Visual effects artist Ramahan Faulk discusses his career and work-life balance

The Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters, and Department of Film, Television, and Theatre invited Ramahan Faulk, a visual effects animator, to discuss his experience in high-profile entertainment projects.  Faulk has worked on visual effects for blockbuster movies such as Avatar, The Adventures of Tintin, The Ant Bully, Eragon, Maleficent, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Faulk began the September 17 discussion by showing the audience how he begins to develop 3D animated faces for characters.  Using comprehensive 3D animation software such as Maya and Mudbox, he began to create an animated face before the audience’s eyes.  While making this difficult task look easy, Faulk discussed his animation journey and work ethic.

Faulk began his visual effects career while working as mechanic for the Navy.  After serving for eight years, he decided to dedicate his time learning how to be a visual effects artist.  He started by concentrating on exactly what he wanted to be the best at: computer generated (CG) art.  By practicing consistently and watching copious video tutorials, he became a skilled and highly desirable artist.

With 13 years of experience, Faulk became a senior-level character artist with experience in feature animation, video games, and visual effects.  He is currently a CG supervisor at Blur, a world-renowned animation studio.  He has also worked at studios such as Sony Computer entertainment, Lucasfilm, and Digital Domain.

Faulk admitted that working on high budget Hollywood films is time-consuming and straining.  So how does someone who works on blockbuster films such as Avatar make time for things other than work?

“The better you get at something, the more efficient you become,” he said.  “You find ways to do it in less time.  Master what you do, and then everything else gets easier.”

Although Faulk spends hours creating fictional characters on a screen, he makes sure to spend more time establishing relationships with real people rather than solely focusing on his relationship with work.

An audience member asked Faulk how he could cultivate a romantic relationship while still working on films all over the world.  “It is all about making sure you have someone that shares or understands your passion.  You need mutual respect.  [Work] is a compromise; you have to be a team,” Faulk said.   “If both of you are one, you can get through anything in life.  That is where you get your support.  I have a life because I make sure to have a tremendous balance.”

He applied this ethic directly to his work on the highest-ever grossing film (about 2.7 billion dollars), Avatar.  “While working on Avatar, we would get direct feedback from [James Cameron, director of Avatar].  It was a challenge, but really exciting.  When you are working on these projects you are so focused on perfection and trying to do the job and make it look amazing.  If you are really good at what you do, most of the time you are never really married to your work.  I thought it [Avatar] was going to be a flop because there are eight-foot tall cat people on floating planets with the story of Pocahontas.  But then it comes out in theaters, and it is the highest grossing film of all time!”

Crystal Avila is a junior studying Film and Television.  She is currently making an exciting playlist for her road trip to Philly this weekend.  If you have any song suggestions, email her at cavila3@nd.edu.