12/1/21 International Alumnx Panel (IN PERSON)
Einar Baldvin was born in Reykjavik, Iceland. He moved to the US to study in The Program of Experimental Animation at CalArts. He received The Hollywood Foreign Press Scholarship to complete his studies. During his time at CalArts, Einar made two films, Moon Into Blood, and Catatonic.
Einar received his master’s degree in Animation from the School of Cinematic Arts at USC. During his studies there he received the Thor Thors Icelandic-American Scholarship as well as The Phi Beta Kappa Scholarship. At USC, Einar made two films. Baboon which premiered at The Annecy International Animation Festival, and The Pride of Strathmoor, which premiered at The Telluride Film Festival and went on to win awards at several top festivals, including the grand animation prizes at Slamdance and Florida Film Festival in 2015 as well as winning Best Nordic Short at Nordisk Panorama.
In 2014, Einar co-founded GLAS Animation with Jeanette Bonds. GLAS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose core mission is to cultivate and promote the art and science of animation. In 2015 Einar and Jeanette launched the GLAS Animation Festival, which has since grown into being the largest, and most prestigious animation, festival in the United States.
Commercially, Einar has done animated work for Apple, James Franco, Strawberry Frog, Starburns Industries as well as Marvel. His work on the campaign 'Out The Monster' by OREXO was awarded the Gold Lions Health Award at the Cannes Lions Festival in 2015. Einar is currently making an animated short for FX Networks.
Simón Wilches-Castro is an award-winning director and animator from Colombia, He's currently based in Los Angeles where he works as a Creative Director at Titmouse studios.
He's directed animation for the TV show WandaVision, AppleTV's Everlight, Dua Lipa’s Hallucinate animated video and Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending things. He directed “The Emperor’s newest clothes” for HBO, various pieces for The Gates Foundation, and did a "One Direction" Smut fiction for Euphoria.
His films have screened in the most important festivals around the world and have earned him various awards and recognitions, including two Adobe design achievement awards, two Annie Awards nominations, and two student Academy Award regional finalist nominations, plus six consecutive official selections in the Annecy Festival and a Best Music video award at the New Chitose Airport Festival, among others.
In 2020 He founded Amaltea INC. An animation company for independent projects
Simón received his MFA from the John C. Hench Division of Animation at USC and is also a Fulbright Scholar.
Simo Liu
Simo Liu is a multi-faced artist based in Los Angeles. She works on illustration, motion graphics, and graphic design, combining various styles, techniques, and meanings with creative spirits to achieve multiple aesthetics. She is influenced by Surrealism artist Rene Magritte, MC Escher, and graphic design masters Saul Bass, Shigeo Fukuda, etc.
Simo served as a graphic designer at Illustration Entertainment. Also, she worked as an animator at Tokyo Broadcasting Television (TBS) in Japan. Her recent clients include The Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, Medium, Mural, Politico, etc.
Simo recently received the D&AD Award Next Pencil of Illustrator. Her work also was awarded and selected from the Society of Illustrator 63, World Illustration Awards 2020, American Illustration 40, Los Angeles Animation Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Toronto Animation Arts Festival International, and many others.
Cassie Shao
Chenglin Xie
https://chenglin.wixsite.com/chenglin
Chenglin Xie was born in China. He received BFA degree from China Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2016, and MFA degree from School of Cinematic Arts of University of Southern California in 2019. Currently, Chenglin works as an animation director and story artist based in LA.
Chenglin is an award-winning filmmaker. His best-known film, Life Smartphone, won the Gold Medal in the 44th Student Academy Awards® in the International Animation Category, has been shortlisted for Best Animated Shorts of 90th Academy Awards®, and has been nominated for 43rd Annie Award in the category of "Best Student Film." Chenglin’s work has been screened in many film festivals across the world, including the Sundance Film Festival, the Annecy International Animation Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, among others. In 2015, Chenglin was honored to be listed as one of the top 5 directors in the “Top 30 Short Film Directors In China Of The Year”. In 2018, he was honored as one of the “Top 10 Outstanding Chinese America Youth”.
Shengwei Zhou (szhou894@usc.edu):
ReplyDeleteI especially like Einar Baldvin's work and his status. One of the inspirations he brought to me is that as an independent artist, I need to explore different identities based on my own creativity and concepts.
