The glass doors have just opened to reveal a different world. Playstation 2 and XBOX consoles scatter the entrance to a gift shop selling video games and video game memorabilia, and a giant screen gives visitors a glimpse into the future of gaming. Animated baseball players smash homeruns, basketball players slam 360 degree dunks, and hockey players spray ice at opposing goaltenders. Welcome to Electronic Arts, and welcome to the workplace of 3D graduates Paul Baruzzi, Adam Barnett, and Daniel Alvarez.

The trio recently graduated from the same class, and the relationships they developed while attending VFS have carried over to the professional animation world at EA. But before meeting each other, they led very different lives.

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Take an aspiring musician, mix in a little body piercing, add a touch of technical know-how, slap on some cool charisma, bake for 15 minutes and what do you get? Jaidene Veda - award-winning Sound Designer.

Not many children - with popcorn spilled on their laps and the swoosh of light sabers in their eardrums - would exit a cinema telling their mommies and daddies that they want to be a Sound Designer. Jaidene Veda is no exception. She discovered Sound Design like most - by accident.

Singing to Sound Design

“I’ve been a professional recording artist for five years now. My partner and I have been running Dub-Bode Productions. We promote live performances fusing Deep House DJ’s, Jazz horn sections, and my vocals,” Jaidene says of her first exposure to Sound Design.

“It was through this that we ended up doing corporate gigs for Holt Renfrew and working festivals like the Calgary CJAZZ festival. Things were heating up and, if I was going to take my career seriously, I had to hone my production skills.”

Discovering the Sound Designer Within

On why she ultimately selected VFS for this honour, Jaidene says, “I wanted to get more out of my education than just recording arts. VFS Sound Design was the perfect opportunity to couple my learning experience with visual media.”

Like most successful students at VFS, Jaidene realized early on that “you get what you put in.” For Jaidene, that included long days and nights trying to discover the Sound Designer within. “I don’t regret any sleep I lost. My final project was worth it.”

Awards Night

That final project, titled The Sound of, was entered in Toronto’s Young Cuts, an international film festival celebrating talented young filmmakers. Her film was nominated for Best Original Music and won for Best Sound. “I’m so happy to bring back this award. It makes me so proud to bring this award back to the Sound Design campus.” VFS is sponsoring The Sound of by sending it to 9 other film festivals throughout the world.

Perhaps more importantly, Jaidene also took home second prize in the Pepsi Commercial Contest. Watch this award winning film above.

And there’s no slowing down for Jaidene; her future plans are glorious and far-reaching, “I’m working for Bombay Records here in Vancouver, I have a single just released out of New York (on Curvve), and I’m not scared to admit that I aspire to be among the few Canadians really putting their voices out there.”

Taeha Park and Jonathan Busby, though hailing from distant corners of the globe, will meet in France for the world-famous 2005 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where their student films have been selected for screening.

Both filmmakers are graduates of the Digital Character Animation program, where they were trained in the use of Maya, the industry standard digital animation software used in such films as The Lord of the Rings and the upcoming King Kong .

Though Taeha’s Inbanana Jones and Jonathan’s Stat are considerably smaller in scale than Peter Jackson’s epic films, the jury at Annecy – a world-famous animation film festival based in France – determined that they are nonetheless worthy of international praise. The films screen in June 2005.

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A winding path to filmmaking has taken Adam Yaniv from being a field photographer in the Israeli Army to a character animator at Los Angeles’ Rhythm and Hues. Adam, who is a graduate of both the Classical Animation and the Digital Character Animation programs, is working on Disney’s adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Adam was passionate about film since he was nine, but his first real opportunity to work with a camera came during his mandatory military service. Once his tour was complete, Adam continued to practice his skills by working in broadcast design, doing commercial animation projects, and directing music videos. But to realize his dreams of becoming a director Adam felt he needed more focused education, so he enrolled at VFS.

“I took both Classical Animation and Digital Character Animation and I had a different goal in each program,” Adam says. “In Classical Animation my goal was to learn the basics of telling a story with pictures. In Digital Character Animation I was interested in acting and conveying emotion and character.”

School to Festival to Studio

Adam’s films, Downhill and Ketchup, earned him a chance to screen at some of the world’s top animation festivals, including Annecy and Castelli Animati. These screenings helped him quickly gain a reputation as an up-and-coming animator.

“The two films together got me into Rhythm & Hues, so needless to say I’m very happy with them,” Adam says.

Nevertheless, the position at Rhythm & Hues did not immediately fall into his lap. Adam finished VFS in late summer, just as many companies are wrapping production, and like most foreign students he had limited time to find employment. Instead of panicking, Adam elected to spend the down time polishing his animation skills during a term in the VFS Festival Scholarship Program.

“That time gave me a chance to hone my animating as well as writing skills,” Adam says. “I wrote a pilot for an animated TV show, and I’m on my second rewrite of a feature film.”

