Film Production

Plaid Men Web Series Unveiled

While 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.

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.

 

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.

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?

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.

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!

East Coaster Film Grad Breaks In

Film Production grad Kayla LaSaga, a native of Stephenville, Newfoundland, was recently celebrated in her hometown paper for the success she’s been finding in the Vancouver scene. (Read the article here, courtesy of The Georgian.)

Though she’s now racking up credits as a PA on productions like Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Supernatural, it was a chance meeting in an elevator that gave her a big break. It’s not been an easy path since she graduated, but Kayla appears to be reaping the rewards of all her hard work with a career heading in the right direction.

“It’s all pretty exciting to me,” said Kayla.

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!

Holiday Movie Preview

‘Tis the season to go to the movies! Hollywood continues to churn out big releases this time of year to give us a couple of hours of escape from the Christmas craziness. Looking back on 2011, it’s not surprising to see VFS grads on these big December releases — continuing the trend of alumni-backed blockbusters (which include 9 of the 10 highest-grossing movies of 2011).

Things kick off today with the release of Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked and the much-anticipated Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. In Chip-Wrecked, you’ll see the work of Digital Character Animation grad Adam Yaniv (Animation Supervisor) and 3D Animation & Visual Effects grad Derek Tannehill (Animation Supervisor), while Game of Shadows showcases the talents of 3D grads Andrew Juano (Roto/Prep), Paul Rodgers (Digital Matte Painter), Ryan Clarke (Senior Compositor), Steven Davies (Roto Prep Artist), Teh-wei Yeh (Lighting TD), and Rommel Shamoun (Compositor) — along with Foundation Visual Art & Design grad Bradey Strong (Shading & Lighting TD) and Film Production grad Stephanie Meyerink (VFX Coordinator).

Then next week, on December 21, we’ll see the debut of two big-budget films that will be sure to draw large crowds: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and The Adventures of Tintin.

Ghost Protocol features the technical artistry of 3D grads SriKalyan Tallapragada (Technical Director), Geeta Basantani (Digital Compositor), and Santhoshi Bala (Compositor/Digital Artist) — and in Tintin you’ll see the handiwork of 3D grads Aaron Gilman (Senior Animator), Carolyn Wong (Creature Technical Director), Chrystia Siolkowsky (Motion Editor), Kristin Sedore (Lighting TD), Matt Weaver (Animator), Nick Craven (Animation Sequence Supervisor), Roland Vallet (Animator), and Tamir Diab (Lighting Technical Director). Digital Character Animation grad Chad Moffit also lent his talents here as a Previs Animator.

Congrats to all the alumni whose work will keep us entertained over the holidays!

Get It In Writing – Wisdom from the Field

“Do not believe anything until it’s on a piece of paper. The less someone intends to do something, the more they will talk about it.”

Three years into his producing career, Film Production grad Vikas Mathur already sounds like a grizzled veteran. We detailed his journey from VFS to the Indian film industry in a blog post last year, and Vikas made a special stop in Vancouver (on his way to South Africa for more location scouting) to speak to students about the global film industry and working with the VFS community after graduation.

A mix of Film Production, Entertainment Business Management, and Writing for Film & Television students were on hand to absorb the wisdom Vikas has gleaned from his baptism by fire into the field, from his start shooting music videos to rising through positions on a single shoot to his current role as a producer for K Films. Throughout his talk he highlighted how important it is for current students to interact with each other across the programs, building a network they will rely on well into the future. “Canada to Cameroon, Iceland to India. I know there are people I can work with.”

He also stressed the importance of finding your passion and focus, but also of learning as much as you can about all areas of filmmaking. “No one can fool you, because you know cinematography, camera skills, triangle coverage, blocking.” As the Indian Film Industry has become a global phenomenon, other industries have followed suit. Vikas spends six months out of every year on the road, taking Indian productions to Switzerland and North America, and he emphasized how much work is out there for people willing to look and travel. When a student asked a question about becoming pigeon-holed into music videos, Vikas assured him that wouldn’t happen. But he also challenged him by asking why, if he loved music videos, he didn’t consider making a career out of them.

“I used to think I was different and weird,” Vikas said, “because I didn’t want to be a doctor or a banker. Then I came here (VFS) and found I belonged.” Filmmaking, he stressed, is a business of relationships, and a good producer will do anything to make sure the relationships on set work. In his time he has walked dogs, babysat an actor’s son, and mopped floors to get productions out in time and under budget. He attributed his work ethic to the long hours spent in Film Production. “How you manage things here in school will show you how you’ll manage outside.”

Thank you, Vikas!

Twilight: The Saga Concludes (Part 1)

(Read on to win tickets to an exclusive pre-release screening!)

