CG Industry Leaders Offer Insights to Students at Full Sail Live

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0n April 15th, 3D Arts Advisory Board Panel spoke to students at Full Sail Live. My entire class went to the event. The speakers were: Shane Cook from ILM who was working on Transformers which is now being released in theaters, Russel Barton who works at EA Tiberon for the Madden series of video games, Nate Home, Ryan Boyle who is working on Microsoft’s Video wall, Keith Guerette who works at Naughty Dog and is a lead effects artist, and Ryan Watson from Ubisoft. The leading consensus among the panel was that getting into the industry takes lots of perseverance and constant work. They each had setbacks and struggles. With CG work it isn’t uncommon to loose a days work when a computer freezes up. They have to shrug off the loss and feel that the next pass would be better than the first.

I was surprised and pleased to hear that they all cherish traditional drawing as a way to quickly relate ideas. This is something I stress often with my students but too often the use the computer as a crutch to execute unclear ideas. I met a student on a flight back to Orlando from Virginia. She was ecstatic that one  of the panelists told her that she was hire-able. Those encouraging words will go a long way towards lighting a fire that needs to burn bright for the duration of any career. I found it visually funny that the circular patters projected behind the panelists made it look like they each had a black halo.

Hall of Fame

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On my third trip out to the Full Sail back lot I found that the outdoor stage had been broken down because of the threat of rain. An awards ceremony was going on inside Full Sail Live and I tried to get in, but security guards refused entrance.

I walked back to a jumbo tron where students were catching all the action. I decided to sit under a huge umbrella and I’m glad I did, because half way into the sketch, it began to pour. The students ran for cover, joining me under the umbrella.

Some of the students must have not realized I was a teacher because they gossiped about how the think teachers don’t give a damn because they are just biding their time until they land a job in the movie industry again.

The founder of Full Sail,  Jon Phelps, got on stage and he loomed large and bright on the Jumbo tron. I’ve never met the man. Staff joked about which color Maserati sports car he might drive to the ceremony. He has done very well for himself, yet teachers at Full Sail struggle to make ends meet. The school focuses it’s resources on State of the art technology and tons of marketing while the instructors in the trenches seem overlooked.

Awards were given to Kim Albert, Tom Boyd,  Demacio Castellon, Leon Hopkins, Larry Katz,  and Juan Peralta. Unlike the Academy Awards there was no cut off cue when an award recipient went on too long. The common thread among the recipients speeches was that persistence and determination do eventually pay off. This is a lesson that is only learned outside the classroom in the everyday struggle to build a career.

StarCraft II

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Red Bull sponsored an event called “Training Grounds II” at Full Sail Live (3300 University Blvd

Winter Park, FL) on June 26th. The huge venue was full of an audience of several hundred people. On the large screen, the video game, StarCraft II was being projected. The two opponents were in a clear sound proof booth facing one another and furiously tapping computer buttons and scrolling with their mice. Two announcers sat behind microphones giving a blow by blow description of what was happening on the big screen. The problem was that nothing they said made any sense. I had stepped into an alien world.

At the side of the venue there was a round table station set up with six computers. This was the place where contestants who were not playing could warm up and train for their battle on the big screen. Ear pieces plugged the players into the game’s audio soundtrack isolating them from the audiences shouts and clapping. As I sketched, the announcers broadcast what was happening…

“What is this going to turn into?”

“The Cyber Core is a tell for TLO.”

“He’s putting up a gateway.”

“He has two queens now and a third on the way!”

“TLO spots the probe!”

“A lot of Circs rely on the queens.”

“The Nexus are going to clean this up now.”

“Succeed is going to try and drone up again.”

“TLO is droning very hard!”

“Unless it is a micro hatch, it isn’t needed.”

“He needs to warp in some centuries.”

“Nexus is going to be hyper fire! Good game!”

The audience clapped wildly. The lengthy match was over. My general impression was that some sort of outpost civilization was constructed by glowing crab like things. There was always an aerial gods eye view of the field of battle. Perhaps there were lasers? I was too far removed from the action to be able to make sense of anything. The audience however gasped and reacted to every skirmish. It was sort of like watching two armies of ants building two mounds then fighting to slow down the opponents progress. I was confused. Perhaps this is the future of entertainment, with virtual battles played out for an audience.

