There’s something in the water over at Classical Animation, and the results are all over the internet. A few week’s ago Vimeo chose a grad’s final project as a Staff Highlight, and now animation site Cartoon Brew has posted the final project of alumnus Andres Tapeton.
As described on the site, Andres hopes to make it a series: “And well, luckily my life brought me to the point that I actually know how to do that now, hah. And that’s why this one is just a prologue of what hopefully will become a personal animated project.”
Well done, Andres!
Update: And now it’s on Applied Arts!
Now many of those companies will have access to a local server farm that will help them to strengthen and quicken production on high-profile feature films in the future. And that may mean more ways to see VFS alumni work as more studios — with bigger projects — flock to BC to take advantage of the deep talent pool of artists. The Hollywood Reporter ran this story on Friday as the news broke. “The opening of RenderCloud makes us competitive with such cities as London and New Zealand, and puts Vancouver into consideration for the next generation of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings productions,” Catherine Winder, president and executive producer of Rainmaker Entertainment, said Friday.
Guest Post by Hugo B. Gauvreau Students in the 3D Animation & Visual Effects program are familiar with the daily routine: get up, get dressed, go to school. But today The Studio had an unusual number of students wearing dress shirts and nice sweater vests. Truth is we had a perfectly good reason to dress up, and it was called Rhythm & Hues. Joe Caggiano, Head of Recruiting, Anjelica Casillas, Digital Production Manager, and Recruiter Maggie Lee not only came down to give us a big presentation on the R&H pipeline and recruiting, but also came in for a tour of our facilities, stopping by The Studio to take a closer look at some of our work. I was lucky enough to be amongst those who got to show off their work. It was a slightly overwhelming experience having not only those industry professionals around me, but also about twenty students grouped around my two computer monitors. As they did for the other work they reviewed, they gave very constructive, straight forward criticism. Now, here is what we all had been waiting for: yes, they hire students straight out of school. Joe went on to tell us about their great in-house one month paid training program, which counts new grads in its ranks. Those “training camps” often happen in the early spring, and they post all the news related to it on their website. R&H uses its own proprietary software, and that month of training is mainly their way of getting people to be familiar with the pipeline before they move them into real-life production. It is important to note that the majority of people that R&H hires (students or not) are put directly into the real-life production pipeline. Maybe I could sum it up like this: if you were not there, you truly missed something. Thanks, Hugo!
The honour is for his work on Hanna, a feature film scripted by Writing for Film & Television grad Seth Lochhead. With his frequent collaborator Skip Lievsay, Berkey has been nominated for three Oscars for sound editing/mixing on True Grit and No Country for Old Men. He has also previously been recognized with BAFTA and Golden Reel nominations. Congratulations, Craig! VFS students and faculty are lucky to have such an acclaimed mentor.
While Dionne Gordon and Jennifer Siddle, the Program Managers for Writing for Film & Television and Entertainment Business Management, respectively, are amongst the many Mad Men fans who can’t wait for season five to finally arrive. They decided to take the critically-acclaimed series into their own… hands. With the help of many VFSers, they launched Plaid Men this past weekend – a web series that puts hand puppets inside the feisty Manhattan ad agency and picks up where season four left off. You can catch a new episode every Sunday night at PlaidMenWebSeries.com. In March there will be two episodes per week on Sundays and Thursdays in the lead up to Mad Men‘s season premiere on the 25th. Plaid Men features the talents of Writing grads Bob Woolsey, Derek Thompson, Steve Toms, and Wade Fennig; Film Production grad Ryan Jackson; Writing/Film instructor Rudy Thauberger; Acting for Film & Television grads Naomi Dayneswood, Shannon Lang, Lauren Martin, and Aaron McCallum; and Head of Acting Bill Marchant. Oh, and that title sequence? It’s created by Ian Berg, a grad of both Foundation Visual Art & Design and Digital Design. Check out the first episode and ‘like’ the series on Facebook.
