Capilano University Animation Alumni

Nat and Flora Bosa Centre for Film and Animation

2012-02-07T11:55:00.001-08:00

Leo Ito wins 1st place in the 11 second club!

2011-05-06T11:01:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Leo Ito on taking 1st place in the 11 Second Club this month! Leo (class of 2004) had tough competition among a field of 224 entries, some of whom were our first years using the competition as their final animation project.

Congratulations Leo! Leo and his brother Kengo (Class of 2011) are both graduates of Commercial Animation. Below is Leo's current show reel.

2011 Animation Showreel from Leo Ito on Vimeo.

Grad Show 2011!

2011-04-28T08:56:00.002-07:00

It's finally here (or as the grads will say..."it's here already!")...our 2011 grad show exhibiting the excellent work of the Commercial Animation and Digital Animation graduates!

Industry Night is April 29, 5-9pm
Public Event is April 30, Noon-4pm

The venue is again at the Harbour Centre, Hastings Street entrance (upper lobby). We hope to see you there!

Capcom Vancouver is hiring!

2011-04-08T09:30:00.003-07:00

Capcom Vancouver, formerly Blue Castle Games, is hiring. Go to their website for all the jobs posted and their requirments.

https://jobs-bluecastlegames.icims.com/jobs/search

New Web Series needs Lead Animator (Flash)

2011-02-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

If anyone's not working and has some Flash experience, there's a position open locally. Email me for details and contact info! (Feb 2011)

Don

2011-01-19T23:29:00.001-08:00

A local group is looking for portfolio submissions to crew an upcoming children's animated project. The style is geared towards  very young toddlers age 6 months  - 3 years ( see baby Einstein  as an example ). We are looking to create 25, 30 second shorts in this style  and are looking for people to fill the following positions.
Designer / Storyboard Artist
3D modeler (Softimage) / Generalist /
Animator ( Softimage)  / Generalist /
Each of the 3d digital positions are ideally suited to someone who can generalize and work independently, solving problems on their own. Characters will need rigging, but it will be very simple rigging, and I will be carrying the bulk of that load unless the right individual applies who can alleviate some of my workload.  Textures will be minimal and sets will likely use matte painting to extend the scene.

Designers should be comfortable designing characters for use in 3d apps.

The design and board positions will likely be contract based, on a per short basis, (with the length of contract for each short lasting around 2 - 3 weeks). Depending on your portfolio and time, we may ask you to contract out for multiple shorts.
We are looking at purchasing a couple with licenses of Softimage and the Adobe Suite for our remote CG artists. If you have your own machine, this is a bonus..

The contracts are between 3 - 8 months, exact length to be determined once budget numbers are finalized.

Contact me at Cap and I'll get you the contact info. dperro

Pixar Canada Job Postings - October 2010

2010-10-24T15:25:00.002-07:00

Pixar's HR director contacted me this week to ask for help getting the word out regarding some new hires.

They are looking for two animators and an apprentice layout artist.

Go to their website: http://pixarcanada.com for details

Pitch Party 2010!

2010-06-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to our six Pitch Party artists, Lori, Courtney, Joe, Dom, Brittany and Candice! Good luck!

SIGGRAPH VANCOUVER - SPECIAL EVENT

2010-05-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

Animating Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland Presentation, May 25th

Click here for the link

SPEAKER SESSION

Tuesday - May 25, 7:00 PM
Alice in Wonderland: Creating Underland
with David Schaub & Carey Villegas

Members: $15 // Regular: $20 // Groups (10+): $15*
* Group pricing only available through on-line advance sales.

PRESENTATION #1: Animating Underland

In this session, Sony Pictures Imageworks' David Schaub, the lead animation director for Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland will give you an inside look behind the talent and tools that were used to create this breath-taking film. Mr. Schaub will focus primarily on the standard creative elements of the show, but he will also provide insight into the surprising challenges and innovative technical solutions that were used to breathe digital life into over 30 inhabitants of Underland including the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen and the Cheshire Cat. This session is intended for animation professionals, students, and anyone interested in the animation, visual effects and the post-production process.

