Another one of our fabulous Demo Reel Reviews is now over + done. After all of that hard work, it’s time to announce some winners!
First up, thanks to all who participated and an especially big things to our triumvirate of judges from Team LAIKA. Compositing Supervisor Sara Ireland, Lead Compositor Michael Cordova, and Lighting Lead Joe Strasser took time out of their busy schedule and submitted fantastic feedback to all who participated. Those of you who put in know just how golden this feedback was, and how seriously the judges took this part of the review. A huge thanks is in order.
As in years past, reels are judged not on content alone, but more on a combination of tight execution and creative presentation. Often a unique or original idea will take top prize over more senior artists who are working at an extremely high level.
That said… this year’s winners:
The best Motion Design reel goes to Kane Brassington!
(heads up – NSFW lyrics – mute if children are around)
KANE.BRASSINGTON_DEMO from kanekong on Vimeo.
Kane, a local VFX artist, did a unique take on his reel from the standard issue clip cutting and before/afters that grace many of our reels – and the choice to enter into the motion design category was a good one! The judges found that although perhaps it’s hard to see full, untreated detail that is in a more typical VFX reel, this more dynamic/energetic take scored off the charts for originality and creative presentation! Words like “remarkable” and “memorable” came from the judges write ups. The arcade theme and music video vibe were instantly recognizable and something the judges found they could universally relate to as the reel took flight and pulled them in. Most importantly, these choices created an absolute playground for Kane’s clips and credits to dance and play.
We hope to see Kane moving into future roles where he can flex this creative muscle. He takes takes home the 1 yr license of Red Giant Universe, plus a Red Giant T-shirt.
Next up, our VFX winner Anthony Barcelo!
Barcelo Film Comp Reel 2019 from Anthony Barcelo on Vimeo.
Anthony is a newcomer to the Portland area and to the reel review, and the judges were excited to see a fresh face on the Compositing scene that clearly brings years of experience – and the reel to back it up! Anthony also submitted a super tight commercial reel (which is password protected) alongside his film reel above. Both had evidence of tight execution in terms of editing – and he scored points for the built in shot list descriptions below. Anthony takes home the newly released (and awesome) VFX Suite for After Effects, from Red Giant. This includes tools like Supercomp, Primatte, King Pin, and the Spot Clone Tracker. Also, a license of Neat Video for either Nuke/Resolve (OFX) or AE. Finally, a Red Giant T-shirt.
Last but not least, the 3D category winner: Kyle Schlosser
Kyle Schlosser FX Demo Reel from Kyle Schlosser on Vimeo.
Kyle is clearly an up + coming 3d artist, developing a mastery of FX and 3D. The judges appreciated the extremely tight presentation – there is a lot packed into 1:40 here! Kyle’s skills are taking leaps and bounds with each project he takes on, and this is the mark of a reel that should serve as a springboard to high level work in the coming years. Kyle wins a 1 year license of Substance Painter Indie for his efforts.
All of the winners will eventually receive a Reelie, the official desk trophy of the Portland SIGGRAPH Reel Review. This year’s Reelie was Will Vinton’s final character, as described in the announcement write up.
Again, a big thank you to all involved and to our sponsors. We look forward to doing this again soon! On that note, with the closure of the Art Institute, we’ll be looking to change the format of the Reel Review going forward to a structure that caters more to the amount of entries received this year. Be on the lookout for more details in the coming months, and make sure you’re signed up for the email newsletters to receive the info as it comes down. Until then, keep those reels sharp, Portland!