Einar Baldvin's first identity is an animator, which is his core identity. He showed his work in class, a black and white hand-drawn style dark fable. Then he radiated his style from this center to different forms. He took out an illustration book he made, which shows that he has another identity as an illustrator. He is also one of the co-founders of the GLAS Animation Festival, curating and promoting many independent animations in the United States. It can be seen from this that he takes his own work as the core, and constantly develops new identities, making himself a medium that can reach more opportunities.
I am deeply touched by this, because I am also trying to explore and develop different identities. When shooting my first feature animation SHe, I was not only a stop motion animator but a contemporary installation artist, giving life to daily waste and creating new connotations of it through deconstruction and reorganization. On the one hand, this work can be shown in various film festivals, on the other hand, it can also enter the contemporary art system to do installation art exhibitions in various places. When making the second feature film Art is Dead, I continued to explore the boundaries of identity. I transformed from an animator to an independent film director, exploring the new narrative possibilities of genre films in a documentary way. At the same time, I promoted the shooting process of this project as a performance artist and journalist, making it not only limited to a movie, but an interactive social experiment. After coming to USC, I want to continue to expand my identity, hoping to integrate science and art through systematic learning of digital art and virtual reality, and to explore more possibilities at the intersection of science and art as a digital artist. One example is Perfect City, a project that will continue to be incubated in the future.
Hope we can all explore different identities to make this reality more diverse and dynamic.
The last seminar was indeed a bit too informative for me, a student who was just mfa1. But knowing these in advance is not a bad thing. I also heard about the work visa from the senior who graduated from usc before, but now he is back in China, so he has not given good advice and experience sharing. I think the meeting organized by sheila is very useful. After the end of the night, although I didn’t feel anything, I heard Vichy say that I was very confused about the future. I can understand the feelings of the current mfa3 people. Just like college students who are about to graduate, I am very confused about the direction of work and development. Now I don’t feel a clear decision about whether I will stay in the United States, so it depends on what direction I want to go.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am busy with the final project, I have not been able to clean up a blank brain area to deal with this. But I heard Simon said that to get O1, you need to do a lot of interpersonal things. I got a big head when I heard it, because I really don’t like to trouble others or build fake social interactions with others in order to get O1. It makes me feel very tired, now I just want to do animation with peace of mind, let the time leave the rest lol.
Tianyun lyu
Tianyunl@usc.edu
I appreciate this week’s Seminar so much. The talented guest speakers who graduated from USC as international students provided their experience to their best knowledge for our reference. It was great to see their reels and previous film productions! I am amazed by the variety and diversity. It’s heartwarming to know that such a wide range of styles are welcomed in the industry.
ReplyDeleteAs international students, there are also great takeaways specific to us. I have learned something new about multiple kinds of visas that could apply to me in the future. Knowing that work visas affiliated with more prominent companies are not the only choice certainly releases some pressure for us. Thanks so much to the alumni speakers who explored new paths for us!
Cherry Guo (guomengy@usc.edu)
It was fantastic to hear from the recent graduates of the program who are international. Their collective inputs on the process of the visa applications were insightful. No amounts of - flyers or brochures could have given us such a perspective. Being an international student being able to talk to someone who has been through the process really helps us. I really liked the advice on how to roll out our student films strategically and not just release them to all the festivals at the same time.
ReplyDeleteIt was an excellent opportunity to have the talented artists who graduated from USC give us an informative presentation of visa applications. I like to be prepared and plan ahead. Having more comprehensive information and an idea of the big picture of visa application certainly can be more helpful to international students before we start. I really applicate these talented guest speaker sharing their own experiences and process. These suggestions and tips on how to make the application process smooth are also very valuable. I will definitely plan these things in advance. Thank you so much for sharing this precious information and experience with us.
ReplyDeleteNaicheng Liu (naicheng@usc.edu)
I really loved this panel and I'm glad that I was able to attend in person. Even though most of the information was for international students, I still took a lot from it, because I will always have international friends in my life who could benefit from me knowing this information. I resonated the most with Einar's work; I loved how gory and uncomfortably dark it was. It reminded me a lot of the illustrations in Babadook. I think I might actually purchase one of his books. His work felt like the feeling you get when you're sitting in a dark room, staring into the darkest corner and wondering what might reveal itself.
