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MAILING ADDRESS
Suite 3 – 145 19th Street Courtenay, BC Canada V9N 9G2 PHONE - (250) 871-8103 admin@lostboys-learning.com MAP View Larger Map |
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CONTENTS STAFF OVERVIEW Lost Boys Learning is owned and operated by Mark and Gillian Benard. Mark and Gillian bring over 30 combined years of production experience to the school, most recently having created and managed the world-class visual effects house Lost Boys Studios. With a passion for learning, sharing information and encouraging others to develop their creative abilities, Mark and Gillian work side-by-side with the students every day. Their knowledge is supplemented by traditional software training tools and an extensive DVD industry training library with the latest focused tutorials on specific topics. Guest lecturers and artists arrive each term to talk about their experiences in the industry, demonstrate specialized skills and lead the students in hands-on activities such as maquette modeling. A well-rounded selection of visitors ensures that the students have face-to-face discussion time with active artists and supervisors in the industry. MENTOR/INSTRUCTOR  Mark BénardRoleBénard is uniquely situated in the education field to provide world-class instruction and mentorship, in addition to being the primary decision-maker on the needs of the school, as owner of Lost Boys Learning. This combination eliminates the “teacher vs. school” model that leaves traditional classrooms lacking in the areas of progress, supplies or freedom of subject. At Lost Boys Learning, he has created an alternative to traditional classroom training techniques with an emphasis on Project-Based Learning and Mentorship. He brings his decade of studio, on-set and supervisory experience directly to a small group of students, emphasizing an open mind for personal exploration, new experiences and self-directed learning. Biography Bénard's obsession with creation has taken him from the humble beginnings of Lego champion of his hometown's annual fall fair to becoming a significant contributor to the VFX and 3D Animation Industry. One year out of film school Bénard's VFX exploits in Vancouver's rapidly expanding visual effects industry attracted the attention of Richard Branson's Virgin Digital Studios. Together they created the internationally acclaimed Lost Boys Studios, one of Canada's top 3D animation and visual effects boutiques, known for its innovation and creative flair. Key clients include Miramax, MGM, CBC, Electronic Arts, Vivendi Universal Games, Midway Games, Walt Disney Television Animation, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Bacardi, Toyota, Visa and REM. While helming Lost Boys, Bénard worked as a Visual Effects Supervisor, producer and artist on hundreds of productions, including the TV series The Outer Limits, Stargate SG-1 and Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, TV commercials including Bacardi, Coke and Toyota, and game cinematics for Need for Speed, LA Rush and The Hobbit. Bénard's feature film credits as Visual Effects Producer or Supervisor include the Oscar-nominated Finding Neverland, The Snow Walker, What the Bleep Do We Know and Unnatural and Accidental. In addition to Lost Boys Studios, Bénard has launched Lost Boys Entertainment Inc., a development and production company. Bénard executive produced the award-winning 3D animated short film "Frank Was A Monster Who Wanted To Dance", with co-Executive Producer John Williams of Vanguard Animation("Shrek", "Valiant" and "Happily N'Ever After"). In 2005 Bénard Co-Directed/Co-Produced the animated BRAVO Fact short "The Orchid and the Rose" with Dennis Tal, Diffusion Film Corp. Currently in development is the feature film "SmartParts" with Justin James, Producer and Derek Franson, Writer/Director. After the birth of his second child, Bénard made a new lifestyle choice and set his sights on Education. Heading up the Visual Effects Stream at the Vancouver Film School during 2004-2005, Bénard developed curriculum including designing visual effects production projects, from the live-action shoot through 3D, through the final composite. Selected Production Credits VFX Supervisor, Producer or Artist Film:
