VFX Grad hired at Spin FX - Toronto
August 5th, 2010
Luca Giorgio graduated from the VanArts Visual Effects program this past spring, and has recently landed his first job at Spin FX in Toronto. At Spin, he has already contributed to the upcoming movie Pirahna, and has most recently been working on Battle Los Angeles, including major elements for promo shots that were shown at the recent San Diego Comic Con.
Says Luca of his VanArts experience: "The training I received at VanArts gave me the knowledge and expertise to think and transform into an artist. The Visual Effects program taught me the process of the entertainment pipeline and how to achieve the quality level required by the industry. With a combination of my determination and being trained by industry professionals, VanArts assisted my success in being employed in the field. I am now working with some inspiring individuals creating work for a variety of entertainment enterprises. The greatest satisfaction is being able to get paid doing what I love to do. I am grateful that I made the choice to become an artist and attend VanArts."
The Bridge's Aaron Douglas to Teach Acting Students
August 4th, 2010
Aaron Douglas, star of new series The Bridge and Battlestar Galactica, and a graduate of the William Davis Centre for Actors' Study at VanArts, will be working with our full-time acting students this month as an mentor and instructor.
Aaron will also be the first featured instructor in a new course being offered in September on Audition Technique. More details on this course coming very soon!
Acting Department welcomes New Instructors
July 30th, 2010The William Davis Centre for Actors' Study at VanArts is pleased to officially welcome (left to right) Dylan Neal, Brent Stait and Rob LaBelle as instructors to our acting students.
Dylan Neal is one of Canada's busiest working actors, with regular roles on 8 American series (Dawson's Creek, Smallville, Wild Roses, etc) and well over 60 recurring, guest star and leading roles in MOW's. His 20 years of experience in film & television bring a wealth of knowledge to his teaching. With the majority of his career spent in Los Angeles, Dylan has had the good fortune to study with some of the profession's biggest names, including Ivana Chubbuck and Lewis Smith.
Brent Stait has been acting in film, television and theater in Canada for the past 30 years. From X-Files to Mystery, Alaska, from serial killers to priests, Brent has performed a large number of character parts on film and stage. A graduate of Ryerson Theater School and Banff School of Fine Arts Master Class, Brent spent the first four years of his career doing theater at Stratford and surrounding areas before venturing into his numerous film & TV credits. He has been the recipient of a Tyrone Gutheri award, a Leo award, and has been nominated for a Genie.
Rob LaBelle has long served on our Advisory Board and is now also coming in to teach acting and scene study courses. A graduate of Brown University and NYU’s Graduate Program in Acting, Rob LaBelle has worked as an actor, director and producer in theatre, film and television for over 20 years. He worked on such early features from ground breaking director Todd Haynes as Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story and Poison. Rob has also worked with directors Barry Sonnenfeld, Harold Becker, Roland Joffe, Wes Craven, Bruce MacDonald, Roger Spottiswoode, Stan Douglas and Zack Snyder. He was nominated for a Gemini award for his work as Eddie Nambulous in First Wave, and a Leo Award for his starring role in The Burial Society. Rob has been the Executive in Charge of Television for Infinity Features (Saved, Capote) for several years, and is currently an Executive Producer on their TV series Mental (with Fox TV Studios). He has taught acting at Colorado College and UCLA’s Overseas Program (in Florence, Italy). Rob has also served on the Executive Boards of SAG, ACTRA and UBCP.
Colombian Game Art Grad returns to Canada
July 30th, 2010
Fernando Acosta came to VanArts in 2005 from his home country of Colombia, where he had worked as an electrical engineer, and graduated from our Game Art program in 2006. Upon returning home, he persisted in working hard to develop a concept art portfolio, and in 2008 he got a job working for Longtail Studios, a Canadian video game company. Just recently, Fernando has informed us that his application for permanent resident status in Canada has been approved and he has moved to Halifax to continue working for Longtail at their Nova Scotia studio.
