* Click on images for pop-ups Years
ago, Kirsten Drummond at the age of eight was taken to
go see Star Wars. Like so many, amazed by what she saw, you think
she said "Wow, I want to do that!"?.
No,
not the case, dreamy eyed she said "Han Solo is way cuter
then Luke Skywalker".
Film. FX. That had no place in the heart of a young girl -- that's
because she had other dreams.... dreams of being a dancer. By
High School that was all Kirsten wanted to do. Years later, her
parents sent her to North Carolina School of the Arts. It was
there that she studied modern dance with the hopes of someday
joining the Paul Taylor dance company.
Injured
during her freshmen year of college, she had no idea what to do
next. She decided to take a year off from school and go back home
to figure out what she wanted to be, where her heart laid when
she could no longer dance . At the suggestion of one of her dance
instructors, she took art class at the local community college.
During that time she discovered other interest besides dance --
photography, stage lighting and stop-motion animation had a strong
appeal, and to learn more she knew she had to go back to school
and get a more formal education. She choose Ringling School of
Art and Design because of its solid foundation year.
It
was during this first year that her foundation advisor introduced
her to Joan Staveley. Joan, an instructor in the computer animation
department, also had a background in dance. Kirsten's advisor
felt she could benefit from talking with her. Joan spoke about
computer animation and how Kirsten could use her dance background
to think about the computer as if it was a stage, with actors,
props and lights. She was hooked.
Lighting quickly became her mainstay, "To me, lighting is really
another character in an animation. So much of what is going on
in a scene can be affected with just subtle changes in the lighting".
During an internship at VIFX that summer, Kirsten knew that after
graduation she wanted to find work as a TD. Work though would
not come easy, most of the companies that came to Ringling that
year were looking for character animators and not lighters. But
she didn't let that get her down. One thing see had learned as
a dancer was no matter how good you are, if you aren't what they
are looking for, your not going to get the job.
Kirsten
graduated from Ringling and moved out to LA ready to look for
work. Only one problem, she graduated right when the market was
changing. Within three months Warner Digital and Boss Films closed,
putting a lot of talented people on the street looking for work.
But she didn't give up. A friend from school told her about DHIMA,
a local trade school that was looking for teacher assistants.
The job would allow her to keep current on the software and to
continue working on her demo reel. DHIMA was a great experience,
not only did she get to help out in the classroom but within a
year she was teaching her own classes. "I felt very strongly,
that to be a good teacher you need to bring as much professional
experience as you can to the class room."
It was during this time that a friend told her that Tippett Studio
was looking for people to work on "The Haunting".
She was offered a job in the roto/paint department. After "The
Haunting" ended she went to work at Rhythm and Hues on "Flintstones
Viva Los Vegas". For the next year she worked at both studios
pulling mattes and doing plate replacement work on several shows.
But she also spoke to the TD's, finding out what she needed to
know to move from the roto department into the TD department.
She made the move at Tippett, working as a TD on the movie "Cats
and Dogs". After that came a series of commercials for
Blockbuster. "Cute furry animals are my life"
Kirsten's
thoughts on production:
Be grateful that as an artist you are working. Very few creative
people make a living doing their craft. This field and most other
art related fields have ups and downs. Think of it as a wave.
When it's up, work hard, save your pennies. When it's down...
travel, work on that short film you've always wanted to finish,
take a class in something you want to learn.
