Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Atmospheric City of Perpetual Change


A funny and somewhat unpredicted result of moving back north to Canada from Los Angeles this year has been the number of people both here in Vancouver and down south who have asked me "so, will you miss the weather?" It is quite true that California has a generally lovely Mediterranean temperament when it comes to the weather. Especially, in my opinion, the north of California. But, what I found surprising was how although I appreciated very much the consistently dry roads while riding my bike, I found the weather in Los Angeles to be, well, a bit boring. I thought it would be cool to combine a few images from a local webcam to illustrate this point. Within the relatively short period of time that I was living there I found myself really missing the atmospheric sense of the weather you have in the north. I missed the clouds and the play of light that they bring. The sense of things changing, and time passing. Wind. Stuff like that. There is a "day to day" consistency about the weather in Los Angeles that people there love. It is in fact a reason why people move there! By comparison, in the past week in Vancouver we have gone from socked in seemingly perpetual fog, to brilliant clear and cold (it is the end of November after all), to the first snow fall of the year. This extraordinary change is what I missed. A sense of the unpredictable. Well, all this to say I am glad it is back and well, no complaints from me about the rain and snow this year. I promise!

Saturday, November 26, 2005

New Narnia Film Trailer


Click here for a high resolution look at the new "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" film trailer. Looks quite good if I do say so myself! I especially like the "snowy bits." I am sure that this will go over very well given the film's holiday season release date. All of the visual effects work looks really outstanding, but then, we have come to expect this from the block buster seasonal films, so it is not all that exceptional. Still, the images do seem to really have some depth and warmth to them, which can only come from things well conceived. I am very pleased I had a small hand in them. Gryphons flying around looking as real as can be... Nothing like it! There is all sorts of other Narnia buzz here.

A worthy first photo!


Well, such a beautiful day here, I thought it a good idea to try posting my first photo. It is days like this when the rest of Canada is "dealing with the onset of winter" and Vancouver has emerged from a rainy gloom that the place just grabs you... in a way few places can. This is a view of Burrard Bridge, Bowen Island on the far right in the distance, and Kitsilano in the left. Enjoy.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

The Computer Graphics Wasteland of the North


Since I arrived back in Vancouver I have more or less gone from the frying pan of finishing "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" in Los Angeles into the fire, no, make that raging inferno of finishing season nine of "Stargate-SG1" and season two of "Stargate Atlantis" the television series. I have been working pretty much 12 hour days, 6 day weeks at Image Engine.

Getting back in touch with the different demands and challenges of television post-production has been trying to say the least. The words "from scratch" have often come to mind. It has reaffirmed assumptions such as "television may be more forgiving, but if you can get it done on this schedule... You can do well on a features schedule." It is not that working on feature films is any less work, in fact at times it seems to be a lot more work, because you can't get away with anything - the scrutiny of the work is extreme (and often kills people's enthusiasm, but for me I love that scrutiny) and you therefore have to "build for it." The work has a different focus depending on the medium. "Make it look amazing!" always out-ranking "get it done" in the feature world. In the television world "done" is the only word of the day. Of course, all projects finish at some time, so there is an inevitable "just get it done" phase on films too. But, for television, you remain in that phase regardless of the production cycle. I suppose I lost touch of that a bit.

The great irony that I know that I face coming back to Vancouver is that I have just left a job and company (Rhythm and Hues) in Los Angeles that was certainly the best I have ever had in terms of working "family hours." In fact, it may have been the only employer I have ever had in this regard. This is ironic because we have returned to the Great White North for all of the non-work reasons such as starting our family, seeing close friends more frequently, job opportunities for both Meg and I (rather than I alone due to the U.S. visa situation Meg faced) living in the great city of Vancouver and living Canada in general (yes, it is better, thanks for asking!). But, we both seem to be killing ourselves at work these days. So, as a result... We aren't enjoying any of the above. I keep telling myself "this is temporary" due to the rare circumstances of our return to Vancouver (timing is everything after all). But, the cruel truth is that working in Vancouver... I have never experienced anything else but this manic pace because trying to achieve anything of quality here often takes Herculean effort above and beyond the call of duty and that is why I often refer to it as "The Computer Graphics Wasteland of the North" (tongue firmly planted in cheek, mind you). I fully realize and am very grateful for the opportunities that I have "on the good side of the border," but I have to say that so far that work has a real sticky point. Methods must improve.

