Blues DJ has worlD wiDe following
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September 26 2012 www.newwestnewsleader.com
united didn’t give capilano any room to move saturday in their match at hume park. See page A18
Forum to tap into the ‘buzz’ mario bartel NewsLeader
mArIO bArteL/NeWSLeADer
nick Boughen, the director at cg Masters academy in new westminster, surveys the space in his new visual effects school that will become a green screen studio.
Computer animation school opens mario bartel
opened CG Masters Academy at New Westminster’s Plaza 88. By training artists to create photo-realistic effects, Boughen and his faculty of instructors—in areas like particles and dynamics, photography, lighting and shading, compositing and rigging—hope to fill a gap that often forces local production houses and effects studios to import talent from around the world to meet the ever-growing demand for computergenerated visuals by the film industry.
photo@newwestnewsleader.com
The measure of Nick Boughen’s success as an instructor will be when nobody notices his students’ work. After 15 years as a visual effects artist for films like I, Robot, Invictus and Salt, and TV series like The L Word, along with hundreds of commercials, Boughen has embarked on training the next generation of computer-savvy artists seeking to bring their imagination to life on the big screen. He and his wife Vickie have just
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That can get expensive, dealing with language barriers, work visas, accommodation. Using homegrown talent also allows studios to take advantage of provincial tax incentives. Boughen says visual effects are no longer the exclusive domain of big-budget science fiction or action blockbusters. As locations become harder or more expensive to access, and directors push their imaginations, visual effects can bring the images in their head to reality.
“Creative people are seduced by the idea they can create anything they can imagine,” says Boughen. Sometimes those imaginings can be as mundane as placing a specific building in the background of a shot. It’s not glamourous work, says Boughen. Creating that background can take a team of artists days of writing code. A low-res version is then delivered to the director as a reference for the foreground action he wants to shoot. please see FuLL-tIme, A3
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There’s a buzz about New Westminster, and it’s bound to get louder at the New West Economic Forum to be hosted Nov. 8 by the city and the Chamber of Commerce. The forum will bring together leaders in retail, health care, education, real estate and demographics to discuss key issues and trends that will influence the city and region’s economy, said Mayor Wayne Wright. “New Westminster’s position and economic advantages will be a key focus of the event.” Compared to the rest of Metro Vancouver, New Westminster issued the greatest value of building permits per square kilometer in 2011- $15,120,960. By 2031, the city’s population is expected to surpass 90,000 residents. “New Westminster has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade and this is a great opportunity to hear from some of the key players behind the success,” said Chamber of Commerce president Andrew Hopkins. please see reNNIe, A3