Today we meet our Technical Director of Lighting and Rendering, Shirak Agresta. Let the interrogation begin!

What do you do at Cinematics?

I am what they call a Lighting and Rendering TD (Technical Director). Basically when we have a scene with some characters in it, its my job to light it, like you would a movie set. I also check all the textures to make sure they are working, and in general make the scene look as good as possible. Then I render it out. Later I make some file adjustments before turning it into a movie file. I also fix any technical issues as they come up [before and after rendering].

How did you come to work at Cinematics?

I was working for another studio, an animation studio, with this Producer Mark Axton. Mark moved over to Funnelbox, which Cinematics is a part of. Through him I heard Cinematics needed a TD. The rest as they say, is history, in the making, or something…

What got you into the game industry?

I had studied film my first time through college. I moved to Portland and ended up going back to school, basically to be a camera man. I got interested in doing compositing. I got an internship at Bent Image Lab and after bugging a Director for awhile I got to work on a music video doing 3D. I had to learn Cinema 4D on the fly for that job, but they kept me at it after that (in 3DS Max) for over 4 years.

When you first got into the industry, what was your aspiration/dreams?

Ever since I was a kid, watching Star Wars, I wanted to do special effects. I kinda got interested in other things, but in the end it was my passion…or at least an extreme interest.

Where do you draw inspiration?

I think the thing that influences me a lot, aside from the everyone’s answer of Pixar, are cinematographers. Whenever I have a scene I want it to look as good as it can. I am as big a fan of black and white as I am of color in films. There are also a lot of great painters, like Maxfield Parrish. I also love Van Gogh’s color pallet.

Are there any past projects (with Cinematics or otherwise) that you are particularly proud of?

Well, I haven’t been at Cinematics very long. I did some work for PBS on a show called Time Team America. It was an archeological show. I did some 3D models of the buildings they were excavating to show what they would have looked like when they were new. That was the first time I did a project that big by myself, it was a big step for me at that time. I later worked on 2 TV spots as the TD for a Canadian cellphone company. Both spots had to be done at the same time, and it was my job to make sure that happened. It was a lot of work.

Having not come from a game development background, do you play a lot of games? What is your favorite game?

I’m not a huge game fanatic, but I have played since I was young. I didn’t own a console until last year; I was mostly a PC computer gamer. I will get obsessed with a game, play it 50-75% of the way through, then lose interest and walk away. Sometimes I get into a game and play it all the way through, if I can really get into the story and the world. I really like games that take a new spin on old eras, like Bio-Shock did for the 1920s. I didn’t really dig the whole “I have genetic mutations” thing though, it got old real fast.

I liked the Balders Gate series, Half Life 2, System Shock 2, and the first Thief game. As far as current games, Mirrors Edge and Batman Arkham Asylum were great too. When I was young, I played the shit out of Lode Runner.

What is your super power, and how do you use it to fight crime?

I am… The Overthinker.

I fight crime with amazing plans that cover any and every angle of escape, every possible evil plan, and counter every conceivable counter measure.

It just takes me a while to formulate said plan.

“Griptonite is an awesome studio to work with,” says Paul Culp, Studio Director for Cinematics. “And we tend to do a lot of comedy projects, so this was a good fit for us .”

Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet continues the excitement of the original Marvel Super Hero Squad with an all-new storyline that follows Season 2 of the hit animated TV series as shown on Cartoon Network. Players can “Hero Up” with friends in cooperative play and master the unique Factor Power of each of the Marvel heroes in three game modes: Story Mode, Freeplay Mode and Challenge Mode. The game also boasts a brand new puzzle component, in which players will need to utilize the characters’ unique abilities to move or destroy objects, traverse through certain environments, and summon specific strengths to overcome obstacles. With new adventures, tricky puzzles, an expanded selection of Marvel Super Hero Squad members to unlock and play as, Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet is set to thrill gamers from here to Super Hero City.

Visit the site by going to http://marvelshsgame.marvel.com

The game, which recently debuted at the annual E3 Expo in Los Angeles, is based on the Super Hero Squad franchise that has spawned a wildly popular action figure line and smash hit animated series. The game draws upon the 5,000+ iconic heroes and villains in the Marvel Universe and offers players the chance to team-up with friends as they engage in exhilarating combat, show off their decked-out squad in the game’s social spaces, collect thousands of items, and explore interactive environments based on classic and new Marvel worlds.

The Oregon City studio is developing illustrations, concepts and environment art for the family-friendly massive multiplayer online game.

