Lee Stranahan has written an open letter to director James Cameron urging him to comment on working conditions for many visual effects artists, casting the spotlight on the industry this awards season.
An excerpt;
“Like most people who work in the film, television and video game industries, visual effects artists love their jobs. They enjoy both the work itself and the ability to work on a daily basis with so many smart, creative and talented people. However, visual effects houses can be the best, most fun and high-tech sweatshops on earth. Visual effects artists typically work with no contract, no paid vacation, no benefits, and often no paid overtime. And because of the nature of the work health problems such as obesity, tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome are common.”
(Thanks to Marcus for pointing me to this article).
A fully-fledged portfolio website is under development thereby separating out the blog from the portfolio. To begin this transition there are going to be a few site updates. Today I’ve added a flickr stream page as well as updates to the matte painting portfolio page. And many more changes are in the works. Stay tuned!
I’ve realised recently that I should profile some of my absurdly talented friends and colleagues. Kicking off this series is Lilian Darmono who has just done an interview with Australian Edge and talks about her aesthetic style, her life and general philosophies.
Lilian describes her own style in the interview as;
“…cute, colourful, so-sweet-it-makes-your-teeth-hurt characters/enviroment/situations, the kind that fills you with hope and positivity when you look at them, and the flipside : organic and natural forms which fills you with awe and dread at the same time.”
I love Lilian and partner-in-crime Mungo’s designs – they’re so much fun with a great sense of whimsy and I’m very much looking forward to Lilian’s short, Dusk, which we are getting a taste of in the image above.
A new profile of mine is up and running over at VFX Connection; a website put together by my current lead, Marcus LeVere, which functions as a networking database for visual effects professionals.
The TVC I worked on last year, “Emerald Cities” for the company Kaiser Permanente has been nominated for a VES award in the category of best “Matte paintings in a broadcast program or commercial”. Congratulations to all who worked on the piece!
