Entertainment Business Management

2011 Retrospective: Looking Back on an Amazing Year

2011 has been a year of incredible accomplishments by VFS students and alumni.

For the first time, we saw a Writing for Film & Television student screenplay produced on a global stage with grad Seth Lochhead’s Hanna. A team of Entertainment Business Management students took their Compendium short down to Screamfest LA and beat out seasoned pros for the Best Short Film award. And Digital Character Animation grad Rafael Cardenas took home his first Ariel Award – Mexico’s answer to the Oscars.

As any regular reader of this blog knows, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for VFS alumni achievements this year. Students and grads from all programs raised the bar even higher for the next wave of artists to come out of VFS, and we’ve pulled all of their stories together at vfs.com/2011.

Browse through the milestones of 2011, month by month. You’ll see a special video feature, VFS Blog and In Focus magazine stories, YouTube highlights, and what the wider VFS community had to say about it all.

Congratulations to everyone on an amazing year – and thanks for letting us tell your inspiring stories!

Guest Post: Imaginism Studios’ Bobby Chiu Visits VFS

VFS recently hosted Imaginism Studios‘ Bobby Chiu, who shared his experience, techniques, and inspiration with students from the Animation & Visual Effects programs after years working as an illustrator for film. Classical Animation grad – and now current Entertainment Business Management student – Sheryl Vedamani was there with pen in hand to catch some of the advice.

Guest Post by Sheryl Vedamani

Bobby Chiu, an illustrator, educator, and creator of Imaginism Studios and Schoolism, visited VFS to guide students and, in his words, “show you guys what I wish I could tell my old self.” Within three hours, he had covered lessons ranging from motivational tricks, his method of sketching, what makes art popular, how to achieve a strong online presence, and how to close a deal with a potential employer.

One of Bobby’s strongest suggestions was to “visualize yourself doing something before you do it” to create a habit of visualization. It’s one of the hardest things to learn but he said, “once it’s mastered, anything is possible”. He reinforces this by drawing in Photoshop while explaining that low contrast helps you see more. “Sketching is like taking notes for an essay”, by keeping things fuzzy and light, it allows the imagination take over and will train the mind to understand the steps needed to get from point A to point B.

When asked about how to get recognized in sea of artists, he explained that it isn’t enough to just create a blog and post your work; you need to be present in anything related to your medium. Do it all – books, conventions, release art often, forums, live broadcasts, etc. He stressed that ‘going viral’ is the new ‘great’ and to do that, you must have a strong online presence. It’s not enough just to post a work of art online but now it has to offer something more to the viewer. To create something different and special so that others who come across that piece will turn to their friend and share it.

In discussing how to become a successful artist, Bobby chuckled to himself and explained that there was no one way of doing it. Not every artist has the same story but all our role model artists have 2 things in common: they were motivated and they went out to get the knowledge they needed.

Thanks for the recap, Sheryl!

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.)

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.

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?

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.

How to Make an Award-Winning Short Film: Part 2

As promised in our last post, this is the second part of the story behind The Little Mermaid, the award-winning short film project lead by Entertainment Business Management students that brought together talented contributors from Digital Design, Writing for Film & Television, Makeup Design for Film & Television, Film Production, and Acting for Film & Television.

Part 2: The Makeup and The Script.

The work of Makeup Design students and grads has found a high-profile home in the Compendium film series. They’ve given us the blood and guts of H.P. Lovecraft, the sirens of Homer, and the unforgettable Tinkerbell. Now, for the fourth volume of Compendium — dubbed “Psycho Princess” for its reinvention of female-driven fairy tales — VFS makeup artists turned their attention to a whole new set of challenges.

The Little Mermaid makeup team was lead by Makeup Design grad Sarah Elizabeth. She worked closely with the EBM student producers to come up with a design that suited the vision everyone shared:

“We wanted her to be something that was aquatic, but not the regular beautiful mermaid. To do this we decided to stay away from the usual colours for sea creatures (blue/purple) and looked at using colours that maybe suggested she was beautiful once, but almost as if she was rotting and falling apart from her long captivity — so pink, yellows, and browns.”

“We also wanted to find ways to change her appearance and make her look more “deep sea” and fish-like than mermaids regularly look, so we came up with the prosthetic for her face and the webbed hands and fins.”

