Prolific television writer Larry Kaplow recently visited the VFS Main Theatre to share his experiences in the industry with our Writing for Film & Television students. Current writing student Lynn Sternberger recapped the lecture for our blog.
Guest Post By Lynn Sternberger
This past Monday, Emmy nominee and Writer’s Guild of America award winner, Larry Kaplow welcomed an audience of VFS students from the Writing for Film & Television program. For two hours, he entertained and enlightened us, charting his hard-won ascent from poetry student to production assistant on the TV series Clueless to a much sought-after break into the writers’ room with Family Law, doing research for Oscar-winning writer/producer Paul Haggis. To land his position on the long-running TV series House, Mr. Kaplow spent a month researching obscure medical cases before meeting with showrunner David Shore, a friend and mentor.
From there, Mr. Kaplow segued into a candid (and often darkly comic) exploration of how he incorporates his deeply personal life experiences into his writing. He calls his work “revelation,” mining the darker sides of his self, and illustrated the emotional heart of his storylines with clips from several episodes of House. Always emphasizing that the success of dramatic writing hinges on its life or death emotional stakes, Larry shared several of his tools for “breaking” a story from conception to writing pages, and tying each episode’s storylines to an overarching theme.
Now writing for the new TV series Body of Proof, Mr. Kaplow encouraged all in attendance to revel in the work they have chosen, despite its difficulties. He shared that TV is written by a “community of people who truly, truly care about what they do.” After answering audience questions about his own writing process (it involves wearing construction boots!) and what it’s like inside a writers’ room, it was clear Mr. Kaplow had made a strong impression.
Speaking with my fellow writers after the event, we appreciated Larry’s multi-pronged presentation – part personal journey, part business advice, and part inspiration to continue doing what we love (and to do it better and better). While we each have our own version of wearing construction boots to get down to the mental labour of writing, we can all use the insight that Mr. Kaplow offered. Plus, he’s a pretty funny guy.
Visit our Flickr site to see more photos from the event.
Thanks, Lynn and thanks to Larry Kaplow for offering his time and inspiring our students!
Alessio Mellina is a current VFS student in the Sound Design for Visual Media program. He recently attended a lecture given by Rob Blake, Audio Lead for the Mass Effect franchise at BioWare and member of the VFS Sound Design Advisory Board. Alessio kindly provided this recap of his experience. By Alessio Mellina Students from the Sound Design for Visual Media program had the incredible opportunity to hear an exclusive lecture from Rob Blake about the sound of the best-selling title, Mass Effect 3. With 9 years of experience in the field and previous employment within the film industry, Rob has been Audio Lead at BioWare since the second installment of the franchise, Mass Effect 2. He was able to share with us a very insightful speech on each and every sound aspect of the game. Behind the Scenes We were first presented with the massive amount of work that a major game like Mass Effect requires. The 15 people on the audio team were in charge of managing a total of 12,500 sound effects, 40,000 lines of speech and 3 hours of new music. In order to deal with a workload of such magnitude, Rob explained how each team member was assigned one or more audio components, which in the case of this game was ambiance, level events, cut-scenes, in-game and conversation speech, combat sounds, foley, interactive objects, creature sounds and music. During the lecture, Rob went into detail about each of the audio components, covering all of the various considerations and problematics involved in each scenario. It was not just a frontal lecture though, as he also shared with us with some of the design challenges he and his team faced during production and asked us how we would approach them. Since Rob was Audio Lead on different iterations of the game, he stressed the importance of future-proof design choices, meaning that each solution needs to be evaluated in all of its consequences, as it may cause unexpected problems further down the line. In the later part of the lecture, we were able to take a look at how sounds are directly hooked into the game and how events and parameters can be manipulated in real time while a development version of the game is running. In order to do this, Rob showed us Audiokinetic Wwise, a powerful authoring tool used for sound implementation in Mass Effect 3. Wwise is a reference software in the game industry and Sound Design students are quite familiar with it as it is widely used throughout the Game Audio course. Industry Hints and Tips To conclude his day-long lecture, Rob was kind enough to share with us some valuable tips regarding how to break into the game industry. He explained to us the the do’s and don’ts regarding resumes and cover letters and stated the importance of using demo reels to showcase both skills and versatility, a talent much appreciated in the industry. Alessio Mellina is currently enrolled in Vancouver Film School’s Sound Design for Visual Media program.
