JOHN GAJDECKI
I worked at a reputable camera shop and learned about cameras, lenses and especially how to speak respectfully with customers - even those who thought that Canons were better than Nikons.
Sheesh...
ABOUT
In grade school I built models and took a lot of pictures. I remember watching the British TV show, Space 1999 when it hit : " Hey, those aren't spaceships on my TV, those are models! "
I build models,
I take pictures,
I can do this !
What I do
Shooting plates on Amazon's House of David
I actively work with production, our vendors and in-house artists to avoid the problems we all see coming and deal with the ones we didn't. While something may not have started as my problem I make it my responsibility.
I am technically very competent, but I prefer the artistic side. The best thing about VFX is it's both - my shots don't just look real, they look photographically real. We add the same camera artifacts as the main unit's photography, with the same framing you’d expect from the operator and the same timing we’d see in each director. I try to figure out the production designer to match their style.
This informs everything I do.
John Gajdecki discussing the next scene with
Jon Gunn and Michael Shandley
Tell me the story
When we discuss the sweep of the story and everything is possible, these are my favorite discussions. What sort of project we are doing, what is inside and what is outside the box - and what is it all going to look like.
The ideas for a project can come very quickly, then we spend the rest of the project living up to what you promised in those first days.
Education & History
York University Film Production - 4 years
University of Ottawa Business Law and Marketing
University of British Columbia Database Design
First VFX
Grade 8
I doubled exposed this model into a planet and starfield by taking the film out of the camera, cocking the shutter and re-loading the film.
I had a little more
to learn about focus.
Photography
My early work was as a DP on small productions, but I got into the habit of carrying a camera long before, when I was in high school .
I have a personal goal of shooting at least one good image a week :
Miniatures
I started in VFX by building and shooting miniatures - the 3D software of the time was not able to deliver the photoreal images my clients required.
These are a mix of models I used in VFX work and those I have personally built, usually spending about a year per project. I build them to paint them - making something look totally real, without an undo button.
