Join Gnomon School of Visual Effects, the VES and the Maya User Group in welcoming Digital Domain’s visual effects supervisors on the “photo anime” film Speed Racer.

At this evening event Academy Award Nominated VFX Supervisor Kim Libreri and VFX Supervisor Mohen Leo will be joined by members of the Digital Domain crew to talk about how they created the photo anime imagery in Speed Racer, using Maya and other tools.

About this Evenings Speakers

Kim Libreri
VFX Supervisor, Speed Racer

Kim Libreri is Vice President of Advanced Strategy at Digital Domain, where he leads the company’s efforts into new technological realms. He recently undertook the role of VFX Supervisor on Warner Bros.’ “Speed Racer.” Prior to joining Digital Domain, Kim was a visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic. His earlier credits include “What Dreams May Come,” all three “Matrix” films, two “Mission: Impossible” installments and “Poseidon,” for which he received an Academy Award® nomination for achievement in visual effects.

Kim was also a principal architect of the digital production company ESC Entertainment and in 2001 received a Scientific & Technical Achievement Academy Award for the development of an image-based rendering system. Kim graduated from the University of Manchester (England) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. He began his visual effects career as a senior software engineer at the Computer Film Company in London.

Mohen Leo
VFX Supervisor, Speed Racer

Mohen Leo is a Visual Effects Supervisor at Digital Domain. He joined the company in 2006 to help create the groundbreaking “photo anime” visuals for the Wachowskis’ “Speed Racer.” Involved from the earliest stages of the project, he helped establish the film’s unique look and oversaw the completion of over 400 visual effects shots, many of which were entirely computer generated.

Prior to Digital Domain Mohen was the Associate Visual Effects Supervisor on “Poseidon,” which received an Academy Award® nomination for achievement in visual effects. Before that Mohen contributed his talents to the blockbuster sequels “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” while at ESC Entertainment. He has been creating stunning visuals for more than ten years, starting his career at Industrial Light and Magic, where he was a technical director on films including “Speed 2,” “Small Soldiers,” “The Perfect Storm,” Michael Bay’s “Pearl Harbor,” and Episodes I & II of the “Star Wars” saga.

Event Details

When: Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Meet & Greet: 6:00 PM
Presentation: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Place: Gnomon School of Visual Effects
1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038

This event is FREE of charge!

RSVP

	The Making of The Spiderwick Chronicles With Colin Epstein and Ryan McCoy
	The Making of The Golden Compass With Michael Fink, Susan Macleod, Bryan Grill and Raymond Chen

Effects Events Archive

• Game Design and Scripting
  Harness the Unreal editor’s visual scripting language, Kismet and Matinee Editor to produce richly interactive environments.
• Imaginative Landcapes
  Invent rich, new worlds from the imagination for use in finished concept art.
• Animation for Games
  Learn to create animation assets for games with Autodesk Maya.
• Studio Matte Techniques
  Examine techniques and software used in creating, extracting and prepping 2d digital mattes.
• Pipeline Design and Management
  Learn the intricacies of working in a detailed production pipeline.
• Color Theory and Management
  Untangle the complicated relationship of color in digital production.
• Photography
  Learn a comprehensive approach to digital photography and how photographic techniques and applications relate to the 3D production workflow.

Visit the registration section for registration instructions.

Interested in a nine week intensive crash course in Maya? Check out our Maya Fast Track. Considering our Full Time CG program? Summer seats are still available!

Summer courses begin on June 23rd. Call Brian Bradford for more information, pricing or to register, at 323-466-6663 Ex: 15 or email brian@gnomonschool.com. Financial assistance is available for those who qualify. Don’t delay - Register by June 23rd and avoid the $25 processing fee.

