VES Education Committee Collaborates on Careers in VFX Speaker Series

By NAOMI GOLDMAN

Earlier this year, the VES Education Committee – in partnership with the California Department of Education’s Arts Media and Entertainment Initiative and the BRIC Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing representation in entertainment, gaming, media and tech – launched the dynamic Careers in Visual Effects Speaker Series. With the goal of creating and nurturing pathways for future generations of artists and innovators, the 12-part streaming webcast series, which continues with live webcasts through October 2023, brings together an impressive array of internationally acclaimed VES artists and professionals to speak about their work and career trajectories in the rapidly evolving field.

Directly offered to high school students, each interactive session includes a Q&A forum with the speakers, and teachers are provided with learning materials to supplement their curriculum. Students are introduced to topics ranging from painting of assets, compositing, marketing and an introduction of game VFX. The series also serves as a venue to introduce students to career paths for the BRIC registered apprenticeship for animation, VFX and games, providing a tangible opportunity to receive training and hands-on experience.

Curated by Rose Duignan, the diverse roster of VES members and friends who are guest speaking in this year’s program includes:

• Fortunato Frattasio, VFX Artist/Supervisor/Educator
• Billy Shih, Technical Artist, Bonfire Studios
• Mark Andrews, Director, ReelFX
• Jean Bolte, Senior Painter/Digital Artist, Industrial Light & Magic
• Hal T. Hickel, Animation Director, Industrial Light & Magic
• Erin Ramos, Head of Effects Animation, WDAS
• Rebecca Forth, Look Development Lighting Technical Director, Industrial Light & Magic
• Yulien Tso, Experienced Film/TV Compositor & Trainer
• Kaitlyn Yang, VFX Supervisor and Founder, Alpha Studios
• Neishaw Ali, President & Executive Producer, Spin VFX
• Rachel Rose, R&D Supervisor, Industrial Light & Magic
• Rita Cahill, International PR/Marketing/Business Development Consultant

Replays for the prior episodes of the Careers in Visual Effects Series and signups for the upcoming sessions are available at: https://www.vesglobal.org/careers-in-vfx-speaker-series/. These public videos are available to share with anyone around the globe who is exploring careers in the industry. Additional educational information sessions can be found at https://www.vesglobal.org/ves-education-initiative-resources-page/ under Presentations and Material.

With the goal of creating and nurturing pathways for future generations of artists and innovators, the 12-part streaming webcast series, which continues with live webcasts through October 2023, brings together an impressive array of internationally acclaimed VES artists and professionals to speak about their work and career trajectories in the rapidly evolving field.