What do you do when your film is shot, edited… done? You take it on the road.
And if you can swing it, that road is to the French Riviera.
That’s why two groups of Film Production grads are taking their films to Cannes this month, to participate in the Short Film Corner – a schmoozing free-for-all that hopefully means getting to shake the right hands at the right time. These grads forged a creative network in their year at VFS – now it’s time to go overseas.
Himmat Sarkaria, Director of Like Smoke, will be making the trip with Producer Jose Hiriart. ”It’s a great opportunity to network globally,” Himmat says. “The Short Film Corner is the best platform to meet global distributors and producers.”
“Getting a distribution deal is certainly our top priority but the experience and the opportunity to learn firsthand how the global market works is amazing itself.”
“It’s kind of like job hunting,” Film Production alum and producer Jake Warren recently told the Bellingham Herald. With three other students, including director Leigh O’Neill and two others, Jake’s bringing his film Mr. Lamaze’s Dire Love to the Short Film Corner.
But it’s more than just a networking event. The experience itself is unlike anything else.
“I’m feeling incredibly excited right now about this trip,” Jake told us last week before boarding his flight. “I’ve been stressing for the past month about getting everything in order, and it’s all pulling together really nicely, which has allowed me to finally take in the fact that we’re going to Cannes.”
“The whole concept is definitely overwhelming, and I don’t think it will actually sink in until we are standing in the Palais.”
Himmat agrees. “It’s Cannes. The whole experience of attending a festival of this magnitude will be a lifetime experience. We’re somewhat nervous but we also are very excited and very grateful for this opportunity.”
“Our class became so close over the year,” Jake says. “It’s one thing to be going to Cannes, but getting to go with a group of your friends, who happen to be incredibly talented artists, just makes it an experience of a lifetime. It’s my first trip to Europe, and I’m overjoyed to be spending it with this group of friends!”
We’ll be checking in throughout the festival to see what these two groups of grads are doing to make the most of their time in France. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for regular updates!
Like Smoke Official Site
Mr. Lamaze’s Dire Love Official Site
The Little Mermaid, one of the short films produced as part of Entertainment Business Management‘s groundbreaking Compendium series, has just earned four Leo Award nominations! The Little Mermaid was nominated for Best Short Drama, which means nods for producers and EBM grads Samantha Jewell, Lindsey Mann, Aliya Tarmo, and Justin Simon. Film Production alum Sean Young is a nominee for Best Production Design in a Short Drama, and Makeup Design for Film & Television grads Sarah Elizabeth, Krysten Merrick, and Susan Manning are up for Best Make-Up in a Short Drama. The Little Mermaid director and VFS instructor Nicholas Humphries is also nominated for Best Direction in a Short Drama. The Leos, which celebrate BC-made films, TV shows, and web series, has a special student category, but The Little Mermaid is swimming in the grown-up pool with these nominations. That’s a real testament to the collaborative Compendium, its resourceful producers, and the talent found across VFS. This follows the film’s big win at Screamfest last fall. Find out about the making of The Little Mermaid in our two-part behind-the-scenes blog feature, and then get the details on the Compendium project in EBM. Want to get a firsthand look inside the EBM program at VFS? Join us this July in our Entertainment Business Management Summer Intensive. Here’s the mind-blowing teaser for The Little Mermaid:
Is it possible to have a life-changing experience in just five days? If you were to ask past participants in Summer Intensives at Vancouver Film School, the answer would be a resounding yes! Nine programs. Five days each. A firsthand look inside our acclaimed programs. That’s what it’s all about. In one week with us this summer, you’ll: Best of all, the cost of your Summer Intensive is applied against your tuition if you choose to enroll in a full-time VFS program. If you’re seriously considering an education at VFS, you can’t lose. Visit the Summer Intensives website for all the details and to register right now.