Why does it have to be this way? Well, thus far the real answer is that it has to do with the access to higher end work, which is limited in Vancouver due to the limited relationships with people who have access to the work. To make a long story short, you have to do good work to get noticed, but really you have to have the relationships in place for that work to get noticed. A "chicken and egg" phenomenon. People in Vancouver have often made the mistake of thinking "if we just do good enough work..." When in reality, the level of accomplishment is very often secondary to the principle issue of "who has a relationship with whom?"

So, what to do? Well, now that I have seen the light so to speak at some pretty top-end studios over the past few years, I am bound and determined to bring some of that know how home. The thing is... Even some basic improvements will go so far (farther than I think people realize) and it will be very fulfilling to see them happen. It is just a question of having the opportunity and then doing the work to make good on that opportunity. One fine example is, of course, The Embassy who have recently done loads of high end work and all largely for out of town clients. I think it would be hard to argue that they are not doing the best work ever done in visual effects in Vancouver. A model for the future of The Computer Graphics Wasteland of the North? We'll see!

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

The Goings On These Days

Meg is up at 5:30am and I doze to the sounds of the shower and the traffic outside for a few minutes more. I try to tell myself "it is like waves lapping at a shore" until the radio comes on at 6:15am tuned to CBC's "Music and Company." My turn in the shower. Scarf some breakfast. Usually a slice of toast, maybe some hot cereal this time of year, coffee will have to wait. Somewhere between 7:05am and 7:15am we're out the door. Pretty much everyday I say to myself "I hate driving." I drop Meg off at Stratford Hall School sometime between 7:20am and 7:35am depending on traffic. I then thank "my lucky stars" (where did that phrase come from again?) that the commute is almost over. Every 23 minutes a new driver is added to the Vancouver area. I head back to Main Street, sometimes stopping for a coffee at Calabria Caffé on Commercial Drive (and a chat about pregnancy and visual effects with The G), but mostly just head into the studio to get a start on the day. Working too much, yes, thank you or asking. Check my renders. Swear. The morning goes by in semi-hallucinatory haze of moving images and caffeine. The Gollum-like animal squirming in my gut indicates that I have yet again "forgotten the necessary fuel for this habit." So, I scramble for something to eat. Luckily there's lots close by... and I love this neighbourhood for it. Sometimes I head to Bucket's place to hear him play The Strokes on his guitar. Noodles on Main Street occasionally, but usually a sandwich at Terra Breads. By 2:00pm it is heads down again as I can feel the day slipping past me just as quickly as it came. 6:30pm comes far too quickly aided no doubt by a couple more coffees. Rushing off to get Meg who has completed yet another Herculean effort at the school and is starving. About half the time, we eat out somewhere between the school and home, or at her parents, and if we have time and the forethought (to say nothing of luck), we eat at home. If I am even luckier, I have wine. After dinner, depending on how the day has gone I am either relaxing at home, and trying to keep some semblance of order, or rushing off to the studio again for a couple more hours of work before my eyes start to bleed (proving once again that living close to the studio is not an option, it is a method of survival). After I have successfully set fire to "both ends" I head home, and to bed for a few pages of my book. Meg is already a piece of comma toast, and I say to myself "hang in there." I fall asleep with the lights on wondering when I will find the time to ride my bike.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Meanwhile, the Pacific Ocean attempts to relocate to Lynn Valley...

Yes, what I mean is that it is raining like the bejezuz-bells out there. "Monsoon-like" would also be a good way to describe the rather humid conditions out of doors these days. Click here to see what I mean! Almost makes one miss the bland, but ever present, "dry haze" of Los Angeles (no, the sky is not blue there). Almost... It was one of the things that people in Los Angeles always said to me when they heard that I was leaving for Vancouver. "But, what about the rain? Like, dude, what are you going to do?" As if the mere thought of occasionally getting wet (outside the context of surfing, that is) was tantamount to torture.

I grew up on the west coast of Canada, in a lovely little piece of "fake England" called Victoria (I could swear, now that I have seen the real thing, that somebody had the idea of picking up Bournemouth, and relocating it to the southern tip of Vancouver Island!). And although positively balmy by Canadian standards in winter, and downright Mediterranean by summer, Victoria got its fair share of "northern weather." Even if we played ice hockey inside a rink the stinging pain of frozen feet and hands following the soccer match as they warmed in a hot shower is an all too common memory for many of my friends and I.

Endurance through the onslaught of winter in the north is a Canadian identifier and bonding experience across cultural barriers. Once you've "lived through" a few years of near zero degree pounding rain on the West or East coasts, or a sub - insert ludicrous number here - degree snow blown landscape in the rest of Canada, you can safely say you have bonded with the rest of the nation. There is something so endearing, to me at least, about being "out in the weather." It makes you harder somehow, more quietly confident. Enjoying what the out of doors has to offer "in spite of it all" is just something that seems to make sense to me... perhaps it is something that makes me "Canadian?"

