Rotary Career Symposium

10 | careersymposium.ca Supported by ROTARY 20TH CAREER SYMPOSIUM EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS MARCH 14–16, 2017 TUES 6PM–8PM • WED & THURS 9AM–3PM RBC CONVENTION CENTRE #RCS2017 #CAREERSYMPOSIUM W H Y STU D E N TS S H O U L D CO N S I D E R UW I N N I P EG TOP 5 REASONS Small classes — overall student / professor ratio of 25:1 Convenient, downtown location with rapid transit access Advanced research opportunities for undergrads High quality education and student experience Bachelor of Arts degree program in human rights — unique in Western Canada TA L K TO A R EC R U I T E R TO DAY 2 0 4 . 78 6. 9 8 4 4 V I S I T US AT B O OT H # 3 0 7 UWINNIPEG.CA BY SHANE GIBSON You may not know his name, but there's a good chance you've seen Liem Nguyen's work. The Winnipeg-born 3D animator has created visual effects for blockbuster movies like Superman Returns, The Core and Matrix Reloaded and has built video game cinematics for games including Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 and Need For Speed Underground. He also animates TV shows and documentaries for Discovery Channel, HGTV and the History Channel and creates graphics for high-profile sports broadcasts like the Super Bowl, Hockey Night In Canada, and the NBA Finals. And he's done much of that work from his home right here in Winnipeg. "The thing is, with high-speed Internet making it so easy to communicate right now, you don't necessarily have to work in the big cities like Vancouver or Toronto anymore," says the 36-year-old founder and owner of Winnipeg-based visual effects and animation studio, Pixel Reborn Inc. "So for someone like myself I can be situated with my friends and family in Winnipeg and still be working on a lot of high-profile projects. "For example I just wrapped up graphics for the Super Bowl broadcast — I did everything right out of my home — and it was viewed by millions of people." Nguyen is set to talk about the 3D animation industry and his own trajectory from classrooms at Kelvin High School to boardrooms in Hollywood at this year's Rotary Career Symposium. "I'll be talking about the 3D animation industry and how it's used for video games, making movies and TV commercials and stressing that those interested in the industry don't necessarily have to leave the city to be a big player," explains Nguyen. "People don't really know that a lot of big Hollywood things are happening right here in Winnipeg." This is the fifth year Nguyen will speak at the symposium, and like previous years he'll use the first half of his hour in front of students to tell his story and give them advice, and the second half answering questions from the audience and letting the students see his Emmy Award. Oh yeah — he's got an Emmy. "I usually bring that along too," says Nguyen of the award recognizing television excellence he picked up in 2013 for graphics he built for Major League Baseball broadcasts. "I take out the black box, pull out my shiny Emmy and just put it on the desk in front of me — it's a bit of a show-stopper. The kids love it and always end up coming up to touch it and take selfies with it when I'm done. "Hopefully it inspires them and shows them you can be here in Winnipeg and do some exciting stuff." Not surprisingly, an Emmy Award- winner who works on video games, blockbuster movies and the Super Bowl is a big draw for the high school students attending the symposium, but Nguyen says the work of 3D animators goes beyond the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and high-profile sporting events. Their skills are also tapped by architects and designers to help build 3D models and fly-throughs of buildings and projects. Nguyen and the team at Pixel Reborn just finished work designing the stage that was used for the off-ice entertainment at last month's 2017 NHL Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. "I came up with the design here, sent them the renderings, and their architects, engineers and carpenters built the physical set," explains Nguyen. "The thing about 3D animation is it's a universal skill and it's used in a wide variety of applications." Nguyen is scheduled to speak on both the first and second day of the 2017 Rotary Career Symposium, which runs March 14-17 at the RBC Convention Centre. 3D inspiration WINNIPEG-BASED 3D ANIMATOR LIEM NGUYEN HAS CREATED VISUAL EFFECTS FOR BLOCKBUSTER MOVIES LIKE SUPERMAN RETURNS AND MATRIX RELOADED. Pixel Reborn Inc. photo

• Cover