Adobe After Effects New York

Last night at AENY, we had our 43rd meeting. Thanks to Sponsors like Adobe and Maxon, we’re able to bring you some great presenters. And if you missed last night’s meeting, you missed what, I think, is a quintessential moment that defines what After Effects New York is all about. That moment came when Visual Effect Supervisor Eric Alba gave Medical/Science Animation Specialist Casey Steffen a fist bump while Casey played a reel of some of his work.

Casey Steffen talks Science on the left, while Eric Alba talsk Science-Fiction on the right.

Why the fist bump?

It was a complete accident, but we booked two great friends with a lot of history to come in and talk to us about the work they do. While Casey and Eric do two very different things these days, they have worked together on a bunch of stuff in the past. Casey was showing some work from a project for National Geographic – a project that both he and Eric had worked on together.

What was really interesting  about the presentations was that we saw 2 vastly different directions people in our field can go. Casey creates animation that, while beautiful, has the constraint of needing to be perfectly, scientifically accurate. His work must be vetted by a large team of scientists before it can be approved. Casey even studied medical illustration while taking other medical courses with Pre-med students to learn and hone his craft. His biggest challenge comes from balancing art and accuracy. And with that foundation, he is talking about moving into the creation of physical models for the scientific community.

Eric, on the other hand, does work that could not be more different. As a visual Effects supervisor, scientific accuracy is rarely a priority. For him it’s about creating visually amazing stuff that will delight the viewer. That’s hard enough these days, but he has to do it while balancing it with constantly shifting plans caused by a client changing their ideas, or finding out that a location/venue does not mesh with the well-planned roadmap of a project (and believe me when I say this – Eric plans everything down to the last detail – but stuff happens). Eric is constantly on the road, country-hopping to work for a diverse set of clients, who each require a completely different approach to their projects.

It was great hearing about how each got to where they are today. I don’t think anyone would argue that seeing pictures of Eric among the original physical models from Star Trek: TNG isn’t ridiculously awesome and jealousy-inspiring. But for me, seeing that there is so much room for the ambitious and creative video professional to find a niche and grow into it was the true benefit of this meeting.

BTW – Casey Mentioned that if your a talented AE pro with an interest in medical animation, he is always looking for people to work with. Check out his site to learn more.

Personally, I want to thank Jim Geduldick and Dave Gittleman for bringing Eric and Casey in. If you want to send some twitter love, send it their way.