Today we’d like to introduce you to Lamie Doan.
Lamie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
– Ever since I was young, I was always interested and passionate in the arts and creative – Since High School, I’ve been winning many art awards, including the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards issued by Cambridge International Examinations for Art and Design.
– Decided to pursue a professional career in this field.
– In 2017, started studying illustration at Parsons School of Design in NYC.
– However, after taking an elective class there for 3D animation and CGI, I instantly fell in love with that and decided to transfer to the School of Visual Arts in NYC to pursue Computers Arts, Visual Effects, and 3D animation.
– In 2022, directed and produced a short film, “Ethereal.”
Awards won for film:
– 2022 BFA Computer Art Awards Best in Show: VFX Film Award
– SVA Alumni Society Award
The School of Visual Arts Rhodes Family Award for Outstanding Achievement
– Short Film selected for Experimental, Dance & Music Film Festival
– Short Film selected for ASIFA-East Animation Festival
Barbie (2023 Film)
– Started working on this around late 2022
– Worked on the post-production, visual effects for Barbie under a VFX Studio called FuseFX.
– It was meaningful as it marked an important step into my career as a Visual Effects artist, it was the first feature film blockbuster that I worked on. Previously I’ve worked on mainly television series (IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13983434/ )
– It was a lot of pressure and overtime work in order to push out the shots to deliver to our client. But seeing it on the big screen made it all worth it.
– Although the pressure was high, I felt like I learned so much, especially the technical side of things and understanding the importance of precision.
– It was also really meaningful to be because, as a kid, I used to play with Barbie toys, and never would I have thought one day I would be working on its film.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The first struggle was the Pandemic; I felt like this was something the whole world was struggling with. In my experience, I had to adapt to doing in-person things remotely, such as taking classes and working. It was definitely a learning curve, but on the bright side. It introduced a whole new work system for artists to have the freedom of working from home, which, in my opinion, is extremely beneficial for those who need that extra flexibility.
Another struggle for my industry was that there were multiple strikes happening in Hollywood, during summer last year, which left a long residual for lack of work leading a mass lay-off in my industry. Witnessing my peers’ losing jobs and constantly laying off posts on LinkedIn was very heartbreaking.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
VFX artists create photoreal, digitally generated imagery. The role requires the seamless integration of these effects into live action in feature films, television, and, increasingly, online and console gaming.
You’ll use the latest technology to produce computer-generated creatures, crowds, and other digital assets. There is also the growing area of digital particle effects, which includes fluid and fire, as well as object and lighting manipulation.
You need to make the viewer believe that what they are seeing is real. This could be a dragon, a fairytale castle, a rainstorm, a big wave, spaceships, superheroes, alien cities or entire planets.
Top 3 most proud:
1. Directing and creating my own VFX Film
First film that I’ve ever directed and created, along with creating the VFX for it. It was an extremely fun and beneficial experience for me as an artist as it helped me take control of every aspect, from the aesthetic to the cinematography. It helped me learn the many roles and responsibility beyond just VFX in order to create a film.
2. Worked at 3 different Visual Effects Studios – 2 in New York, 1 in Vietnam, working on popular shows – listed under my IMDb
I feel like it helped me understanding the difference work cultures and shows that I am able to adapt from working in Asia vs in America.
3. Experienced working on Barbie, the biggest movie the year
Worked on popular shows such as The Good Doctor, American Horror Stories, The Blacklist
Shows that I am able to work on many industry-standard and professional projects that are highly consumed. All these shows require some sort of VFX; therefore, I will play a crucial part in the post-production stages.
I believe being a good visual effects artist is creating the visuals or idea that your client has and bring it to life. Since I have a broad background in art and other mediums outside of digital visual effects, I believe it helps me understand the depth/color/realism and helps me with my path as a professional visual effects artist.
Since I am from Vietnam, this industry is still small here and limited here; therefore I being able to work in the US, I will be able to grow and learn so much. I hope one day to bring back my knowledge to my home or even potentially create a link between Hollywood and Vietnam’s film industry to grow the VFX community.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
Personally, I feel like it’s 50/50. I do feel incredibly blessed and lucky that I am able to pursue something I’m passionate in. I believe luck plays a part in this; however, I believe it is also my own hard work that brought me this far. My mother always told that you can’t rely solely on luck to achieve a long-lasting success, you have to work for it too.
Contact Info:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lamiedoan
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW0TEi9hXHU&t=265s&ab_channel=Lamie
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13983434/
