THE JUGGERNAUT Q & A :
A FAR CRY FROM VFX SUCCESS
With clients like Ubisoft , Walmart , Disney and Coca-Cola , The Juggernaut enjoys global reach as a highly reputable VFX studio .
Based in Toronto , the team create compelling graphics for advertising , film , broadcast , gaming , interactive events and more . We sat down for a chat with Creative Director Craig Small to find out just what makes Frankie indispensable to this roster of award-winning artists .
Please tell us a little about yourself and your background .
I began my career by lying my way into a position at the CBC ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ) in 1991 . It was a bilingual position – I barely had grade 9 French . That seems appropriate given that the work I did for the next 25 years was predominantly in advertising . I had aspirations of being an animator , a visual effects artist , and a filmmaker but I didn ’ t have the patience for school . Instead , I took advantage of the resources at the CBC and learned on the job .
I ’ d hang out with these cranky old graphic designers that had been lurking around since the 1950s — they were literally being pushed aside to make room for brand new Silicon Graphics workstations that replaced their airbrushes and , eventually , put them out of work . I often hung around until 3 am teaching myself how to use anything I could get my hands on – Quantel Paintbox , Parallax Madador , Abekas DDRs , Chyrons , Lightboxes , Avids – equipment that you couldn ’ t get your hands on at any school , anywhere . It was a great place to work and learn .
As well as getting to see live tapings of Kids in the Hall , one of the benefits of working for a unionized broadcaster was being guaranteed an interview for every job position I applied for . I eventually went freelance , producing motion graphics and visual effects for feature films and TV . I ended up directing numerous commercials , music videos and identities for A-list agencies and production studios . For over a decade , I also worked for several top design and post houses around Toronto , before co-founding The Juggernaut in 2002 .
What has been the most exciting and unique Frankie project of your career ?
Video game giant Ubisoft hired us to produce the opening cinematic for their FarCry game franchise . We had team members and clients scattered all over the world – Toronto , Montreal , New York , Belgium – so I used Frankie to keep everyone in sync , from the storyboard stage right through to final post .
A few weeks into the project , I had one of those ‘ WOW ’ moments . I was sitting on a crowded bus , when I received a last minute request for a work-in-progress review . I tethered my laptop to my cell phone and walked five people , from four different time zones , through a remote Frankie session . The person sitting
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