MMI Bonus Session: ILM Artist C. Andrew Nelson
- Feb, 13 2011
- By admin
- Blog, VFX
- No comments
I’ve been dabbling in visual effects for some time now, mostly in After Effects. I love what can be achieved by them. Listening to Industrial Light and Magic artist C.Andrew Nelson last year was a real treat. This is a post imported from my old blog, read the full article after the jump!
He spoke to a group of MMI students and teachers in one of our classrooms. I arrived early so I could get a good seat. He’s really a great speaker and a great artist. His film credits include The Spiderwick Chronicles, Star Wars: Episode I and II, and Escape to Witch Mountain(new one). Those are some of his film credits. He also worked in the 90′s for LucasArts, making such games as Grim Fandango and Dark Forces. I and one other in the room had an audible fit of nerd joy as we heard him say those 2 games.
He had some really great things to say about becoming a visual effects artist, and how he taught himself, then broke into the business. He wasn’t pompous, either- he made a point of referring to us as his fellow artists -flattering, since we aren’t near as experienced as him. He had some great advice for us who are up-and-coming visual effects artists interested in doing this for a living. He encouraged us to aim high, but don’t ignore smaller companies where you can wear a lot of hats and get some great resume experience.
He also encouraged us to knock on a lot of doors, be prepared for a lot of no’s, but that eventually we would get a yes. He also had an interesting philosophy of animation- your animation is like you, the animator, giving a performance as an actor. Your animation is your performance- in essence, an extension of yourself. He also emphasized the importance of knowing lighting if you want to be an expert compositor. In response to one question of mine, he encouraged us to be well-rounded in our skill sets but have one thing you do better than the other skills you know how to do as a visual effects artist- like compositing, for example.
He definitely one of the best presentations at MMI I’ve ever heard. You can view his site here, and check out Teaching Spot.
