God of War III hits the shelves today, and the PS3 action game has us asking the question: what crazy kind of butt-kickery is Kratos up to now? The game was developed by Sony Santa Monica, and is, for the most part, getting killer reviews.
One of the VFS grads behind the scenes? 3D Animation & Visual Effects alum Tyler Breon, who graduated in 2005 and boasts the first Uncharted as his previous credit. On God of War III, he served as a character artist, and was responsible for bringing that volcanic guy pictured in the screenshot below to life. It’s well worth your time to check out Tyler’s online portfolio – some incredible work there!
Ji Ye, a Digital Character Animation grad, also contributed to the gamevia well-known studio Massive Black, except that he did it before beginning his 6 months in DCA – which he wrapped just this past December!
Last year we blogged about two Film Production graduates — Angela Buhr and Mohamed Soliman — who traveled to Uganda to film Opportunitas Aequa’s efforts to better the lives of youth living in war-ravaged communities through the unifying power of soccer.
The short documentary “David” is a product of that trip. Directed, produced, and edited by Mohamed and Angela through their company Eye Inside Films, the short profiles a teenage boy who witnessed a deadly attack on his family and is struggling to remain positive in life.
Leave it to BioWare to do an expansion right. Following on the massive critical success of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2, the Edmonton developer is releasing Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening, a full expansion in an industry often preoccupied with fast, cheap downloadable add-ons.
Awakening comes out tomorrow, and, like the main game, features the work of a whole bunch of VFS grads. Among them, 3D Animation & Visual Effects grad Nathan Zufelt, who, as he explains on his blog, was the cinematic animator on the expansion:
It’s quite rare these days to be given a script on a large project that you get to storyboard, animate and even light and composite. Bioware is one of the few big studios where an animator can actually take his own shots entirely from script to screen.
Game Design grad Mark Barazzuol, who we interviewed at the time of Dragon Age: Origins‘ release, was also in the mix.
When Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II hit last year, it was, for many, a very welcome departure from the tried-and-true RTS formula. But there was a big gap in the shape of the ever-popular Chaos Space Marines faction, and that’s something Vancouver-based Relic Entertainment rectified this week with the release of DOWII’s first expansion, Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising.
A lot of VFS grads work at Relic, to put it mildly. There were about a dozen on DOWII (check out our interview with one of them, Game Design grad Francois Chaput), and Chaos Rising is no different.
Entertainment Business Management’s upcoming Open House will be a memorable night for all those who see the waves of change hitting the entertainment industry and think only one thing: opportunity.
We’ll be revealing all the details about how — in one year — EBM students learn to develop better film, TV, game, and music properties, get the most buzz, and build bigger audiences.
Don’t miss your chance to discover how EBM provides a new kind of business education inside a world-leading entertainment school.
Entertainment Business Management
Open House
Thursday, April 8 at 6pm
Vancouver Film School
420 Homer Street (at Hastings)
- Learn about our one-year Entertainment Business Management program
- Find out how you graduate from EBM with a portfolio of real accomplishments
- Meet our faculty of respected entertainment industry pros, along with students and alumni
- Discover how EBM gets you ready to be a force in the entertainment industry
In their third of six terms, Digital Design students create title sequences for a film that doesn’t exist… yet. In short, it’s a chance to create something by combining the skills and experience they’ve picked up so far in their year. Often, it’s when students really get to cut loose creatively. (One of Christopher’s fellow YouTube Scholarship winners got to go to Beijing on the strength of his. And the two sequences could not be more different.)
The award, selected by a jury that includes the founders of the amazing The Art of the Title Sequence, will be handed out on Tuesday, March 16th. Watch Ladybird below, then head over to Christopher’s site for a brief but interesting case study on its creation!
When Jesse Davidge and Jonathan Busby graduated from the Classical Animation and Maya programs at VFS (the latter would soon evolve into today’s Digital Character Animation) they both took a pretty well-journeyed career path, working for big local studios like Studio B, EA, and Bardel.
A few years on, Jesse and Jon wanted something a little different. They wanted chances to work on smaller, more diverse projects – to build their own relationships with clients and see their work all the way through from concept to completion.
That resulted in the founding of Blatant Studios, a new Vancouver-based production studio specializing in animation and motion graphics. Jesse and Jon form two-thirds of the operation. “Blatant began as a way to brand our after-hours commercial work,” Jesse says. “Eventually, it became a full-time company.”
Blatant now boasts a splashy website and a nice track record of pro work, and, as Jon explains, it’s not the kind of thing you start on a whim. “Starting a studio is not an overnight venture. It takes years of networking, knowledge of production, and building a client base. It’s a 24/7 commitment.”
The two are putting their full range of animation, directing, and producing skills to use on an array of interesting projects – like this spot for Sprint/NASCAR, produced in collaboration with San Francisco’s Gunshop. Even more recently, they were approached by Tribal DDB to produce two videos for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the Winter Olympic Games. They had about 3 weeks. Like a lot of homegrown talent involved in the many facets of the Games, it brought a whole new level of exposure. “The thought of having millions of people see our work definitely energized us to do what was needed to see the project realized,” says Jesse. The second of the two videos was projected on the floor of B.C. Place during the Closing Ceremonies.
We’ll leave you with a video for the Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Mangan that Blatant did. It was released earlier this year, and it’s pretty awesome.
To see all their latest work, check out the Blatant Studios website at blatantstudios.com.
Today is International Women’s Day, a time to reflect upon and celebrate the achievements of women the world over. And in honour of the occasion, we’d like to tell you about our Women in Games Scholarship, presented in conjunction with Game Design Expo 2010.