It didn’t hurt that the actress playing this mermaid was Acting grad Jovanna Huguet, who was joined on screen by fellow grad Trevor Gemma.

After Sarah developed the initial concepts for the tail, webbed hands, nails, arm fins, teeth, hair, and face, she brought on two additional makeup artists. “It wasn’t until I shared parts of it with my two stellar makeup assistants (Makeup Design grads Susan Manning and Krysten Merrick), that the character really started coming to life. I gave each of them different areas to work on individually and then as a group, the three of us would meet, share ideas, help trouble shoot and critique what was being made.”

Of course, all this amazing makeup was created to tell a story, and that story began with Writing grad Meagan Hotz. “Coming up with the story for The Little Mermaid wasn’t a particularly long or convoluted process,” she says. “I got the prompt for the Compendium shorts and wrote it either that night or the next night.”

“The idea was always kind of there for me, in part due to my innate (and often disconcerting) love of circuses, and perhaps due to the association of mermaids to sideshows, like the Fiji Mermaid. It instantly clicked for me.”

As far as the win at Screamfest? It’s obviously a great honour shared by the entire team. For Meagan, it’s been a surreal experience: “I feel like we just partook in the underdog story of the year, us being the student film with the teeny-tiny budget that managed to surpass all, even despite the star power behind some of the other films. It’s an indescribable feeling and I’m not sure it’s completely set in yet.”

“Even when they announced we won I was too shocked to do so much as cry. I could only flail around squeaking for half an hour, but I think any visible ridiculousness was forgiven.”

Thanks for the insight, Sarah and Meagan. And congrats again on the big win at Screamfest!

How to Make an Award-Winning Short Film: Part 1

We were over the moon when we heard the news that The Little Mermaid – a short film from Compendium IV: Psycho Princess – had won at Screamfest LA, the festival that helped launch Paranormal Activity and stakes its name upon screening the best in horror.

But a lot of work went into creating The Little Mermaid. A lot. So much so, that we’re going to give you two back-to-back posts’ worth of info on how this project came to be.

Part 1: The Producers. Where did this project come from, how did the team come together, and how did it all get completed on time? (Part 2 will focus on the makeup and the writing.) Obviously, there’s lots more to talk about when it comes to creating a Compendium short – which is where this handy “making-of” video comes in.

Samantha Jewell, Lindsey Mann, Aliya Tarmo, and Justin Simon make up the team behind The Little Mermaid, one of four festival-level films produced inside the Entertainment Business Management program. You can find out more about each team’s production journey on the student development blog here.

How did the concept for the short come together?

Samantha: After sending out a call for script submissions we received a flood of amazing content – the first of which was actually “The Little Mermaid” by [Writing for Film & Television grad] Meagan Hotz, which was the one we chose.

Lindsey: We all took a strong liking to this first script, and became set on the circus/freak show concept,  which in all honesty made it difficult to look at any of the others.

Aliya: It was more the way that Meagan painted the setting, so visually with her words. I was seduced. You know you have a talented writer on your hands when you can’t read a word of another script without hers in your head.

Samantha: Once we had the approval to move forward (with the script), everything seemed to just fall together in a practical and creative sense. The entire team fell in love and we did what it took to stay as true to the story as we could, which meant cutting some dialogue to get to the heart of the story. It worked out incredibly well, giving our actors a lot of room to play out their emotions on camera.

Justin: The one thing I really wanted to do with the classic Little Mermaid tale was do the exact opposite of what was expected. I would say we’ve accomplished that. Every script we read had some direct link to the Disney tale – a prince, the ocean, etc. Meagan’s script didn’t, and we loved it.

What were some specific challenges you encountered in producing this project?

Aliya: The one that stands out in my mind the most was the tank. Budget restraints, safety regulations and finding one, period, was collectively the biggest challenge. So we went with our contingency plan: the bathtub.

Samantha: I had been a huge advocate of the tank, as I had such a specific vision after reading the first draft of the script, so it was hard to let go, but I am so incredibly thankful that we went with the tub. It was beautiful, fit the story exceptionally well, and was ultimately way less of a hassle. It was the right and best choice.

Lindsey: The French reverse was also an enormous challenge, with one person, [Film Production grad] Sean Young – our set designer – and us four producers, we got direct insight into the art direction side of film.