PRESENTATION #2: Creating VFX for Underland

In this session, Visual Effects Supervisor Carey Villegas will reveal the details of the visual effects work on Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland.

His talk will focus on the process of photographing the "live-action" component of the film, as well as the many challenges that he and Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Ken Ralston faced in post production while creating the visual and stereo 3D effects. He will also discuss the cameras used (4K digital and Panavision Genesis) and the on-set "real-time" camera tracking processes. Ever wonder how the Red Queen's head got so big? Villegas and his team were tasked with manipulating the body shape of the Red Queen to give her maximum effect on screen. Additionally, Villegas will discuss the scaling techniques, both in live action photography and post production effects, involved in photographing Alice's ever changing-size and seamlessly placing her in Underland.

For the character of the Mad Hatter, Villegas' team created subtle facial effects for actor Johnny Depp to allow the actor to expand on his character's performance. The process of integrating the Red and White queens' servants into the live action shots and the process of creating Stayne, the Knave of Hearts, by integrating actor Crispin Glover's real head into the fully CG animated body will also be explained. Key shots and visual effects breakdowns will be shown.

SCHEDULE
6:00 PM Doors Open
6:50 PM Introductions
7:00 PM Presentation #1 w. David Schaub (animation director)
8:30 PM Presentation #2 w. Carey Villegas (vfx supervisor)
10:00 PM Screening of "Alice in Wonderland" (2D)

2009-12-11T02:44:00.001-08:00

Nerdcorps needs Board artist (revisions)

2009-09-19T23:21:00.001-07:00

If you have a year of boarding (or can talk your way in...) see this post for storyboard revision artist at Nerdcorps!

Teaching Opportunity in our China Program in Harbin

2009-09-17T11:19:00.002-07:00

Any grads out there interested in an overseas teaching opportunity?

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/nvn/edu/1379051530.html

John Delaney Retiring!

2009-09-12T03:40:00.004-07:00

Hey alumni!
After almost 15 years as the Storyboard guy at Cap, original faculty member, John Delaney is leaving the big city and, unfortunately, Capilano University. He'll still be dropping into town for guest lectures but if anyone would like to say "so long" to John, he and his band, The Indestructibles, are playing the Boulevard Casino in Coquitlam on September 18th! Come out to join other former students and fellow instructors and wish John luck in the Okanangan!

The show starts at 9:30pm but get there early for a seat and maybe connect with other Commercial Animation grads!

Festival T-Shirt Design by Jamie Oliff

2009-07-26T13:40:00.005-07:00

Jamie Oliff was an early mentor of mine in the late 80's, teaching me amazing things about timing (like the importance of a single frame) and giving me encouragement when I started teaching (and hiring me back as an animator during my summer break, when he was directing some of the first Ren & Stimpy shows).

This design is for the Ottawa International Animation Festival T-Shirt, back when the festival director was Tom Knott (now a Laika recruiter). Tom made the design a competition among local animators (now it's commissioned) which was a great idea and connected the festival with the community.

Jamie did the design for the preceding festival too, but I don't have it. It was of dogs playing frisbee in front of the Parliment Buildings and the frisbees were phenakistoscopes!

Jamie Oliff is the co-author of the soon-to-be classic: "Thinking Animation" that looks at 3D animation from a 2D perspective. I think Jamie's currently at Rhthym & Hues, but he's worked at the major LA studios (one of his characters was Mulan's "Mushu").

This post doesn't have anything to do with the alumni, but I wanted to publish this great image.

11 Second Club - 2nd Place!

2009-07-24T19:46:00.007-07:00

Congratulations to Sean Covernton, class of 2006! Sean entered the 11 Second Club and won second place with a great sequence. Great work Sean!

Pitch Party 1st Place Winner at Animation Mag!

