ILM + LAIKA = Incredible!

Another big thank you to all who came out for “Avenge of the Zombies” on a near perfect Saturday down on the park blocks at the NW Film Center. It was a testament to the old phrase “if you build it, they will come,” and I’m happy to report over 300 Portlanders helped make a mind blowing memory!  Courtesy of Jeff White and the crew at ILM + Andrew Nawrot and company out at LAIKA, who deserve the biggest thanks of all.

Any Oscar nominated VFX film is wrought with challenges, and it’s easy to see why Jeff is an undeniable, major heavyweight talent in our industry.  The Avengers represents the collective strength and VFX execution that ILM brings to the table, well placed in the context of a story we can all get behind.  It was one of the most entertaining films in recent memory, vetted with a box office of over $1.5 billion;  the kind of movie that stands up to multiple viewings.  I was happy to take it in again a couple days before the presentation.  And that said, it was fresh in my mind and I can safely say that no stone went unturned – we were given a full tour of every major effect and character in the film, laced with some razor sharp wit and genuinely hearty laughs in there (Green Steve…  need I say more?).  Jeff knows this film like the back of his hand and has honed his presentation, no doubt, through Siggraphs and Oscar bake-offs and who knows what else.  It’s clear he brought his best to Portland!

And speaking of P-town, it was fantastic to celebrate LAIKA’s work on ParaNorman from a VFX standpoint with the prodigious Andrew Nawrot as our guide.  So much goes into crafting a LAIKA movie and creating those worlds within the realm of stop motion, and VFX continues to play an increasing (dare I say major?) supporting role.  The army of “Laikans” out there in Hillsboro are doing world class work, and I hope we can make this a regular thing to take the time out after each feature cycle is complete and do up a proper show & tell for the home crowd.  If Andrew’s ParaNorman presentation was any indication, there will be some amazing (and beautiful…  and unique!) war stories to tell.  I was very happy to see ParaNorman Writer/Director Chris Butler in attendance for this trip down memory lane.  Hats off to all of the LAIKA crew.

Despite some early technical issues that gave me some unplanned (complete with jitters!) mic time in the opening minutes and made us run long, the event was otherwise a huge success.  I can only speak for myself, but wow – I was loving every minute and it immediately had me getting nostalgic about “landmark” events of past.  Time will tell, but it may even have topped my previous fave – the animation festival at OMSI in 2006 when I saw Moongirl (along with several other Portland based shorts) and decided then and there that I wanted to move here and set up shop in this beautiful town.  Again, thanks to Jeff and Andrew for a hefty supply of inspiration and a boost of motivation to power us all through a rainy spring.

To round things out – another quick shout out to our openers, Aidan Fraser with his short film “Space Out,” Carl & Felipe from Delerium showing off the “Fear Agent” trailer, and James & Karim from HIVE-FX with an updated reel of their work on Grimm.  Fantastic images from around town – and made for a good opening Q&A with the filmmakers to get us primed for ILM & LAIKA.

Last but not least – our sponsors deserve a drop for supporting an event of this size and helping to keep it free (which was a big priority).  Thanks again to 3DV, 52ltd, Autodesk, the Oregon Film Commission, Red Giant Software, the Art Institute of Portland, Imagineer Software, Artbeats, Make Magazine and the NW Film Center.  Whew!  A mouthful.

I think it’s safe to say – “let’s do it again sometime!”  And in fact big plans are in the works for our Summer meeting.  Loosely on the calendar for late July.  Until then!