Grayson Scantlebury – Design Scripter Good work, everyone!
VFS Timeline Trivia is an online scavenger hunt where clues are hidden on Vancouver Film School’s Makeup Design for Film & Television’s Facebook brand timeline. You will be asked to correctly answer questions based on items found on Vancouver Film School’s Makeup Design for Film & Television’s Facebook brand timeline. The eligible fastest three contestants that successfully complete the online scavenger hunt by answering and entering the questions correctly will be entered into a draw, and the winner will be selected randomly from those three contestants. The contest begins today and ends on Friday, 5pm PST. To enter, go to the Contest App on the Makeup Design Facebook page and fill in your details. You must be 17 years of age or older, and able to attend the Summer Intensive in Vancouver, British Columbia. Good luck!
2012 marks the fourth year Vancouver Film School has offered the Women in Games Scholarship, opening up more opportunities for women in Game Design, and in those four years we’ve seen an impressive roster of diverse winners. Shannon Lee, the inaugural winner, hails from Vancouver, although the prize found her in Japan; she is now at BigPark innovating with Kinect. Second-year winner Annie Dickerson is a native of Washington State, and a former elementary school teacher, and currently works for East Side Games. Larissa Baptista from Brazil was the third recipient, and was recently featured with her final project team on CBC television. “It is a tremendous privilege to be awarded such a coveted scholarship,” Kristina says, “and I can’t help but be excited at the possibility of realizing my dreams. I’m really looking forward to the year ahead of me, and the ensuing opportunities my year at VFS will surely offer.” Congratulations, Kristina!
At the Documentary Workshop participants will explore the way social media and crowdfunding are changing production budgets, and examine developing the most important part of a documentary – its story. Miss Representation, which premiered on the Oprah Winfrey Network in October, explores the objectification and sexualization of females in the media. To enter, simply retweet the following: “RT to enter to win tickets for @pcffvancouver’s Doc Workshop and screening of Miss Representation from @vfs http://ow.ly/ajFYJ #PCFF2012 If you don’t win, you can still attend the workshop – anyone who signs up receives a complimentary pass to Miss Representation. Winners will be determined by a random draw. Contest ends Wednesday, April 18, at 12pm. Good luck!
Take your most stressful job interview, have it happen on a stage in front of an audience of industry professionals, and add a performance of you demonstrating your skills, and you have some sense of what students go through during Game Design‘s industry presentation night. Somehow, though, the teams still seem to be having fun, a testimony to the passion they have for the games they created. Not presenting that night but worth looking out for are Bit Siege, mech combat from the minds of Fred Jarrett, Joshua Billups, Aaron Dunn, Geoff Thew, and Dalton Moser, and solo projects Real Fighter, by Tom Huang, and Shotcaller, by Leo Ing. Well done, everyone!
