[ VES SECTION SPOTLIGHT: LONDON ]
London Revisited: Thinking Differently to Meet the Moment By NAOMI GOLDMAN
TOP TO BOTTOM: VES London members partake in the Wellness Series, including a cooking class, essential oils tutorial and whiskey tasting.
The VES’ international presence gets stronger every year, and so much of that is because of its regional VFX communities and all that they do to advance the Society and bring people together. The London Section exemplifies ‘the big pivot’ compelled by the global pandemic, as they developed interactive online experiences that continue to deliver education and entertainment and foster a strong sense of community among their 265-plus members. “We were on a tremendous upswing as a Section in 2018/2019, delivering hands-on demonstrations and trainings, starting our collaboration with CAVE Academy, and hosting screenings and sponsored pub nights that attracted hundreds of people,” said Gregory Keech, Co-Chair of the VES London Section. “We had a lot of momentum and buzz in the community and were poised with a roster of amazing events that we expected would draw new members and build out our Section. Then COVID hit. Lucky for us, we have exceptional Section officers, including CAVE Academy founder Jahirul Amin, who helped us adapt quickly to create a calendar of dynamic webinars.” During COVID, VES London held more than 40 webinars (and counting) with CAVE and other partners, launched as the U.K. went into lockdown in March 2020. The series has covered topics ranging from: how lenses work, digital sculpting, drawing, real-time technology and on-set data acquisition, to panel conversations on mental health, the state of the industry, and diversity in VFX (co-hosted with ACM SIGGRAPH London, ILM and DNEG). The Section brought in more than 50 guest speakers, including VFX supervisors, producers, department heads, directors, actors, R&D executives and FACS experts. VES London also joined in multi-Section events, such as online Speed Networking, hosted by VES Los Angeles with the European Sections (London, France and Germany), to network with people they might not have the chance to meet in person. Some of the standout events hosted with CAVE Academy have included “Unleashing Unity for Media & Entertainment” featuring VFX training guru Ben Radcliffe; “Women in VFX” featuring senior industry professionals Debra Coleman, Harriet Edge-Partington, Marieke Franzen, May Leung, Lauren McCallum and Brenda Ximena Roldan Romerol; and “Sculpting Realistic Portraits” with Vimal Kerketta, which had 300-plus attendees – the most popular program to date. For all of these collaborations with CAVE, the Section secured sponsors and contributed to artist fees for the talks; and VES London board member Amin organized and hosted the events and created high-visibility promotions drawing hundreds of attendees. VES London prides itself on its creative approach to programming and takes its charge to building a vibrant VFX community seriously. “Before the pandemic, we looked at hosting screenings and panels with a different spin,” said Danny Duke, VES London Treasurer. “We were moving towards a big passion project, show-
90 • VFXVOICE.COM FALL 2021
PG 90-91 VES LONDON SECTION.indd 90
8/29/21 2:47 PM
