Vancouver Film School

Infobox University
name = Vancouver Film School
native_name =

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image_size = 60px
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established = 1987
type = Private
endowment =
staff =
faculty =
president = James Griffin
dean =
students =
city = Vancouver
state = British Columbia
country = Canada
campus =
colours =
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nickname =
affiliations =
footnotes =
website = [http://www.vfs.com/ Vancouver Film School] :"There are other articles with similar names; see Vancouver Film Studios."

Vancouver Film School (VFS) is a private entertainment arts school located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1987, it has achieved international recognition. [ [http://www.moviemaker.com/hop/editorial.php?id=354 Hands-on-Pages Interviews | Archives | MovieMaker Magazine ] ] The Vancouver Film School has campus locations around downtown Vancouver and comprises six buildings. [ [http://www.vfs.com/lifeatvfs.php?section=campuses Campuses - Life at Vancouver Film School ] ] As part of the school's 20th anniversary in 2007, in August 2006 one million dollars was set aside in scholarships for new students. [ [http://www.multimedia.edu/thisisvfs.php?section=press_room&news_id=488 Press Room - - This is Vancouver Film School ] ] . In March, 2008, Vancouver Film School and YouTube launched a competition for three full-tuition scholarships for the creators of the three videos submitted and voted as favorites by the YouTube community [ [http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry=geZRtusAPuA YouTube - Broadcast Yourself ] ] .

History

VFS opened its doors in April, 1987 to a class of six film students. As of 2006 the school graduates over 1100 students a year.

;Timeline

*April 1987: VFS launches the Film Production program
*February 1994: Classical Animation program launches
*February 1995: 3D Animation & Visual Effects launches
*June 1998: Digital Character Animation launches
*May 1999: Writing for Film, TV & Interactive Media launches
*January 2000: Makeup Design for Film & Television launches
*April 2002: Sound Design for Visual Media launches
*May 2003: Foundation Visual Art & Design launches
*August 2004: Digital Design launches
*October 2004: Game Design launches
*May 2005: Acting for Film & Television launches
*February 2006: Entertainment Business Management program and Houdini Certification programs launch
*August 2006: the VFS $1 Million Scholarship launch
*January 2007: VFS hosts its first Game Design Expo bringing 10 industry veterans to speak to the public at the VanCity Theatre
*September 2007: VFS becomes the first school to partner with Joost, offering two content-on-demand channels featuring student work, Animation & Visual Effects and Drama & Documentary [ [http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20070925/vfsjoost.html VFS scores partnership with Joost ] ] .
*November 2007: VFS named by 3D World Magazine as Canada's number one 3D Animation program, and fifth worldwide [ [http://www.3dworldmag.com/page/3dworld?entry=3d_world_98_s_cgi 3D World ] ]
*January 2008: VFS hosts its second annual Game Design Expo [ [http://www.techvibes.com/events/event50029.html Vancouver Film School hosts Game Design Expo 2008 in Vancouver on Saturday, January 19, 2008 ] ]
*March 2008: Vancouver Film School and YouTube launch a competition for three full-tuition scholarships for the creators of the three videos submitted and voted as favorites by the YouTube community [ [http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry=geZRtusAPuA YouTube - Broadcast Yourself ] ] .

Programs

;Film Production
* Film students learn the disciplines of directing, producing, cinematography, art direction, and editing, as they collaborate on dramatic and documentary film projects in both the studio and on location.

;Makeup Design for Film & Television
* Makeup students learn set etiquette, script breakdown, and film terminology, and a study of celebrity makeup, film and television makeup, and special effects makeup.

;Acting for Film & Television
* Acting students study in a studio environment how to perform in front of a camera. Students learn how to interpret stories, refine the use of their voices, and see their bodies as instruments of self expression.

;Acting Essentials
* Intended for beginners, this four month course prepares students to enter the full time Acting program. Students learn how to interpret stories creatively and how to use body and voice to communicate with other actors and with an audience.

;Digital Design
* Digital Design students work with live video, Flash, animation, graphic design, and numerous digital tools. Students use typography, colour, composition, motion, interactivity, and sound to build user experiences.

;Game Design
* Students train to be game designers, learning visual storytelling, to level design principles, to the production process, ultimately creating playable games themselves.