Saturday and Sunday, June 14th & 15th, 2008
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90038
Sound Stage 15 (Next door to the Gnomon School of Visual Effects)

A recruiting room will also be open, where supervisors and art directors in the industry will be able to answer your questions and offer critiques. Past recruiters have included representatives from Nickelodeon, Blizzard, Naughty Dog, NBC Universal, ESPN, Top Cow, Insomniac Games, Activision, Digital Domain, Gentle Giant and Rhythm and Hues.

Guest artists include:

	Erik Tiemens Star Wars Episodes Two & Three, Jurassic Park
	Iain McCaig Star Wars Episodes One, Two & Three, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
	William Stout Pan’s Labyrinth, Jurassic Park
	Marc Gabbana Star Wars Episodes One and Two, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, War of the Worlds, Beowulf
	Wayne Barlowe Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
	TyRuben Ellingson Avatar, Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Signs, Blade Trinity
	George Hull V for Vendetta, The Island, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded
	James Clyne Avatar, Transformers, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, X-Men 3
	Kenneth Rocafort GI Joe, Samurai Western, Hunter Killer, Madame Mirage, Coors Light
	Habib Zargarpour Star Wars: Episode I, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, The Bourne Identity

For more details and registration instructions, visit The Gnomon Workshop.

Character Animation: Tom Heyerman
Character Modeling: Ioannis Karathomas
Hard Surface Modeling: Emil Besirevic
Environment Exterior: Ryan Calloway
Environment Interior: Nathan Boyd
Concept Design: Chris Garnaas
Visual Effects: Anggun Syaputra

View Winner’s Gallery

Gnomon School of Visual Effects, located in the center of the famed Television Center Building in Hollywood, CA, invites you to make an appointment with our Admissions Counselor for a full tour of Gnomon’s campus including; our five state-of-the-art, production-like computer labs, our theater/auditorium, our three analog sculpture and drawing studios, the student lounge and library and our store where we sell the full library of The Gnomon Workshop DVD’s, industry books, class supplies and Gnomon branded t-shirts and hats.

You’ll also have the chance to meet some of Gnomon’s full-time staff and faculty as well as have some one-on-one time with our Admissions Counselor to discuss your individual career goals, programs and services offered at Gnomon and guidance on achieving your aspirations in the 3D industry.

We welcome you to tour Gnomon Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Call us to schedule an appointment and to get directions at 323-466-6663.

Gnomon and VES bring you an evening of enlightening commentary on the detailed visual effects work of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Special guests Colin Epstein (Compositing Supervisor) and Ryan McCoy (Pre-visualization Artist) will share their experiences while working on this visually demanding film with shot-by-shot breakdowns.

About this Evenings Speakers

Colin Epstein
Compositing Supervisor, Tippett Studios

Colin Epstein fell into visual effects work pursuing a variety of interests. He grew up in Hollywood, surrounded by movies – figuratively and literally – as his father co-founded the UCLA Film Archive. This meant a constant exposure to films from every decade and every country, fostering a love for the medium. It also started a lifelong fascination with the fantastic images of films like King Kong, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and Star Wars. Colin graduated from Pitzer College in Claremont, California, with a BA in English, but he spent as much time in art and film classes as he did studying literature.

Through some friends, Colin found his way to a small computer animation studio in Santa Monica where he received on-the-job training working on commercials and music videos and became proficient with several compositing and image manipulation techniques. Three years later Colin answered a recruitment ad from Tippett Studio for Starship Troopers. This led to an ironic move away from Hollywood but into motion pictures.

Colin is still working at Tippett Studios, serving as compositing supervisor on Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

A few of Colin’s credits include: Mission to Mars (2000), Hollow Man (2000), The Ring (2002), Blockbuster “Carl & Ray” Commercials (2002/2003), Starship Troopers 2 (2004), Hellboy (2004), Charlotte’s Web (2006),The Spiderwick Chronicles (2007) and Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008 - in Production).

Ryan McCoy
Pre-visualization Artist, HALON Entertainment

Ryan works for Halon Entertainment, and his latest Pre-Visualization
projects include Terminator 4, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Game, Evan Almighty, and X-Men: The Last Stand.