Filmmaking in LA

Eventually, Adam was offered an apprenticeship at Rhythm & Hues, which quickly led to a full time position on the Narnia adaptation. “I love it,” Adam says. “Rhythm & Hues is a great studio and I’m learning a lot about filmmaking by being here.”

When asked to recall his most memorable experience while attending VFS, Adam can’t keep it to just one. “I learned a lot from many different people, that was the most valuable experience,” Adam says. “The people I met at VFS were inspirational to me. Some of the teachers and students are my friends for life.”

In 1999, Kraig Wenman graduated from the VFS Film Production program with aspirations of being a writer/director. He shot some music videos, did some corporate work, but something was missing. He realized that he needed to drop the distractions of producing and directing and focus purely on the writing. So he saved up some money and wrote… and wrote… and wrote.Six years later, Wenman’s perseverance has paid off with his first feature film, Intermedio, having just been released. Distributed by Blockbuster , the film is a thriller set in a Mexican border tunnel and stars Edward Furlong ( T2, American History X ), Cerina Vincent ( Cabin Fever, Not Another Teen Movie ), and Amber Benson (from TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer ). The film was also shot by Blair Witch’s Neil Fredericks.

Filmed in Los Angeles last May on 35mm for a modest $80,000, Wenman’s involvement didn’t end in the pre-production phase. He moved to LA for the shoot, and was a fixture on the set for last minute rewrites. Watch closely and you can even see him as a corpse in the “body room.”

“It was great seeing the actors breathe life into my words,” says Wenman. “Taking something inanimate and making it into something tangible – truth at 24 frames per second.”

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Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr., makeup and special effects artists known for their work on numerous science-fiction and fantasy films, recently spoke with students about the value of practical creature effects in the digital age.

Makeup Artists as Special Effects Artists

Gillis and Woodruff are the co-founders of Hollywood’s Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI), a company they started well back in 1988 when they met while working on the first Terminator film. Since then, ADI’s special effects work has been seen in over twenty major motion pictures, including such classics as the Alien series, Tremors, and Starship Troopers.

After a screening of Alien Versus Predator, students were stunned to learn that the most of the film’s special effects were created, applied, and acted out by “makeup guys” - not digitally added during post-production.

“We do practical creature effects work ranging from special makeup effects to animatronics,” says Gillis. And their hard work has paid off repeatedly in the form of numerous Academy Award nominations and an Oscar for their work on the 1992 Death Becomes Her.

Attack of the Digital Era

But that was back in 1992 - can practical makeup and creature effects still hold their own in the digital era? “People often ask us if the world of CG is cutting into our business,” answers Gillis, “and, in fact, it’s actually increased our business because more films are being made that are of a fantastical nature.”

Perhaps the most progressive example of modern practical effects is portrayed in ADI’s “fantastical” film Alien Versus Predator, where actors dressed in complex Alien and Predator suits and makeup take the place of digital creatures. “[Practical effects give] a good benchmark for the digital artists to see how the actual thing interacts with stage light as well as how a giant monster moves.”

Potential Paths for the Makeup Artist

So with a projected increase in the number of practical effects artists needed in the film industry, how is the VFS Makeup department meeting the demand?

“Our students quickly realize that there is no limit to the potential applications of their developing skills,” says Charles Porlier, Department Head of Makeup for Film & Television. “The colour and texture of alien skin; the appearance of fine hairs or scales growing out of that skin; the glisten of the eyes and nostrils - all these require detailing techniques of a variety paralleling those possessed by our makeup grads.”

For students looking to find work in the creature effects industry, Tom and Alec have this advice: “You have to be critical when you look at your work,” insists Woodruff. “If you don’t think it’s going to knock anyone’s socks off, put it aside and start over again. Work hard at your craft and get noticed in that respect. That’s the best advice we can offer.”

He’s worked with Hollywood’s best and brightest, Harrison Ford wants him all to himself, but VFS has got him–at least for an evening. On May 19, Michael Laudati, the makeup artist behind dozens of high-profile flicks, will stop in at VFS’s own Makeup Design department to share his stories and chat with students.

From buddy cop comedies to submarine dramas, Laudati’s seen Ford through several of his recent pictures. They’re both in town this month shooting the actor’s new techno-thriller, Firewall, but now, at the behest of Makeup head Charles Porlier, Laudati’s taking time out of his hectic schedule for the talk and Q & A. It’s sure to be a fascinating session!

When: 6:30PM, Thursday, May 19, 2005
Where: Room #702, 198 West Hastings

The path of an independent filmmaker is by nature entrepreneurial. As opposed to the security of studio work, independents typically accept a less defined career path in exchange for more flexibility to pursue their own projects. For Justin Adam, working as an independent filmmaker means having an extensive repertoire of production skills including short films, music videos, promotional films, and photo shoots.

Since finishing the Film program, Justin has started his own film festival and created redPillow – a company that works on audio production, music videos, photography, web design, and audio production.

