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3DTotal : You also mention on your website that you have aspirations to work in VFX as well as
animation. What type of job would you ideally like to do?
Richard : Obviously, I would be interested in lighting and animation which I have the biggest passion for. Beside those, I’d love to get my hands on effects and further develop my matte painting skills.
3DTotal : Which films would you say have been the most successful in implementing CG and which would you say fail and why?
Richard : I would say ‘King Kong’ and ‘Narnia’, which have been released since last year, are the most successful in implementing CG. The visual effects for both go beyond the task of creating and enhancing the look of the film, and effectively breathe life into the characters in a unique way. CGI amazingly brings us the world of Narnia and the fantasy characters living within, in particular the work on Aslan and the armies on both sides.
The digital actor, King Kong, who doesn’t talk, greatly captures the sense of emotion and magnificently helps delivering a story about love to the audience. Perhaps, the Academy Award should have a category of best digital actor? I will be waiting to see that. I think as long as CG staysas a supporting element and reaches the
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necessary technical level, it should not fail the movie. For those films I have watched, it is hard to pin-point which fail to implement CG. People talked about ‘A Sound of Thunder’ - and how bad both story & visual effects are. I, myself, haven’t had chance to watch it. Maybe I should...
3DTotal : Does Australia offer many opportunities for anyone wishing to pursue a field in computer graphics, in particular film?
Richard : I think computer graphics, especially VFX for film in Australia, is growing dramatically. However, it has a small market and relies heavily on the international one. Therefore, opportunities for anyone wishing to make a break in the industry
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are rare, as most major studios like Rising Sun Pictures or Animal Logic, only hire senior-level and highly-experienced artists. I think pursuing computer graphics academically is easier in Australia, particularly in Melbourne. The Academy-Award nominated short ‘Birthday Boy’ created by a graduate from Victorian Center of Art (VCA), and many other local and international awards, were given to RMIT’s graduates. For anyone interested in CGI, it would be worthwhile pursuing a degree in either of these two schools. A degree can be a good base to get into the industry.
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3DTotal : Apart from architecture what subjects particularly interest you from an artistic point of view?
Richard : I do enjoy photography, cinematography, painting, graphic design, animation (obviously!) and visual effects. They all help me to see art in a different way and balance my artistic vision. Also, because film-making and visual effects are highly-collaborative fields, I think having a good understanding of other principles will greatly help me to accomplish my own ambitions.
3DTotal : You have examples of both 2 and 3D work, traditional and digital. What do you feel are the merits of each discipline and do you see relationships between them? |
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Richard : Obviously, there are relationships between them. At the simplest level they both start with nothing and end up together with stunning images at a given timeframe. I feel the merits of each discipline are that each opens up artists to different ways of looking at a shot and how to create it. The techniques of both are cross-transferable and greatly improve the productivity in a project. 3D is taking an important role in the pre-viz process while 2D concept and matte painting remain the key to realising the design and take the final shot to another level.
3DTotal : Which have been the most enjoyable projects to work on and which have proved the most challenging to date?
Richard : The most enjoyable and challenging projects to me were the two architectural ones I did at school in my second and third years. The first was more science-fictional than the second but they both implemented animation, digital deformation, particle simulation and sound editing as a way of looking at circulation within an urban-scale space and the relationship between different programmatic volumes created by mathematics-driven structures.
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3DTotal : Finally what would you like to be doing in five years time?
Richard : In five years time, I would love to work in VFX industry and have more time to write as many tutorials as possible as a way of sharing my knowledge, and help others the way I was helped by artists who wrote great tutorials to get me started. If I will have any spare time left, I want to make my own short."
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3DTotal : Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.
Richard : You are welcome. |
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