Saturday 29 September 2007 - 02:30AM
Paul Hellard

This is the morning after the night before. That was a one amazing party last night at Club Opera. There was a good number coming out to see the presentations this morning, so soon after the huge evening.  It says something I think, about the quality of the speakers.  

Aaron Holly of Disney Animation Studios had one heck of a history to bring to his second year at ADAPT. He has also worked at Tippett, ILM, ESC, and DreamWorks. His course covered using Maya for facial rigging for feature animation in a hands-on seminar.

Marc Bourbonnais of Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec based Modus FX was one of the local talents to present. His credits include 300, Sin City, Snakes on a Plane, and the Spy Kids trilogy, and he is now building and expanding Modus. His presentation was about starting up a brand new FX company with all the challenges and pitfalls, and what to do to succeed.

Concept Artist Ryan Church of ILM shared his extensive knowledge in a two part session, covering the process of concept art for games and film, and the workflow and integration of the work into the pipeline, along with advice on getting into the business.

Time to ship out and take the jet back to Australia. Immense respect and deep thanks to the ADAPT team for bringing together such a spectacular, friendly, artist-oriented week of engrossing presentations from the industry’s finest.  Jonny, Emile, Jean-Eric, Annemarie, Didier, Christina and all the many interns and others really made this such a great event. We look forward to ADAPT 2008.

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Friday 28 September 2007 - 05:19AM
Paul Hellard & Renee Dunlop



A morning session followed by an interview with Syd Mead turned out to be a time investment worth any price. Mead’s morning session included art and information he had had never shown before, so much so a friend and previous colleague was excited to see work he didn’t know Mead had created. The interview that followed left my mind filled with wonder. Mead elaborated on his views of the real world future, and how he would interpret what he fears and hopes will happen. He is not only one of the most creative concept artists ever known, but his insight and depth of knowledge is almost as endless as the future itself.

Pixar animator Andy Schmidt was the next session and interview. Andy Schmidt is a quiet fellow who builds a story with background information then blindsides you with humor you didn’t see coming. He is so calm and thoughtful you don’t expect the bubble of laughter that is about to explode out of your gut, and his unassuming delivery continued as if he hadn’t noticed his own comedic timing. For his session, Schmidt brought work from ‘Ratatouille’ including video of Brad Bird acting out and describing what he wanted to see in a particular scene, a process that hysterically takes far longer than the scene itself, and Schmidt privately acting out a scene using a prop of a bottle of vodka (replaced with water) when one of his supervisor’s came in to talk something over. The supervisor departed, suggesting perhaps it would be best to come back later.

On stage at the release presentation of Halo 3, C.J Cowan announced that Bungie had 2.45 million units sold in the first 24 hours of release.  That equates to a full record, the biggest entertainment release ever, with US$170 million being exchanged on one day.  Both C.J Cowan and James McQuillan from Bungie, were understandably excited.  After a short sequence of game play was shown, it was saved and frozen and we were then flown through the scene to discover the most exquisite details to the characters and textures.  Truly mind-blowing stuff.

After a dinner way down Rue St. Catherine in Montreal, we joined the throngs at the ADAPT Halo 3 Party, staged at the very coolest club on the strip, Club Opera. 

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Thursday 27 September 2007 - 05:09AM
Paul Hellard & Renee Dunlop



Andrew Jones of Massive Black was the first interview of the day. The thing that most struck me about him is that he is completely true to himself. He is a highly creative aggregate of ideas, delving as far into his core as anyone I have met, and drawing his energy from everything he encounters. I was fascinated by what appeared to be an uncontrolled focus that searched for the cranny that would allow him inside the puzzle he sought to put to words. His eyes would widen as he saw the ideas form in his mind that would tumble out in a tapestry of color almost too bright to perceive. His personal style reflects him completely, and his best friend is his Wacom tablet that he carries everywhere, carried at the hip by a shoulder strap that is a story in itself.

Shortly after was an interview with Fausto De Martini, Lead Modeler and Cinematics Artist at Blizzard. He is the other end of the spectrum, a man of respect and responsibility that Blizzard trusts enough to be their spokesperson. Known for the work he posted that landed him the job at Blizzard, a great tale of him juggling a family, a job, and a 3D model called Marine, based on the Starcraft game, that caught Blizzard’s attention within days of posting on CGTalk. They were so impressed with the work they flew him up from Brazil and hired him.  

Laurent M. Abecassis has been very active over the past twelve years. I snuck in to watch part of the course he presented in the 2D/3D+ theatre.  Laurent has a fascination about lip-sync in 3D animation. Historically beginning with 2D theory, his illustrated voyage wound through some surprising techniques. Abecassis also showcased Voice-O-Matic software for the first time working in Maya and XSI, designed to automate the lip sync process.

Over in the Exploration theatre, local Montrealite Meinert Hansen showed his right-brain approaches to key-frame illustration in Photoshop.  Some amazing visuals were shown in concepts of his industry credits, including ‘300’ and ‘Silent Hill.’ Very impressive.

The Special Features Presentation on Transformers with ILM’s Todd Vazari showed some never-before-seen shot breakdowns with a closeup view of the amazing work that went into the film.
 
