The Vancouver Film School — celebrating its 30th anniversary this year — has partnered with cutting-edge company Mimic Performance Capture to build the largest commercial performance-capture studio in Canada, situated in the school’s renowned Film Production campus.
The facility is designed to be a world leader, with the capacity for advanced stunt work, voice work, camera systems, methodology and applied research. VFS and Mimic will be able to collaboratively develop specialized curricula and training workshops for school programs, staff and students.
“At Vancouver Film School, our aim is to deeply integrate our programs with leading entertainment media/production companies, providing industry and educational insight for our students. This applied approach to learning will have far reaching benefits for our students as it makes their first day at VFS their first day on the job,” said Ted Gervan, VP of Education at VFS.
VFS alumni will have first crack at commercial performance-capture employment opportunities at the studio, as well as enhanced training and eduction in the latest motion-capture skills and techniques. Mimic has also committed to mentoring students on projects involving performance capture, and will work with VFS’s animation, game, film and acting programs to make the most of the opportunities presented by the new facility.
This education and industry partnership marks an important step in developing an elite performance capture community within Vancouver’s thriving entertainment industry. “We’re excited to be collaborating with VFS, the school produces the highest caliber of graduates and we’re looking forward to helping shape these future industry leaders,” said Graham Qually, President of Mimic Performance Capture.
Ahead of its completion date of May 18, VFS and Mimic received plenty of interest, with an influx of booking requests arriving from game, film and TV producers. A launch ceremony for the Performance Capture Studio on Thursday will feature VFS instructors and alumni, as well as prospective clients from local film, TV, video game and animation studios.