“Vicious Victor” Claims Title of Southeast Champ at Red Bull BC One Cypher Orlando

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On June 30th, at Full Sail Live, “Vicious Victor” Montalvo took the crown in front of over 450 cheering fans, representing his hometown of Orlando as he rose to the top of the bracket.“Victor really took over the moment,” proclaimed judge RoxRite. “He played his rounds right. It was tough competition, but he always had more.” Victor, of the Fleet Boys crew, had his share of strong competition.
 Victor beat out Morgan “Stripes” Andrews of Jacksonville, in the final,
both having battled on the Red Bull BC One stage in previous years. The
Red Bull BC One Cypher Orlando was a part of the prestigious Freestyle
Sessions national event, hosted by The Bboy Spot.

Terry who was with me said that she always picked “Vicious Victor” because he always had incredible moves.  This really should be an Olympic Sport since it is much more interesting to watch than Pole vaulting. Members of these crews could balance and support all their weight on one arm. It made me want to go home and try to do a push up. It is fun to watch the crews mock each other as they swagger. Contestants pace impatiently until they can strut their stuff. Before one of the rounds, a five year old boy ran out and started doing his moves. MC Supernatural played it up saying he expected to see this boy as a champ a few years from now.

“Vicious Victor” Montalvo, representing Florida, will move on to compete against the best b-boys in the U.S. during the Red Bull BC One North American Final held August 17th
in Houston, Texas. The dancer who earns the national championship title
in Houston will step onto the world stage to compete against the best
of the best at the Red Bull BC One World Finals, hosted in South Korea.

Best Individual B-Boy on the Planet

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On June 30, 2013, a lively crowd kept the energy up all evening at the Red Bull BC One Cypher Orlando at Full Sail Live, the university’s state-of-the-art performance venue located on the campus of Full Sail University. 
Terry and I got in as press to cover the event. We staked out a spot sitting at a corner of the Masonite mat on the floor.

Red Bull BC One is the only event of its kind. Sixteen B-Boys are paired
into eight, one-on-one battles and are then judged by three B-Boy
veterans. From those eight battles, the winners go on to face each other
in four new battles, and so forth, until it comes down to two
finalists.

The Red Bull BC One Cypher Orlando is one of 50 local qualification
events that are being hosted in the U.S. and around the globe.  Even before the competition began, people gathered in groups performing incredible dance moves, at times spinning on their heads. The competition was fierce with plenty of mocking street swagger. I’ve never experienced anything like it. I must say, it was a blast. It was very much like gladiators facing off and the crowd stoked the energy levels. 
It was of course a major battle to try and sketch dancers as they went through gravity defying moves.

MC Supernatural kept the crowd fired up. He gave a rap performance where he had everyone hold up items which he would grab in turn and work into the rap. He said he’s been doing this fast paced rap act since 1980. Beads of sweat dripped from MC’s brow as the rap flowed and the crowd cheered and laughed. Fists and peace signs waved in the air as everyone bobbed to the beat. At one point a white guy held up a credit card and MC Supernatural snapped it up, I don’t recall the rhyme, but he said, “This is the only place where you’d see a white guy hand his credit card to a black guy!” He gave the credit card back and moved on to the next item as everyone laughed and whooped.

Full Sail’s Got Talent

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After class on November 29th, I went to the Full Sail Live venue to sketch the talent show. When I got there the place was pretty empty but it quickly filled up as I blocked in the stage on my sketch. The
Student Community Association presented “Full Sail’s Got Talent,” a
showcase featuring some of the school’s most talented performers.
Students competed on stage to be crowned the winner of this annual
event. Full Sail’s Got Talent was free and open to all students and
staff. Four faculty members sat in front of the stage to act as judges. One female judge was brutally honest in her judgements and the audience full of students at times booed her.

I spent my time watching the camera operator as  he danced around with the tripod on wheels. He never stopped moving and the student responsible for feeding the electrical cord had to keep up with him. Lighting also changed constantly which made for a challenge as I painted. Evan Frazer and Brandon Mirador (Replay &
Frazer) won the Annual Full Sail’s Talent Show. They performed as a dance team to many of the most popular dance songs. It was sort of a history of dance. 0ne dancer wore a blank faced mask which added to the edgy mystique of the act. Abruptly the music stopped and the two performers stood on the stage, not sure what to do. I’m not sure if that was part of the act or a mistake.

Allison Gammill was the Runner up. She had a sweet voice and sang from the soul. Most of the other acts were fast paced rap singers, whose words were garbled and often lost. When Allison performed, standing center stage in her elegant dress, her talent shone and her stillness stood in stark contrast to all the gesturing on stage. One of the judges said he had a crush on her. That is what happens when you sing from the heart.  I don’t understand this pop-cultural obsession about standing on a stage to be judged however. The caged birdsings of freedom.