Later on in the day, the CGSociety crew reached out and fell into a most salubrious gathering with a great chance to meet so many of the people I have only ever emailed, MSNed or Skyped.  A great finish to a magical day.

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Wednesday 26 September 2007 - 04:30AM
Renee Dunlop



The day started with coffee and pancakes shoved nearly whole into my mouth with just enough time to swallow before it was time to ask my first question. Today was a day of interviews with talent who is undisputedly some of the best in the field.

The first interview was with Ed Jones, VFX Supervisor who is now a producer at Rainmaker in Vancouver. Jones has one of the most impressive resumes possible, earning an Oscar and BAFTA for Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and another BAFTA for Witches of Eastwick. His list of films hardly stops there, but to list them all I literally would have to use up all my allotted word space. Jones loves a challenge and is not intimidated by what others assume to be an impossible task. His tenacity is a powerful force; you feel it in his presence and his voice, yet at the same time therein beats a heart of real gold. He has projects on his plate that exhibit compassion that is too often rare in a person of such stature.

Concept Artist and educator Mark Goerner was next. Here is a happy fellow with a great sense of humor. I expected an interview full of chuckles and bantering, but was surprised to find that between the chuckles is a fellow with a mind like a laser beam, cutting through the fluff and answering questions with such insight I wanted to hit pause and ponder each one. But he didn’t come with a pause button so we moved forward, and when the interview was done he was back to happy bantering and I was left with more to think about than I’ve had in full course sessions.

Goener went off to chat with Syd Mead while we prepared for Phil Tippett to arrive for his interview. Tippett was yet another personality shift, the kind of man who can laugh easily at himself and snarl at foolishness in the next breath. He demands excellence and passion for the art of filmmaking, living and working by those same rules. He is not afraid to have an opinion, and he works hard, participating right along side his team. You get the feeling he is the kind of fellow you might see solving a creative problem with Dennis Muren one minute and pushing a broom the next. But the thing I always noticed about Tippett is how his team absolutely adores him, and how his presence seems to generate both comfort and excitement. Tippett is so loved and admired you want only to live up to the bar he sets for himself. He is truly an inspiration.

A brief break to drop by the course on Ratatouille with Pixar’s Michael Fong, and it was off to the ADAPT Cocktail Mixer. Held on the Hyatt rooftop overlooking the city, with perfect weather and a balmy breeze, attendees gathered around multiple bars and all sorts of food trays. Servers in formal wear wandered around with delicacies and music filled the evening air. I had a chance to share some social time with Syd Mead and Roger Servick, learn a bit more from Ed Jones about his current projects, and grab a photo op with Phil Tippett. I had an entire dinner of tasty h'orderves and a nice glass of red wine before retiring to record the days events, listening to the party continue below through my hotel window. It was a long and tiring day, but one I shall not soon forget.

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Tuesday 25 September 2007 - 07:06AM
Paul Hellard



After a looooong 24 hours or so in the air coming from Australia, the CGSociety crew was very happy to touch the French Canadian ground. We grabbed a cab to the Hyatt, situated right in the middle of downtown Montreal. If there was any grogginess left from the flight, it was erased within moments of entering the cab. Careening around corners passing everything in sight, calling people stupid when we drew close enough to trade paint, the cabbie travelled at an average speed of 130kmph!  Think Arnie’s cab ride in ‘Total Recall’ and you have the picture.   Somehow we arrived in one piece. The guys from ADAPT were still up gathering posters and tying up the loose ends, so we headed to our rooms to shower and collapse into bed.

Next morning, we headed for some caffeine.  We found just what we needed at an espresso bar way downstairs in the shopping precinct, underneath the hotel.  The Hyatt Regency in Montreal is far from being a vast impersonal being; it sports some 80’s character and has an endearing personal sense, with cocktail bars all over the foyer areas.

The sun is shining; it truly is a beautiful day to catch some rays in the historic old town.  We took some time to explore the harbour and Old Montreal, and even spotted Greenpeace’s Artic Sunrise harboured down at the quay. We grabbed a wonderful lunch at a tiny deli. The counter seats had a superb view of a drab wall, but the food was excellent and the waitress taught us a few words in Quebecoise. It was a good afternoon. The spirit of Montreal is exotic, rustic, and cosmopolitan all rolled into a personality that embraces independence and fiercely unites with the land where it lives.

We helped a befuddled guy in an elevator at the Hyatt who had managed to inadvertently wedge a large billboard he was delivering, caught between the lift doors and the back corner. He was trapped inside behind the billboard, and the doors kept trying to close.  We helped him extricate himself, trying many angles and offering suggestions in our feeble French. We finally pulled him free of the elevator and the doors to the lift closed behind him. It was then we realized that he hadn’t been trying to get out- he had been trying to get the billboard in.  He was late for his drop-off, and a line had formed at the remaining elevator, and now there was no room for him.  Heh, oops.  There’s just no pleasing anybody these days.  I hope he finds the time in later life to help us out like we helped him.  ;-)

After a very cool cocktail party down in the Corel Art Expo, which features over 400 pieces of art tastefully displayed in a gallery setting, everyone headed down to see the Keynote Speaker, Phil Tippett. Tippett is a very entertaining man. He filled us with stories of  his creative path, from the films he made as a child to his last project, The Spiderwick Chronicles.

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