2009-06-15T23:44:00.004-07:00

Congratulations to Chelsea, whose design and concept, "Clerence" (top middle) won first place among the international entries. Both professionals and students could enter. This is the second year in a row that a Commercial Animation 1st year student has taken home first place! Chelsea is interviewed in the August issue of Animation Magazine. The interview can also be read at this link. To see more of Chelsea's work, go to her website: http://notquitenormal.skarrbag.com/

Class of 1999 Revisited

2009-05-27T17:49:00.003-07:00

Hey it's been a decade since these guys graduated! I thought I would dig up the only grad T-shirt ever made by students in the program. Can anyone guess who these people are?

Grad Show this Weekend!

2009-04-22T00:02:00.007-07:00

The Digital and Commercial Animation (2D and 3D) classes of 2009 will be holding their grad show of art, design and animation...... OFF CAMPUS for the first time ever!

This public event will take place on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at Harbour Centre from 1pm to 4pm.

That's the first floor gallery (entrance from the street) at 555 Hastings Street West in downtown Vancouver. Hopefully, this will allow many more people (the animation industry is downtown) to see our work. The industry-only event happens the day before.

Hope to see you there. The new grad book, showing student work, will be online shortly at GRADSHOW.COM. Students are working hard to make this the best show ever (even better than your year, maybe!).

Animator-in-Residence, South of France!

2009-03-28T12:19:00.005-07:00

Do you have an idea for a film? Want to build your demo reel and make a statement? The NFB is looking for proposals for a short film to be produced in Valence, France. Click on the image for more info or click here to access the Folimage link.

Win Tickets to 2010 Olympic Men's Hockey Gold Medal Game

2009-03-04T07:37:00.000-08:00

The new Capilano University Alumni Association, dedicated to building and serving the community of present and future alumni, is actively seeking alumni who may have lost touch with Capilano.
When an alumnus updates his or her information they will be entered into a draw for 2 Mens Gold Medal Hockey Game tickets.
Every time an alumnus refers another alumnus, the referrers name will be entered into a draw for 2 tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony.
Former students who hold a credential (certificate, diploma or degree) or who completed a minimum of 24 credits and haven't been registered for over a year at Capilano are eligible.
If you know an alumnus, please share this information with them. Or if you are a former Capilano student, we encourage you to go to www.capilanou.ca/alumni/stories to enter.
If you have any questions please contact Janis Connolly in our Alumni Relations office at 604.990.7968.

Capilano Alumni Association!

2009-03-04T07:34:00.002-08:00

There is a new alumni association and all our animation grads are encouraged to join. You can find the link on www.capilanou.ca

Flash Animation Work in Vancouver

2008-06-06T12:09:00.004-07:00

Studio B is looking for Flash animators. Here's the poop:

Animator (Flash)
March 10, 2008, 12:31:00 PM
Studio B Productions is an award-winning animation studio based in Vancouver BC, which has produced over 300 half hours of original children’s shows. We are also proud to employ a team of more than 200 of Canada’s top artists, writers and producers.We are currently seeking experienced Flash Animators to join our team. The animators will be responsible for animating characters and props to convey a meaning or story. In such a fast-paced environment with large volume of production work on the go, the ideal candidates must be an organized team player who is capable of keeping track of all tasks and has a good sense of humor.

Animator (Flash) Responsibilities include:
Work under the direction of the animation supervisor and/or producer to create and generate 2D animation sequences;
Able to work with strict deadlines and meet assigned weekly animation quotas and expectations;
Responsive to animation direction to revise submitted animation in order to obtain approved status;
Work collaboratively in a team environment to assist in the development of other animators and the betterment of the show;
Continuously improve abilities and skills through knowledge of current and latest animation techniques;
Other tasks and responsibilities as requested. Qualified candidate will have the following skill sets and experience/ education:
Degree/Diploma in fine arts or animation or equivalent experience;
Proficient and experience in animating with Macromedia Flash 8, Microsoft Internet Explorer;
Comprehension and knowledge of general and/or classical animation, character animation and lip-synching;
Ability to organize, multi-task and prioritize;
Effective and professional communication skills both verbal and written;
Self motivated with demonstrated initiative.

