Still Alive!
Sorry for the lack of posts everyone! I’m still alive!
It’s been a crazy couple of years. I’ve hopped around to a few companies, met a lot of great folks, and learned so much! There’s been a few highlights of the last few years, let me share a few of them below!
Last time I posted, I shared that I was busy being a dad, well, now I’m a dad to TWO crazy awesome kids. I love them and they make me laugh every day. They inspire me to make cool content that they like too, and more on that later.
I’ve been working in the Visual Effects industry for the last, I don’t know, 10 years ish? Loved it! Movies are a big part of who I am. Films teach me about other people, other perspectives and the power of stories. I’ve been so interested in film since I was a child. Being a small part of the film industry and working on film franchises I’ve loved since I was young has been really special and something I’ll cherish forever!
However, I recently left the VFX industry and joined the great folks at Unity Technologies. Unity is mostly known for its vast game development community, but recently they’ve expanded their real-time tools into film, apps, VR, AR, architecture — the list goes on and on. The power of this platform is really something and I can only imagine they will continue to grow and expand into new territory. It’s really fun to watch the platform evolve.
If you’re wondering how I met the Unity folks coming from my VFX background, well - I met the team from Unity at Annecy last year while promoting my animated series concept “Normans Island”.
I had a really great time working with a small team on this trailer. We learned so much about writing, developing and pitching an animated series. I had a blast making something that I can show my kids and have them thoroughly engaged. I cant wait to see where Norman goes! If you’re curious about more Norman stuff, check out our website here.
There’s one last thing I’d like to touch on before I wrap up about my career in vfx - and I just want to write down that I am sincerely so grateful that I worked with such a broad range of talented artists from all over the world. We all went through some tough projects, and I’ve found that you really bond with folks through hardship. More than once I’ve caught myself thinking that I am a no good hack, a fraud that does not deserve to be in the same room as these artists. I think we all feel that way sometimes. Maybe you are feeling that way right now. Don’t hide it. I think the trick is to talk about it with your artist buddies and get that crap out in the open. We aren’t machines but this industry IS a machine that can grind us down. My advice to working artists is analyze your mental state, and if you feel impostor syndrome take a step back, hash it out with your pals and then dive back in stronger than before. This career is not a sprint but a marathon and we’ve totally got this!
Anyways, thats my ranty update. I have a lot of stuff I can post, but maybe I’ll save that for later! I promise it wont be another 5 years till I update again.