Siggraph

So it is that time of the year again....and many of us East Coast peeps are gonna be in LA for the big event. What would be really great if we could plan to meet our West Coast Alumni....any suggestions....??
I know that most of the nights will be booked with "the party's" schmoozing to get a job...but seriously can we plan out one night or evening or morning to meet up.....maybe some of you already set up with jobs on the West Coast are looking hire....or just get together and get to know each other.....

Let me know who is game and I will set it up.....

Introductions - Aditi

Hey everyone - I graduated from CADA 2006. I've been freelancing ever since (and a little before) and recently joined staff at Brand New School NY earlier this year in March. And yes the freelance vs staff was huge debate for me too. Officially I'm a lighting TD, and unofficially a nerd. :-p I haven't met some of you, especially after I graduated, but its cool to see how everyone is doing. Great idea Mehma!

As for what I've been up to - mostly my job is to light, shade, and render all of our 3D projects, and since I code, I'm working on writing a small CG Pipeline for our 3D department. I've done various mel scripts here and there whenever someone needs something. I took down my personal website to update it, but I'll repost it whenever I finish... but in terms of recent work, the HP spot and the Dodge spot on the Brand New School website are good indications.

You guys have brought up some good topics already on this blog, so I'll go post my comments to those right now ;)

freelance vs. staff

Time to start stirring up things. Which is better, freelance or staff? The eternal question. Before I started working, the thought of having to look for a job every 4 or 5 months always scared me (I wanted to work in film, and this seemed to be the average turn around). When I got off school, I started working in commercials, which meant looking for a job every couple of weeks. Looking back on it, after doing it for a year now, I'm damn glad I did it. Yes, there were scary moments and a couple of weeks without work here and there, but the experience is priceless. I had a chance to see how different houses work, their pipelines, location, different types of projects. And my learning curve has been real steep too. And not to mention the people you meet. I haven't shown my demo reel in over a year, and yet I keep getting hired at new places. I think the most important lesson I've learned this past year is that the relationships you make in this business are gold; and your work ethic.

Introductions - Rodrigo Dorsch

Okay, my turn. I'm Rodrigo Dorsch, CADA graduate, class of '07. I moved back to LA in July of last year (I used to live here before and moving back was always my plan) and have been working since then as a freelance compositor. I've worked at a few places, including The Syndicate, The Mill LA, Sea Level, and a52. I'm currently at Zoic Studios and in a couple of weeks I'll be going over to Warner Bros. to work on The Sarah Connor Chronicles for five months as part of an in-house VFX team. My website is www.largerthanlifefilm.com, but I haven't updated it since May of 2007...

Introductions!!!

One of the comments about this blog was that each one of us take the time out and introduce ourselves (good idea)......I think its really great that so many CADA Alumni have already signed up for this group and will soon be taking an active part.....
So to get back to the Introductions......My name is Mehma Sachdeva, I'm from Mumbai, India and a recent graduate of CADA. I have been a generalist so far and though I came to CADA thinking I might become a specialist......being a generalist agrees with me more.....to see some of my work and get my contact info you can visit my website www.mehmasachdeva.com. I am currently working in NYC, with Geodsx. A company that is a joint venture of an American (JDK Design) and Indian company (AliaGroup). We mainly outsource work...and since we are fairly young in the 3D business, our 3D is limited to Print and Web animations......

Demo Reel - DVD Cover Idea

Just thought I would pass this along:
Good Printing for cheap - I used them a few times, they do have nice quality prints.
http://www.OvernightPrints.com


And Idea for DVD Covers
I order regular 8.5 x 11 and just trimmed the height myself. The prints came out really nice and are almost the same texture as the DVD Covers.
100 single sided 8.5x11 brochures for $99.95
If you ship UPS Ground it takes around 10 days to get it.

So you aren't doing 3-D for a living...?

This is just a short note of encouragement to any other CADA peeps who, for whatever reason, aren't directly using their CADA-earned skills. The note reads:
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Who cares?
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Yes, NYU is terribly expensive. And, there is a lot of pride that comes from finishing the program so, conversely, a bit of regret if you aren't directly using those skills. But, it's not the end of the world.

Here's my take, a few years out:

Being creative, being an artist, means trying something new. Sometimes failure is part of the process. Here's the thing: I don't look at my CADA time as failure. I discovered that while I like technology, art, and animation... I hate doing it for a living.

That was hard to admit. If you're processing the same, no worries.

Professionally, the skills I learned at CADA have been useful (still do a few related projects). Personally, I've used the visualization techniques as I work to restore an old Victorian house.

I just wanted to say all this because I think our program thinks that only those who work in "the industry" have used their time and money well. I disagree. I'm grateful for my experience at CADA -- even though in the end I discovered animation wasn't for me. I hope to keep in contact with our creative group regardless of where you use (or don't use) your CADA skills.

Hope this helps anyone wondering the same...
Katie

Hello!!

Creating a group which connected all of us on LinkedIn was not enough....so I have created this blog spot where we can all put down thoughts, process, work, frustrations....ask for help etc etc