Send demo reel, portfolio, cover letter and resume to:

Anne Denman, HR Manager - Recruitment at recruiting@studiobproductions.com or Suite 600, 190 Alexander Street, Vancouver BC, V6A 1B5 fax: 604-602-0208

We appreciate your interest; however only those applicants selected to proceed in the process will be contacted. For more information about Studio B, visit www.studiobproductions.com.

VIDFEST RECRUITING FAIR

2008-05-20T14:02:00.001-07:00

Calling all digital media designers, programmers, marketers, artists,animators, and developers!

VIDFEST wants to hook you up with the best future employer ever, like Blast Radius, Rainmaker Entertainment, Cossette, Nexon Publishing NorthAmerica - Humanature Studios, Bardel Entertainment, Nerd Corps , CanadianFilm Centre, Other Ocean, and Softimage, to name a few.

VIDFEST Recruiting Fair is the one-stop shop for the best in new talent.Don't forget to bring your resumes, digital portfolios

P.S. It's free!When: Saturday, May 24 from 1 - 5pmVenue: Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island

Grad Show! 2008

2008-04-24T22:40:00.002-07:00

Grad Show #12 is here! A new chapter for the Alumni organization. Come welcome the grads into the industry on Saturday, April 26th from 1pm to 4pm in the usual place: LB 321 in the Library building at Capilano College in North Vancouver.

Gang Peng

2008-01-08T22:37:00.001-08:00

Well, he's not a Cap grad, but Gang went through the 2 year program I taught ('90 to '94) at Algonquin College in Ottawa and moved on to WDFA.

Here's his blog which shows some of his artwork

Job Opportunity in Sunny California

2007-09-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine in the States is looking for a couple Canadian producers for projects. Respectable company. Here's the scoop if you're interested or know someone. Email me directly please don at gradshow dot com

Animated Feature Film – Line Producer
Qualifications and Competency:
1. Project Management - proven ability in managing projects from concept to completion. Able to prioritize appropriately and always meet deadlines
2. Excellent Teamwork – ability to assemble and motivate teams and work effectively with others
3. Superb Written & Verbal Communication - good at following directions; Ability to interact with and integrate requests of directors, broadcasters, executives and clients
4. Organization - demonstrated organizational skills including attention to detail
5. Strong Problem Solving Skills
6. Excellent conflict resolution and negotiation skills.
7. Experience in traditional 2D and 3D animation production preferably in XSI or Maya
8. Experience as an accomplished Production Manager, and/or Line Producer for at least one feature film
9. A thorough knowledge of the production and animation process
10. Proficient in MS office suites including Excel, Word and Project
11. Knowledge of budgeting, tracking, workflow and scheduling software
12. Experience creating, maintaining and editing film/animation budgets.
13. Established industry relationships – networked well within the industry
14. Familiarity dealing with the outsourced service companies for animation productions
15. Knowledge of Photoshop, XSI/Maya, Combustion, Smoke an asset
16. Education in film production or creative film making or animation would be an asset
17. Entrepreneurial and Motivational – ability to lead

Flash Animated Series – Line Producer
Qualifications and Competency:
1. Project Management - proven ability in managing projects from concept to completion. Able to prioritize appropriately and always meet deadlines
2. Excellent Teamwork – ability to assemble and motivate teams and work effectively with others
3. Superb Written & Verbal Communication - good at following directions; Ability to interact with and integrate requests of directors, broadcasters, executives and clients
4. Organization - demonstrated organizational skills including attention to detail
5. Strong Problem Solving Skills
6. Excellent conflict resolution and negotiation skills
7. Experience in traditional 2D and Flash animation production
8. Experience as an accomplished Production Manager, and/or Line Producer for at least one feature film
9. A thorough knowledge of the production and animation process
10. Proficient in MS office suites including Excel, Word and Project
11. Knowledge of budgeting, tracking, workflow and scheduling software
12. Experience creating, maintaining and editing television series/animation budgets.
13. Established industry relationships – networked well within the industry
14. Familiarity dealing with the outsourced service companies for animation productions
15. Knowledge of Photoshop, Flash, Combustion an asset
16. Education in television production or creative side of animation would be an asset
17. Entrepreneurial and Motivational – ability to lead

Sculpey Maquettes

2007-07-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

Any grads still doing sculpts? Here are some done in last year's design class.....future class of 2008!

The Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts

2007-07-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Final request for entries

The 2007 ELANS is looking for entries and have extended their deadline to July 31. I don't think there's a charge for entering so if you think you have something....go for it. You can't win (or be recognized) if you don't enter! Here's the Link

Full Time Job at Emily Carr

2007-07-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

They have extended the search deadline so that means they likely haven't found the perfect candidate yet. Spread it around to our grads! Here's the link:

http://www.eciad.ca/node/813

2007-06-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

INTERVIEW: Shawn Woods - Relic Entertainment

Okay, Shawn's from the Digital Animation program, not Commercial Animation but we're all one big happy family so here's the link to an interview he did for DigiMill.net

Cartoonapalooza!

2007-06-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

Invitation from Atomic Cartoons:

Thursday, June 7th, is Cartoonapalooza 8!!!!! **check out attachment**

Doors open at 7pm, at the Cellar, and you’ll all get tickets which get you in and get you a drink. We also have sake shooter girls who will be more than happy to give you shots of sake upon request!!

-8-8:30pm we have a 30min spot that will showcase some Anima and other Japanese styles of animation.

-8:30-9:15 we have the Boss Monsters performing followed by

-Radio One at 10pm

We also have prizes for the best dressed Japanese themed person(s) which can be anything from Karate kid, Geisha girl, ninja, ect ect ect….. So get creative and get your costumes on!

Let’s celebrate animation with the Vancouver world of animators, and please tell all the people in animation world that you know to join us as well!!

2007-04-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

Presenting: The Class of 2007!

20 more names for the alumni! Check out their pages (see sidebar)!

Cake decoration by Bryan MacNeil

2007-04-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

The annual grad show is coming up in a few weeks: last weekend of April!

The public gradshow is April 28th from 1PM to 5PM in the Library Building at Cap. We look forward to seeing you there! If you have any role in recruiting at your studio, come to the (invitation only) industry show. Call or email me for the date and details.

Students are out on their work internships this week....at a.k.a, Atomic, Bardel, Nerd Corps, Next Level Games and Studio B! If you spot one of them, say hi.

Cartoonapalooza! Last one of the year!

2006-12-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

Atomic Cartoons (staffed by a majority of Cap grads) is sponsoring another Cartoonapalooza event and the alumni-rich band Mythical Beast is playing!

Tonight only!

JOB: 2D Layout Artist/Designer

2006-12-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

Here's a short term job (that will likely become a series of small jobs) that just came in. Email me if you're interested.

Commercial studio in Vancouver is looking for someone to do some concept work on a game project. They need someone who's good at 2D layouts and characters, with a cartoony style, preferably with experience in designing for 3D.

Hey Cap College Animation Alumni!

2006-12-02T15:43:00.000-08:00

I was at the Studio B party last night and I think over half the people there were grads of the Commercial Animation program! It was great to see and talk with everyone. We now have 203 grads (10 graduating classes) out there doing all kinds of animation and art and design work in all parts of the world. It doesn't seem long ago that I was looking at our first empty classroom, wondering how I was going to design the workstations...

I thought, hey wouldn't it be great to have a blog for grads to check out what everyone else is doing and for other people to see what amazing things our grads are currently up to? Kind of an alumni newsletter for the 21st century. I expect it will generate some freelance work for people as well. I'm planning to not only link to as many grads as possible, but to have interviews and online retrospectives of people's work.

So here's the blog for you talented grads of Cap's Commercial Animation program. As I find everyone's personal blogs (feel free to let me know where you reside in cyberspace) I'll link to them from this site, in order of year graduated: 1997 to 2006...and beyond!

Don