Event Details

When: Thursday, April 10th, 2008
Meet & Greet: 6:00 PM
Presentation: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Place: Gnomon School of Visual Effects - Stage 15
1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038

This event is FREE of charge!

RSVP

Join Gnomon School of Visual Effects and the VES in welcoming the visual effects team from the Academy Award winning, The Golden Compass. This evening, Academy Award winner Michael Fink, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Susan Macleod, Visual Effects Producer, Bryan Grill, Visual Effects Supervisor for Digital Domain and Raymond Chen, Co-visual Effects Supervisor for Rhythm & Hues Studios will be will be discussing the planning and execution of many of the visual effects shots for The Golden Compass.

Susan Macleod will go through the production challenges from beginning to end, while Bryan, Raymond, and Michael will discuss how they created the effects magic. Topics discussed in-depth will be daemon creation and animation, bear creation and animation, environments, and lots of fun war stories.

About This Evenings Speakers

Michael Fink
Visual Effects Supervisor

Michael began working in film on China Syndrome in 1977 to support his fine arts career. He was seduced by the film business in short order, finding in it a perfect environment for his creative side. He “cut his eye teeth” on films such as “Star Trek the Motion Picture” and “Bladerunner” before becoming a Visual Effects Supervisor. Since then, Michael has been a pioneer in the computer graphics industry. Michael received his first Effects Supervisor credit on “Wargames,” where he created with computer graphics tens of thousands of feet of motion picture film for process plates. Other credit highlights include, Batman Returns, Superman, Constantine, X-Men, Contact, Braveheart and numerous other blockbuster films as well as commercials. On Batman Returns, for which Michael received an Academy Award nomination, he supervised the creation of the first photo-real computer graphic creatures in a feature film that faithfully replicated existing, living, beings (penguins and bats).

Michael joined the DGA in 1987 and received his first official 2nd unit credit on “The Seventh Sign.” In 1995 Michael joined Warner Bros. in starting a new venture - Warner Digital Studios - a full service visual effects facility. Under Michael’s direction, Warner Digital grew to 150 people, and produced highly lauded effects on films such as “Eraser,” “Superman,” and “Batman & Robin,” as well as commercials and special venue films. Michael received a Bachelor’s degree in Business from California State University, Northridge, in 1966, a B.A. in 1973 from the Art Institute of San Francisco and an M.A. from the California Institute of the Arts in 1975. In addition, Michael is on the Executive Committee of the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and is a founding member of the Visual Effects Society. Michael was also honored in October 2001 at the Premio Imaggine in Milan, Italy for his contribution to the art and science of digital filmmaking.

Susan Macleod
Visual Effects Producer

Susan MacLeod started working in visual effects when, as an assistant director in New York, she was hired to coordinate plate shooting for “Die Hard: With a Vengeance”, in 1994. She ended up managing the VFX effort through post production on that film, and has continued working in the VFX industry ever since. In addition to producing the effects on “The Golden Compass”, she has also produced Oscar nominated visual effects for “Hollow Man”, and has served as VFX producer on “Blade 2″, “Son of the Mask”, “My Favorite Martian”, and “Eraser”.

Bryan Grill
Visual Effects Supervisor

Since joining Digital Domain in 1994, Bryan Grill has worked on some of the most groundbreaking visual effects ever to appear in motion pictures. Bryan most recently served as Visual Effects Supervisor on “The Golden Compass,” and last summer he completed work as Visual Effects Supervisor on “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” Mr. Grill previously contributed his talents as Digital Effects Supervisor on Clint Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” as well as Roland Emmerich’s “The Day After Tomorrow.” In 2007, Bryan’s work on “Flags of Our Fathers” earned him a VES Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture. Over the years, Mr. Grill has also acted as Compositing Supervisor on films as varied as “Stealth,” “The Time Machine,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Fifth Element,” and his compositing abilities are also on display in “Star Trek: Nemesis,” “XXX,” “Supernova,” “Chain Reaction,” “T2 3-D: Battle Across Time,” “Apollo 13” and the Academy Award®-winning “Titanic.” Prior to joining Digital Domain, Mr. Grill worked as a compositor and editor for two years at Digital Magic and in the same capacity for six years at The Post Group.