Justin: It wasn’t a challenge per say, it was more… necessary, so we went with it.

Samantha: Clomping around in heels, carrying a stage around in a pile of mulch was not as glamorous as producers are typically painted. But it was an unreal experience to be a part of and also to just to witness, on and off camera.

Lindsey: Building the set one way, then 360° changing it to look like an entirely different side in one day of filming, within one hour, was definitely a challenge and it definitely paid off.

What was your reaction to getting screened at Screamfest (and winning!)?

Lindsey: *Expletive* awesome. I can’t even describe it in words. It felt so surreal, and still does. Knowing that this film was at the start of something big, and would continue to go on, was unbelievable.

Aliya: I agree. As the first film that we were a part of being a success like this, whilst still in school, is something you only really ever fantasize about in terms of such a far-fetched fantasy. So it is definitely a dream come true.

Samantha: Established filmmakers submit to festivals like these without ever getting selected – filmmakers with real time and real money. So, to know that all of our extreme hard work – along with the donation of time and beautiful work done by our cast, crew, and team – was being recognized at this level was something that blew us completely away, even if we knew what we had was something special. We were taken by surprise. That establishment got several decibels higher in volume for the rest of the evening. So amazing.

Justin: Graduating from VFS as an award winning producer is unheard of. You hear of paying your dues over and over again just to get recognized, let alone being award worthy. The fact that it’s happened is surreal.

Samantha: Being able to actually be there in Los Angeles, to see our film up on the Grauman’s Chinese Theater screen is something that I will never forget. I mean, it’s legendary. Then winning, sitting there, in Hollywood and having them state that your film was the “best” of the bunch, it was incredible. The look on Nick’s [Humphries] face was priceless. Then it all happened so fast, his speech, going up to receive the skull, taking pictures – it’s a blur. Malcolm McDowell had a film screen with ours. Who does that happen to? And we beat him…

Where do you go from here in the program and your careers?

Justin: I am currently still weighing my options as there are so many things that I would like to do with my career. One passion project is a collaboration of seven short films in a documentary highlighting First Nation dance. Post-graduation I will be looking to enter the VFX side of film and television. I am looking to upgrade/update the aboriginal presence in modern media.

Aliya: My second film project was a passion piece, inspired by my previous career ambition to be a stunt woman. I’m a strong advocate for the often-overlooked stunt profession and I wanted to do a piece about the stunt community’s 20-year-long struggle to gain Academy [of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences] recognition for their work. After graduation, I will be focused on finding a job in casting and plan to create unique and eclectic entertainment properties.

Lindsey: Compendium gave me the confidence to take on a project that allowed me to solely produce a music video. Beyond school, I would like to continue into 360° converging media. I want to be involved in everything from film to music and marketing. Embracing the current media and moving forward is definitely something I intend to do.

Samantha: Back to LA, right next door to Grauman’s… I’m following this bad boy to the Oscars. But as far as my career and post-graduation plans go, I plan to participate as much as I can within the industry. My passion lies within creation and being part of a team getting things done, so I plan to proceed within as many opportunities I am lucky enough to have. Whether it be within talent management, casting or any other facet of production, I am up to the challenge and plan to bring the same level of commitment to future projects as I did with Mermaid, hopefully with the same success.

Congrats again, everyone!

Watch the teaser for The Little Mermaid above, or on the VFS YouTube channel, and check out all the behind-the-scenes photography on the EBM Flickr profile.

Click here to read Part Two of this story!

Wedding-Themed Horror Features VFS Elite

As director of The Little Mermaid – an award-winning short film from Compendium IV: Psycho Princess – Entertainment Business Management instructor Nicholas Humphries is no stranger to working with VFS students and grads.

He’s once again teaming up with Foundation Visual Art & Design grad Ryan Copple (Co-Creator and Writer of Riese), who will serve as Writer-Producer for a new wedding-themed horror feature entitled Death Do Us Part. Acting for Film & Television grad Peter Benson is also a Writer-Producer on this project and will be starring as well.

Some other familiar VFS faces include Makeup Design for Film & Television grad Sarah Elizabeth, EBM grad Sandra Gonzalez, and Film Production grad Greg Brown.

A press release for the film hints at the horror to come: “What started out as a celebration quickly descends into a bloody nightmare. Friendships are ripped apart and accusations fly in this blood-filled psychological horror with a whodunit twist.”