If your interaction with videogames is non-existent, you’d be forgiven for thinking that game protagonists only range from “large man with a gun” to “large man with a sword”. But students in VFS Game Design are challenging the traditional hero, following in the footsteps of visionary games like Okami, Psychonauts, and even Pac-Man. One vastly under-represented group in gaming are protagonists with physical disabilities. So when Team Pixel Pi designed its final student project, Pulse, around a visually-impaired hero, it started to attract serious attention – including a crew from the CBC. The team and its game were featured on a recent newscast, which you can watch here or on the CBC website. We caught up with the members of Team Pixel Pi to get a deeper look at their design process. Team Pixel Pi is Larissa Fuchs – Project Manager & Artist Where did inspiration for the game come from? What motivated you to consider a sight-impaired protagonist? Team Pixel Pi: During our brainstorming sessions we talked about images and videos that had inspired us in the past. One of the videos mentioned was Out of Sight, a five minute short film that features a little girl with a unique view of her surroundings. The video inspired us to take sound as a game mechanic; the game’s goal was to create a menacing atmosphere with an unconventional approach to navigation challenges. By limiting the information gamers take for granted they have the opportunity to experience a world through a new perspective. It was not until later in the process that we realized having a sight-impaired protagonist would naturally fit our focus on immersion rather than combat, which in turn blossomed into a motivating heroic journey. During development what was the biggest concern? Is the product as it currently stands what you first envisioned? Team Pixel Pi: Obvious challenges are imposed when things are constantly disappearing from the player’s view. In the absence of sound the player is blind, but with too much sound the player is vulnerable; finding a balance between these is a big concern, as well as guiding and orientating the player through this journey. We’ll be using this balance to our favor in the production months ahead and create many tense moments which play with the player’s senses. Team Pixel Pi: It’s hard to say that any hero is unique – they’ve been around for centuries in one form or another. When attempting to create an interesting protagonist nowadays the challenges lie more on creating unique mixtures of known qualities than bringing forth something completely original. In our game we portray a blind girl named Eva, strong at heart, who does not have the physical capacity to confront the threats of the land. We think she’s an interesting protagonist that hasn’t been uniquely tackled in mass-consumption media. Like many blind people, Eva has been told that she is incapable of the independence expected of her peers. Not only does Eva prove her capability, but also her creativity and bravery by the end of the game. What are your future goals? Team Pixel Pi: We’re on the lookout for the possibility of developing the game further and releasing it to a larger community, sharing the experience with a broader audience. All of the members of Team Pixel π believe that games are more than just fun; they are engaging experiences. Our ultimate goal is to continue working on games that challenge us creatively, just as this project has done for us. Thanks, everyone!
The Ayogo Games Post-graduate Digital Design Internship program is open to every graduating class. Each intern will be assigned a mentor based on his or her background and role in the company, with ongoing guidance and mentoring by Ayogo Games, Inc. Creative Director, Jesse Spink. “We’re really excited to announce the launch of our internship program with the Digital Design program,” says Spink. “We’ve had a great experience working with and hiring students from VFS in the past and it seemed like a logical next step to better align ourselves with both the school and the program.” Digital Design grad Levente Opelcz has been working at Ayogo since graduating, after they saw his presentation at Appetizers, the Digital Design showcase. To hear about his experience, head on over to OOMPH.
Shane O’Connor – G4TechTV – $7,000 “I was happy just discovering my passion for game design,” said G4TechTV winner, Shane O’Connor. “Most people don’t get the chance to discover what they love, let alone pursue it within an environment as enriching as what we’re provided with here at VFS. Injecting a scholarship into that is surreal. I’ve been acknowledged in a powerful way, and now I’m more motivated than ever. I can’t wait to give back to the industry and community that turned my life around. Thank you so much.” Congratulations to all winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors!
Guest Post: Sound Design Student Gets Effective Advice
Prototype 2 Kicks the Doors Down
Good news for fans of throwing helicopters at tanks – Prototype 2 hit shelves this week, and promises to be a “sequel that is everything the first game wanted to be.” Helping you to tear New York apart was a team that included 3D Animation & Visual Effects, Digital Design, and Game Design grads.
