on ratatouille
a moment after the greatest night of Remy's life.
my demo reel is already 6 months old, but a lot of people are still asking me how it is that i chose the two environments that i modeled for my demo reel. and did it play a huge factor in getting the job at PixarCanada?
first off, i don’t really know how i got the job at PixarCanada, i’d like to think it was a lot of hard work and a lot of heart that went into my demo reel and they recognized that. my explanation below should cover it. and all i can say is just keep applying!
well, the scene in thailand was actually an assignment for my maya class. it was a major end of first term project with the potential for demo reel material. Tam Huynh, my ever talented and inspiring instructor eyed the rooftop garden scene out of all the photos i got off the net. he also gave me tips on lighting since i wanted to do something different from the reference photo. and because of that i dedicate that scene to him.
the other scene was modeled after an alleyway from ratatouille. in my opinion, this movie was extraordinarily different from any other Pixar movie. the lighting in it was stunning thanks to the phenomenal lighting direction of Sharon Calahan, my biggest inspiration and the woman i hope to one day meet. i found the concept art from “The Art Of Ratatouille”. that movie alone had a huge impact on me not just visually, but personally, that i simply had to make an homage .
the movie came out in 2007, a time in my life when i knew i wasn’t happy with my career. for 7 years i had been taking blood from patients for a living… but that was the problem: i felt like i wasn’t living. the job was repetitive, without any room for creativity; we strictly had to follow protocols or SOP’s: standard operating procedures. deviating from them could get us into trouble. and wielding a sharp implement to stab people became numb to me. trust me, i was great at it , but never even really phased me. what i really loved was modeling stuff. i had an intro to maya textbook from when my husband Allan went to 3d school. i gave it a try, loved it and got hooked! i mean, sure i just made a bouncing ball and a toy box, but wow, something in me really woke up. i used to be artistic when i was a kid, and she wanted to come back after all these years. so now i knew i wanted to work in 3d!
where was i? oh yes, 2007 was definitely a crossroads. a lot of things going against me. we had a mortgage, bills to pay, and an unstable 3d work field had Allan in and out of contracts. there was also the age issue: i knew i’d be older than all the people in my class and most likely even my instructors. also, not to mention the on going pressure from both sides of our family for me to have a baby. but i had to give 3d a try. the feeling of emptiness left me feeling so miserable. i didn’t want my future child (if i ever even have one) thinking that it’s ok to give up on your dreams.
there was yet another obstacle: all the schools had requirements mainly a portfolio, which i didn’t have. so i had to learn to draw again after all these years, training my brain to see things differently. it was actually fun because after work i’d go to art class!… (and sometimes i’d even skip out of work to take a 3 hour class in the afternoon). only a handful of people knew about it. it was like i was living two different lives. i remember feeling so alive, so hopeful.
so eventually, applications went out… then responses were mailed back. some schools that i applied to rejected me, or put me on a wait list because my portfolio wasn’t good enough or lacked potential. some schools required some kind of art background already. others that i really wanted to go to were waay too expensive and would’ve taken a few years to complete. i didn’t even dare to apply especially since they were considered “world renowned”. this was not going so well… it felt like it just wasn’t going to happen. what was i thinking? no one would ever take me seriously. should i just give up? many weeks went by with this pit in my stomach, that i was doomed to take blood for the rest of my life.
to cheer me up, Allan took me to the movies. so i sat in the theatre to watch “Ratatouille”. i love Pixar movies, they really are my inspiration to get in to 3d. but their stories are those that set them apart from other studios; it makes them timeless, classic. this one was a simple story about a rat who wanted more to life than what he was already doing. hmmm… i could totally relate. he was inspired by humans who don’t just “survive”, but rather they discover, and create! and there was a female character in the film Colette: the only female chef in the restaurant who had to work her way to where she was. a similar environment in the 3d world i hear, so her story is also relatable. but it was really Remy’s story that i understood and there were a few moments when he listens to his mentor, Gusteau’s words:
you must be imaginative, strong hearted. you must try things that may not work.
and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. your only limit is your soul.
it felt like he was talking to me. chills went down my back as i continued to watch. but overall, the most self assuring moment of the film came with Anton Ego’s words:
by the end of his speech, my eyes swelled with tears. it solidified my decision. i could be an artist! i could be “the new”! so i went full force and kept working on my portfolio until someone would accept my application… and there BCIT was. and the rest is still a story unfolding as we speak as i start as “the new” with PixarCanada. in that scene, the various characters lay in their beds unable to sleep after a momentous night but how would everyone else react? they lay there with wonderment, anxiety and hope. i can relate as i’ve had a few of those nights myself.
in hindsight, i realized remy and i had one more thing in common. throughout the beginning of the movie, he would look upon the pages of Gusteau’s book “Anyone Can Cook”. he would turn the pages fondly even though he knew the book by heart i’m sure. not only did it give him comfort, but it served as a continual source of inspiration for him. throughout my year at BCIT, i lugged my “Art of Ratatouille Book” everyday turning the pages and get inspired by the concept art. it was surely something to aspire to. had it not been for that book, i might have come up with a totally different demo reel, then perhaps Pixar might not have noticed my work and would never even hire me. but i did have the book, and i did model that particular scene. funny thing though, i modeled that well before we even knew they were setting up a studio here… funny how everything just came to be. though it is an homage to Pixar, i dedicate it to Allan, for letting me go on this journey of self-discovery and in the end i managed to find myself as i continue to go on this great adventure.