Saturday’s sold-out Industry Speaker Day featured some of the biggest names in gaming. Bruce Nesmith of Bethesda, the Director of Design on the runaway choice for 2011′s Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, delivered the keynote presentation. To date Skyrim has sold 10 million copies, an amazing feat for a game released in November, and part of its success is the Radiant Story system Bruce and his team used to create dynamic quests. But, Bruce warned, “Radiant Story is a tool. You can use a tool poorly. It will not make content. Storytelling is a uniquely human endeavour; people make good stories.” Associate Lead Designer Emmanuel Lusinchi, who helped start BioWare’s Austin studio to create the most-anticipated MMO in years, Star Wars: The Old Republic, walked the captivated audience through the lessons his team had learned, lessons that he admitted were freely given by the developers of another, high-profile MMO. “They told us we could know their secrets, because no one ever followed them.” He said that a lot of what they learned about player interaction came from their own experiences, such as in high school where you learn that talking to strangers can lead to ridicule. “But,” he added, “maybe you had a different childhood.” Other presentations featured Dan Taylor exploring the fallacies behind entrenched views on level design, VFS grad Bruce Kelly‘s journey from family games to the gritty near-future of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Mark Acero of Radical Entertainment on how you can create more organic, fluid combat systems. The day’s talks ended with a fairly raucous panel discussion with local indie developers, moderated by Victor Lucas of Electric Playground, which discussed whether multi-millionaire developers could still be considered “indie”, why some of the most innovative game design is coming out of Scandinavia, and how to stay true to your ideas while still paying the mortgage. On Sunday, people came out in the hundreds to Vancouver Film School for a free Game Design Open House, the first in the new Game Design campus, for a day of learning, meeting the people who make the acclaimed program tick, and giveaways, games, and standing-room-only sample classes. The Open House also marked the official launch of the 2012 Women in Games Scholarship, a wonderful opportunity for an aspiring female game designer to receive a full scholarship to the program. In addition, there are scholarships from G4TechTV, Radical Entertainment, Slant Six Games, Annex Pro, and Microsoft/BigPark totaling $15,000. You can read more about them – and apply – right here. Thank you to all our speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers, and everyone who came out to share this weekend with us. We’ll have more highlights coming soon from Game Design Expo 2012, including videos of all the presentations. For now, check out photos from both days below, and keep in touch through Twitter: @gamedesignexpo and @vfs.
There was a time in the not-so-distant past when a video game could only be played on a purpose-built cabinet at an arcade. Suffice it to say the times have changed, and your average mobile phone now has more computing power than the original NASA command station. With gaming theory influencing almost everything we do, from interacting with friends to buying groceries to getting healthy, games are set to take centre stage in the popular consciousness in a big way. How big? Well consider that in 2011: In the following article, VFS grads – nine Game Design alumni, a Classical Animation grad, and a Sound Design for Visual Media grad – present their thoughts on games and the industry’s future. A NON-EXISTENT GAME THEY’D LIKE TO PLAY Annie Dickerson (Game Design, 2011 | Digido Interactive): I want a game that tracks every activity I do throughout the day. Brush my teeth – 2pts. Walk the dog – 5pts. My real world efforts then feed into a virtual world that rewards me for my deeds, challenges me to try new things, and helps me visualize patterns in my daily life. Bruce Kelly (Game Design, 2006 | Eidos Montreal): Because they’re the only games I can think about right now: I want a game that looks like Skyrim, plays like Dark Souls, feels and sounds like Battlefield 3, and theoretically never ends like Diablo. I’m pretty sure that game would be considered a crime against humanity, though, so it’s probably for the best that it never sees the light of day. McElroy Flavelle (Game Design, 2008 | Vancouver Social Games): Though I spend a lot of time talking about how the console era is coming to a close, I’d love to play a Red Dead Redemption-like game set in the Pacific Northwest. I imagine this is interesting to very few other people and there’s a good reason nobody will ever build it. Grayson Scantlebury (Game Design, 2008 | Radical Entertainment): Still waiting for a “holodeck” to be a real thing. Jake Kazdal (Classical Animation, 1996 | Haunted Temple Studios): I want the 16-bit adventure game genre to be revived. That may or not be a hint about what I want to do next! Brennan Massicotte (Game Design, 2007 | Independent): I’d like to see games that have compelling personal journeys that exist in a social space with your friends. There’s so much potential for experiences where the players generate the content and the meaning of the world that hasn’t yet been explored. Lawrence Metten (Game Design, 2009 | BigPark): I want to play a fighter where you face off against your pet-peeves. I’d love to kick the stuffing out of slow walkers, bad drivers, and nail biters. Virtually, of course. Melanie Genereux (Game Design, 2007 | Longtail Studios): I want to play some funky-but-realistic-and-mature RPG where the protagonist is long-boarding and hitchhiking across the Americas. The player would build relationships and acquire various skills as they travel and meet new characters. Jordan Fehr (Sound Design for Visual Media, 2008 | Independent): Some great ideas have been floating around about trying to make a game about photojournalism, especially as it pertains to war. I also would love to see something new created about maps and map-making. I have no idea how a game like that would even work, but since maps are such a central thing in video games, but only used as a tool, I would love to see where someone could go with trying to make the game actually about maps. CASUAL GAMING VS AAA TITLES Annie: Casual games have created experiences that a broader audience can enjoy, but there will always be gamers who demand AAA titles. Bruce: I don’t see why their respective existences need to remain mutually exclusive, because if anything the gap between “casual” and AAA is shrinking. As far as winners and losers go, I can’t imagine the success of one being bad for the other. Casual gaming will arguably become the dominant form, but that kind of success will mean exposing more and more people to our culture, inevitably bringing new gamers into the fold; today’s casual gamer could be tomorrow’s hardcore gamer. It’s win/win as far as I’m concerned. McElroy: I don’t think casual or AAA will die. I think we`ll see the line blur, and it’s already started. I think tablets will be the most common tool for delivering hardcore games and at that point there will have been a lot of lessons learned in the casual space to bridge the gap between core and casual. Grayson: The key is finding innovation. I think casual games have the edge there, as they typically have more freedom and smaller production cycles. The next step is to take that innovation, create a title around it, and give it the polish it deserves to become a AAA title. Neither side will win or lose – the industry needs both.