The Women in Games Scholarship covers the full tuition for the one-year Game Design program at VFS.
“The Game Design program at VFS has been a very rewarding and enjoyable experience thus far,” last year’s winner, Shannon Lee, told us. “Applying for the scholarship was the best decision I’ve ever made and I’m sure that the next recipient will feel the same.” Shannon started in the program in late October.
The scholarship is a big part of our ongoing initiative to support women who aspire to be professional game designers. It’s about giving women opportunities to excel – and, as we’ve seen with our past female graduates, we believe our Game Design program is a great launchpad for just that.
The 2010 Women in Games Scholarship will be officially unveiled with full details at the Open House on Sunday, April 11!
Along with many millions of viewers just like you, we watched the Oscars last night. Many incredible (and some underappreciated) films were honoured, and it was a real source of pride for us to see all the love for District 9. Though it didn’t win, it brought some deservedly renewed attention to this sci-fi gem.
So we’d like to take this moment to join in the applause for our nominated graduates, Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, as well as the many other alumni – especially those behind the film’s beautifully integrated visual effects – who made District 9 Oscar-worthy. And make no mistake – it was Oscar-worthy!
For Neill and Terri, especially, it’s a high point in what will surely be a long career. We haven’t seen the last of them on the red carpet!
It was only three years after Thomas Cantley graduated from VFS’s Film Production program that he heard some shocking news that would irrevocably change his life and burgeoning career as a filmmaker/photographer: he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
In an amazing display of courage, Thomas responded to this life-threatening disease by filming his experiences for a documentary he could then share with the world — all in an effort to help create an open dialogue about testicular cancer.
Thomas is currently anticipating the completion and release of this feature-length film, appropriately titled “Ballsy”, which will also feature interviews with other men affected by this disease. He recently answered a few questions for us about what drove him to take on such an ambitious and personal project.
Can you talk a bit about the early stages of development on this project? When were you originally diagnosed with testicular cancer and how long was it before you started filming your experiences?
Thomas: I was living in New York City when I was first misdiagnosed on September 15,2009 with a bacterial infection in my left testicle. As my testicle became more swollen and extremely painful – even after taking the prescribed medication – I was then diagnosed with testicular cancer on October 1, 2009. I had my first surgery a week later to remove my left testicle.
I then found out the cancer had spread to my lymphoids. It was then that I made the decision to capture what I was going through on film. I wanted to share my story, but I also knew it was a way to keep going when I wanted to give up. Having a camera and filming my toughest moments is the most therapeutic way for me to cope as a filmmaker.
I also had to make the decision to move back to Canada when I found out the next step of treatment for my cancer: I was told it would be best to skip chemotherapy and to have a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (commonly referred to as RPLND), which is a procedure to remove abdominal lymph nodes to treat testicular cancer. The surgery took place on November 16,2009. I started filming a few weeks before, documenting the preparation and establishing what my life was like before cancer.
Why did you feel compelled to capture such a personal experience on camera?
Thomas: When I started doing research, I felt that there was no information out there. When I was in the hospital back home in Nova Scotia, I met a young guy who was only 17 and was going through the same battle I was. We quickly became friends. He felt alone too — it’s hard for young guys to speak up if they notice something irregular about their balls. I want there to be a platform for men to talk easily about it. This is why I am bringing awareness to a sensitive subject.
What is the biggest misconception about testicular cancer you’ve encountered while shooting this film?
Thomas: The age. People do not realize how early this disease can affect them. The most common age to be diagnosed with testicular cancer is anywhere between 15 to 35. If it’s not caught in the early stages it can spread so fast, like it did with me. Three years ago, 8,000 men were diagnosed with testicular cancer, and about 390 men die of this disease each year. Now-a-days, 40,000 men are diagnosed and 8,000 die each year. It’s a staggering and frightening statistic.
One of the trailers for Ballsy highlights the fact that most men ignore the early warning signs, as you did in the past. What are those early warning signs you’re referring to?
Thomas: Loss of sex drive, and slight enlargement and firmness in the testicle. For months I ignored these signs because there was no pain. It was only when I started experiencing pain that I went to the doctor’s office.
Where do you go from here, both personally and in your filmmaking career?
Thomas: I plan to do more documentary work. It’s my passion and love. Personally, I have grown a lot from this experience, which the documentary will show. I had a different mentality before I was diagnosed. I feel humbled because of this disease.
Thanks for sharing your story, Thomas. We look forward to seeing the film!
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God of War III hits the shelves today, and the PS3 action game has us asking the question: what crazy kind of butt-kickery is Kratos up to now? The game was developed by Sony Santa Monica, and is, for the most part, getting killer reviews.
When Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II hit last year, it was, for many, a very welcome departure from the tried-and-true RTS formula. But there was a big gap in the shape of the ever-popular Chaos Space Marines faction, and that’s something Vancouver-based 
Entertainment Business Management
When Jesse Davidge and Jonathan Busby graduated from the 
The two are putting their full range of animation, directing, and producing skills to use on an array of interesting projects – like 
Along with many millions of viewers just like you, we watched the Oscars last night. Many incredible (and some underappreciated) films were honoured, and it was a real source of pride for us to see all the love for 
It was only three years after Thomas Cantley graduated from VFS’s 
Thomas: When I started doing research, I felt that there was no information out there. When I was in the hospital back home in Nova Scotia, I met a young guy who was only 17 and was going through the same battle I was. We quickly became friends. He felt alone too — it’s hard for young guys to speak up if they notice something irregular about their balls. I want there to be a platform for men to talk easily about it. This is why I am bringing awareness to a sensitive subject.