In addition to running redPillow and keeping his other independent projects afloat, Justin is also teaching digital video editing at VFS. “I want to focus on the small, intimate tools needed to get to the root of an artist’s message without a gigantic budget,” Justin says, describing his goals as a filmmaker.

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The exhilaration of earning the praise and respect of peers in your field is a feeling Will Tompkins is quite familiar with. A graduate of the VFS Sound Design Program, Tompkins recently won the Best Experimental Film awardat the 2005 Vancouver International Digital Festival for his short film, A Synaesthesia.

“I had no expectations when I entered the festival, so I was quite humbled when I won the award. This will certainly help advance my career but more importantly it’s just great to receive recognition for my work.” Tompkins says.

The Vancouver International Digital Festival, also known as Vidfest, is the largest of its kind in Canada. It is a forum for creators and producers of digital content. Tompkins and many others enjoyed screenings, guest speakers and reception parties. Vidfest focuses on joining like minds together and exposing others to new ideas in digital media.

An Innovative Approach

With Disney, the CBC, and then BBC all represented at Vidfest, one can understand how important this contest was for Tompkins. A Synaesthesia was Tompkins’ final project at VFS. “I wanted to present an innovative idea that no one had yet attempted in the Sound Design program, or any other program at VFS for that matter.”

In A Synaesthesia, Tompkins reversed the traditional use of sound in film. Instead of the visuals dictating what the sound should be, he used a sonic foundation to modify natural and urban landscapes through two computers. In this way, Tompkins used his background in sound design to enter his short film as the director.

Tompkins won the Best Experimental Film award because of his innovation and willingness to look beyond his discipline. Now working south of the border, Tompkins carries this attitude into all his future endeavors.

“You’re only going to get as much out of it as you put in.” He explains. “You have to be willing to dedicate yourself to your work and the environment.”

Pushing the Boundaries

Normally students in the Sound Design Program work on a post-production piece for their final project. Tompkins decided to approach it as his own abstract piece of creation. For anyone pushing the boundaries of the industry, like Tompkins, you have to be heard. In order to be heard, you have to enter contests.

A Synaesthesia and the award at Vidfest stirred the beginnings of a personal crusade for Tompkins.“Sound design, until somewhat recently, has been a kind of unappreciated stepchild in regards to the film industry. It’s about time people start understanding its importance.”

Tompkins plans to create subsequent “synaesthetic” pieces with thematic variations and enter them into several more festivals. “I think it is important for anyone involved in sound design to try and get recognized through festivals, contests, and other opportunities. I also encourage them to look outside the box a little because the possibilities for creation are truly endless.”

In a single week, Sound Design student Zabiulla Khan had two momentous things to celebrate – graduating from VFS and being hired as a Sound Artist for Electronic Arts. Originally from India, Zabi came to VFS to concentrate on designing sound for visual media, a focus unique to the school. He had worked in production and audio post for Television since 1995, and it was while working at Sony Television Studios that Zabi began to envision the possibility of doing sound for other areas of visual media. While at VFS, Zabi gravitated towards Leonard Paul, an instructor whose classes cover a range of disciplines relevant to video game audio. Paul, who has ten years experience in the industry, helps simulate the experience of working in the gaming industry by having students practice everything from music and sound effects to dialogue and ambiance.

Though already well acquainted with sound engineering basics, video game audio was new for Zabi. Still, he flourished under the new challenges it posed. “Video Game Audio seemed like the most obvious move at this stage in my career,” says Zabi. “A Game Audio Designer is expected to create a very immersive audio experience with the same quality and detail as that of a Hollywood movie but has to work with the very limited constraints, like memory and storage, of Gaming platforms.”

Zabi’s instructors were not the only ones impressed by the quality of his work. Toward the end of his final term, a panel of industry professionals visited VFS to review student demos, among them Sound Artist Gordon Durity from Electronic Arts. EA is one of the world’s leading game developers and produces popular titles like NHL 2005 , The Lord of the Rings, and Medal of Honor Pacific Assault. Paul, who has worked with EA on numerous projects, sensed Zabi would be a good fit and recommended him to Durity. In a matter of days, Zabi was sending his demo reel in to the company and, with Paul’s help, preparing for an interview.

“Everyone was really impressed at EA,” says Paul. “I told them they had to take advantage of this opportunity because if they didn’t hire him, someone else would. They have an overall win with Zabi. He has a great personality combined with the talent to back it up.”

Zabi was ecstatic to learn he had been hired as a Sound Artist to work on EA Sports. He hopes to use his previous live sports mixing experience with the new techniques he has learned at VFS to create an authentic audio experiences for the gamers.

“I had always been a self-taught sound guy,” says Zabi “and coming to VFS helped me to discover the secrets of how other industry professionals work. This program has made me a more well-rounded and qualified sound designer. EA is the world’s biggest video game company and is known to hire the best people in the industry. I want to work with the best people and the best company to create a truly immersive game audio experience.”