com. OVERVIEW ABOUT PETER JIN HONG Space is limited! RSVP soon to get a seat. Email neesha@vfs.com. (Please note that current VFS students will be given preference.)
It didn’t take long for our faith to be justified. Splatform has just won for Best Web Game at SBGames 2011 in Brazil, Latin America’s largest game development conference. Congratulations! You can try the game for yourself here.
Three years into his producing career, Film Production grad Vikas Mathur already sounds like a grizzled veteran. We detailed his journey from VFS to the Indian film industry in a blog post last year, and Vikas made a special stop in Vancouver (on his way to South Africa for more location scouting) to speak to students about the global film industry and working with the VFS community after graduation. A mix of Film Production, Entertainment Business Management, and Writing for Film & Television students were on hand to absorb the wisdom Vikas has gleaned from his baptism by fire into the field, from his start shooting music videos to rising through positions on a single shoot to his current role as a producer for K Films. Throughout his talk he highlighted how important it is for current students to interact with each other across the programs, building a network they will rely on well into the future. “Canada to Cameroon, Iceland to India. I know there are people I can work with.” He also stressed the importance of finding your passion and focus, but also of learning as much as you can about all areas of filmmaking. “No one can fool you, because you know cinematography, camera skills, triangle coverage, blocking.” As the Indian Film Industry has become a global phenomenon, other industries have followed suit. Vikas spends six months out of every year on the road, taking Indian productions to Switzerland and North America, and he emphasized how much work is out there for people willing to look and travel. When a student asked a question about becoming pigeon-holed into music videos, Vikas assured him that wouldn’t happen. But he also challenged him by asking why, if he loved music videos, he didn’t consider making a career out of them. Thank you, Vikas!
Sandra took the time to answer some questions and talk about her career. Take us back to your time in Entertainment Business Management. How did you decide on a film for your final project? Sandra: To be honest, the project changed into a film a few weeks before going to picture; it started as a pilot for a web series. I knew the kind of story and lead character I wanted to create, since I have always loved to tell stories that leave a positive message, and I wanted to bring back a strong female role to the media. I just didn’t know the best way to present it, since must of my background experience comes from advertising and live events. But after working and producing Compendium Vol. 1 and watching the reception it got, I realized I wanted to do a film but I didn’t want to leave behind the concept for a series. After talking with Nick Humphries (my mentor for the project), he suggested the idea of shooting a short film of 10 minutes that, in the future, if I still wanted to procede with the series, I could break down into 3 short episodes. How did you get in contact with director Juan Reidinger and writer Nuno Soler? Sandra: When Nick and I talked about possible directors, we both agreed that the candidate needed to be someone creative and eager to work in the fantasy genre. Nick suggested Juan because he knew he was looking for a fantasy story to direct. So I contacted him, and he liked the concept and was really eager to come on board. I met Nuno on Compendium Vol. 1 when he wrote the script for the short film Patsy Tomkins and I did. I loved his style since the begining and his creativity just blew my mind. So in the meeting before our shooting of “The Call of C’Thulhu”, he told me if I ever need it a writer I could always contact him. Sandra: It was so unexpected and surprising. I’m a dreamer by nature and I like to dream big. At the time of filming I was just too happy thinking that I was doing something good by providing or at least trying to provide a strong role model for girls; that was the only thing I wanted to do and I fantasized about the story reaching and touching people, but I never thought of actually winning awards. When Juan told me the news about the festival, it just blew my mind. I was so in shock and happy that I couldn’t sleep! It’s nice when people close to you understand your purpose of creating a story and like it, but when people you don’t know see your work and like it and recognize it, it’s amazing. Producing an award-winner film is really a rollercoaster of emotions. You have to have a cold head to make the best decisions but also a heart filled with passion for the project, to help you continue on the road to reach your ultimate goal What’s next for you? Sandra: I have a couple of projects that I’m working on: I’m helping with two features and a short film that I wrote and am directing, but the must important one is the feature film of Growing Up Julianne now called Tales of Fairies. At the moment, Nuno and I are working on the third draft of the script and have already attached key positions to the crew. I’m approaching investors and companies and hopefully it will start filming next summer. Why was this project so important to you? Sandra: I feel that most media is missing a strong female role model. We live in a time full of stereotypical female models, where the beautiful girl is always a type of damsel in distress or a complete evil queen. We need a new heroine, a character that speaks to women, a character that is strong enough to stand for herself but at the same time is vulnerable to her world. A heroine who defends her beliefs, who accepts who she is despite what others think, who no matter how many times life brings her down she stands up every time. In a world where unfortunately stereotypes, sexism, and bullying still thrive, girls need a heroine. Congratulations, Sandra and Nuno! You can watch the trailer for Growing Up Julianne below.
Even the most epic tales must come to an end, and on Friday The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 will bring the tale of vampires versus werewolves versus teen love to its (first half) conclusion. As with the previous films, the crew was peppered with alumni from 3D Animation & Visual Effects and Film Production. Well done! Carrie Wilson – Second Assistant Camera To celebrate, we’re offering two tickets to an exclusive private screening, courtesy of Cineplex Media, at the Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver on November 17th, 2011 at 7:00pm. Update (1/17/12): We neglected to mention Acting for Film & Television grad Tanaya Beatty is also featured in this movie as “Rachel Black”.