Principal photography begins this month. We’ll bring you more details as they become available. Until then, visit DeathDoUsPart.com for more info!

Break legs, everyone!

VFS Faculty and Grads Go “Gore” at Bloodshots 2011

You might’ve heard of the annual Bloodshots 48-hour Horror Filmmaking Contest. Films created during this twisted filmmaking frenzy can be scary, gross, horrifying, or just downright wrong. And that’s the point. ‘Tis the season, right?

The eighth year of the contest came to a close last night, with VFS faculty and grads taking the lead with some shocking (and surprisingly funny) horror films. You can currently see all the entered films on the competition website — however, we strongly advise viewer discretion. If you’re not a fan of the horror genre, well, let’s just say you might be spending Halloween hiding out in a safe place with a favourite blanket after watching these.

According to VFS Blog sources, we’ve learned that Acting for Film & Television instructor Andrew Moxham picked up the Jury Prize honours for “my guitar gently weeps”, which featured Acting grad Steve Bradley – who also received an award for Best Actor. Makeup Design for Film & Television grads Leah Cuff and Malin Sjostrom-Ewan, meanwhile, won the Best Makeup award for their work in “Full Moon Tonight” and the VFS Acting program-heavy “All Saints Day” won Best Score

Congrats, all!

Here’s the list of all teams featuring VFS faculty and grads – if you’re not on this list, let us know and we’ll add you!

“Just One More”
Team Awesome
Film Production grads Katelynn Mann (Producer), Jan Floor (Art Direction), and Carson Haight (1st AD), along with Makeup Design grad April Beer (Makeup Artist).

“my guitar gently weeps”
The Studes
Acting grads Andrew Moxham (Director/Editor/Story), Steve Bradley (Story), and Andrew Dunbar (“Driver”/Camera Op), along with Makeup Design grad Jennifer Kaminski (Makeup Artist).

“Full Moon Tonight”
Borrowtime
Acting grads Lauren Martin (“Chloe”) and Tom Belding (“Jeremy”), Film Production grads Darren Borrowman (Director), Joshua Mark Guitar (Editor), Darshan Rickhi (Grip), and Sean Avery (Grip), Entertainment Business Management grad Sebastien Dryland (Assoc. Producer), Writing for Film & Television grads Bob Woolsey and Andrew Menzies (Writers), and Keith Opatovsky (Producer), Makeup Design grads Leah Cuff and Malin Sjostrom-Ewan, and Digital Design grad Ian Berg (Motion Design).

“All Saints Day”
After Shock
Acting grads Matt Fentiman (Director/Writer – also a VFS Acting instructor), Scott Alonzo (Writer/Producer), with VFS instructor Suzanne Hepburn and Head of Acting Bill Marchant appearing on screen as well. Digital Design grads Drew Hutchinson (Editor) and Matthew Lawless (DOP), and Makeup Design grad Jennifer Kaminski (Makeup Artist) also contributed.

“Cerebral Static”
Team Lost Boys
Sound Design for Visual Media students Luis Orlando Ruiz (Boom Op, Sound Editor/Mixer), Bryce Raffle (Music/Boom Op/Sound Editor), and Juan Carlos Aguirre (Boom Op/Sound Editor).

“Satan’s Sideshow”
Hora Morior
Makeup Design grad Shimona Henry (Producer/Makeup).

“Nailed”
Bloodclot
Film Production grad Hope LaVelle (Producer/1st AD).

Compendium’s “The Little Mermaid” Wins at Screamfest!

Congratulations to the students, grads, and faculty of Entertainment Business Management, Writing for Film & Television, Makeup Design for Film & Television, Digital Design, Film Production, Acting for Film & Television, and everyone else who took part in the creation of The Little Mermaid.

Part of Compendium IV: Psycho Princess, this project was honoured as Best Short at the world-renowned Screamfest LA Film Festival this past weekend — something we were anticipating since we announced the screening earlier this month.

We’ll have the full scoop very soon, so stay tuned!

Itching to see a glimpse of The Little Mermaid while the short makes the festival rounds? Check out the teaser, courtesy of Digital Design grad Kim Oxlund.

