twixt media

Play Green - Can gaming have a larger social purpose?

2010-03-26T09:51:00.001-07:00

WARNING - Allowing children to watch TV could turn them into animators!

2007-11-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

Growing up my mother had few rules and was lenient when it came to my consumption of television. Thank goodness! As long as the grades were exceptional (I'm Chinese, good is just not good enough) I could just about watch anything. Being a little geek, I was less interested in the Super Friends and more interested in School House Rocks.

Thanks to my healthy appetite for TV, after doing the 'right' thing and completing a noble education in architecture, I did the old head fake and fooled my family into letting me become an animator. I traded my Auto CAD for Softimage and my black turtleneck for a hoodie.

I spent the first decade of my career learning the production floor from the ground up at the legendary Mainframe Entertainment while simultaneously teaching at (what I think is one of the best CG schools in the world), Vancouver Film School, aka VFS. In that time I've honed my people skills and ability to guide a project, be it studio or student, from the idea stage to completion.

My latest project, laneway, was funded by the Canada Council for the Arts and represents the more independent side of my work. If you're into architecture, design and animation in the form of a short documentary then check it out. I'm really proud of this project and think the designers who built the house are onto something.

In the development tank here at twixt we're breeding some wild animals and feeding them a healthy staple of animation, while hatching our next scheme in the form of a book. More on that in the future so stayed tuned and thanks for stopping by.

peace,

Casey

Demo Reel

2007-11-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

This is an older demo reel from 2004. I'll up-date this over the christmas break and have something ready for 2008. Enjoy this one for now.

Peace.

What I Do

2006-02-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

I can still remember the day I asked to be moved off of ReBoot and onto Beast Wars (or Beasties as it's known in Canada 'cause Canadians are far too pussy to use the word WAR on a kids show - go figure eh!). It was Mainframe's first client driven project and for the most part, no one on the production floor wanted anything to do with it. "It's a Hasbro project - why would you want to work on that?" seemed to be the sentiment on the floor. For me what I saw was an opportunity to learn from the ground up. Start at zero and see what happens.

And what did I learn? Well for starters, I luv pre-production.

Over the last 11 years I've had the privilege to play a lead role on many of the pipelines I've worked on each of which presented their own set of challenges and solutions. With Beast Wars we took the production pipeline developed on Reboot and tightened it down into a 12 week production cycle per episode. On ReBoot Season 3 we brought on shadows which for television at the time was nothing short of insane. On Barbie in the Nutcracker it was hair and cloth on a TV budget. And on the latest project, Tony Hawk in Boom Boom Sabotage, it was about defining a pipeline that could accommodate the visual language of skateboarding.

As a designer the greatest quality that I can offer to any given project is my ability to see the relationships between all the different aspects of the production process. From early concept development right through to final execution. What I bring that I believe is unique, is not only an understanding for it, but an ability to communicate it to a team and help develop an environment of trust to guide us to the finish line.

So whether you're looking for team lead or simply need a concept brief for your art department drop me a message and let's talk.

If you would like to see a sample of my work please feel free to e-mail me at twixt@shaw.ca or drop by my living room to look at some photo albums and have a drink.

Casey's Bio

2006-02-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

I've been working in the computer animation industry for over ten years. During that time I have worked on numerous television and direct to video projects for Mainframe Entertainment and Nerd Corps. Starting as a junior artist in the modeling department at Mainframe in 1995, I have worked through the ranks of the production floor giving me a unique understanding and perspective of the production process. My credits include Creative Concept Director, Director of Technical Development, and Supervising Animator on projects such as Beasties, ReBoot, Beast Machines Transformer, and Barbie in the Nutcracker. Most recently, I was the Production Designer and CG Supervisor on Tony Hawk in Boom Boom Sabotage a feature length direct to DVD project. Currently, I am working at the Vancouver Film School as a Senior Instructor teaching Concept Development.

During my seven year tenure at Mainframe I also served as Department Head of Lighting/Visual Effects and helped lead several of Mainframe’s development projects. What makes my experience unique is my involvement in the educational community over the last ten years. Seeing a need to move away from individual centered work, I initiated and designed group projects which focused on collaboration, teamwork and communication.

I hold a Bachelor of Architecture with High Distinction from Carleton University and a Post-Diploma in Computer Animation from Sheridan College. In 2003 I was awarded an Emerging Artist Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.

I live in Vancouver, British Columbia with my wife Angela and two sons Milo and Theo.

Teaching Experience

2006-02-15T22:25:00.000-08:00

I have been teaching at the Vancouver Film School for the last decade, helping the school build what has become arguably one of the best CG schools out there.

My favourite part about teaching is 'inventing' projects for my students to take on. There's few things more rewarding for me then defining a creative problem and guiding a team through the process of resolving it. When it comes to genre of work, my professional world has been consumed with mostly boy's-action. As a result I decided to focus my students on preschool (there's only so many transforming shooting robots a guy can handle).

Included in the Teaching link are some highlights from Campaign Poo Poo, a mock PSA I ran as group projects. I'll add more projects as time goes by.

Thanks to all my students for their work and enthusiasm.

Production Credits

2006-02-15T22:14:00.000-08:00

DOCUMENTARY

Laneway – Producer, Director & Editor
A 20 minute docu-short which documents the unique laneway house by two young architects through the use of animation, photography and interview footage. Funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Back Story – Director, Editor
A 5 minute “no-budget” docu-short which explores the relationship between back story and design. Screened at the Vancouver Film School Film Festival 2002

3D ANIMATION

Tony Hawk in Boom Boom Sabotage – Production Designer & CG Supervisor
Feature length animated film for direct to DVD market featuring the motion capture and voice of legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk.

Hot Wheels – Acceleracers – Creative Concept Director
Four feature length animated movies for both television and direct to DVD markets

Dragon Boosters – Environment Concept Artist
A computer animated series aimed at the boys action market.

Barbie in the Nutcracker – Director of Technical Development
A computer animated feature length production for the direct to video market

Kinahan’s Law – Supervising Animator (title animation)
A Canadian independent short film

Beast Machines: Transformers – Supervising Animator
A computer animated series airing on YTV and FOX Kids

Beast Wars – Supervising Animator
A computer animated series airing on YTV and various American networks

ReBoot! Season 3 - Supervising Animator
A computer animated series airing on YTV and ABC

ReBoot! Season 2 – Animator/Modeler
A computer animated series airing on YTV and ABC