The 2009 Vancouver International Film Festival begins this Thursday, October 1. Online ticket sales have kicked off, leaving a few films with “Rush Only” ticket status already.

No surprise, our grads and faculty are in the thick of it all, contributing their many talents to the local film scene. Here’s a sample of the work you’ll see from VFSers at VIFF ‘09:

Classical Animation instructor Marv Newland directed the short film Postalolio

Acting for Film & Television grad Sara Canning stars in the feature film Black Field

Writing for Film & Television grad Adam Zang wrote the feature film Cole

Writing grad and currently that department’s Production Coordinator Wade Fennig lends his acting talents to the short film Everything’s Coming Up Rosie

Note: If you’re a VFS grad and have a film in this year’s festival but don’t see your name listed here, let us know at blog@vfs.com.

Visit the Vancouver International Film Festival’s website for more info on how you can buy tickets to these films.

Starting tonight at 9 pm on Superchannel, you can watch Unspoken Rules — a feature-length documentary from a team of VFS grads and employees about “the violence in hockey, and the ‘code’ the players fight by.”

The team includes Film Production grads Anthony Epp (Writer/Producer), Julia Schaffer (Production Assistant), and Reiko Montemayor (Assistant Editor), alongside Sound Design for Visual Media Teaching Assistant Leonardo Barragán (Sound Editor), and Sound Design instructor Will Meadows (Composer/Post Sound).

If you miss tonight’s screening, click here to see additional air times.

Two of the biggest names in feature film sound design dropped by VFS last night, treating a packed house to an in-depth look at their impressive body of work in films from directors like Terrence Malick, the Coen brothers, Martin Scorsese, and more.

Skip Lievsay (Cape Fear) is a long-time collaborator of the Coen brothers, having worked on every one of their feature films, not to mention numerous others like The Silence of the Lambs and Y Tu Mamá También. Craig Berkey (I Am Legend) has an amazing resume as well: the X-Men series, I, Robot, and Death to Smoochy, to name just a few.

They used film clips to illustrate challenges and achievements in their recent work as collaborators, particularly in No Country For Old Men, for which they were nominated for an Oscar for Best Achievement in Sound.

Charged with designing the sound of Anton Chigurh’s weapon in No Country, Craig mentioned that the actual sound of the weapon firing doesn’t scare him, though it seems to have that effect on audiences; it’s the slow, hissing build up and ‘clink’ of the air tank that gives him the creeps.

Both men emphasized the value of making strong creative decisions as sound designers and never submitting work that isn’t good enough to be in the final cut. The key, Craig explained, is to be adaptable to the director’s needs, but never be afraid to make the sound the way you think it should be.

We’re giving away 2 tickets to a special Vancouver ACM/Siggraph event tomorrow night at Granville 7 Theatres.

If you just can’t get enough of learning about the behind-the-scenes action in District 9, here’s your chance to sit in on “Aliens Among Us: The Visual Effects of District 9″ — a special panel featuring top talent from Vancouver’s Image Engine Studios (including VFS grads Shawn Walsh, James Stewart, and Bernhard Kimbacher).

Click here to find out more about the event.

All you have to do to win is be one of the first 2 people to email us at blog@vfs.com with the subject heading: “Aliens Among Us.”

We have our 2 winners! Thanks to everyone who entered this contest!

Winners will be contacted shortly via email with instructions on how to pick up their tickets tomorrow before the event.

Danny Chan, a graduate of both Foundation Visual Art & Design and Digital Design and a much-loved fixture of the Digital Design program,happens to be a talented photographer. Proof? His work is featured in the recently-released revised edition of City of Glass, the ode to Vancouver by local author Douglas Coupland (Generation X, Microserfs)!

The book’s been expanded and re-released in part because of the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, which take place here in February. Danny’s shot appears on page 34.

Gather ye at your Chapters, your Barnes & Nobles, your Amazons, and take a look! Congrats, Danny!

In every graduating class in the Makeup Design for Film & Television program, one student is presented with the Makeup Design Achievement Award to recognize their outstanding work throughout their year at VFS.

