If anybody ever told you that hard work and play have nothing to do with each other, then you can be certain he never went to game design school, and you can be equally certain he never heard of a “joystick”. Evidently, this applies to instructors as much as students. Not twenty minutes after introducing himself as the new Head of Game Design to the first-ever class of game designers at VFS, Dave Warfield could be found locked into position, thumbs on joystick, determined to beat the pants off a student playing Def Jam: Fight for NY.

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Recently, five talented students from the Maya and 3D Animation programs were awarded scholarships that extend their studies by a full term. The Festival Scholarship Award is given out once a term to high-achieving students, giving them two additional months to complete projects started during the year.

For 3D Department Head, Larry Bafia, the award is a testament to the students’ hard work and talent. “We look for projects that show exceptional merit,” says Mr Bafia, “Pieces that rise above the pack, show a high degree of professionalism and have world class appeal. It’s something that every CG student should strive for.”

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Amidst studying for a science degree in Aeronautical Engineering, Tyler Sigman always felt as though his heart was elsewhere. An interest in playing and designing video games occupied Tyler’s thumbs more than his professors would have liked, but ultimately he turned his love of gaming into a career after attending Game Design courses at VFS. “Even through school, I’ve always had some sort of game related project going on,” says Tyler, Backbone Entertainment’s newest game designer.

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If you were to isolate even one solitary frame of film and sift through the layers of expertise that paint the final picture, you would unravel an endless link of creative collaboration: the writer who creates the story, the director who brings it to life, the producers who make it happen, the director of photography who captures the story. But what about the artistic subtleties of creating the right atmosphere through wardrobe, props, and set design?

Robin Hayes knows about the challenges of juggling her own creative style with a director’s vision, budgetary constraints, and time. A Film Production graduate, she has spent the last six years working in and directing art departments on countless films, music videos, and commercials.

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One day you get an email. It’s from the Guerrilla News Network and they tell you they’ve seen your short film. They like it. In fact, they like it enough that they want you to show them a couple more samples of your work because they’re producing the music video of a well known artist and they are interested in hiring you to animate for it. But they won’t tell you anything about the song and they won’t even tell you the musician. Yet.

Just a short time ago, this is exactly what happened to Classical Animation graduate Kevin Elam and it came as quite a shock when, after finally being hired for the project, he found out that the video he would be working on was Mosh and the artist, Eminem.

“It was amazing to get hired on this video and work for an artist that I admire so much,” says Elam. “I can really relate to the message.”

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For Donna Bis, a thirty year journey through the world of makeup design reached a triumphant peak recently when she accepted a Canadian Network of Makeup Artists award for Best Wig Making for her work on the film Connie and Carla. It was a banner evening for Bis, who watched as her long time friend and colleague Phyllis Newman received a Career Achievement Award handed out by still another twenty year colleague.

“By the time I went to receive my award I was already in tears,” says Bis “The only reason I’ve gotten where I am is because I have had such a wonderful group of people supporting me along the way. To have these women present [the awards] was unbelievable. It felt like my career had come full circle.”

Bis, who in addition to being a hairstylist is also an expert wigmaker, has worked in film since making Draw! - a Western starring Kirk Douglas - in the mid-1980’s. But she actually started her career in the theatre. Originally from Niagara-on-the-Lake , Ontario , which is home to the respected Shaw Theatre Festival, Bis grew up surrounded by the excitement of the productions. After studying theatre, she went to work for the Festival, doing everything from wardrobe to props. Following the advice of the stage manager, Bis went for her hairdressing licence. On her first day she had the daunting task of styling the hair of esteemed stage, radio, and TV actress, Kate Reid. Bis met the challenge and never looked back.

She was hired as resident wig mistress for the Citadel Theatre , at the time a new company getting started in Edmonton . The Citadel’s Artistic Director, John Neville, set his sights on making the Theatre world class, and sent Bis to the National Art Centre in Ottawa to develop her skills under one of Canada ’s top wigmakers, Donna Glidden. “Wigmaking just came naturally,” says Bis.

Bis’s reputation as a period-hair specialist quickly spread from the theatre community into the film and TV industry, and she juggled both careers until leaving the Citadel to pursue film full-time. “My experience in theatre really helped me to survive in this environment,” says Bis. “There is a lot more involved with this job than the hairstyling; you have to know when to speak to a producer, when to yell at a producer, how to gauge an actor’s personal space when you’re working with them. It’s not a place for people who are wishy-washy.”