Remember Death Do Us Part? It’s the upcoming indie horror featuring the work of a group of talented VFS graduates — from Acting for Film & Television and Film Production through Makeup Design for Film & Television. The film stars Acting grads Peter Benson (also writer/producer) and Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary) alongside Julia Benson (Stargate Universe), Christine Chatelaine (Riese), and Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica). And that’s not all. Death Do Us Part was directed by Nicholas Humphries, who teaches in several VFS programs, produced by Foundation Visual Art & Design alum Ryan Copple (Riese), and had Film grad Chris Heffernan as production designer while Makeup Design grads Sarah Elizabeth and Malin Sjöström-Ewan formed the makeup department. The list goes on. The movie had a debutante ball of sorts recently at Vancouver Fan Expo, beginning with a panel with the cast and creative team. That led to a hot little Electric Playground behind-the-scenes video profile. And today, we get the premiere of the full trailer for Death Do Us Part. Behold: Check out the official Death Do Us Part website and stay tuned for more about the film!
A dramatic feature that opens in Vancouver this Friday shows the effects of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in a new, much more personal light. Snow, written and directed by Film Production alum Rohan Fernando, tells the story of Parvati, a young woman who loses her family in the tragedy and must adapt – with great difficulty – to a new life in Canada. The trailer tells it better than we ever could: Rohan originally hails from Sri Lanka, a country that suffered tens of thousands of casualties on Boxing Day 2004. A year later, he was visiting relatives who had suffered personal losses. That’s when it all truly hit home. Snow was a salve for the desensitization of distance and a 24-hour news cycle, a way to look at the tragedy’s aftermath through a more intimate lens. “Having a personal connection to the Asian tsunami compelled me to be as honest as possible to the kind of journey Parvati goes on,” Rohan tells us. “I didn’t want to make a film that gave pat answers or reduce her suffering into melodrama.” “I felt the most powerful thing a film like this could do is to create a character we could inhabit and empathize with as an audience, so my approach was to make a film that is an intensely subjective point of view of our main character. The camera work, sound design, and music all work toward this end. Her suffering has made her compassionate rather than angry and she brings that compassion to the various characters she meets on her journey – who have all suffered loss in their own way. Ultimately, I believe this is what connects us all.” Find out more about the making of the film at the official site. Also well worth watching is this video of Rohan explaining his motivation for making Snow. Snow is showing at Vancouver’s Granville 7 Cinemas beginning Friday, April 27. See showtimes and buy your tickets now.
Writing for Film & Television grads led the charge as Dionne Gordon and Jennifer Siddle spoke on a panel about their experiences developing and producing Plaid Men (which we posted about earlier this year). In the Animation or Puppetry category, their series took home Outstanding Series and Writing awards, while two more web series-producing Writing grads, Bob Woolsey and Andrew Menzies, were honoured for their work on the Bob and Andrew series in the Comedy category. They won an Outstanding Writing award and Andrew secured his first-ever Lead Actor award. We asked Dionne to give us a bit more info on the awards and how to get your web series seen. What does this acclaim mean for the Plaid Men team? Dionne: A lot of hard work went into our series, not just by Jenny and myself, but by our Film Production grad director/editor (camera op, focus puller, DOP, one-man film crew) Ryan Jackson, our puppet designer, our sound editor, our theme song producer, Digital Design grad Ian Berg who did the motion design for our title sequence, our actors, our web designer, and the cast of puppeteers who came out for nothing more than baked goods and veggie trays. Everyone was so supportive, and so happy to help, that any acclaim we get is validation of their hard work. As the popularity of web series grows – along with festivals like the LA Web Series Festival – what’s the key to getting your series noticed? Dionne: There is a lot to be said for social networking and really getting to understand how to use all of those tools to the fullest. But I think the other thing we realized is that the LA Web Series Festival, and other festivals like it, are key to getting your work noticed. Not only did we meet a lot of people whose work we wanted to look at, but at the screenings we saw a lot of really amazing web series that made us immediately hit our computers so that we could watch more episodes. Series that we never would have heard of otherwise. And I believe it’s being reciprocated for our series. Thanks, Dionne! And congrats to everyone involved in these web series!
