{Workshops}
My Questions:
- How long did it take you to realize what you really want to do?
- What were your other choices besides motion graphics?
- How did you deal with moments at which you weren't motivated?
Images:
Reflections:
After Earl talked to us about his story and how he got where he is, my thoughts in going into the industry definitely changed. It took a while for him to find his path but once he realized what it was he wanted to do, he worked hard for it. Earl found a job for CBC here in Winnipeg, his hometown. It is true that it doesn't matter where you come from, you can go places as long as you stay motivated and keep moving forward. I wasn't confident in moving into the multimedia stuff, but I was convinced that if this is what I really want to do, then I should work for it despite the many hardships. Earl said multiple times that we shouldn't take anything for granted, because we are given a lot of opportunities. He also mentioned that we shouldn't compare ourselves to others. We shouldn't care what someone else is doing or if someone is better at doing something than we are, we should just focus on our own skills to help us grow further. I now feel more confident in my path, and now I am motivated to work for what I love doing.
Reflections:
Our visit from Phyllis was really great. It was so interesting to hear her story and what she does as the president of Buffalo Gals Pictures. I think it's really amazing to have created her own company, it shows just how powerful Phyllis' determination is. Her back story was inspiring, I truly admire those who work hard for what they love doing, and it motivates me to know that success can come from anything. I've never held an interest in creating films but after listening to Phyllis, I feel it's another option I could see myself doing. I understand why she had told us to take part in the opportunities presented to us, it's true a lot of people had to work harder than those of my generation because they didn't have the same opportunities as us. Phyllis coming out to see us further increased my confidence in the multimedia fields. I enjoyed learning more about the film industry as it's something that I knew nothing about. This visit was really motivating for me, and I'm happy I got this chance to hear from someone who truly made a name for herself.
Reflections:
I had a ton of fun during this 2 day workshop that Doug Morrow put up for us. I always had an interest in movie monsters, to have met someone who helped create them was such an honour. One of my all time favourite horror movie that Doug was involved in was the Chucky movies, it's so awesome to know that someone from where I lived had work on such big movies. It was really fun to create fake wounds using latex(not a pleasent smell) and make-up as well as watching Doug himself create a zombie out of a student here at school, his skills clearly stood out as he was working. I have such an interest in what he does because I really joy the way we can shift reality with a little bit of make-up and prosthetics and make it look like part of the real world. Doug had worked with so many famous actors, that's really amazing to me, I had always felt that people in the big film industries were in a different world from me, Doug clearly broke that thought. I'm starting to get really excited for working in this field in the future. It's great that he got so far in his line of work just by doing what he loves. I may very well put make-up and prosthetics in my growing list of jobs I could be interested in. I very much appreciate this workshop and the time Doug gave us to tell his story.
Reflections:
I'm thankful to Kim for coming out. I really enjoyed seeing her work, and I admire her art style. It was great to see the work of a professional concept artist because that is one of my many paths that I will choose from in the future. Her adivice to draw quick drawings on small pieces of paper or sticky notes is quite fun to do and a good way to practice. I enjoyed the activity we did as well, when we had to try and draw one of her drawings without looking at it, and only getting details of the characters by asking simple yes or no questions. I wish I could have gotten her thoughts on some of my drawings but sadly I had forgotten my sketchbook. Kim's mind set of design is truly amazing, a lot of her work is very clean and uses many artistic aspects such as contrast and perspectives. Seeing her work tells me I still have quite a bit to learn in implementing design elements into my own work, I give my respect to Kim for her fantastic work.
March 15, 2018 : Hesham Hammoud
{Actor}
{Visual Effects Artist}
Links:
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Reflections:
Our video conference with Hesham was very informative. He gave us a view of how things work in the industry. It was pretty awesome seeing his scene in the X-Men Apocalypse. I remember watching that part a few years back and to know that even just a small role, was played by someone who comes from so close to home is very exciting. It's great how he does both acting and visual effects. I myself am not sure about what part of the industry I would like to get into, but to know that I could have multiple specialties relieves me of the hard choice of picking only one. Even though he has more than one skill set he says working on one of them is the best way to go and I agree with him. I think it is better to master one thing than be decent at multiple things. It was also cool that Mr. Leduc at one point, taught Hesham he(you) must be very proud. I very much appreciate his video conference, just as I appreciate every guests how come in to talk with us despite their busy schedules.
April 23- April24, 2018: Melissa Best
{VFX Instructor @ Vancouver Film School}
{Compositor}
Reflections:
Melissa's visit was interesting. I was never so sure what compositing was, in fact I have never even heard of that word before this year. It's crazy what compositors can do, all that movie magic that makes you question reality. When she showed us a video about compositing I was not able to notice any thing that was out of the ordinary until the end when it shows all the computer renderings. Our workshop with using Nuke(video editing software) was cool too, although it was hard for me to follow as I have never done it before, but I enjoyed learning, and seeing how hard it is for compositors working on films. Melissa is a really nice person, and it was interesting seeing her critique one of her students at VFS who had also come to visit. After this workshop I was quite interested in trying compositing out sometime in the future which again adds to my many choices of jobs I could get into. I really appreciate Melissa's visit as it gave me more of an idea of what compositing is.
April 26, 2018: Lawrence Levi
{Author}
{Former CFO of Pixar}
Reflections:
April 30 - May 4th, 2018 Cambridge University
