VanArts Helps Create Summer Blockbusters

Summer movies always make billions of dollars with their gaudy budgets and startling special effects. This year, a number of VanArts staff, students and graduates helped bring you those effects.

Stay until the credits in many of the summer’s biggest blockbusters and you can see student names like:

• The Dark Knight Rises: Eleonor Lindvall (rotoscope artist)
• Total Recall: Nik Brownlee (lead digital compositor), Lionel Heath (compositor), Eleonor Lindvall (rotoscope artist), Blake Laing-Smith (digital artist)
• Dark Shadows: Esdras Prudente (rotoscope artist), Blake Laing-Smith (digital artist), Reika Nishio (senior matchmove artist)
• The Amazing Spider-Man: Shane Wicklund (digital compositor), Jyoti Deshpande (digital artist)
• Journey 2: Mysterious Island: Blaine Toderian (animator), Alexis Chapman (roto lead), Nina Laureles (data wrangler)
• John Carter: Nik Brownlee (compositor), Grant Wilson (animator)
• VanArts was also all over the film credits for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The movie saw contributions from:
• Full-Time Grads: Harsh Mistry (layout technical director), Kodie MacKenzie (compositor), Patrick Thompson (compositor), Esdras Prudente (rotoscope artist), Alexis Chapman (rotoscope artist), Nina Laureles (visual effects artist), Reika Nishio (senior matchmove artist)
• Part-Time Students: Darshan Mehta (modeler), Greg Hansen (FX technical director)
• Instructor (Visual Effects Program): Derik Gokstorp

Schools mentioned: The Vancouver Institute of Media Arts