Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation
At 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s 1992-1996
Vernessa Cook-Sakey is a Lead Motion Editor at Weta Digital in Wellington, New Zealand, a company well known for producing award winning visual effects for some of the world’s biggest films.
Her favourite subjects at school were Art, English (creative writing) and Biology, and after graduating from 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s, Vernessa initially commenced studying a Bachelor of Applied Science in Environmental Science at The University of Queensland. However, after deciding this field of study wasn’t for her, Vernessa took time off to travel and work both within Australia and overseas. She worked in the mining industry as an Environmental Technician, as a dolphin handler and as a non-Italian speaking au pair to an Italian-only speaking family in Italy.
It was during a trip to visit her mother in San Francisco that Vernessa saw Peter Jackson’s film, The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring, for the first time – a moment, she says, that was defining for her future career direction. Incredibly inspired by the film, it was serendipitous then that Vernessa also discovered an art university. Already a huge fan of the books, “I decided then and there that if The Hobbit was ever made, I would be working on it!” Vernessa says.
Vernessa was accepted to study a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation at the San Francisco Academy of Art University where she was awarded the Dean’s Honour Roll for her outstanding academic achievements. During her final years of study, Vernessa interned at PDI/Dreamworks Animation where she says she learnt a lot about the inner workings of the industry and made contacts and good friends.
After graduating from university, Vernessa was offered a job at PDI but decided to take a risk, move home to Australia and accept a job working on a television show instead. She worked as a freelance generalist in TV and advertising before finally getting her professional film industry break in 2010 working for director George Miller’s VFX company Dr D in Sydney on the film Happy Feet 2. Of this break Vernessa said: “This is where I transitioned into the world of motion capture. I had finally found a way to combine my favourite school subjects into a rewarding career!”
After working on Happy Feet 2, Vernessa worked on the pre-production stages of another film that was cut just before it was about to go into production. During a stressful period of a few months of idle unemployment and seriously questioning her life's choices, she applied every month to Weta Digital and despite receiving a “thank you but no thank you” response each time Vernessa refused to take no for an answer. Vernessa says she owes this determination in part to her 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s education.
“When you find the thing you love and want to do, fight for it. Don’t take no for an answer, no matter how impossible it seems, it only becomes impossible when you accept that their “no” is the final answer,” she said.
In 2012, Vernessa finally received the email she had been waiting more than ten years to receive. Weta Digital were making The Hobbit and wanted Vernessa to join them.
Since then, Vernessa has worked with Weta Digital, working her way up from a Junior Artist to one of the few female Lead Artists in the company. She has worked on over 30 films. Of her experience Vernessa said: “I have been able to combine my creativity, my love of storytelling, and my interest in biology and biomechanics into a career that has thus far been incredibly rewarding.” She is responsible for supervising a team of artists who work with motion capture data to create the digital performances seen on screen. Using an actor's live performance that has been motion captured either on set or on motion capture volume, Vernessa and her team will use that motion as the basis to create a character that both captures the essence of the actor's performance, as well as believably represents that character's physical attributes.
“For example, Andy Serkis as Caesar in the Planet of the Apes movie franchise. Whilst Andy can do a very good impersonation of a chimpanzee, his physical proportions prevent him from performing as an entirely believable chimp. We augment his performance to make Caesar more bio-mechanically correct, and credible as a real chimpanzee,” said Vernessa.
Vernessa is a member of the Visual Effects Society and has contributed to numerous films, television series and special projects that have won the following awards as a result of her efforts:
1 x Academy Award (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
11 x VES Awards (Visual Effects Society)
4 x ANNIE Awards (Animated Film Association)
6 x AEAF Awards (Australian Effects and Animation Festival)
5 x HPA Awards (Hollywood Professional Association)
1 x BAFTA Award (British Academy of Film and Television)
Of her 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s experience, Vernessa said: “As an adult I can look back on my time at 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø's and admit that I must have been a frustrating student. I was only really motivated to put the work and effort into the subjects that I enjoyed, but the encouragement I received from all my teachers there certainly gave me the confidence to keep questing to find my path. The school also instilled in me a strong belief that my gender was/is in no way a disadvantage to my success. A real 'girls can do anything attitude', which had I gone to a co-ed school I suspect may have been lacking. This was definitely something foundational to my entire career, as I have spent most of it working in VERY male dominated industries. Finally, and to me most importantly, the lifelong friendships I made whilst at the school are what I treasure most. My high school friends have become my lifelong sisters, and their unconditional love and support is the most valuable thing I received from my 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍøs experience. I wouldn't be where I am or who I am without them.”
