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I am a highly creative and motivated Roto Paint Artist and Junior Compositor specialising in Nuke and Silhouette, with a high level of problem solving skills and keen eye for details. My passion is in creating beautiful stories through visually stunning imagery that bring new worlds to life for people to enjoy. Whether that is within Film, Episodic or Commercial format, I am always open to a range of project types and feedback from clients and colleagues.
Specialisms:
Compositing and Roto Paint/Prep 2D
SHOWREEL
GET TO KNOW ETHAN
What was your inspiration for pursuing a career in VFX?
Since I could remember, I was always a creative at heart and mind. My parents have been a big inspiration as they are also very creative, which allowed me to grow this passion. After coming to Escape Studios, I just fell in love with Roto Paint and Compositing. It was the perfect marriage of my artistic and newfound technical skills within Nuke and Silhouette. This love of compositing has only grown as I work on more projects, generating beautiful images and stories, whilst enjoying the ones that have already been made.
What hobbies do you have?
I have loads of hobbies, ranging from sports to technology. I have always been very sporty throughout my whole life playing Rugby, Cricket and Football at school and club level. I also am a big Golfer and Fisherman; I love how they are both relaxing and social all at the same time. I also enjoy getting techy in my own time and have built a drone and 3D printer. Finally, I am a very keen photographer, I recently went on a dream trip to Iceland and had some amazing opportunities to apply my love of photography and composition.
How would your peers describe you in 3 words?
Caring Creative Solver
Do you have any industry experience? If so, please give a concise explanation of the experience.
I have now been part of two external film projects outside of Escape Studios. I have worked on ‘Ocean’s Playbook’ for Director, Sam Dawes, as a Roto Artist, working within Silhouette to roto actors. This allowed me to become more efficient at rotoscoping work, whilst still maintaining accuracy. The second Film I worked on is ‘Odd Socks’ for Director, David Ledger, as a Prep Artist, doing clean up of puppeteers and poles. This has given me excellent experience working on a professional production to generate ‘pixel perfect’ clean up, as well as gaining greater understanding of delivering a high quality of work, the workflows and interacting with the client.
How would you describe your contribution to your group project?
In the project, Game Heist, my role was Lead 2D Artist. This role was important as we had a lot of shots to manage between only two other Compositors. I generated lots of template scripts and ensured that quality was maintained from shot to shot, but also done on time for the deadline. We were always going to face challenges and it was my job to ensure we came up with solutions quickly and effectively, so communication was paramount. As well as working on Roto Prep and Compositing, I was also the grading artist for this project. I really enjoyed having some freedom to generate a creative grade, taking inspiration from Wes Anderson with a saturated look. Whilst also making sure the correct workflow for grading was maintained by neutralizing the plates beforehand, and setting the ‘look’ of the CG assets in comp before the creative grade.
What lessons did you learn from undertaking your project that you'll take with you into your career?
One lesson I will take forward with me into my future as a VFX artist, is how important communication and feedback is within projects. I found that a project can quickly crumble if communication is not maintained and will also never progress to be the best it can be without taking onboard feedback. Feedback is not just important for the creative process but also for ensuring you maintain the deadline and don’t over scope.
What would your ideal first role in the industry be?
I would love to start my career as a Roto Paint/Prep artist or Junior Compositor at any size production house. I am always open to work on a range of project types whether that is Film, Episodic or Commercials. I would be happy with an entry level role as a Roto Paint artist, with the great aspirations to become a Compositor as soon as the opportunity arises. Either role will help me to farther strengthen my technical skills and give me that invaluable industry experience, whilst working on exciting new projects.
What's an achievement from the past 3 years that you're proud of?
I am very proud that I became a studio assistant at Escape Studios, during my second year of studies. I began as a studio assistant for first year students, and since have been working with the Short Course Evening classes. This has been an incredible experience, allowing me to build my problem solving skills and communication skills. I feel very privileged that in such a short amount of time I have gained the confidence to help pass on the learning of lots of Roto Prep and Compositing skills to new students. This has also challenged my time management skills, as I have balanced studio assistant, coursework, and external projects all at the same time.
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