Founded in 1987, VFS has become the destination for amazing artists from all over the country – and around the world. The 2012 Cross-Canada Roadshow is your chance to discover if VFS is right for you, and how you can get started on a rewarding path in the entertainment industry. Sign up to attend one of these free info sessions, where you will: - Hear about an exclusive scholarship opportunity for attendees April 11: Fredericton Click here to find out all the details and register now. We hope to see you this spring in a city near you!
Rosalie Yagihara, a current student in Film Production, filled us in on all the details from the talk, which covered Stuart’s high-profile career and his approach to the art of editing. Guest Post by Rosalie Yagihara On March 1st the Canadian Cinema Editors (CCE) hosted a presentation by primetime comedy sitcom editor Stuart Bass to a theatre of editors and film students eager to hear the ins and outs of an established editor working in the biz. Stuart has worked on shows such as The Wonder Years, Arrested Development, The Office, and Pushing Daisies. In town from Los Angeles, his presentation showed the transition he lived through from working with film to hybrid editing systems to going fully digital. An editor like Stuart, who has transitioned from film to digital, offers emerging editors like us a strong sense of previs, as the reality of cutting on film is a physical task as opposed to a virtual one on a digital timeline. You had to think before making a cut with film and act with clear intention that differs from digital editing styles when using programs such as Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro. A trick that I came away with was to use a track for background crowd sound and add distortion and other effects so that it is good to go. The presentation showed the limited coverage for a scene that he was given and how he cut it to be engaging. The comparison between one editor’s cut of The Wonder Years that didn’t work was compared to a cut that Stuart did, and he discussed how to keep the viewer invested in the story, demonstrating his mastery of technical skill and creativity. For directors out there, the key to delivering footage that gives your editor the best options for editing is to get as much coverage as possible! Another key tip from Stuart is when viewing dailies, start cutting in your head; envision what pieces will go well together as soon as possible. I got a lot out of watching the clips and having them broken down with his experienced perspective and feel inspired to get back into the edit suite. Thanks, Rosalie! And thanks to the Canadian Cinema Editors Association for hosting the event at VFS.
It’s an exciting time at VFS right now! We’re kicking off our 25th anniversary celebration this year with an amazing opportunity for the storytellers, pioneers, innovators, and creatives who are looking to transform the entertainment industry over the next 25 years. If that sounds like you – and you’re ready right now to take the first big step in launching your career in film, TV, games, or design – then you may be eligible for a scholarship of up to $25,000 for specific full-time programs starting April 30th or June 25th, 2012. This is a limited time opportunity, so don’t delay. Visit the 25th Anniversary Celebration site now and get started!
Here’s a quick look at some of the Oscar-nominated films VFSers helped create: Best Picture Animated Feature Film Visual Effects Check out the rest of the nominees and air times on the Oscars website.
EBM’s The Little Mermaid Scores 4 Leo Nominations
Announcing the 2012 Summer Intensives
VFS Summer Intensives 2012
Trailer Premieres for Death Do Us Part
Canadian Film Reveals Personal Side of Tsunami Horror
Winning Big at LA Web Series Festival 2012
We’re proud to announce that a number of VFS grads stormed the LA Web Series Festival recently, bringing home acclaim in multiple categories.VFS is Hitting the Road From April 11 to May 5, 2012!
We’re celebrating Vancouver Film School’s 25th anniversary by visiting 13 cities across Canada from April 11 to May 5, 2012 – and we’re bringing an exclusive scholarship opportunity with us!
- Get an inside look at student life at VFS
- Discover how VFS prepares you for your career in film, TV, games, and design
- Meet a VFS Admissions representative for application and portfolio tips
April 12: Ottawa
April 14: Toronto
April 17: Winnipeg
April 18: Saskatoon
April 19: Edmonton
April 21: Calgary
April 25: Victoria
April 26: Vancouver
May 1: Penticton
May 2: Kelowna
May 3: Kamloops
May 5: Prince GeorgeGuest Post: Editor of The Office, Arrested Development at VFS
We recently welcomed Emmy-winning editor Stuart Bass for a VFS event put together by the Canadian Cinema Editors Association.Celebrating 25 Years with Over $1,000,000 in Scholarships!