ReplyDeleteAside from that, I could see that my international classmates got a lot from the panel and I noticed some of them visibly relax lol. I have no idea what that kind of stress feels like, but I'm very happy that this panel was available to them.
ajharper@usc.edu
DeleteStefie Gan (stefiega@usc.edu)
ReplyDeleteIt was inspiring to see a panel of alumnx pursuing various specializations in animation. Interesting idea that Einar was able to get a festival running when he included a grant program that made sponsors more willing to support the festival. Einar also had suggestions on getting attention on film festivals, since there are so. many entries. Strategies such as captivating beginnings to get audiences hooked. Also, when a film is accepted in a big well-known festival, you can get waivers to other festivals.
I was particularly interested in Chenglin and Cassie's careers, in storyboarding and residencies respectively. Chenglin has already been making award winning films before arriving at USC. I've seen Chenglin's film before and they are bold thematically, addressing social issues. I felt honored and motivated to be in good company. All the alumnx have successful careers and I'm curious about each one. We had limited time and I enjoyed the reception as an opportunity to network with them. All the panelists recommended we finish our films and get them into festivals as one of the most effective ways to gain recognition. Therefore, I'm focusing on completing my thesis and spend some time on my storyboard portfolio after graduation.
This last class had a lot of useful info for international students, and while I’m not personally international, I definitely appreciate it for their sake, and it doesn’t hurt to know this stuff myself in order to help others who may need it.
ReplyDeleteTheir advice on submitting to festivals was definitely very useful for me, though. I didn’t know there was more strategy than just submitting to as many festivals as you can afford. It helped that some of the advice was coming from an actual inside perspective of someone who had actually started and run a film festival before.
It was also great to see the wide variety of work coming out of alumni; it showed me there are still a lot of options for us after we graduate.
-Jackson Roberts (jpr02403@usc.edu)
The last seminar was the perfect way to end this semester. It kind of wrapped up all the takeaways and aftermath of the concerns and thought processes I went through during this whole semester. Being an international student, I always struggled on where I should stand and focus on. Because making your own film is a huge commitment that consumes a lot of energy and time. And so does developing a professional portfolio for a specific title. And as a foreigner to this country, with the Visa time ticking every second by my ear, the former option seemed like a luxury to me. But hearing from the alumnx and how they received their Visa through various ways was very informative. I like to plan things ahead so last week's seminar made me feel a bit better. (But seeing their work, I think their craftmanship is way up higher than me so I'm not sure if their rout is an option for me too, haha..)
ReplyDeleteIt was a great panel line up, and a great semester. I had a lot of fun (and anxiety!) doing a lot of QnA moderating. But I'm glad I got to finish up our last seminar too. Thank you so much Sheila, our guest panels, and also my amazing peers. This experience has truly been a blast!!
- Aloha (Haekyung) Lee (haekyung@usc.edu)
I appreciate all the information this session! It’s such a comprehensive and thoughtful presentation(but at the same time also stresses me out a little). They gave such insightful advice on visa applications and I’m glad that I got to hear it in my first year. It certainly gave me a lot of perspective about how to plan my future. I appreciate each of the speakers sharing their own honest experiences about working in the US as well as sharing their wonderful work, and I definitely have a deeper understanding of how/which visas I can apply, and can plan my career accordingly. Thank you to all the great speakers we’ve had in this class, I really appreciate the opportunities to hear so many insightful presentations this semester.
ReplyDeleteRuoyu Chen(chenruoy@usc.edu)
This seminar was extremely informative and eye opening. I knew it was difficult to get a work VISA for the US, but after listening to the advice of the alumni it became clear exactly how difficult it is. It is really a grind to be able to comfortably stay in the United States. I know people who have gotten married for green cards, but this is actually quite uncomplicated compared to the hoops people jump through to get sponsorship or O1 VISA. It’s disappointing how many talented animators come to study at the best schools and feel the anxiety of having to be eligible to work or to go back to their own country where animation may not be a developed industry. I’m really grateful to the alumni for sharing this information with us, especially so early on since I’m an MFA 1. Seeing as I have Canadian citizenship this info made me seriously consider moving to Vancouver post-graduation if I am unable to get a work VISA here. I’m lucky to have this option, and would prefer to build up my portfolio/credit while working instead of pulling strings in the US; then if I so choose I can apply to work in the states later with more experience under my belt. All in all, the speakers prepared me for what my future options are and how realistic achieving them is.
