Walker Paulsen - GDC Observations

Post date: Mar 14, 2015 1:55:7 AM

MONDAY:

    I traveled to GDC. I met up with Tudy, Danny, and Kat with Caitlin and Stephanie at a restaurant named “Mikaku.” It wasn’t that great, and I wouldn’t go back, but at a table next to us, there were two men talking about Unity and Visual effects. I interjected into their conversation (politely!), and started up a conversation with them about Visual Effects. Their names were Collin and Matt, and Collin worked on the VFX for the Lord of the Rings and Avatar. What was interesting about this, was that they were both movie VFX artists, and they answered my main question whether I should learn VFX for movies. They discouraged me from pursuing movie VFX due to the oversaturation in the job market at the moment. They were really cool to talk to and we ended up trading business cards.

TUESDAY:

    Woke up early, met up with friends, and went into the Moscone center to get our passes registered for GDC. After this, Caitlin, Brittany, Stephanie and I walked to a free talk at the Ubisoft Lounge and we sat in. Brittany broke the game (It was called "Grow Home"), and we had a good laugh, but what was interesting was the man giving the talk. His name was Andy Buck, and he was a programmer on the game, and a former visual effects artist. He explained to me about how understanding the different curves for different FX can help shape a better effect; ex: two Sine waves oscillating in different directions can create a whirlwind effect. This included how the falloff of a curve can reflect how a FX's velocity behaves. After this, we went to scope out the place, and It was an interesting experience. I was nervous and felt out of place the entire time, but it was eye-opening and very insightful. It was a very valuable life lesson.

WEDNESDAY PART 1:

   It started out when we hit the ground running early in the morning. It was crazy, exciting, nerve wracking all at once. I was a nervous wreck who had no idea how to talk to anyone, and the hardest part was picking where to start. I managed, however, and did alright. I thought of this part of the day as a warm-up. As the day went on, I became better and better at talking to people and becoming a more personable and approachable guy.

WEDNESDAY PART 2:

    Around 12, I realized I was late to the VFX Roundtable. I ran and barely made it in on time, and sat on the edge of the room. I didn’t understand most of what they were talking about, but I got the gist of it. They mentioned wind systems, baking out simulations, as well as different techniques with using vector fields and GPU particles. Once the roundtable session was over, I met up with Jati (lead FX artist at Shiver and former Ringling Grad). We talked for a bit, caught up, and I waited to talk to the Lead VFX artist at Blizzard entertainment (who was talking to a few other artists. I didn't want to intrude on their conversation). The most interesting part in all of this though, was that while I was waiting, Jati was talking to someone behind me, who happened to be the Lead VFX artist at Riot Games. I turned around and started talking with them, and before I knew it, we were in a deep conversation about VFX and League of Legends. I exchanged business cards with her, and proceeded to wait for the Blizzard artists. I ended up interjecting in their conversations, but In the end I introduced myself and traded for their business cards as well. 

Here's probably the most important part for GDC for me:

As I was walking out the lead VFX artist at Riot, walked with me for a bit, and ended up giving me a portfolio review. This was my shining moment and she gave me REALLY helpful advice! I’ve never had such an in depth review from anyone before. We went our separate ways and I met up with friends for Lunch.

The day continued, and I made a ton more connections.

THURSDAY:

    The day started slow, and I didn’t really talk to many people, but it picked up after Lunch when I hung out in the back of the career center. I met up with a senior VFX artist from Infinity Wars, who really enjoyed my portfolio and gave me his business card. He told me to stay in contact with him. I also met a Riot employee who was a data analyst and someone from Rockstar games. The day went on, and I traveled the expo floor with friends, meeting up with Ringling Alumni and classmates. Before dinner, we talked with a guy named Travis, who was a producer at Digital Domain. He was hilarious and gave a ton of good advice on life in general and what it's like working in the industry.

    We went to dinner later, and then after went to a programmer party hosted by Sony. It was alright, but the best part was when we left. As we were walking home, we JUST SO HAPPENED to be walking along a guy who worked at SQUARE ENIX. It was really interesting talking to him, he was a creative director, and he offered up his business card and said that he enjoyed talking to students.