“We see the fine artists at Cinematics as our extended team, not just a vendor. They have shown unflagging and nearly maniacal commitment to quality.” Says Jay Minn, Director of Games for The Amazing Society. “As our project load grows here at The Amazing Society, we look forward to expanding our relationship in the years to come.”

“Cinematics is a superb team, and it’s a pleasure to be working with them.” Says Amazing Society Producer, Ellen Beeman. “Their great talent and enthusiasm make them a wonderful partner for us as we’re creating Super Hero Squad Online.”

Cinematics made local news for their involvement in A Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian for Eugene game developer Pipeworks less than two years ago.  Since then they have grown into a 20 plus person studio with a wide array of disciplines to complement their original core team of animators. The team has also earned praise for their work on the hit episodic series, Tales of Monkey Island and Sam and Max with Bay Area game company, Telltale Games. The recent growth has prompted Cinematics to relocate to a larger office space where they can accommodate the team size needed for projects such as Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.

“It’s continuing partnerships with companies like The Amazing Society that allows us to grow with stability and create local jobs in one of the worst recessions in history.” Says Paul Culp, Studio Director for Cinematics. “These long term relationships have been and continue to be the foundation of our studio.”

Although video game focused, Cinematics is the latest addition to a growing hub of animation companies such as Bent Image Labs and Laika, to call the Portland-area their home.

Cinematics is a subsidiary of funnelbox inc. a film and multimedia production studio located in downtown Oregon City. funnelbox was recently awarded the 8^th fastest growing companies in Oregon, by the Portland Business Journal.

Cinematics: When did you start working at Cinematics?

Metal Sign: I was hung up in late December.

CMS: What did you do before Cinematics?

MS: I was a slab of polished aluminum alloy in the basement of Liberty Wielding.  Before that though I was a loose collection bauxite (AlO_x(OH)_3-2x, atomic number 13) floating around in the earths crust somewhere below Indonesia.

CMS: Do you enjoy working here?

MS: Beats laying around in 1400 degree magma with all the other metals.  Some of them are tough to get along with.  Especially iron.  He’s an inflexible @$$hole.

CMS: What does a typical day for the Cinematics sign look like?

MS: Well, I usually hang out and watch the sunrise.  Then the crazy homeless guy with the dog comes and spits on the window.  Then I watch all the Cinematics, funnelbox and Clink teams wander in, needing coffee.  They go get coffee, come back in, repeat throughout the day.  Sometimes people try to hang on me and do pull ups which is pretty annoying.  I sometimes pass the day watching the reels playing on the digital screen next to me.  That’s pretty entertaining but you can only watch them for so long.  I wish they would switch them out for HBO every once in a while.  Every so often one of the animators comes out and talks to me, tells me secrets, confides their deepest desires, fears, etc.  Personally I think that’s kind of weird. I mean, who talks to a metal sign?

CMS: Crazy people.

MS: Yeah, and they all seem to work here.

CMS: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

MS: Probably still here.  I dont think the studio is going anywhere anytime soon.  I might get replaced with some kind of holographic 3D imaging at some point, but I think that’s a ways off.  Until then I’ll just be hanging here slowly rusting.

CMS: Any plans after Cinematics?

MS: I’ll most likely get recycled and turned into PBR tall boys.  Which is fine by me.

CMS: So you’ll still be hanging out with the Cinematics team then.

MS: Like I said.  I dont see us parting anytime soon.

CMS: Well thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me.

MS: Did I ever have a choice?

CMS: Not really.

MS: Thanks.  Can you go now?

Michelle now resides in SE Portland, working at Art Media while continuing to breach new territory with her artwork. Her new series of figurative works as well as her vast array of abstracted landscapes, animals, and cityscapes have been well received and landed her shows and exhibitions throughout Portland.

It’s been years since I’ve worked on the figure.  The last time I considered the human body as an artistic direction, I was 22 years old, in college, and living 3000 miles away.  Five years, hundreds of small, architectural marker drawings, and a complete change of geography later, I have returned to it once again.

These six pieces have come together due to a series of photographs I took of my beautiful sister last summer.  The photos were taken all in the span of time it took for her to smoke one cigarette.  It was amazingly intriguing – to see her facial expression and mannerisms change so drastically in such a short period of time.  It was a character study really – being the voyeur, watching her mood shift, her thoughts moving and changing with her physical body.  It intimately inspired me.