Even the most epic tales must come to an end, and on Friday The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 will bring the tale of vampires versus werewolves versus teen love to its (first half) conclusion. As with the previous films, the crew was peppered with alumni from 3D Animation & Visual Effects and Film Production. Well done!

Carrie Wilson – Second Assistant Camera
Henry (Hung-Chi) Peng – Matchmove TD
Alan Fregtman – Rigger
David Yabu – Lead Animator
Yuta Shimizu – Lighting Lead
Biren Venkatraman – Lighting and Asset TD
Daanish Wain – Compositor
Chun-Ping Chao – Digital Compositor

To celebrate, we’re offering two tickets to an exclusive private screening, courtesy of Cineplex Media, at the Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver on November 17th, 2011 at 7:00pm. To enter, LIKE this post by tomorrow at noon. This contest is now closed.

Update (1/17/12): We neglected to mention Acting for Film & Television grad Tanaya Beatty is also featured in this movie as “Rachel Black”.

Filming the First Death Row Inmate Saved by DNA

Crowd-funding sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo have become integral parts of indie filmmaking, as building an audience and gaining financial support are two of the biggest hurdles to seeing a little-known project succeed.

But there’s a lot more to independent film financing than just asking for money; like everything else, it starts with a compelling story.

For Film Production grad and three-time Kickstarter-vetted fundraiser Gregory Bayne, that story is Kirk Bloodsworth’s seriously epic struggle for freedom.

“Back in March of this year a friend, after having watched my previous documentary Jens Pulver | Driven, approached me with the idea of doing a film about Kirk, whom she had recently met,” says Greg. “She urged me to read the book, Bloodsworth: The True Story of One Man’s Triumph Over Injustice by Tim Junkin, which chronicles his story of wrongful conviction and his journey to becoming the first death row inmate to be exonerated by DNA evidence.”

“His story ran me through the full gamut of emotions, and by the end I was fully convinced that I had to make this film. I met Kirk, and was further impressed by his ability to tell his story, and by all the good that he accomplished with it on behalf of the many others who share in his story. Kirk eventually watched Driven, felt confident in my abilities to bring his story to the screen, and we’ve been developing the project ever since.”

Greg has also called on the talents of Classical Animation grad Matthew Wade, who will contribute to the film as Lead Animator.

“Greg pitched the Bloodsworth story, documentary, etc. to me a while back and referenced Krawll when talking about some animated sequences he wanted,” says Matthew. “I was on board with the thing right away and am even more into it after seeing some of the stunning interview footage.”

After meeting and exceeding his Kickstarter funding targets for three previous initiatives, it’s not surprising to see Greg return to this community to gather support and spread awareness for Bloodsworth.

“I hope, for the most part, that the success [of previous campaigns] is fueled by the calibre of the projects themselves,” says Greg.

“Running a crowd-funding campaign is very difficult, so if you’re going to bat for something in such a public arena it’s important that you believe wholeheartedly in what you are doing. That belief can be contagious, and it is absolutely necessary if you’re going to survive the campaign.”

“I am on my fourth campaign with Bloodsworth, and have to admit that it was a very difficult decision to ultimately jump into this arena again. What finally convinced me, beyond the financial need to move the project forward, was the true benefit that a crowd-funding campaign offers: the ability to bring early awareness to a project, and through that, begin building a community around it.”

Watch Kirk Bloodsworth tell his story.

“I believe anyone looking to launch a campaign via Kickstarter, or any other platform, needs to understand that all important aspect of these endeavors. Even though contributors are not technically investing in the work, by the very act of departing with any amount of money on your behalf, they’ve said, ‘Hey, I believe in you, in what you’re doing, and that you’ll get it done.’ It’s not a commitment to take lightly. By asking for these dollars, and this type of direct support, from friends, family, acquaintances, and at times complete strangers, you are making a commitment to deliver on your campaign’s promise to the best of your ability.”

“In short, I would advise the following fundamentals that I do my utmost to live up to with each outing:

1) Be grateful. If people are taking the time to pledge to your campaign, say thank you.

2) Be open. Folks that pledge to your campaign deserve your interaction. So, if they have questions or simply want to express themselves to you, be receptive and respectful.

3) Be on task. Concentrate on making the goal, and always consider new and creative ways in which to reach out to your potential audience.

4) Don’t bully. People give out of appreciation, not being brow-beaten. It’s fine to share your campaign via social media, to email, to ask… but understand, just as you do, people have lives and perhaps there slow, or sometimes, complete lack of response likely has nothing to do with you.

5) Know it can be done, and proceed accordingly.

Thanks for the tips, Greg — and best of luck with the film!

To learn more about Bloodsworth and to make a contribution, visit the fundraising profile on Kickstarter.

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).