Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/511209
www.postmagazine.com 45 POST MAY 2015 CONTINUED FROM PG 23 AVENGERS we had to take many plates and try to combine them into one continuous shot. The filmmakers really finessed the shot until they got it to exact- ly where they wanted it so when we passed this off to ILM, they knew almost exactly what Joss was looking for." Ramirez sums up that with a film like Avengers, "visualization becomes so powerful because it helps make a lot of the decisions. And I mean, Joss, the editors Jeff Ford and Lisa Lassek, and the VFX supervisor Chris Townsend really used this process for showing all the departments, including the visu- al effects studios, this is a vision we like. On a film like this, with such a tight schedule and of this magnitude, there's not a lot of time for the visual effects studios to get these shots done. So it's really important that we had a strong team to be able to work closely with all the departments so there were really good creative and technical roadmaps that were close to what everyone was looking for and expecting." editing suites, Foley stage, dubbing bays, offices, classrooms and a screening room. Students will use the space for their academic programs and will have an opportunity to work with clients who hire the soundstage and post facilities for commercial projects. "That makes for a very robust economic model," says Bellantoni. Currently, students use a smaller stage and post facilities on campus. Ringling, which has already been called the most wired campus in the world, according to Bellantoni, has just implemented 1.6 petabytes of database and storage from DataDirect Networks. The massive system "will allow students and faculty to render up to 2.8 million frames a week," he says. Bellantoni reports that Ringling alumni are among the best recruiters of new students. "They recognize the value of the education they got here," he says. "A Ringling degree presents clear opportunities for graduates." Indeed, three of the five animated features nominated for 2015 Academy Awards had Ringling graduates working on them; 30 alumni had credits on the winning Big Hero 6. Plus, Ringling grad Patrick Osborne (with Kristina Reed) netted the Oscar for best-animated short film for Feast. UL AND LSU When noted Los Angeles-based VFX studio Pixel Magic opened an office in Lafayette, LA, the com- pany formed a relationship with two of the state's leading universities. Pixel Magic VFX supervisor/ste- reoscopic supervisor Raymond McIntyre Jr. has his office on the campus of the University of Louisiana in Lafayette where he liaises with the school for in- ternships and curriculum; he's also on the advisory board at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, which just launched a digital media program. Both schools have been proactive in educating talent to fuel the state's busy production scene or take on jobs anywhere in the world. UL (www.louisiana.edu) introduced its Moving Image Arts program a little over five years ago (http://liberalarts.louisiana.edu/academics/majors/ movimgarts.shtml). "We could see that in order to sustain the rapid growth in the Louisiana film indus- try, we'd have to grow the creative workforce here," says Charles E. Richard, director of the program. "We're not a traditional film school. Our program is designed to teach motion picture media as a lan- guage for creative communications of all kinds. So instead of preparing students to work in a particular industry, they'll be literate and fluent in the lan- guage of moving images across various workplaces: entertainment, video games, advertising, education- al media, museum exhibits." Professor Richard has seen the program quickly grow from about a dozen majors to more than 120. The program offers production and post produc- tion labs featuring Adobe Premiere, Maya and Pro Tools. All students complete a one-year "capstone" project at the end of their studies, which highlights the collaborative nature of the industry. "We stress how to be good collaborative artists and the social skills you need to succeed in the workplace," he says. "Internships are also precious to us for showing students how to be team players." Students have interned with Pixel Magic and other studios in Louisiana doing VFX, animation, ro- toscoping, graphics and post sound. Pixel Magic has hired UL/Lafayette alumni, too. Professor Richard believes the program's biggest challenge is making sure students are not distract- ed by an all-encompassing focus on technology. When technology takes center stage, students can "lack grounding in the bigger picture that makes them real artists: the aesthetics, the work ethic, the professionalism, the good taste," he explains. "The VFX artists and editors I've worked with value craftsmanship: They're not terribly impressed by a particular brand of tools." At LSU (www.lsu.edu) the Center for Computa- tion & Technology, a research center for all fields of computational science, just launched a gradu- ate program conferring an MSc degree in Digital Media Arts & Engineering (https://dmae.lsu.edu). It includes such fields as VFX, animation and video game design; the school does not offer undergrad- uate degrees in these disciplines. The founding director of the program, Marc Aubanel, comes to LSU from EA and Stage 3 Media, and an academic post at the Arts Institute of Van- couver. So far, the biggest challenge has been "con- vincing students that [digital media] is a well-pay- ing, well-respected career to enter into. That's not a hard sell in Vancouver or LA, where students have seen the industry all around them for years. But in Louisiana, where industries like oil and gas have dominated, we've had to be evangelists." The Center occupies two stories of a new $29.3 million building on campus; EA fills the top floor. The Center features post labs, super-computers and render farms, as well as a 200-seat 4K theater. Students are required to take nine credits in courses outside the department, such as business or art. A two-month internship is scheduled halfway through the program. "There's nothing like learning in an actual work environment," says Aubanel. "It's critical to experience day-to-day life in the produc- tion world." The advisory board, on which Raymond McIntyre Jr. sits, will be looking at students' portfolios and "making sure they're going in the right direction," Au- banel says. "We need to train students for two years from now when they graduate. What skills will they need? Where are the trends leading? The advisory board will play a crucial role in helping with that." Aubanel is certain of one thing, however. "Computation is impacting every discipline through- out the country. It's where the jobs are heading. We'll see more technical and creative positions everywhere." LSU students learn collaboration. CONTINUED FROM PG 32 EDUCATION