Hasta La Motion!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrJQDPpIK6I

Anyone seen this yet?
Some great acting and no cliches in there 😉

Anyway, the effects look pretty good.
I even got a couple of shots in there 🙂

At the last gathering, mboden and Aruna had the idea that it would be fun to try and organise a gathering during SIGGRAPH. So, this is the official poll for deciding on the particulars. In an effort to be a little more organised with the planning compared to the last one, the poll will close a few weeks prior to the start of SIGGRAPH. Hopefulyl that will give everybody enough time to fit it in their schedules. Whichever day and location is in the lead when the poll closes will be the official location. In the event of a tie when the poll closes, I’ll be sorely disappointed in democracy, and I’ll decide between the finalists ASAP.

Mboden came up with a shortlist of places that are fairly near the convention center where SIGGRAPH is taking place. I haven’t yet had a chance to check them out myself.

The Edison – http://www.edisondowntown.com/main.htm. Slightly more upscale bar restaurant club in downtown.

Libary Bar http://www.librarybarla.com/menu.html. Bar with food

Bordello – http://www.bordellobar.com/flash/index.html – Bar Nightclub

"LA Live" http://www.lalive.com/eat/eat – has several restaurants in it. It is kinda the lame suburban fanfare but very close to SIGGRAPH.

Edison and Bordello are the furthest from LA Convention Center. (Approx. 2 miles. Slightly less convenient for anybody staying right by the convention, but I imagine it may be quite a bit less crowded.)

Library Bar is a short distance, and LA Live is next to LA Convention Center.

So, vote away. And, if you have something to show off at SIGGRAPH, post it here so we all know to keep an eye out for it.

In a former life, I was a freelance editor on various TV shows & films in L.A. I’m now switching over to visual effects and will soon be re-vamping my resume.

I was never really completely satisfied with my resume (layout that is) as it was just mainly a sequential list of shows I had worked on. I also didn’t list any dates as you know how freelancer situations can be… projects last anywhere from a couple weeks to many months.

We freelancers certainly don’t have the ‘Worked for company A from 1989 – 1996, worked for company B from 1996 – 2005’ etc. like most ‘normal’ people do.

So, I’m curious as to how other freelancers have their resumes set up.

Thanks!
–Jud

Doing VFX, we have to be ready to leave the country for months at a time to work on a project. Most of us return home, some of us find a new home. So, in short, a lot of us have the nomadic lifestyle, which makes it difficult to consider any one place a permanent home. And with a lot of VFX work leaving Los Angeles, a lot of us wonder if it’s even worth it to buy, even though we might be able to afford a place. But just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Will we be working in the same city 3 years from now. With Canada becoming the hot spot, a lot of us are considering the strong possibility of moving over over the next few years. So why buy a home, if you just have to get up and move a few years down the line?

Some argue you could always rent out the home you bought, and some argue you are wasting your money every month with rent. But in a city like Los Angeles, where buying a home is EXPENSIVE, and the uncertainty of the industry over the next few years, it does beg the question. Is it worth it to buy a home, or does the flexibility of being able to get up and move should the opportunity arrive?

I was looking to buy, but now I think I have to wait another year due to recent circumstances beyond my control (known as life). But even if I could, do I really want to? Tax benefits aside, buying a home IS expensive, and something that you shouldn’t jump into regardless of the benefits.

What about you guys? Accept the nomadic lifestyle and rent, or try to settle down and buy, despite the ever changing face of the industry?