Weta Digital Animator the latest Escape guest speaker

The latest industry expert to spend some time with Escape students was James Bennett who's been a Senior Animator at Weta Digital since 2005. His credits include films like 'King Kong' and more recently 'The Water Horse'.

James covered many aspects of the industry for our students but concentrated on some of the gritty realities of working your way up the ranks. Key advice, it seems, is to leave your ego at home. Being open to criticism and happy to work on more minor projects before lusting after those big, memorable shots is the best way to show willing.

James told us, "It was fantastic to come and talk to such an attentive group that asked insightful and pertinent questions. Having a dedicated industry based educational environment like Escape is a truly great thing"

James has been in the business for over 9 years, also working freelance for companies including MPC, Photo VFX, and Animal Logic.

In fact, he's working on a project for MPC at the moment as an Animator on a blockbuster sequel that we're not allowed to name. And that's in addition to animating and previzing on James Cameron's 'Avatar'.

Past speakers have included guests from Disney Interactive and Not to Scale, as well as our own tutors Lee Danskin, formerly of Smoke & Mirrors and MPC, and Nick Savy who worked at Glassworks, Double Negative and Cinesite.

[Image - Top: The Water Horse © Sony Pictures, Right: King Kong © Big Primate Pictures]