Kevin Maloney – Design Scripter
Laurie Kindiak – Senior Environment Artist
Miko Wilson – Mission Designer
Scott Morin – Design Scripter
Jamie Currie – Senior Interface Artist
Tomo Akiyama – Senior Animator
Harry Ahn – Lead Cinematics Animator
Ivan Mickovic – Art Director
Christopher Power – Senior QA TesterFacebook Scavenger Hunt for a Seat in the Makeup Design Summer Intensive
Considering a career in Makeup Design for Film & Television? We’re offering a seat in the upcoming Makeup Design Summer Intensive (July 16-20, 2012), and all it takes from you is a keen eye for hunting details. Introducing the 2012 Women in Games Scholarship Winner: Kristina Soltvedt Wiik
Kristina Soltvedt Wiik, this year’s winner, hails from Norway, and arrives at VFS having worked for three years as a journalist for Gamereactor Magazine. Kristina is especially interested in the narrative possibilities of games, and has already worked as a Narrative Designer on a PC game developed in Vancouver. Win Tickets to Projecting Change 2012 Documentary Workshop
Now that you can film and edit video on your phone, potentially everyone is a documentary filmmaker; in many ways, the internet was practically designed for short-form, documentary films. Vancouver Film School and Project Change 2012, a film festival dedicated to social and environmental change, want to send two lucky winners to both a Documentary Workshop and a screening of Miss Representation.
“Gather Around the Gaming Campfire with Game Design Final Projects
Terra, a multi-level, action platformer, is brought to us by the three-person team of Juan Salvador Diaz Neto, Carson Steinmann, and Marty McKay. You advance through the cel-shaded world by flinging both you and your enemies around with special jump pads; there is a visceral satisfaction in watching a pesky nemesis fly away into space. Players are guided by the subtle use of colour to keep them on track, with on-screen cues kept to a minimum to better showcase the artwork. Stay away from the edges of the final level, though – that’s quite a fall. 
If you try and raise the perfect child and she doesn’t work out, what do you do? Place her in a giant, complicated 3D puzzle/platformer of course! Otherside – by Noushin Bardi, Truong To, Drew MacPherson, Erlend Sogge Heggen, Lanie Galupe, and Jacob Rehlander – has you playing as the disappointing child, who must manipulate her world to escape. Puzzles are solved by rotating and shifting cubes, the camera panning in and out to provide better context for your actions. The narrative of the game progresses through recorded snippets by your parents, wondering where it all went wrong. 
In Terminus Station you are a journalist with unusual magical powers, who finds herself teleported to a cursed subway station overrun by monsters. The game, designed for the iPad, is the brainchild of Mario Granillo, Eric Gertzbein, Ryan Bradstock, Matthew Cleary, and Riley Godard, and uses a gesture-based system for casting spells. Throwing flaming boxes into slowly stumbling monsters really never gets old. With the success of games like Angry Birds (140 million downloads and counting), expect more mobile projects from Game Design. 
Afraid of the dark? There & Back takes that primal fear and generates an entire world from it, pulling your character into the darkness with only a lantern to protect you. Luckily, Dominic O’Grady, Randall Barilea, Oscar Aguirre, and Jordan Fiander have given you the ability to use that lantern to change places with your shadow, shooting you back and forth across increasingly more difficult levels. How difficult depends on your ability to factor in multiple dangers at once. During the demo, the last level playthrough lasted about thirty seconds before the player was crushed under unforgiving gears. Game Design Team Challenges the Traditional Hero
Leanne Roed – Level Scripter & Effects Artist
Maxwell Hannaman – Programmer
Michael Cooper – Environmental Design
Richard Harrison – Level Design
We’ve seen quite a few games recently with more diverse protagonists. Is there a hero you’d like to see that hasn’t been tackled yet?Ayogo Games Recruits VFS Digital Design Talent with Exclusive Internship
Ayogo Games, Inc. is known as a leader in the movement to transform health care through the use of games and play, by changing both how we learn and how we engage with our surrounding environment. As part of their ongoing search for the best talent to build their team they’ve created an exclusive internship for graduates of Digital Design. Welcome the Latest Crop of VFS Game Design Scholarship Winners
We’re pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 Game Design Expo Scholarships! The scholarships were generously provided by our Game Design Expo sponsors.
Victor Valdes – Radical Entertainment – $2,500
Kaue Rosa – Slant Six Games – $2,500
Alexander Mueller – Annex Pro – $2,000
RuiJie Zhou – Microsoft BigPark – $1,000