Amie crafted bumpers by animating the grid-pattern logo of the event; the kinetic letters of the speakers’ names move like geometric marionettes. Juan’s nametags are based on origami, and provided a tactile activity for an otherwise static object. Unfortunately, his design for infrared scanners to be used to connect the tags to social media kiosks proved too ambitious for the project, but certainly demonstrated his desire to push the design envelope. All in all their work was a huge success, and helped unify the look and feel of the conference. Congratulations, Amie and Juan! For more on this story, and to hear from the designers themselves, head over to Digital Design’s OOMPH blog. You can see Amie’s work in the video below.
Women in Games-Winning Grad Speaks Geek
Vancouver’s The Georgia Straight has just profiled Game Design grad Annie Dickerson in a weekly online column that features interviews with someone in Vancouver’s technology sector. Talent Agent Tyman Stewart Visits VFS Acting
“You should always have an agent who thinks you can do everything,” VFS Advisory Board Member Tyman Stewart told a packed room of Acting for Film & Television students this week. Grad Named the 2011 Young Blood Interactive Winner
On-the-rise design superstar Antonio Alarcon Roman continues to garner attention for his impressive skills. A grad of Digital Design and Foundation Visual Art & Design, he made Design Edge Canada’s list of notable designers under the age of 35 in 2010 and one of his student team projects was also recognized by Applied Arts magazine. VFS Welcomes Google’s Peter Jin Hong
We’re pleased to welcome Peter Jin Hong, a Digital Design program Advisory Board Member (and alumnus) currently working as the UX Lead for Google+ Photos.
A special talk from Google’s Peter Jin Hong
VFS Main Theatre, 420 Homer Street
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
4:30pm-6:00pm
Peter will discuss his career in user experience, focusing on his time with Google and also his volunteer work as Creative Director for WellDone.org. Peter has helped the non-profit develop empowering and positive strategies to get people involved with social good (WellDone.org helps developing communities source clean drinking water.) The team recently won the top award at AIGA’s and CauseEffect.org’s 2011 Do-Gooder Awards for transformative design for social change.
Peter Jin Hong has been a professional innovation catalyst and story collector for over 10 years. Most of his career has been as an award-winning Creative Director and pioneer of User Experience innovation/strategy business units at Blast Radius, Tribal DDB, and for clients such as KAYAK, CarMax, AOL, Nike, EA, Sony, Honda, and BMW. Valuing mentorship, Peter has guided many promising individuals, who themselves have become successful creative directors for other renowned agencies.Student Game Wins at Largest Latin American Game Conference
When we first saw the student game Splatform, we were immediately taken by its visual charms, excellent voice work, and simple but robust platforming elements. We predicted big things for the game and its creators, Game Design students Alberto Braga, Daniel Wang, and Nathan Whyte. Get It In Writing – Wisdom from the Field
“Do not believe anything until it’s on a piece of paper. The less someone intends to do something, the more they will talk about it.” 
“I used to think I was different and weird,” Vikas said, “because I didn’t want to be a doctor or a banker. Then I came here (VFS) and found I belonged.” Filmmaking, he stressed, is a business of relationships, and a good producer will do anything to make sure the relationships on set work. In his time he has walked dogs, babysat an actor’s son, and mopped floors to get productions out in time and under budget. He attributed his work ethic to the long hours spent in Film Production. “How you manage things here in school will show you how you’ll manage outside.”Student Project Wins at Hollywood Festival
This is apparently the season for Entertainment Business Management projects to win big at American festivals. First the Compendium project The Little Mermaid took the top student prize at Screamfest LA, the same festival that launched Paranormal Activity. And now, alumna Sandra Rojas Gonzalez‘s final project, Growing Up Julianne, has been named “Best Fantasy” at The International Student Film Festival Hollywood. (The film was scripted by Writing for Film & Television grad, Nuno Soler.) 
The film has just won in the “Best Fantasy” category of the International Student Film Festival Hollywood. Did you know you were making award-winning material during filming? Twilight: The Saga Concludes (Part 1)
(Read on to win tickets to an exclusive pre-release screening!)
Henry (Hung-Chi) Peng – Matchmove TD
Alan Fregtman – Rigger
David Yabu – Lead Animator
Yuta Shimizu – Lighting Lead
Biren Venkatraman – Lighting and Asset TD
Daanish Wain – Compositor
Chun-Ping Chao – Digital CompositorTo enter, LIKE this post by tomorrow at noon. This contest is now closed.
Digital Design Work Featured at TEDx Vancouver
The TED talks have set the standard for captivating speakers, bringing together the best minds in technology, entertainment, and design for thought-provoking presentations. So when TEDx Vancouver needed motion graphic speaker bumpers and interactive nametags, two Digital Design students, Amie Bennett and Juan Martinezguerra, rose to the challenge.