My first week at Rhythm and Hues

Well, it is only my first week at Rhythm & Hues, but I thought that I would jot down a first impression. The studio seems amazing... Much better than I was thinking it would be! I think I forgot what these California studios are like! The is an absolutely obvious "positive vibe" amongst the people working here. You can just feel it in the way people walk around the place. Lots of smiles and happy faces. Maybe I missed the goofball buffet and acid punch, but it all seems very sincere as well. There seems to be a lot of depth here. A huge knowledge base that allows things to "just go well." The pipeline really feels like it has evolved on an ongoing basis each and every week. I get the feeling that once you learn the tools, you can do some great work here.

What I didn't realize when I applied here is that R&H is a nearly completely proprietary studio. They have their own software written on the premises for nearly everything, with the notable exception that Massive crowd simulation software is being used in house, and that 90% of the modeling tasks are completed in Maya. But everything else in the pipeline, including the main 3D software, the renderer, the compositing software, and tons of the usual "widgets" that production requires are all written in house. This is a direct result of the company being founded by software developers from the early days of computer graphics when you "had to" build the software yourself. Thus, I have two weeks of classroom style training that will get me up to speed. It is actually a pretty cool process, because although the basic flow of work is very similar to what I have seen elsewhere, things appear fresh and interesting as a result of seeing "similar problems solved in a way that is unique to the studio." We are literally walking through the entire production process picking up a first look at the tools everyone uses along the way. I am totally impressed as this is the first studio I have ever worked at that has had such a thorough and well run orientation.

However, I have to say that the most interesting thing I have seen yet at R&H is that the head of the studio, a fellow named John Hughes, has his huge personal collection of art work hanging in the halls! It is an unbelievable assortment of production art, paintings, prints, original cels and animation sheets, etc. A really nice environment is created by just being surrounded by this work that is there just to inspire and breed creativity. Usually, you only have work from the show you are working on - concept designs, and story boards, and so forth. But this is something completely different. It is a way of overtly saying our work in feature film visual effects is part of the greater art community and the processes are not so different. I love it!

And last but not least, the food. Every day there is a catered lunch of healthy food. I am totally impressed. The salads are free and the chocolate bars are behind glass and cost you! Just like it should be! Not only that, but there is s "serve yourself" espresso machine! I am in heaven! Need I even mention how cool some of the shots are looking so far?