Students spend much of their time creating projects and gain a conversational shorthand with each other – especially those who work well together. For grad Chris Avery, he brought that level of communication with him as one of three Avery brothers in his class (the other two being Sean and David). “As far as I know, we are the only triple-sibling combo to date at VFS,” Chris said. The trio bonded with other students in their class as well, eventually coming together in a production company named Warmland Films. The team also includes Film grads Darshan Rickhi and Chris Kummerfeldt, along with Sound Design for Visual Media grad Alex van Nieuwkuyk. Their first big project is an adventure-reality series called The Winds, which includes one other friend as well. Here’s how the project is described on their website: THE WINDS is the intimate journal of seven friends on the voyage of a lifetime, their adventures and hardships as they sail around the American continent on board their small vessel for 8 months. A non-scripted television show consisting of 13 episodes covering more than 20 different countries in the Americas. Where did this idea of an activist sailing voyage come from, considering no one on your team is a sailor? Chris: “The Winds” has been in development for years now. In fact, it started much before and was perhaps one of the deciding factors for my enrollment into VFS. The idea, originally, was quite simple: the journey of three brothers on the adventure of their lives. How the sailing part factored in (considering none of us are really sailors, so to speak), is hard to say… We grew up on the water as kids on our father’s boat, and maybe I was just being nostalgic at the start. But now it really does fit with our main theme of conservation. The show wouldn’t really work if we were traveling around by plane or mega-yacht trying to inspire our peers to ‘go green’ and not leave a carbon footprint. With so much of the show about ocean conservation, it just made sense to be traveling this way. Can you describe how the bond grew between you and your classmates over the year at VFS? We were lucky enough to meet up with Chris Kummerfeldt and Darshan Rickhi, both of whom would join our company two weeks out of school. The fact that we were all in the same class together (with the exception to Alex of course – who took Sound Design) meant that we had created several films together before we were even all part of the company. We knew after our first project that these two guys were a perfect fit. When and where will we be able to see the completed series? Chris: It’s hard to give an exact date and place as to when and where you’ll be able to watch the series. Ideally, we’re aiming to have show air on the likes of OLN, Discovery, or NatGeo upon completion – which would be in 2013. We are also looking to create a platform that goes beyond the typical television series website. Not only a place for episodes, blogs, and live webcams — but a place that our audience can interact with both our team and each other. A place where different people and their projects can reach out to others around the world that are fighting for what they believe in. In the meantime you can join our movement at warmlandfilms.com, IndieGoGo, and Facebook. Thanks, Chris. And best of luck to everyone working on The Winds!