Update: We’ve created a two-part blog post with tons of behind-the-scenes info about The Little Mermaid. Read Part One, focused on the producers’ point of view, and Part Two, which looks at the makeup and writing.

Compendium’s “The Little Mermaid” Headed to Screamfest LA

The skills of Entertainment Business Management students are on full display in each volume of Compendium, as you might’ve noticed in the recent videos from Volume III: Steampunk Neverland on the VFS YouTube channel.

Students bring together and lead the teams that are responsible for some extremely compelling work that has been lauded at festivals and cheered online. But there’s a lot more to it than that, as student producer Aliya Tarmohamed explains below.

For Compendium Volume IV: Psycho Princess, her team created a dark vision that turned the Walt Disney classic The Little Mermaid on its head, employing the talents of some insanely creative makeup artists, designers, filmmakers, writers, and more.

We’re happy to announce their short film will screen at Screamfest LA this month. Horror fans will know the festival for creating a landslide of fan buzz surrounding 2007’s Paranormal Activity.

Aliya was kind enough to take some time out of her swamped schedule to talk a bit about the collaborative process and the massive load of work this project required of her team – which also included Lindsey Mann, Justin Simon, and Samantha Jewell.

Can you explain what an EBM student producer is responsible for on Compendium?

Aliya: Compendium is the first project where we got to experience what it’s like to apply the academic skills we learned in class into a practical setting. We literally manifested something out of nothing in an interdepartmental collaboration of a grand magnitude.

The pre-production phase of the project is where the bulk of our responsibilities occur as producers. It started from vetting the original IP, to developing briefs which get sent out to the Writing for Film & Television students. Choosing a script was one of the most monumental stages of the project, because the script had to meet the logistical criteria of our time and budget constraints.

From there, our other responsibilities included: casting our actors and location scouting. We also got the chance to practice our newly acquired negotiation skills, which is critical when you need to outsource costumes, props, and catering while working within a limited budget and trying to raise production value. We would have weekly meetings with our team, and slowly our crew expanded as the weeks progressed. Our responsibility of scheduling and organizing pre-production meetings and communication via an online tool called Basecamp was crucial in facilitating the success of production.

During production we were the go-to people for problem solving, and ensuring the day went by smoothly and on schedule. During post-production, we oversaw the editing process and provided feedback for our music composer/digital designer, as well as our editor. Our other responsibilities revolved around marketing, which included developing a press kit, maintaining our blog, and promoting through various social media platforms.

What was the inter-program collaboration process like?

Aliya: The inter-program collaboration process was a very unique experience for us. We were in the thick of our program where we were learning how to be leaders, and then all of a sudden we got handed an opportunity to become leaders to a team of faculty, alumni, and students, whose experience ranged from far greater to on par with us.

In our personal experience, we were all blown away by the amount of respect, patience, and professionalism we received from each and every one of our cast and crew.

It was very apparent, especially due to the fact that we were unable to compensate anyone for their labour, that everyone on the project was so dedicated and enthusiastic because of their passion for their craft, and also because they wanted to share the opportunity to continue to grow and learn alongside us. We were extremely fortunate to work with such an amazing group of talented and professional individuals.

How do you personally measure the success of this project?

Aliya: One of our ultimate end goals for the film is to have it stand as one of the strongest assets in our portfolio, and in turn have it generate potential employment opportunities in the industry once we are out of school.

We are already currently experiencing the reality of successfully achieving one of the goals that we had set out for ourselves, and that was to have it screened at a reputable film festival. We recently got the news that “The Little Mermaid” was accepted into Screamfest LA, and will be premiering at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood on October 21 (we have no doubt that the timing of the festival so close to Halloween was very intentional)!

We are all very excited by the potential networking opportunities that lie ahead through the doors that have been now been opened, and putting more of the skills we have learned to the test!

Congrats, Aliya – and to everyone on your team! Best of luck at Screamfest LA!

Zombie Bromance Wins Teletoon Pilot Project

A small idea can sometimes go a long way. When Classical Animation and Foundation Visual Art & Design grad — also now an Entertainment Business Management student — Sheryl Vedamani first conceived of the idea for her animated final project, a conversation between two friends about dealing with a zombie apocalypse, she couldn’t have known it would one day lead to her winning the Teletoon Pilot Project, $10,000, and a trip to the largest animation festival in North America.