ReplyDelete-Nina Ceklic
Thank you for inviting the International Alumni speakers for our final session, the session was very informative and direct. I understand the process of acquiring the work visa better now and what it takes to work in the US. I respect the honesty that everyone was sharing, I guess it was hard for to hear about the difficulty of getting a work visa and the
ReplyDeleteturnarounds that you must take sometimes to work in the US.
I liked Simon’s approach of how he started working in the US, by starting up his own business in the States. I like the flexibility and the freedom option to work from any place around the world and maybe that will be my opening too. I respect Simon’s advice about making good connections with the people you work with and especially your faculty. Requesting references can be difficult, so we should build bridges from now. And having a good reputation and good work ethics is essential and we must thrive and work hard to earn them.
Thank you for this wonderful seminar, I enjoyed each presentation and thought it was very useful.
Dina Garatly
I really appreciate all the information this panel has provided. As an international student who is stressed out about getting visa everyday, this panel makes me feel that I am not alone in this struggle. I feel like I gained more insights of all the options out there and the different ways to go with. Simo has pointed out many techniques that are super useful when preparing a O1 visa, such as time management and applying for festivals. Simon's advice on making connections with people in the industry is also very practical and it's something we cannot learn in school. Thank you so much for this info session and so many other wonderful previous sessions. I have really learned a lot practically and artistically this semester.
ReplyDeleteAnna Wang
awang206
The final panel of the seminar definitely brought a perfect ending to this semester. Hearing from all these alumni about their post graduation life and struggles were very helpful. I really appreciate how open and direct they were about visa. It's a forever topic among international students and also a topic that has never been addressed enough. After this session I definitely gained more knowledge about applying for O-visa. I also really enjoyed the talk with Chenglin Xie. He's such an inspiring filmmaker and I hope I could keep making independent films like him.
ReplyDeleteChenxue Lu
Chenxuel@usc.edu
Ca
ReplyDeleteXiaoqian Zhu (xiaoqiaz@usc.edu)
ReplyDeleteCassie’s work impressed me a lot in the seminar. Even though she didn’t talk much, the work itself spoke well for her. I was so glad that she showed at the big screen. I was amazed by the color choice, and like it a lot. It has a sense of warmness and strangeness at the same time. Her style is unique, but not alienate viewers. Her work somewhat reminded me of my favorite artists Marc Chagall, which work is vibrantly beautiful, and the different elements are put together like music full of rhythm. It is hard to put in words. It is just a great pleasure to watch the work. Other guests also showed great work to us. I was motivated listening to our alumni’s talk, and thankful for their guidance in front of us.
This is seminar is very useful, since though the whole term sometimes the suggestions from guest speakers does not really helpful for international student (which is totally fine). The suggestions like "wait for 10 years for right timing" "I am poc but I become an US citizen when I was a kid" does not relevant to us. I am grateful that the information of visa is provided and all the guest speakers in this last seminar is very helpful and understand our situation.
ReplyDeleteShunyi(Vicky) Xie
shunyixi@usc.edu
From Armando:
ReplyDeleteThis seminar was super informative. Even though i was born in Mexico, it makes me so thankful to have become an American citizen so I don't have the added burden of having to obtain a work visa. I was so moved by Simon as both a person and an artist. I have always loved his work and have had the privilege to listen to him speak in a previous seminar class, but hearing what he's been up to was a true privilege. Also, I was inspired by his continual commitment to hire his friends and fellow classmates. That's something that going forward I would love to do as well as also starting my own studio like he did. To sum it up I basically want to follow in Simon's footsteps as an artist. He's truly inspiring and I loved listening to the other students as well. Knowing that they all came from USC and are now practicing artists takes off some of the burden of not knowing what the future will be work wise.
-Armando Sepulveda Mendoza
Thank you so much for a semester full of inspiring, knowledgeable, kind, and talented guest speakers this semester. The last seminar was incredibly helpful and informative.
ReplyDeleteI had been Simon's big fan since last year's seminar. I remember how his works shocked me for their creativity and imagination. It's so great to listen to him share his journey, and all the suggestions from guests are very helpful, especially for international students.
And like he said, this was the lesson he wishes he had had back when he was at school. I really appreciate that we have such a chance to prepare ourselves before we graduate.
Many thanks to every guest. Thank you Sheila for such a wonderful semester!
Giulia