Fernando says, "VanArts was a great starting point for my career. Not only is it located in the beautiful city of Vancouver, but it was also a great place to meet people from all over the world, build lasting friendships, and learn the industry skills I would later need to find a job. The change from being an electrical engineer in Colombia to becoming a concept artist here in Canada has been the best experience so far."
Welcome back to Canada, Fernando!
Website: www.facosta.com
Pixar Artists Masterclass Coming to Vancouver
July 27th, 2010
The Pixar Artists Masterclass is coming to Vancouver in September!
VanArts is proud to present a Masterclass in Animation & Story Development with instructors Story Artist Matthew Luhn and Animator Andrew Gordon, both from Pixar Animation Studios.
This exceptional 2-day event takes place on Sept. 24/25th, 2010 and offers participants a rare and exciting opportunity to learn from the industry's top talent. This class has toured the world, with this being one of only two North American stops in 2010.
SIGGRAPH Events: L.A. & Vancouver
July 26th, 2010
SIGGRAPH 2010 is currently happening in Los Angeles this week, and VanArts is proud to be represented at their special Vancouver Booth, along with several other local schools, studios and organizations. We are looking forward to 2011, when the SIGGRAPH Conference will be held in Vancouver, the first time outside of the United States!
Also coming soon on the horizon in our city is Spark Animation 2010, the annual animation festival & conference hosted by the local Vancouver chapter for ACM SIGGRAPH. Passes are now available, and soon we shall find out more about which guest speakers & presenters will be in town September 8-12.
Photographic Memory: Artists' Exhibition
July 23rd, 2010On July 7th, part-time and full-time students in our Digital Photography program exhibited Photographic Memory, a gallery show of their works at the MainSpace Gallery on East 2nd.
Gallery Photos by Jarrett Gerke
Eric Dreger and his wife Ashley
Linh Stirling
Reem Abdul-Jabbar
Ashley Hansen
Lindsay Skeans
Greg Masuda
Visual FX Grad on Stargate Universe
July 22nd, 2010
Kodie Mackenzie graduated from the VanArts Visual Effects program in 2005. Upon graduation, he started his career at a local studio called Digital Slaves, and moved on from there to Atmosphere Visual Effects. At Atmosphere, which Kodie recommends as a great environment for new and experienced artists, he worked as a Junior Compositer on Air Buddies.
For the past 4 years, Kodie has been working at MGM's Stargate Universe in-house Visual Effects department as a Senior Compositer. As for his future career, he also has his eyes set on the industry in London, UK.
Disney's Bill Matthews Inaugurates New Campus
July 21st, 2010
Bill Matthews Inaugurates New VanArts Campus from VanArts on Vimeo.
On Friday, July 16th, our annual guest Bill Matthews cut the ribbon to inaugurate our new campus, alongside VanArts President Alan Phillips. The same day, Bill also happened to be turning 79 years old, so our staff & students also wished him a Happy Birthday.
Bill Matthews is a founding member of our Advisory Board and served for many years as Manager of Artist Development for Walt Disney Feature Animation. He has been involved with VanArts since the very beginning of the school 15 years ago, acting as a mentor and guide to our animation students during his annual visit every summer.
Acting Grad stars in 'The Bridge' picked up by CBS
July 21st, 2010
Aaron Douglas, graduate of the Acting Program at William Davis Centre (at VanArts) plays the title role in CTV's new series The Bridge, which has now been picked up by CBS.
LOS ANGELES (GaeaTimes.com) The latest offering from CBS is a cop drama called ‘The Bridge‘. The premiere episode was aired on July 10 and the critics and audience were found to be pleasantly surprised by the freshness of the new drama. Considering the innumerable cop dramas already stuffed into the American TV, ‘The Bridge‘ promises to give audience a taste of reality of the life of a cop. The series is reportedly based on the life of the Union head of the Toronto Police, Craig Bromwell. The lead role of a street cop named Frank Leo, is being played by Aaron Douglas. The critics have called the show refreshing because it avoids the cliches like humorous one-liners and heroic characters common to most shows of the genre. ‘The Bridge‘ on the other hand shows the a far more real cop world where even the central character is shown to use strong-arm tactics to get his way.