News of her win was announced over the weekend on Teletoon at Night, and Sheryl was kind enough to carve out time in the chaos to answer a few questions.

First of all, congratulations! Tell us how this came about.

Sheryl: Thank you! I sent my short film in on a whim thinking there was no way of winning and that it would just be another place my film was on the internet. I actually forgot all about it until I received an email telling me I was one of the five finalists in the competition. I finally convinced myself that even if I didn’t win, I’d rather lose knowing I had tried my best than if I lost and always wondered what would have happened if I HAD tried.

I then started to inform my friends and family of the competition and proceeded to post the link to the five finalist videos in all the sites I was a regular at. It was great because it got more people involved in picking out their favourites and also gave a chance for people who were curious about the process of classical animation to ask questions. Then one day I turned on my computer and opened my email account to find a message titled “Teletoon at Night Pilot Project: Congratulations!”. I didn’t end up opening the email for a few minutes because I just sat there, staring wide-eyed at my computer screen.

Where did you get the idea for the short? How did you go about developing the story?

Sheryl: I’m a pretty nerdy person. I tend to spend a lot of my free time on the internet, playing games and watching sci-fi films (when I’m not watching animated movies frame by frame). We had about a week left to finish off our first storyboards and leica reels for the class pitch day, but I hadn’t come up with anything good. I had thrown a few story ideas around about animals and children and monsters and so on but nothing had really stuck. I was starting to get nervous. Then at two in the morning, three days before the pitch, I woke up with an idea — or rather, a punchline. I stumbled out of my bedroom to my desk to find a pen. I scribbled down the words “zombies, sister mom douchebag, epic lolz, axe, bat?, weapons?” on the corner of an old assignment sheet and went back to bed.

I had 3 days to do the boards, make a recording of myself doing the dialogue on my cellphone and throw it all into a leica reel in time for the presentation. Luckily I made it. It was rough around the edges — a mess of doodles, a horrible audio recording — but the audience laughed at all the right spots and applauded at the end, so I guess that meant it was good. Worried by the warnings our teachers gave us about how everyone started off loving their film and ended up hating it by the time they get to the clean-up stage of animation, I decided to make it interesting for myself by making the zombies in my film my classmates and one of my teachers (Senior Instructor Dieter Mueller).

It worked. I loved working on my film. I even got all my friends in my film to voice all the zombies. Well, all except Dieter. I had my friend Rob do an impression of him. I sort of hoped he wouldn’t find out that I turned him into a zombie until the actual showing of my film at graduation.

Can you tell us about your decision to take Entertainment Business Management after finishing Classical Animation?

Sheryl: Well I did the Foundation Visual Art & Design program and discovered how I really loved the creative and planning portions of making both animation and live action films. As the time to choose our preferred streams grew closer, I had a meeting with Ted Jones, the Head of the Foundation department, to help me figure out what I would be best suited for. I decided I was more interested in animation so I took the Classical Animation program.

During the program, however, I became more confused. The creative part of me was definitely being fulfilled and I felt I was really learning a lot, but I still wanted to handle the planning, business, and marketing side of things. I talked to a few people about my future in the industry and how I might have a better chance of starting my own animation company in the future, be a production manager in a studio, or be a successful artist if I knew how the business side of everything worked. I then decided that going into Entertainment Business Management after Classical Animation would probably be worth the time and money for me.

Any insight you can give us on the show as it develops? What’s going to happen to these two characters?

Sheryl: They’re best friends and roommates who love games, sci-fi, and the internet, so there will be a ton of references for the nerd/gaming community. This show idea is sort of based on just their friendship (or bromanship) and how approaching life in a way that would normally work in a game or on the internet can, in fact, only end badly if attempted in real life.

How about some advice for aspiring animators?

Sheryl: Remember, you’re not Frank or Ollie yet. There’s still room to improve so be sure to ask for help. Whether you think you need it or not, get some feedback and advice. Sometimes you get so close to your work that you don’t see it from the audience’s perspective anymore and you either overlook something or spend too much time on details that aren’t very important.

Thanks, Sheryl!

You can find Sheryl right now at the Ottawa Animation Festival, on from September 21 to 25. And if you’re there, visit VFS at “Table C”.

Also, be sure to check out her winning short Great Minds Taste Alike on the VFS YouTube channel, or right here on the VFS Blog.