Sue Lewak and Shish Aikat are

Sue Lewak and Shish Aikat are proud of their work with the John Hughes Institute

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF ENTERTAINMENT

The John Hughes Institute is helping visual effects professionals keep their edge

(Continued on page 30) E veryone loves watching movies. They transport us to new places and emotional experiences using a skillful combination of art and science. When filmmakers incorporate visual special effects into movies, there’s literally no limit to the stories they can tell. Nobody understands this more than married couple Shish Aikat and Sue Lewak.

Aikat has a distinguished background in visual effects (VFX), having worked on dozens of films like, “Life of Pi,” “Captain America: Civil War” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.” Lewak holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from UCLA where she previously taught courses that included graphic fiction. The couple moved to Playa Vista in 2009 when Aikat worked for the visual effects and animation studio Rhythm and Hues Studios that was located north of Jefferson on Jandy Place, where TOM’s Shoes is now.

Visual effects pioneer John Hughes, a co-founder of Rhythm and Hughes, next formed The John Hughes Institute, or JHI, with Aikat in 2014 to serve as an educational and training resource for universities as well as film production studios not just in Hollywood, but all over the world. Lewak currently serves as JHI’s Director of Programs and Development.

“The John Hughes Institute,” says Aikat, “is about the art and science of entertainment. We are about learning the code, living the art and also learning the science.” Aikat says the goal is to bring industry professionals who are working on Hollywood’s best practices into the classroom – whether that be in a brick and mortar school, or a virtual one.

“The wonderful thing about the John Hughes Institute,” says Lewak, “is that it’s at the cutting edge of rethinking the classroom. It’s very inspired by the Khan Academy and flipped classroom, hybrid experiences that are partly in-person and online.”

Because technology is always evolving, this type of learning platform is critical to filmmaking around the world. Animation and visual effects studio, Tau Films, also co-founded by John Hughes in 2014, where Aikat serves as the Head of Global Learning, has production arms in India, Malaysia, Canada and Beijing. When filmmakers need to be educated on the latest VFX techniques, JHI fills the niche.

“Having an educated workforce, an educated talent-base, is really important,” says Aikat. “We work in a creative and technology-based industry, but in the end it’s all about the people and what they bring to the table. Being able to tap into that potential workforce out there is essential to the future of the industry.”

Aikat became interested in VFX in the mid 1990s when he worked on the lot at Warner Bros. in their MIS (Management Information Systems) department. On his daily walks to the studio gym, he was inspired by watching live The John Hughes Institute Advisory Panel member Ken Roupenian, Shish Aikat, Advisory Panel member Daiush Derakhshani and Sue Lewak at The Lawn STORY BY SHANEE EDWARDS | PHOTOS BY ZSUZSI STEINER

LOCAL COMPANY EDVO MAKES FORBES 30 UNDER 30 LIST

At just 26, Shireen Jaffer is busting the paradigm of old-school job recruiting

STORY BY SHANEE EDWARDS | PHOTOS COURTESY OF EDVO

Playa Vista resident and entrepreneur Shireen Jaffer, 26, started her first company when she was just 18-yearsold. Born in Pakistan, her family moved to the affluent suburb of Palo Alto, California, when she was a small child. “I had one other South Asian kid in my class whose name was also Shireen!” Says Jaffer with a laugh.

As immigrants new to America, the family struggled to make ends meet. Jaffer, her parents and brother all lived in a one-bedroom apartment. Her lifestyle was very different than that of most of her friends, considering that once, in middle school, she remembers walking into a friend’s house to see her friend’s father casually video chatting with Steve Jobs. That’s when a lightbulb went on.

“For me, it was very clear from a young age that my friends had summer camps they could go to, their parents had connections; they were going to be fine. My mom was working three jobs. I started working when I was 14, so I knew I’d have to find connections myself and work much harder to keep up.”

While attending USC, she founded Skillify, a company that worked with high schools to implement curriculum to help students with career readiness. More recently, however, Jaffer discovered that while those young people were better prepared for the workplace, they still face difficulty navigating the job market once they graduated college.

“They were coming back to me and saying, ‘Shireen, I have everything I’m supposed to have, a Linked-In, I network, I have calls into companies, but this job search process is still a nightmare!’” People told her that recruiters would ghost them, they often didn’t hear back from employers, or they would only get offers from companies whose values didn’t align with the applicants. Shireen Jaffer (third from right) wants to help you find a great job or the perfect hire

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