Read what others have to say about Bénard on the testimonials page. ADMINISTRATOR/DRAWING INSTRUCTOR  Gillian BénardRoleGillian is the student's primary administrative contact at Lost Boys Learning, handling registration, student services such as travel and housing, art supplies & DVD library, job search and resumes. She also coordinates studio tours, social events, publicity and promotion for the school. As Drawing Instructor, Gillian leads the students through the basics of traditional art concepts as they are relevant to the digital project, from gesture drawing to perspective to storyboarding techniques. Biography Gillian has been working in the entertainment business for over 20 years. Her first jobs were in theatre publicity and administration for the Western Canada Theatre Company and the Arts Club Theatre. She spent five years in TV commercial production at Polaris Entertainment and two years at BC's Knowledge Network. Prior to joining Lost Boys Studios in 1997, Gillian worked at Finale Editworks and Walt Disney Animation Canada in Vancouver. At Lost Boys, she has been responsible over the years for administration, finance, production management and editing. She met, managed or corresponded with hundreds of applicants and employees over the years as the primary Human Resources contact for Lost Boys. Gillian has a Fine Arts Diploma from Langara College, Vancouver and arts studies at Simon Fraser University. She is currently pursuing her BFA at Emily Carr University of Art & Design's External Program at North Island College. She is a member and previous Director of Women in Film & Video Vancouver and the Women’s Business Network in the Comox Valley. Her mixed media paintings show in galleries including the Comox Valley Art Gallery, The Muir Gallery and the Pearl Ellis Gallery in the Comox Valley. Awards
GUEST ARTISTS & SPEAKERS We are privileged to have a variety of Guest Artists and Speakers visit our school each term. Our guests in the last few years have included: John Gajdecki: Visual Effects Supervisor With over 17 years of international experience as a VFX Supervisor & Producer, John has worked on features, television shows and commercials for clients in Canada, US, Europe and New Zealand. Clients include Disney, Touchstone, Fox, MGM, Paramount and Universal Studios. Selected credits include: Slither, Dungeon Siege, Stargate Atlantis, I, Robot, A Wrinkle in Time, Down to Earth, The Other Side of Heaven, Stargate SGI, The Outer Limits, Johnny Mnenomic and Friday the 13th. John has three Gemini awards and three Emmy nominations. He has great understanding of all film and digital production formats, film IO methodologies, and an excellent grasp of 3D, 2D, and miniatures production pipelines. He designed & built a VFX Database and web interface to bid and manage large VFX projects using worldwide artists. Both on individual projects and as owner of GVFX, he negotiated multi-million dollar deals and produced countless hours of visual effects. He is an accomplished second unit and VFX unit Director/Cinematographer. "Mark and I have worked together many times over the past 15 years, so when an opportunity came to speak to the students at Lost Boys Learning I was there. The school's in a great location, the students were very tight and co operative, and seemed like a social group. I think my talk at LBL was the longest I ever did, the student's asked intelligent questions so I was happy to spend the entire day with them. They understood all of the basic and most advanced concepts and had great artistic flare in their work, by far one of the best groups I've spoken to." Kenneth Meyer: Jackrabbit Pictures Raised in Chicago doodling in his sketchbooks, Ken moved to Tucson, Arizona to pursue 350 days of sunshine a year as well as a BFA at the University of Arizona. After graduation, he worked for five years at East West Media Productions creating 2D, 3D, and stop motion animation. In 1998 Ken moved to Vancouver to experience nine months of rain a year and study character animation at the Vancouver Film school. After completing the course, he was hired as the Animation Director for Lost Boys Studios where he worked until 2004. He then founded Jackrabbit Pictures and the Caffeine Collective. Ken lives and works in Vancouver where he collaborates with international artists, directors, agencies and studios to create beautiful digital imagery for film, television, and the gaming industry. Ken discusses the animation pipeline and character design, and leads the class in a Sculpey maquette making workshop. Scott Dewis: Racerocks Digital Scott’s company works for TV series such as “Lost” and “Alias” and feature films such as “Star Trek” as well as producing animated sequences for Disney Interactive. Scott specializes in characters and introduces the class to advanced creature/character rigging techniques. "I have the privilege of giving short lectures to the Lost Boys Learning students, I also reviewed their demo reels which are very