I realized through this body of work that I had been pushing away the figure.  I’ve spent years of my life here in Portland looking outward, at my surroundings.  As amazingly gorgeous as nature and architecture can be, painting the figure forces us inward.   It makes us see ourselves as individuals as well as a single body lurking our way through the whole of humanity.

Portraying the physicality of the human figure can be overwhelming at times.  It is an entirely visceral experience, urging us to consider our own mortality, our own flesh and skeleton.  It can be an extremely difficult, yet necessary, process.

It took me over five years to artistically return to the human figure, to possess enough self-confidence as an artist to do it justice – to do my own self-image justice.  To quote the artist Marisol,  “Everything the artist makes is always a kind of self-portrait.” Although inspired by photographs of my sister, these pieces are, of course, a reflection of myself.

Tyler also discovered that being able to draw better than anyone else in his family made him special and it was clearly destiny that art was his ticket to fame and fortune. Unable to get into design school at NC State, Tyler spent a few years in fruitless pursuit of a political science degree. Eventually, after a couple years spent managing an organic food market, Tyler moved with his wife, Emily, to Portland, OR where he attended and graduated from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Upon graduation Tyler received several awards, including the prestigious William H. Givler Award for outstanding thesis work.

After graduation Tyler made a living doing freelance design and illustration work until he eventually landed a full-time position as an interactive designer. He is happy to spend his free time running, hanging out with his wife and baby, and fixing up their house in North Portland.

Tyler is also currently illustrating a children’s book and exploring a non-linear narrative based on the death of Sir Bishop Jenkins. Despite a packed schedule Tyler still is able to find time for drawing robots and ninjas and making toys he would like to own.

Falling somewhere between classical and blues, folk and gospel, old time and indie. Alone, Apinyakul displays a fast, dark, and emotive finger picking style as if Mississippi John Hurt listened to Dead Moon, but more often Shoeshine Blue consists of a larger lineup of violinist Shawn Mclain (Blind Pilot), bassist William Joersz (Nick Jaina, Run On Sentence), singer Ali Wesley (Super XX Man), and drummer John Vecchiarelli of more bands than I can count, plus his own wonderful songs. This bare bones, tonally complex combo, produces wistful backdrops for lyrics full of political fervor, high romance, and heartland poetics. Shoeshine Blue recently released their new album titled “ Howl at the Wooden Moon.”

Howl at the Wooden Moon

Howl At The Wooden Moon” is an album written and recorded during a period of war, broken love, sketchy loans, and automated joy. All a songwriter needed to do was build a good mirror, hold it up, and let the world writhe in the ecstasy of its own truth. But it’s not easy. In the high stakes game of writing good songs, there’s no room for lies or lazy observations. “Howl At The Wooden Moon” is Shoeshine Blue’s best and most honest contribution. It is a love letter to the natural world, a love story between two people, and a keen eye on the moment. In other words, a monument to all things doomed and beautiful. Songwriter, Michael Apinyakul, made a departure from the last Shoeshine Blue album, “Talk Real Slow”, where he produced, recorded, and played most of the instruments. Howl at the Wooden Moon draws from a larger pool of Portland’s talented musicians. Recorded to half inch 8-track at Telltale Studios in Portland Oregon, and engineered by Antreo Pukay, the album has a honey-glow sound, reminiscent of the great folk and psychedelic albums of the 60’s and 70’s. Lyrically sharp, simply layered, and accidentally gospel.

Kevin Cross is a local Portland illustrator/ cartoonist. A San Francisco native, Kevin moved to Portland in 2006 where he lives with his wife, Laura, and their cat, Mr. Chips. As a youth, Kevin fed himself on a steady diet of monster movies, comic books, skateboarding, rock and roll, and art. As an adult, not much has changed.

Kevin received a Bachelor of Fine Art in Illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. In addition to his freelance work, he has shown at various galleries including the New York Society of Illustrators. He has also self published comics, founded The Mini-Comics Dump Truck , is currently writing and illustrating an all-ages comic book called ” Monsters Are Go! “, and writing and illustrating a webcomic called “Monkey Mod”.

Aside from living the life of a jet-settin’, highfalutin’ illustrator, Mr. Cross likes to collect old mod, garage rock, and punk rock records on vinyl and enjoys a good piece of pie. Additionally, for over twenty years, Kevin has been the guitar player of many rock and roll bands including Big Rig ( Lookout Records), The Nerve Agents ( Revelation Records), and Pitch Black ( Lookout Records, Revelation Records, and Cheetah’s Records).