;Writing for Film & Television
* Writing students learn the screenwriter’s role in the film industry by writing, workshopping, and collaborating on a variety of storytelling forms, including feature and short film screenplays, episodic TV scripts and pilots, sketch comedy, and documentaries.

;3D Animation & Visual Effects
* 3D Animation students learn classical forms of storytelling through a study of motion, life drawing, composition, character design, sculpture, storyboarding, lighting, and art direction in order to create a short animated movie, a modeling reel, or visual effects demo reel. In 2007, 3D World Magazine named this the number one program in Canada for 3D Animation and the fifth worldwide [ [http://www.3dworldmag.com/page/3dworld?entry=3d_world_98_s_cgi 3D World ] ] .

;Digital Character Animation
* This is a six month program for experienced classical animators, whereby students broaden their skill set by combining cinematic storytelling, classical animation techniques, and digital operating environments to create compelling 3D animated characters

;Classical Animation
* Students learn the entire animation process from concept development to finished product, including the cornerstones of animation technique – drawing, storyboarding, layout, background and character design.

;Sound Design for Visual Media
* Sound Design students learn to unite sound and image by using producing, editing, and engineering skills to create sound effects, ambient noises, and music to match images in film, animation, and video games.

;Foundation Visual Art & Design
* Foundation combines traditional theories of arts education with training in modern visual media, such as film, animation, and digital technologies. Students learn how to work with new mediums and develop as artists as they prepare for other VFS production programs.

;Entertainment Business Management
* Entertainment Business Management equips students to handle the business affairs of artists and entertainers by combining the study of economics, law, and communications. As part of the education, students work with professional artists from film & television, music, video games, and interactive media.

;Houdini Certification
* Film production facilities rely on Houdini to help them create feature film effects and character animation. In this intensive program, students train and become certified in this industry-standard software.

Notable Faculty

[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2285790 Larry Bafia] , Head of Animation Bafia began his career in stop motion and claymation before moving into CGI. 7-year tenure as Commercial Animation Director at PDI/Dreamworks, where he directed commercials for clients including Coca-Cola, Sega, Intel, Kraft, Circle K, and Saturn. Sequence Lead Animator for PDI/Dreamworkson on films including Antz, and Batman & Robin. Sequence Animation Supervisor for Mission Impossible II. Animation Supervisor for the Stop Motion Division on Tim Burton's feature Mars Attacks!.

[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1042930 Bill Marchant] , Head of Acting for Film & Television and Acting EssentialsActor, director, and writer on the feature film Everyone, which won Best Canadian Film at the Montreal World Film Festival (2004). Nominated for four Leo awards, the film has also just been released in the United States and Britain. Marchant played recurring roles on Canadian television shows Da Vinci's Inquest and as Adrian Conrad on the sci-fi series Stargate SG-1.

Sebastien de Castell, Head of Digital Designde Castell is a certified PMI Project Management Professional, licensed fencing instructor, and fight choreographer. He worked with Apple's Research Partnership Program, a joint venture between Apple Canada and BC universities intended to foster innovative interactive projects in academia.

Ken Ashdown, Head of Entertainment Business ManagementAshdown has worked as a music journalist, owned the indie record label Waste Island Records, and was a vice-president at PolyGram Group Canada and QDesign Corporation. In his career, he has worked with Shania Twain, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, David Bowie, the Pixies and U2.

David Hauka, Head of Film ProductionFeature-film Impolite earned Hauka a nomination as Best Director of a First Feature Film from the Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television in 1993. Other directing credits include the half hour film Solus and music videos for Sarah McLachlan, Hilt, Consolidated, and Lava Hay. Hauka's producing credits include the Canadian film Whale Music which premiered at both the Vancouver and Toronto International Film Festivals in 1994.

Ted Jones, Head of Foundation Visual Art & DesignJones is a voting member of The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television in the Television Director Division.

Dave Warfield, Head of Game DesignWith fifteen years of experience, Warfield worked at Electronic Arts as a senior producer for NHL 2005, and 24 other published video game titles including EA's NBA Live and Skitchin' , Konami's NFL, Mission: Impossible, , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and NEC's Champions Forever Boxing.