impressive. The class size is small and production based, the equipment is high end. The problems are real world and the instruction is from a proven professional in Mark Benard, supplemented by industry speakers.The focus seems to be on getting each student production ready, and the demo reels reflected this." Eric Petey: Senior Visual Effects Artist Currently working in the US, Eric is a BC native who returns to visit and shoot independent films, while advancing his VFX career at companies such as Digital Domain, Weta and Cinesite, working on films including Transformers and King Kong "Having worked for Mark Benard at Lost Boys Studios, I was interested to see how he would impart his vast vfx wisdom at Lost Boys Learning. After seeing the program in action, and meeting the students, I can see why their grads are snapped up so quickly - they are truly given the training they need to hit the ground running in production." Gregory Marquette: Director/Writer/Filmmaker Having been based in Hollywood for the past 15 years, Gregory Marquette entertains the Lost Boys crew with stories of filmmaking in Los Angeles and worldwide. Gregory works as an Executive Producer, Director, Cinematographer and Screenwriter, both on features and TV commercials, with credits including feature films "Innocence" and "Monarch of the Moon". He always shares his great George Lucas stories with the students. Barbara Dawson: CG Scout Inc. CG Scout expert Recruiter and CG Production Manager Barbara Dawson enlightens the students about the wild world of production and the fine art of acquiring a job. Don't chew gum, swear, expose too many body-piercings... and lots of great advice pertaining to how production workflow actually works (from her years at ILM, LucasArts & Mainframe) and which demo reels get the right attention. An entertaining and knowledgeable speaker, Barbara owns CG Scout Inc., a Vancouver-based animation and visual effects recruiting company with recent credits at Vanguard Animation and Technicolor. "Lost Boys Learning has a wonderful small studio feel to it. Mark and Gillian give the students hands on training that is pertinent to the current marketplace. They emerge from a year of study with a well rounded demo reel that could give them a leg up in the CG industry. Gillian offers great support from a production standpoint, playing the role of producer for each of the students personal projects. She also aids the students with their resumes and has many inroads and connections for immigration and job opportunities." |
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RECENT NEWS: Oct 10, 2008 - I’m proud to announce that we received a New Media Finalist Award at the MISTIC Awards held in Nanaimo last week. MISTIC is a Vancouver Island association that promotes and celebrates excellence in Science, Technology and Innovation. Nov 6, 2008 - Our new phone number, effective immediately, is (250) 871-8103. 
Oct 10, 2008 - Today we hosted guest artist Eric Petey, a seasoned VFX artist with credits such as Transformers, Speed Racer, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, King Kong, I, Robot and Die Another Day. A Rigger and Animator, Eric shared his personal stories and talked to the students about working environments at differents types of companies. (more) 
Sept 2, 2008 - Welcome to the class of 2009! Hailing from Korea, Ontario, Mexico City, Washington DC and London, England - a great mix of talent and personalities. We've completed the Personal Title project and our Telekinesis Spoon project with Maya and Nuke, and our Ghost project will be ready for Halloween. (more) 
June 20, 2008 - I'm happy to announce 100% student placement of the Lost Boys Learning graduating class of 2008; Perry Sohn, Andy Chen, Nicholas Knudson, Drew Current, Jennie Bates, George Kyparissous, and Hsuan-Yi Fang. Lucky companies include Atmosphere Visual Effects, Anthem Visual Effects and Technicolor in Vancouver, Big Studios in Toronto, Midway Games in Chicago, Pendulum Studios and Zoic Studios in California. Best wishes to you all in your new careers! (more) 
June 13, 2008 - Lost Boys travel to Vancouver for another Studio tour. This time we visit Spin, Embassy, Lux, and Rainmaker Entertainment's motion capture unit. (more) 
June 2, 2008 - Lost Boys hosts guest speaker John Gajdecki, VFX Supervisor/Producer for over 17 years. (Stargate SG1, A Wrinkle in Time, I Robot...) John shared his experience and brought along many before and after clips of VFX Shots ranging from complex full CG creatures/environments to deceptively complex wire removal shots. 
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