Digital Voices 2019
IDM WORKSHOPS
CAPILANO UNIVERSITY
February 8th
With its main campus located in North Vancouver, Capilano University (CapU) enrols approximately 11 600 students every year. It was founded in 1968 and is named after Chief Joe Capilano. The university's Faculty of Fine & Applied Arts includes specialized programs in motion picture arts, animation, music, theatre, costuming, design and more where students work with industry professionals in small classes.
Questions:
How important is it that you keep class sizes small? What is the classroom learning experience like as a result of this?
Do CapU graduates find work soon after graduating?
Modified: What do you do outside of formal training and education to ensure your grads secure a job?
Are there any programs that you don't offer yet that you hope to see in the future?
Reflection:
The video conference with CapU was a great experience. It was kicked off with some videos showcasing the campus and also the work of their 3D/2D animation and VFX students. I was impressed by a lot of the student samples that I saw. The VFX and composition samples were my favourite ones to see. They also gave a brief outline of what attending their school is like. The rest of the conference was allocated to Q&A from the students. A lot of important questions were asked, covering topics like turnover for jobs,
TOMAS PAJDLHAUSER
February 25th
Tomas Pajdlhauser attended Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology, studying traditional animation. After teaching Pre-Animation and Illustration there for 5 months, He went on to become a Loction Designer and Art Director for Jam Filled Entertainment, a studio in Ottawa. His past clients include Disney, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, and Mattel. On top of all of this, he also co-owns a skateboard shop/brand, Birling, in downtown Ottawa.
Webpage
Questions:
I saw on your website that you do a lot of travelling for your work. Which came first, your love of art or your love of travel? And which do you have a greater love for now?
How did you go about getting employed at the same school you graduated from? Were you asked to work there or did you seek that position out?
As a creative director at Jam Filled and co-owner of a skate shop, what more do you hope to accomplish in your career? What are you looking to get done next?
Reflection:
Tom's talk opened with an explanation of his path to where he is now; how he got from being a high school student to being an Art Director at Jam Filled. He also ran through what he looks for when going through a potential employee's resume. One of the big things we did was looked at some storyboards that needed work and he thoroughly described the mistakes that were made and how to correct them. We got to see the small things that make a huge impact on a shot, such as framing and lighting. There were so many boards that I thought were fine but he went into such detail and improved every single one. His talk helped open my eyes to what it is like finding work in the industry and a glimpse of the workflow of working in a large animation team.
ALAIN DELANNOY
March 18th
Alain Delannoy was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Having studied University of Manitoba's School of Art, he is an independent animation film maker. Alain has created several internationally screened short animated films. He currently teaches animation and video production at Université de Saint-Boniface in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Questions:
As an independent animator, what kind of pressure do you experience, working on your own schedule?
It seems that your projects can take a number of years to complete. What makes working independently worth it, to you?
As of right now, what kind of topic would you like to explore in your next animation?
Reflection:
Alain's talk was great. I think what made it such a good experience for me was the fact that he was so into what he was talking about. He started off with a description of his education at U of M's School of Arts and the connections he made while he was there. He briefly showcased his animated short films before showing us The Talk, his latest release. Despite only being a series of stories told by different people, it held my attention incredibly well. The animation doesn't only accompany the stories, it compliments and adds to them. Alain then showed us bits and pieces of his process of animating this film, including rotoscoping, stop-motion, and a whole lot of drawing. After that, he showed us all the film festivals he screened his film at and all the people he met because of it. I think my biggest takeaway from this talk was that connections are very important. They can help you immensely regardless of what industry you find yourself in. Alain mentioned many times that he would hire one of his own past students to do work that he was unable to do and also that he would get critique from people he met all over the world, giving him varying perspectives on his work. The connections he has made helped make his work great.
HESHAM HAMMOUD
April 11th
Hesham, a Lebanese-Canadian, was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and is the youngest of 5 siblings. Hesham’s first role was playing a Thief on the Fox series Almost Human. He has also appeared in ABC’s Once Upon a Time in Wonderland as Ghazi, and as a Minoan Guard on Syfy’s new series Olympus. His most recent credits include X-Men Apocalypse and the new season of Prison Break. Hesham continues to grow as an actor with the help of his acting coach Andrew McIlroy and attending workshops. Hesham is also co-founder of RevvFilms, a production company that creates short action films.
ANITA LEBEAU
April 16th
MANITOBA FILM & MUSIC
April 17th
UBISOFT WINNIPEG
May 28th