Throughout an intensive year in workshops, lectures, and hectic production cycles, Derek proved himself as a writer worth vouching for — as illustrated by a VFS instructor who saw an opportunity to help open a door just after he graduated. It’s worth noting that Arctic Air‘s series premiere garnered the largest audience for a new CBC drama in 20 years — and that can only mean good things for the alumni contributing their talents. In the midst of production, Derek answered a few of our questions about his much-envied gig. Can you describe what you do on Arctic Air? Derek: As Script Coordinator, I’m responsible for managing and distributing scripts. My main role is to work with the writers to ensure that scripts are polished and ready for production before they are released. I collaborate with the writers at each stage of development – from breaking story to outline to script – and provide feedback wherever needed. Depending on the circumstance, I may be asked to write/rewrite scenes or dialogue. I also do research on a variety of topics, depending on the demands of the episode (e.g. aviation procedures, search and rescue, life in Yellowknife, etc). Separate from my duties in the story department, I manage clearances for the show. How did you get this gig? Derek: It’s all about timing and who you know, I suppose. The previous Script Coordinator had to leave the show, so the Supervising Producer made a few calls in search of a replacement. One of those calls was to Kat Montagu, one of my favorite instructors at VFS. Kat and I had a good relationship and she was always supportive of my work. She felt that I could handle the gig and put my name in the mix. I interviewed that afternoon (a Thursday), was offered the job that evening, and started the following Monday. Since our program was ending that week, the timing was perfect. A big ‘thank you’ to Kat! What are some of the projects you worked on at VFS that you’re most proud of? Derek: It’s amazing how much writing we do in one year at VFS. There were a lot of projects that felt good – an original high school sitcom (Flunk), several spec scripts, our live sketch comedy show, a web series (Midday at Noon), and a feature-length drama (Seasoned by Sam). The feature was a story I wanted to tell for quite a few years and it was the writing sample that Kat read before recommending me to the producers of Arctic Air, so it was easily my most satisfying project. You’ve got an advanced academic background. How did you adapt to the one-year model at VFS? Derek: It certainly solidified my appreciation for caffeine. It’s an intense program, but if you’re in it for the right reasons, you’ll love every minute. I wasn’t used to six hours of lecture per day (or seven or eight), but because the content was so relevant to the scripts I was working on in the evenings, I felt like the time was well spent. I still refer back to the notes I took in those classes as I work on new projects today. Congrats on the gig, Derek. Best of luck with the rest of the season! Visit CBC for series air times.
Local coverage of video games is ramping up, now that Game Design Expo and the Game Design Open House are just around the corner. The Georgia Straight’s Blaine Kyllo spoke to keynote speaker Bruce Nesmith, Director of Design on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, about the game’s dynamic world system, Radiant Story: Radiant Story’s more extraordinary feature is it allows characters in the world to react dynamically to what players do. “In a big, open-world game like this, to have the world react at this level is pretty new and fresh,” Nesmith said. If a player drops a sword on the ground, for example, a computer-controlled character might approach them with the blade, saying “Hey, you dropped this.” You can read the rest of this story on the Georgia Straight blog. Bruce will deliver the keynote presentation at the sixth annual Game Design Expo, this Saturday, January 21. If you didn’t manage to get a ticket, follow VFS on Twitter for live updates from the event.
RenderCloud Arrives in Vancouver to Pump Up Production
District 9 put Vancouver on the visual effects map, drawing the entire industry’s attention to the many local companies responsible for delivering high-quality work to studios around the world.Guest Post: Rhythm & Hues Visits VFS Animation & Visual Effects Students
Rhythm & Hues, the celebrated studio that recently opened an office in Vancouver, paid a visit to 3D Animation and Visual Effects students earlier this week, to review their work and discuss recruitment. Current student Hugo B. Gauvreau was a beneficiary of their visit, and provides this report.
During their presentation in the Main Theatre a great deal of emphasis was placed on explaining how the studio is in constant contact with its client, and how the client’s critiques direct the work. R&H has a world-wide reputation as a major player in the industry of visual effects. They currently employ over 700 people in five different facilities: Los Angeles, Vancouver, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kuala Lumpur.Cinema Audio Society Recognizes VFS Advisory Board Member
Craig Berkey, an Academy Award-nominated Advisory Board Member for the Sound Design for Visual Media program, has been nominated for a Cinema Audio Society (CAS) Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing. The awards ceremony will take place on February 18 in Los Angeles.Plaid Men Web Series Unveiled
VFS is a place focused on helping students spend most of their waking hours on amazing projects, staff and faculty also find unique ways to work together creatively.Game Design Expo 2012 Hits the High Score
All good things must come to an end, and so it is that Game Design Expo 2012, our sixth annual celebration of games and the people who make them, has come to a close. What an amazing weekend!All Work is Play: VFS Grads on the State of Gaming
Teaming Up to Take on The Winds
A year in Film Production is a boot camp in the art of collaboration just as much as it is focused on the five main areas of filmmaking: Directing, Producing, Production Design, Cinematography, and Post-Production.
Chris: My brothers, our friend Alex and I came to VFS with a very specific plan. At that point, we had already had our company, Warmland Films, incorporated for over four years and we were coming to the school with the intention of not only furthering our knowledge and craft, but also to find a network of people that we could work with for the rest of our lives. VFS is great for that.Faculty Connections Launch Writing Grad into Arctic Air
As we posted recently, CBC’s Arctic Air features a healthy contingent of VFS alumni. And Writing for Film & Television grad Derek Thompson is one of them.Bruce Nesmith of Bethesda Discusses Skyrim, Radiant Story