VFS Connections to Oscar 2012 Hopefuls
This weekend’s Academy Awards will celebrate another great year in film and alumni success. VFS grads contributed to a number of celebrated films in 2011 — garnering credits on 9 of the 10 highest-grossing movies of the year. On Sunday, we’ll see how many of those films take home the top prize in the biz.
*The Descendants — Acting for Film & Television Advisory Board Member Matt Lillard played “Brian Speer”.
*Hugo – 3D Animation & Visual Effects grads Elena Topouzoglou (Stereoscopic Compositor), Michael Eurek (Junior 3D Generalist), Geeta Basantani (Lead Compositor)
*The Tree of Life — 3D grads Jeff Tetzlaff (Modeling/Texturing Artist), Jesus L. Yapor (Compositor), Stephen King (Animator)
*Kung Fu Panda 2 — Digital Design grad Cesar Alejandro Montero Orozco (Surfacing Artist), and 3D grads Claudia Keene (Key Assistant Clean-up Artist), Nicholas Augello (Character Effects Artist)
*Puss in Boots — 3D grad Javier Solsona (Lead Character Technical Director) and Digital Design grad Cesar Alejandro Montero Orozco (Production Testing)
*Rango – 3D grads Cedric Lo (Lead Animator), Henri Tan (Creature TD), Jamie Bowers (Texture Painter), Kieran Tether (Digital Artist), Michael Lum (Animator), Scott Jones (Creature Lead), Stephen King (Animator), Teh-wei Yeh (Digital Artist), Will McCrate (Lighting TD)
*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 — 3D grads Annabelle Kent (Digital Compositor), Henry South (CG Modeler), Joshua Herrig (Lead Lighting Artist/Look Dev Artist), Jozef van Eenbergen (Pipeline Developer), Kevin Mah (Effects Technical Director), Mike Rhone (Effects Technical Director), Nuno Nisa Pereira (Visual Effects Technical Director), Sara Hilmarsdottir (Matchmove Artist), Sofus Graae (Visual Effects Coordinator), Will Towle (Camera Tracker)
*Real Steel — 3D grad Aruna Inversin (Lead Compositor) and Makeup Design for Film & Television grad Cristina Atkin (Mold Making, Legacy EFX)
*Rise of the Planet of the Apes — Digital Character Animation grad Chad Moffitt (Animator), Film Production grads Gary Hawes (Second Assistant Director), Gord Dunick (Visual Effects Set Supervisor), Classical Animation grad Michael Cozens (Senior Animator), Makeup Design grad Mike Nickiforek (Animal Effects Fabrication), and 3D grads Abdullah Ecirli (Digital Compositor), Anthony Di Ninno (Previs Artist), Carolyn Wong (Creature Technical Director), Cesar Rodriguez Bautista (Digital Paint Artist), Chrystia Siolkowsky (Motion Editor), Jesse Sturdy (Witness Reference), Kristin Sedore (Lighting TD), Matt Weaver (Animator), Patrick Henry (Witness Reference), Richard Sur (Lighting Technical Director), Tamir Diab (Lighting Technical Director)
*Transformers: Dark of the Moon — 3D grads Anna Tonrungroj (Stereoscopic Nuke Background Prep), Borae Cho (Pipeline Technical Director), Cesar Rodriguez Bautista (Stereoscopic Prep/Roto Artist), Chelsea Whittet (Digital Production Administrator), Daphne De Jesus (Digital Paint Artist), Henri Tan (Creature Technical Director), Jamie Bowers (Texture Artist), Jooyong Lee (Roto/Paint Artist), Kelsey Ayukawa (Stereo Roto/Paint Artist), Kieran Tether (Digital Artist), Louis Cox (Visual Effects Artist), Pedram Daraeizadeh (Digital Production Administrator), Samson Wong (Integration Artist), Serguei Kalentchouk (Rigging Lead), Stephen King (Animator), and Film Production grad Justin Hammond (Lighting Technical Director)
*Hugo (as listed above)