Monday, November 07, 2005

T-Bird men win Canadian University Rowing Championship


There's few things in life that please me more than a row of navy blue with gold trimmed crew shirts ripping down he course ahead of all comers.

T-Bird men win Canadian University Rowing Championship

VICTORIA

A year ago, it was the UBC Thunderbird women winning the Canadian University Rowing Championship. This time around, the powerhouse UBC men claimed top honours, fending off a strong challenge from Western Ontario and Queen’s to take the title in the final race, the men’s eights, at Elk Lake UBC started Sunday's four-boat 'A' final on the right foot, winning the men's pairs with a dominant performance from national team veterans Kyle Hamilton and Ben Rutledge. Rob Weitemeyer, also a national team member, followed up with a convincing win in the men's single sculls, making it his second sculling title at the CURCs, having won previously in 2002.

The UBC lightweight men had to hang on in a deep and competitive field in the coxless fours. Rich Cotter, Julian Lamoreux, John Page and Andrew Poole finished in a solid fifth place, and in the light men's singles, Page rowed to strong seventh place. These finished added six valuable points to the T-Birds’ mounting total.

While UBC dominated the heavyweight small boats, Western and Queen’s were picking up consistent top finishes across the board. By the last race of the day the scene was set with Queen's, Western and UBC in a tight points race, leaving the eights to determine the national champion.

To qualify for the finals, UBC narrowly edged out Western, UVic and Queen’s in Saturday's time trial, which was raced over a short 1,000 metres due to rough water and high winds. The final was raced over Elk Lake's 1,850m course. UBC was able to step out early, powering off the line to gain a half-boat-length advantage over Western by the first 750 metres. UBC slowly started to build on this lead, while the Western crew began to concern itself with Queen’s, who were determined to make it a three-horse race. UBC managed to draw clear of Western and Queen's by the finish to win in a time of 5:36.77. Western finished second in 5:41.84, and Queen’s followed in 5:41.97. The UBC eights was made of Cox Jane Maxwell, stroke Rob Weitemeyer, Ben Rutledge, Kyle Hamilton, Thorsten Schmidt, Ben Dove, Chris Kemppainen, Alex Doucette and Curtis Dearden.

The T-Birds collected 56 points overall to claim the men’s title over Western (47) and Queen’s (45). UVic and Brock rounded out the top five with 34 points apiece. On the women's side UBC fought hard, qualifying for four of six 'A' finals with some very competitive finishes in an attempt to defend their 2004 title. But Western and UVic would prove too much to handle with Western sweeping all three heavyweight events and UVic, who covered all the events with solid finishes, ultimately reclaiming the national title from the T-Birds. UBC's Jen Andrews turned in a silver-medal performance in the heavy single sculls. Lailey Wallace and Julie Miller won bronze in the light double sculls and the heavyweight eights would also win bronze.

UBC (63) finished eight points up on Western, while UBC (36), Queen’s (30) and Brock (25) rounded out the top five. UBC coach Craig Pond was voted the 2004-05 Canadian university coach of the year.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Holy War Looms Over Disney's Narnia Epic

Click here to read a Guardian article about the current "media campaign" surrounding the release of Disney and Walden Media's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" feature film.

"To millions 'The Chronicles of Narnia' are a childhood tale of wonder and triumph now made into a film that could inspire millions of children to read. To others, including the celebrated fantasy author Philip Pullman, they are stories of racism and thinly veiled religious propaganda that will corrupt children rather than inspiring them."

Essentially this film is turning into yet another "the public eye is on this one so let's all turn it into a religious debate" film. This year's "The Passion of The Christ"if you will (although obviously with that film it was pretty obviously intended to provoke). Whenever there is a contentious issue such as this one I find it odd how as an artist working on the film you become so consumed in "making it look cool" that the broader context of how the work will be received eludes you. Of course, it comes up in casual conversation all the time amongst the artists, but you never really feel that you are contributing to an agenda of any kind. The idea that "hey, I am making Jesus in the guise of a huge photoreal computer generated lion" never really crossed my mind. Those who worked with me might beg to differ as they recall a bellowing "ooooh ggggeeeeezzzzuuuzzzzz" or two as my renders went horribly wrong. In reading Pullman's comments (I am a big Pullman fan) I am inclined to think that his criticisms are valid given that in general I share his "spiritual perspective." Nothing like a devout atheist to get you biting the hand that feeds you!