In 2001, Jason Young enrolled in the VFS Writing program with raw storytelling talent. After spending the year mastering different screenwriting forms, Jason emerged with a short film script that, two years later, took him to the Cannes Film Festival in France. Jason’s film, How to Disappear Completely, was screened this May as part of the Short Film Corner in the heart of all the excitement at the Palais des Festivals.Perhaps the most recognized film festival in the world, the global reach of Cannes extends throughout the world and to filmmakers in all genres. ” Cannes is the grand-daddy of them all,” says Bill Marchant, head of the Acting program. “If you want to get noticed in the film industry, Cannes is a great place to start.”

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As graduation rolled around for Mitsuaki (Mitsu) Yajima, he could hardly hold back a grin. After coming to VFS on scholarship just one year ago, Mitsu found the right mix of media to produce his three part video reel, titled reincarnation . The project stretches the boundaries of digital design by combining elements of 3D and 2D animation, motion graphics, as well as video effects.

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Held each year, the Siggraph conference on computer graphics & interactive techniques convenes digital artists to reflect on the current state of the industry, as well as imagine possibilities for stretching the industry’s boundaries.

Included in this year’s festival were four graduates of the VFS 3D Animation program: Dustin Lindblad, Henri Tan, and Thaddeus Parkinson screened their films during the part of the program known as SPACE , or the Student Projects in Animation Competition & Exhibition . Meanwhile, Adrian Ng placed 3 rd in the SoftImage Student Competition for his short film Monkey See, Monkey Do , receiving programming licenses from SoftImage for its highly regarded 3D software.

“Siggraph is like the Academy Awards for graphic art,” says Dustin, whose short film Celesais follows the story of a pixy in a celebration of life and seasons. Now in its thirty-first year, Siggraph attracts tens-of-thousands of professionals, students, and industry leaders from animation, gaming, and numerous digital technology fields. The venue is known for being a prime place to unveil new technologies and share expertise.

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Having recently received permitee status as a union camera trainee, Cherie Korol hopes she has survived the hardest part of getting started as a camera operator. She just finished working on the new ABC series Life As We Know It, and is thrilled to be getting work in the union’s five-week job rotation. Still, she knows this is just the beginning.

For Film Production grad Korol, moving up to member status in the union is an important step, but she knows there are no guarantees. “Once you get in it doesn’t stop there,” says Korol. “There are classes and tests you need to pass. You are evaluated every step along the way. And there is always the question of whether you will move up to the next level. It is a constant struggle.”

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Ippei Shiraki is impressive. He has impressed people with his singing, he has impressed people with his infectious personality, and now he is impressing with his creativity in the art of sound design. In fact, Ippei is so impressive he has been hired as a sound and music designer for the Japanese video game company Idea Factory.

From Japan, Ippei always wanted to find a place to study music and sound. “I would have stayed in Japan,” he says from his home in Tokyo . “But when I graduated high school there were no serious options to study sound design.”

Good thing his midnight Internet surfing brought him to the VFS website. Ippei was immediately taken by the quality of work coming from the school. Even though leaving for Vancouver meant quitting as lead singer of his band, he decided it was worth it. “It was difficult to leave, but I knew I would be back. I love Tokyo, but I wanted the best education I could get,” he says.

At VFS Ippei continued to impress. “Ippei was an excellent student who obviously had a passion for audio and wasn’t afraid to give 110% effort,” says Head Sound Design instructor Gary Bourgeois.

Soon after graduating and returning to Japan, Ippei discovered that having received operator-level certification in Pro Tools software gave him an immediate advantage in the Japanese sound design market. (VFS is the only school in Canada authorized to certify students in Digidesign music and post-production systems.) Coupled with his strong student demo reel, Ippei’s knowledge of Pro Tools quickly landed him a job with Sound City , the renowned Japanese recording studio.

“Pro Tools was the key,” says Ippei, who points out that only a few Japanese sound designers are expert in the software. His Pro Tools certification enabled Ippei to work with some of Japan’s most famous musical composers, including Joe Hisaishi. Hisaishi is a musical legend in Japan who composes all of Hayao Myazaki’s animated feature films including Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky. “Even when I worked with Hisaishi, he was impressed with my ability to use Pro Tools,” says Ippei.

While Sound City was great for Ippei, he wanted to be able to design his own sounds and compose his own music. That’s when Idea Factory, which creates games for the XBOX, Playstation 2, and Game Cube, and is one of Japan’s largest video game distributors, called Ippei to come work for them.

Ippei was hired by Idea Factory to synthesize creature noises, swords, and magical sounds for the entire Spectra Souls Series, a top Japanese game similar in design to Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest . In addition to the video game, Ippei’s sound designs received extra attention recently when a Spectra Souls soundtrack was released in Japan .

Clearly in demand, Ippei is thriving in the video game industry while also looking to new horizons. “I love being a sound designer because I get to manipulate the environments,” says Ippei. “Sound and music for North American film is something I would love to do, but for now I’m happy making video games in Tokyo.”