934814391FÉLIX BALBAS (b’Ars): "3D IS USED EVERYWHERE"
Félix Balbas, founder of the company Minimum VFX, is the director of the b’Ars, Barcelona International Arts&VFX Fair, the first specialized visual effects festival held in Barcelona to date. Balbas specialized in Visual Effects for film and has traveled around the world working on major productions such as Lord Of The Rings, Avatar, and the Harry Potter saga. He has also been involved in critically acclaimed independent films such as Children of Men, as a "rigging" specialist (animating elements construction). His enthusiasm for his profession led him to found b’ARS, a unique meeting point for VFX professionals and students, with the participation of the school.
Can you tell us a bit about your travels around the world?
I started working mainly in advertising in Italy, where I was born. But I soon began to travel. I spent a year in Munich (Germany) working on a Warner Bros. movie using traditional animation with hidden 3D. Then I had the opportunity to go to San Francisco and work at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), George Lucas's company, where I spent 4 years. From there, I moved to New Zealand for a year and a half to work on the first and second Lord of the Rings movies. I spent 7 years at Frame Store in England working on several Harry Potter films, then another year in New Zealand for Avatar. I returned to London and spent two years at Double Negative on John Carter and a year in MPC advertising. And from there, I came to Barcelona and opened my company, Minimum VFX. Given my enthusiasm for 3D and animation, I came up with b’ARS, the VFX fair in Barcelona, which held its first edition last June.
How do you see the world of 3D now?
3D is used everywhere. It is officially a new tool for producing content, such as documentaries. I am convinced that the change is happening right now. We, the specialists, no longer have to sell it as a service to the film maker, we are now also content creators. We no longer belong to post-production; we are increasingly at the beginning of the idea and are part of the initial team.
Over the years and according to this creative trait, how does a VFX specialist develop?
We already need to know about film making, photography, editing, montage... Art directors have to understand how 3D works, as it is an integral part of their work. Nowadays, a photographer who does not take digital photographs is already behind, and the same will happen with a director who does not want to collaborate with 3D or only make one type of film, limiting their creativity.
How did the first edition of b’ARS turn out?
I was surprised by the quality. When you start in a large company, you learn many more things on the fly, but as a first impression, it seems like a good introduction.
Interview of Félix Balbas in FX Animation
ShowReel by Félix Balbas