Where did it all start ?
My interest in art started when I was I could first hold a crayon in my hand. I was always putting my imagination down on paper, to my mothers dismay, on her walls and later in school creating flipbook animations in my maths text books.
My career started at the Refinery in Johannesburg with Hilton Travis, H.O.D. and VFX supervisor, Rob Van Den Bragt, my lead on several projects, Marc Horsfield, albeit brief he showed me that it was possible to go work for the bigger studios abroad, Ernst Du Plessis, Darren Hofmeyr and Yolandi Meiring. I was fortunate to have worked with such incredible technical and creative artists. Each of whom helped me build a foundation that I still carry with me to this day.
Was there ever a crossroads in your path as an animator, a change of career decision etc ?
There were intermittent times when I was exploring other fields in film. I found an interest in photography that lead me to working on set. I found myself doing odd jobs as a runner, a spark, the grips department and later as a VFX wrangler. The biggest change was when I moved over to the academics for seven to eight years. I taught at university, colleges and at an Autodesk Training Centre at Learn 3D. Teaching gave me the opportunity to further my own studies and to explore my ideas. This lead me to pursue a master's in Digital Arts at W.I.T.S. The academic challenges at W.I.T.S. taught me to think and see art from an entirely new perspective. It allowed me to get into the psychology of what I was doing as a creative and how I could further evoke emotion in my personal work and those viewing it.
What was your biggest challenge/s
Being able to find peace in letting go of a shot or an entire sequence you and your team have been working on for months at a time. Only to be cut from the film and knowing that it will never be seen or appreciated by anyone else except those who worked on it.
What current or future technology excites you?
Right now the buzz words are Unreal and VR. I am curious to see how immersive these two platforms will become in film and whether that immersion will be bring film and games into one solitary experience.
Where and what would your ultimate destination be in terms of your work career ?
I never really had a defined goal or ultimate 'place.' It was something I just did. Whenever asked what my 5 year plan was? I would cringe and ultimately rebel against any structure or norms asked of me. I just kept exploring what opportunities presented itself. Focusing on what was in front of me and doing my best.
But to answer the question more directly. I am currently living it. I am doing things that my younger student self only dreamed of, not realising that it would one day become a reality. WETA Digital was one of those dreams and recently a new opportunity with ILM has presented itself, a destination that I hadn't even considered.
My ultimate 'destination' is to hopefully remain as curious as I have been since the first day I opened a 3d program.