Raymond Chen
Co-Visual Effects Supervisor

As Co-Visual Effects Supervisor on “The Golden Compass,” Raymond Chen oversaw the Rhythm & Hues “Look Development” team for the numerous daemons featured in the Oscar nominated fantasy epic. Since joining Rhythm & Hues in 1996, Raymond has contributed to a number of films, including “Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift” as co-VFX supervisor; “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe,” as a lighting/compositing sequence supervisor; and “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed,” as a lighting supervisor. Raymond worked as a lighting technical director on “Scooby Doo” “X-Men 2,” “Cats & Dogs,” “Little Nicky,” “The 6th Day,” “Mystery Men,” “Babe: Pig in the City,” “Mouse Hunt,” “Speed 2.” Raymond earned a BA in Visual Arts from Brown University, and an MFA in Computer Graphics from Pratt Institute. While completing school, he worked in New York doing commercial production.

Event Details

When: Thursday, February 28th, 2008
Meet & Greet: 6:00 PM
Presentation: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Place: Gnomon School of Visual Effects - Stage 15
1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038

This event is FREE of charge!

You’re invited to join us at this year’s live 3December event, presented by Autodesk’s community website the-area.com. It’s the only annual celebration of 3D computer graphics and the people who create them. Now in its ninth year, artists like you will celebrate 3D CG online and in person.

Special guests include: Sho Igarashi, Cloth and Hair Supervisor, along with Mark de Sousa, CG Supervisor, both of Sony Pictures Imageworks, will illustrate the flow of the cloth and hair work on the feature film by Robert Zemeckis, Beowulf.

They will cover costume and hair acquisition on set, procedural costume builds, hair builds and dynamics/rigs in addition to the character connect from animation to cloth and hair, and plenty of other work that brought Beowulf to life.

About This Evenings Speakers

Mark de Sousa
CG Supervisor, Sony Pictures Imageworks

Special Projects: Cloth and Hair at Sony Pictures Imageworks. His screen credits include being the Cloth Lead on both Open Season and the Academy Award winning Spider-Man 2.

Sho Igarashi
Cloth and Hair Supervisor, Sony Pictures Imageworks

He recently completed work on Robert Zemeckis’

Beowulf. His Imageworks credits include The Polar Express and the Academy Award winning short, The Chubbchubbs!

Can’t come in person?
AREA presents 3December Online. You can still join in the fun and excitement, because AREA also brings 3December right to your computer. Starting Monday, December 3, and throughout the week, you’ll find valuable content that will make you come back for more, including:

• Tips & Tricks to help you master your craft
• Demos and tutorials
• Awesome graphics to inspire your creative mind
• Content to challenge your skills

Event Details

When: Thursday, December 6th, 2007
Meet & Greet: 6:00 PM
Presentation: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Place: Gnomon School of Visual Effects - Stage 15
1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038

This event is FREE of charge!

Autodesk, Maya, 3December, and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. © 2006 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

About This Evenings Presentation

Creating visual effects for feature animated films poses some interesting challenges. This is especially true if they are tightly coupled to the story and performances, as is the case with the cooking in Ratatouille. Apurva will describe what some of these challenges were and how the effects team addressed them. In the process he will also describe some of the technical underpinnings of Pixar’s effects pipeline and shot specific techniques.

Event Details

When: Thursday, December 6th, 2007
Meet & Greet: 6:00 PM
Presentation: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Place: Gnomon School of Visual Effects - Stage 15
1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038