VAD and Previz Roles in Virtual Production with Punn Wiantrakoon Ep 24
On top of being a filmmaker and graphic designer, Punn has lived his dream job—working for some of the most renowned studios in Hollywood. Some titles include Jurassic World, Mandalorian, and Jungle Book.
As a kid he was influenced by comic books but growing up in Thailand he deemed it impossible to work for Disney. But when he got into the United States, all doors of opportunity opened for him. He discovered his passion for art at an early age and this is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Not able to fund his education, he went for the self-study route. He bought a book about computer software, worked his way through and the rest is history.
Being in the Visual Art Department is exciting. It's never been boring. You get to work with an amazing team, collaborate, and brainstorm ideas that fully translate into a perfect final product. Punn shares his experience and stories working as a visual artist. Don't miss this gem of an episode and listen now.
Highlights of the Episode:
00:00 Introduction
00:38 Introduction of Guests
02:17 Punn's story
10:20 The Pleasure of Learning and Finding things out
11:27 Knowing what to do early on
17:02 Passion for the industry
19:37 Fueled by passion
23:45 Generalist mindset
27:51 Having a good eye for visuals
30:14 Being coachable
32:25 When do virtual art and traditional art departments cross paths
34:52 What's the VAD like
39:56 Future of Photogrammetry
41:49 Previous output or final content
42:59 Does real-life production and filmmaking experience help in a previous role
44:10 What would a demo reel for a previous artist look like
46:17 Iterative workflow
49:14 CG character performance in the VAD
55:45 Collaborating with assets
58:29 Hard surface objects
1:00:00 Picking one aspect of unreal to really master
1:00:38 VAD Guilds
Quote:
"All in all, I feel like you can't just be a model or a texture artist, a lighter, a rigger, you have to embody that generalist mindset. You have to think about the end product, the whole thing as a whole."
- Punn Wiantrakoon on the mindset you need to start in virtual production
Connecting with the Guest:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/punn-wiantrakoon/
Websites: https://punnw.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yes.punn.intended/
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1577222/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1
Connecting with CG Pro:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/becomecgpro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomecgpro/
Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/becomecgpro
RSVP here for upcoming CG Pro Podcasts: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/cg-pro-39748423833