[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0691761 Charles Porlier] , Head of Makeup Design for Film & TelevisionAwards and nominations - Emmy for prosthetic makeup work on actor William H. Macy in TNT's Door to Door. Emmy for makeup on TNT's Kissinger and Nixon. Canadian Network of Makeup Artists award for Door to Door. Saturn award nomination (Science Fiction Academy Award) for his work on The Sixth Day. Nominated for Best Makeup in the feature film category for his work on Tim Allen in The Santa Clause 2. Nominated for an Emmy when he worked on the Spielberg/DreamWorks mini-series Taken. Porlier has a 25-year career in makeup departments for films such as Thirteen Ghosts, Mission to Mars, Double Jeopardy, Jumanji. As a Key Makeup Effects Artist on X-Men II, Porlier designed the character Night Crawler.

[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0341044 Robert Grieve] , Head of Sound Design for Visual MediaWon an Emmy for his work on the HBO film 61*, a Genie Award for The Changeling, two Golden Reel awards for Wolfen and Wyatt Earp, an Oscar nomination for Best Sound on Silverado, and two Golden Reel nominations for Dreamcatcher and . Grieve has worked with many Hollywood studios including DreamWorks, Universal Pictures, Paramount, and MGM.

[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0059724 Michael S. Baser] , Head of Writing for Film & TelevisionBaser is a writer/producer whose credits include Good Times, Three's Company, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, Maude (TV series), A Year at the Top, 9 to 5, What's Happening!!, and Full House.

Highlights

Enrollment

• Rolling start dates throughout the year.

Facilities

• Motion Capture studio • Bluescreen studio • Multiple film and video editing suites • Four ProTools sound editing studios • Dolby 5.1 multi-track sound theatre • 24-hour access to all studios • 620 desktop computers across multiple labs • Two full Makeup Design studios featuring customized makeup stations.

Production and Student Materials

• All production and material costs, books and supplies, are included in the tuition. • Regularly upgraded software suites for animation, film, sound, and video games. • Makeup kit valued at $10,000 (Canadian) • High-end digital video camcorders and film cameras. • Lifetime registration for a VFS student email address.

Notable alumni

* Kevin Smith - director of "Clerks", "Mallrats", "Chasing Amy", "Dogma", "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", "Jersey Girl" and "Clerks II"; Smith dropped out in 1990 [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800020930/bio|title=movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800020930/bio Kevin Smith Yahoo! Movies Bio] ] and was presented with an honorary diploma in 2005 [ [http://www.straight.com/article/too-cool-for-school? The Georgia Straight: Too Cool for School?] ]
* Scott Mosier - film producer, editor, and cameo actor who produced the Academy Award nominated documentary Salim Baba. He has also been a close friend to Kevin Smith since 1992, producing all off the films in the View Askewniverse.
* Neill Blomkamp - director of ""; In November 2006, the film was officially put on hold [ [http://www.gamingbits.com/content/view/1268/2/ Gaming Bits - Halo Movie Post-pwned ] ] and Blomkamp has since said that the film is "entirely dead" [ [http://creativity-online.com/?action=news:article&newsId=120925 Q&A: Director Neill Blomkamp on Halo Shorts, Film] ]
* Colin Cunningham - actor in Canadian television and film
* Neil Kopp - producer of Old Joy and director Gus Van Sant's 2007 film Paranoid Park for which Kopp won a 2008 Independent Spirit Award [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965828/ Neil Kopp ] ]
* Dave Klein - cinematographer
* Alec McClymont - lead CGI artist and animator who shared a 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Special Visual Effects - Series on "Battlestar Galactica" (2004 TV series)
* Chad Moffitt - Academy Award–winning animator on "The Lord of the Rings" [ [http://www.vfs.com/news.php?id=9&news_id=305 VFS Grad Wins Academy Award - Chad Moffitt is part of Peter Jackson's award-winning visual effects team for Lord of the Rings trilogy. - Digital Character Animation ] ]
* Lon Molnar - co-founder, CEO, and senior visual effects supervisor at Toronto-based visual effects studio Intelligent Creatures

* Tara Spencer-Nairn - actor in "Corner Gas"

References

External links

* [http://www.vfs.com/ Vancouver Film School]