Congratulations to the August 2009 winner, Elisa Solomon! Vancouver Makeup Artist Christopher Pinhey was on hand at graduation to present the award, which comes with a personal reference letter from Makeup Design Head Stan Edmonds, a prize pack including top-of-the-line products from MAC and Taut by Leonard Engelman, and a one-year subscription to Make-Up Artist Magazine.

You might remember Elisa from the demo she gave at Opus Art & Design in the spring. Her incredible fantasy airbrush handiwork from that day is one of the many things featured in her portfolio, which you can – and should! – check out right here:

Surrogates comes out this week, and we can all see what happens when Bruce Willis does his thing in a near-future society where people ‘live’ their lives through robotic substitutes.

Of course – was there ever any doubt about this? – quite a number of VFS 3D Animation & Visual Effects graduates were behind the scenes on this one. The list includes:

Animator Anthony Di Ninno
Compositor Matthias Lowry
Compositor Laurie Powers
Lighting Artist Joshua Herrig
Digital Artist Teh-wei Yeh

Compositor Michael Stewart is also a VFS grad, but from Digital Design, née New Media.

Congrats!

We are pleased to announce Brett Forsyth is the new Head of Digital Design!

Brett brings to the role a depth of industry experience along with three years as a VFS Senior Instructor, teaching and developing curriculum in Interface Development and Interactive Design.

He’s worked on cutting-edge projects with Vancouver-based Tangible Interaction Design, consulted for the social networking/comic fan site Zeros 2 Heroes, and acted as a Senior Interface Developer for Rouxbe Video Technologies.

Most importantly, students love him; Brett has been twice recognized by VFS students for Excellence in Instruction. He also participates in the Adobe Education Leaders Program, which recognizes innovative educators.

Sebastien de Castell, the previous Head of Digital Design, is now VFS’s Director of Strategic Program Development. Through working with students, school administration, and the Heads of Department from every program,  Sebastien will focus on enhancing the overall educational vision at Vancouver Film School.

Congratulations to both of you!

Foundation Visual Art & Design grad Ryan Copple has lately been devoting a lot of time to Riese - a web series he co-created and is currently Executive Producing, drawing on the writing talents of two Writing for Film & Television grads as well: Miguel Valdez Lopez and Alyssa Ciccarelli.

Ryan and the rest of the Riese team have jumped into the social media world with both feet on this project: there’s a Riese website, a viral campaign site, a Facebook profile, and a Twitter feed. It’s a brave new world of online entertainment.

We had a chance to ask Ryan about the series and his efforts to better establish an innovative route to get ahead in an ever-changing industry. Here’s what he said:

Hi, Ryan. Could you start out by telling us a bit about your educational journey? What eventually drew you to the Foundation Visual Art & Design program?

Ryan: My graduate education began in New York, where I’d been pursuing a doctorate in Forensic Psychology. After a few years, I realized that what really interested me wasn’t so much the psychology but the creative aspects involved with it – such as designing studies which, in a sense, is like constructing a story. It was a hard choice, but I eventually decided to discontinue my studies to invest my time into work that really focused on using my imagination.

Vancouver Film School first came as an obvious choice because of its respected reputation in providing a solid education in film and television. The Foundation Visual Art & Design program especially stood out to me because, although I’d been in the educational system for such a long time, I hadn’t honed my artistic side much, and its well-rounded curriculum seemed like a great place to start. So I made the big move to Vancouver and have loved it ever since.

What is Riese?

Ryan: Riese is a combination of the science fiction/fantasy genre and a journey into the human condition. The story takes place in another world, similar yet different from our own. The majority of the action is centered in a nation called “Eleysia,” and follows the journey of “Riese” – a seemingly random wanderer – and her wolf Fenrir, as they flee from a religious cult that is hunting her.

Read the rest of this story »

You might already know the work of Classical Animation grad Jon Izen. He co-created/directed/executive produced CBC’s The Very Good Adventures of Yam Roll in Happy Kingdom and also created and directed 100 short, nonsensical episodes of Black and White.

Recently, CBC Radio’s “Definitely Not the Opera” (more commonly known as “DNTO”) commissioned him to animate a short film from an audio track of a story by the show’s host, Sook-Yin Lee. The result is a very funny and imaginative take on Sook-Yin’s embarrassing tale.

Click here to watch “True Love.”