In 1986, Bis was hired to work on The Clan of the Cave Bear . While filming in Vancouver , she received so many additional offers, including Rocky IV, she decided to stay. Now, nearly twenty years later and a senior member of IATSE, the local film technician’s union, Bis has earned an extensive list of credits ranging in everything from the period piece Little Women (where she worked under one of the world’s best wigmakers, Peter Owen), to last year’s Christmas hit Elf.

One year ago, Bis was invited by long-time colleague Charles Porlier, Head of the VFS Makeup Department, to be a guest lecturer at the school. The response to her was so encouraging that Bis returned to VFS to work with Porlier on developing a Hair Technique curriculum which provides on-set experience that prepares students for a professional environment. “Teaching is a very important thing to do to pass on our craft,” says Bis. “I never stop learning when I’m teaching. Our students make me think twice because there is always somebody who sees things out of the box.”

On location near Thetis Lake, British Columbia, for the filming of Marker, producers Erin Haskett and Larisa Andrews took a few moments from their busy production schedule to share what has helped shape their rising careers. In the past six years, Erin and Larisa have produced award winning short films, opened their own production company and, now, are shooting their first feature film.The two met in 1998 while attending Film Production at Vancouver Film School and soon discovered they shared similar filmmaking sensibilities. This connection led them to start Creative Engine , the production company they co-founded last year. “It was at VFS that we met and began to nurture a very important relationship and partnership that has been integral to what we are doing today,” says Erin .

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Twenty years ago, John Munro was awarded a scholarship in college. Now the CEO of Chromacolour, a leading manufacturer of animation supplies, he remembered how much it meant to him to be acknowledged for hard work and talent. Wanting to continue this custom, Chromacolour and the Classical Animation department named José Luis Osorio winner of the first annual Because We Care scholarship .

“We were looking at ways we could contribute back to the animation community,” says Mr Munro “and we wanted to have an immediate impact on people who need help the most. Students were the perfect candidates because they are just starting their careers in the animation sector.”

To set the scholarship in motion, Munro, who has a long-standing relationship with VFS, contacted Classical Animation Program Manager, Anne Denman Wilde. Given hectic student work schedules, Munro wanted to make sure the scholarship program would not be so restrictive as to deter student involvement. After determining that judging would be based on student portfolios, Munro awarded a prize worth seven hundred and fifty dollars in Chromacolour supplies.

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Chris Abbas has been a student in the Foundation program since September 2003 - and has Nothing to show for it. Nothing, Chris’s artistic look into imaginative thought and frustration, recently won the HUB digital video contest. HUB is a Canadian magazine devoted to home and personal electronics.

Nothing is a personal look into the mind, set to music composed entirely by Chris himself. Chris explains how he arrived at the idea for his short film. “I wanted to explore the feeling you get when you sit there and try to think about nothing. I made this movie because nothing to one person is always something to someone else.”

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The proven education at VFS is built on a premise that the skills students learn here must prepare them for a lifetime of personal and professional opportunity. Our mission is to ensure that students come here and, in one year, learn the skills they need to move directly into their respective industries.

As part of this mandate, we are serious about involving prominent industry professionals in the development of our programs. These Advisory Boards serve as lifelines to the industry, providing students with direct connections to the professional world.

Our two newest programs, Digital Design and Game Design, recently finalized their advisory boards comprised of leading designers and thinkers.

“We wanted to put together advisory boards with representatives from each of the specific job titles we are preparing students for,” says Stephen Webster, who heads both departments. “For Digital Design this meant having people who specialize in motion graphics, user experience, and interface development and design. For Game Design we wanted people who are producers, level designers, and quality assurance analysts. We’re very happy with the groups we have assembled for both programs.”

The current advisory board members come from many of the world’s top companies, including Digital Kitchen, Blast Radius, and Electronic Arts for Digital Design, and Bioware, LucasArts, Ubisoft, and Nokia for Game Design. Both boards also include independent thinkers and scholars from their respective fields, notably Hillman Curtis for Digital Design, who is widely considered as the top intellectual in the field and whose books on web design have swiftly become required reading for digital artists.