Mixing Your Passion with Architecture / Zoe Russian Moreno
On July 27th, 2019 we had a cool and interesting conversation with Zoe Russian Moreno.Zoe Russian is an experimental architect that is currently focusing on Graphics & Visualizations, visual effects, animations, previs, and post-production. She aspires to improve herself as a designer and continues to learn about the CGI world as much as she can in every way possible. From CG conferences to online classes. She constantly experiments with software, and therefore her style is defined by what she is currently 'ticking' with. However; detail and story-telling with each project is her ultimate goal.
In this episode, we talk about how her venture into the CGI and VFX world started from a very early age, with her parent’s cinematographic influence. You’re going to learn that she actually studied Architecture but found out about this amazing passion for virtual effects and cinema late in her school years. We speak about how architecture is an evolving career, always challenging the norm of the profession and how you can mix your hobbies and passions into the area of design. We talk about her transition from architecture into animation path and how she was able to mix them together. We also talk about how it feels like to be a female in a predominantly male career. And finally we talk about how does storytelling influence architecture. And the steps that must be taken in order to tell a story that captures the viewers.
Conversation:
The highs, the lows, the in-betweens and differences of the program within different professions. The difficulty of the entertainment media.
Lack of female 3D CGI designers.
Branching out as a female architect towards the VFX Film/TV CGI branch.
How life environments and hobbies can mold us as designers. Example: Growing up behind a camera defined me as a designer. What’s your life experience?
Learning the industry and the fact of working at the regional level and how this is different in the US vs Latin America.
Storytelling in architecture.
Using vision to develop the narrative of projects.
Questions:
You are currently working as an animator, environment artist, and CGI visualizer, what were your thoughts when you went into Architecture school? Did you know that you did not want to go into the common “building” route since the start?
How did your parent's career influence you?
If you had the opportunity to go back and study something else, would you do it?
How has been your professional transition from the Architecture path to the entertainment industry affected you?
Being a female in a “man’s career” has been difficult for you?
In your opinion, how can designers mix their passions with their careers? For example, how can someone follow your path? Being passionate about animation and mixing it with your very own definition of Architecture.
Tips on how the above can be done
Is storytelling in a design career important?
What are the steps that must be taken in order to tell a story through images?
What are the steps to develop a vision of a project in a productive way?
Where will we see you in the next 10 years?
Any advice for a young, architecture student right now?
Interview Transcript:
M: Hey Zoe, how are you?
Z: Hey Maria, how you doing?
M: So… Zoe is actually one of my really good friends. We didn’t graduate together but she graduated two years before me?
Z: I think so yeah, I feel like I graduated the year before you but not sure, hahaha
M: What are you working on now?
Z: Well, on my day job… I work as a CGI designer
M: I love that you say day job, because we designers have a thousand other jobs going on at the same time. But anyway, continue…
Z: I work with this company called DBOX… Which they do 3D visualization, marketing and branding for high luxury brands. They have done work with Zaha Hadid and Foster and Partners. But on my real job, on my side job, I’m a sci-fi geek so what I try to do is just create these series of short films and experiments with VFX and just start to put it out there and create these experimental facets. Something real and take it to SCI-Fi level. That’s kind of what I’m into right now, but it changes from time to time.
M: Haha, It changes every like.. 6 months?
Z: Haha yeah, it’s like the flavour of the month.
M: That’s amazing though. How did you get into animation and stuff like that?
Z: Well, it’s funny that you say that because at the beginning when I was in school I had a lot of influence from my parents. My dad is a cinematographer and my mom is a producer so they have a company together. And basically I grew up watching them produce but at that moment I didn’t really care about it. I thought it was not for me. I thought it was oversaturated. I would see my dad’s clients and think that I didn’t want anything to do with that, haha. And in architecture school I realized that I didn’t want a static image. So I started learning animation on my own while I was doing architecture school… Just trying to figure out how can I blend these two guys together. At the point I didn’t think about bending it, it was just for me rather than to show because I wasn’t even confident in my abilities to show my professors.
It wasn’t until the last year of architecture that I decided to show and say you know what? I actually do have a little bit of knowledge with composition and animation.
M: What was that process for you like? Because I am sure that going into architecture as a career for 5 years… Studying for 5 years… You have a mindset that tells you that you have to get out of there and go into building. People believe that leaving architecture school means building. What was that process like for you? The realization that architecture is much more than building and that you can do so much more with animation and all the visualizations that you do.
Z: Yeah for sure. It was a process honestly. At the beginning I just wanted to do what the professor said. I was the typical overachiever, trying to get an A. I just wanted to get through it because also as an immigrant student with an F-1 status I had to set some type of standard. So at the beginning I didn’t really care about the career itself, I only thought about producing and producing. I didn’t really care about myself and my identity. And it was almost at the end of the fourth year when we turned in the deliverables for Design Comprehensive where we had to turn in plumbing and electrical where I realized… Okay, this is definitely not for me.
M: Oh my God, that is so ahead into the career already.
Z: Yeah… I realized this very late honestly. It was kind of a revelation. I was like “wow, did I just waste four years of my life? I cannot give up now because I am so freaking close!” And at that time I was a little depressed because I was going to have to find a job and do bathroom schedules.
M: (Starts laughing)
Z: Hahaha, not that there's anything wrong with bathroom schedules, but that was my mindset. It was definitely not going to be good for me. I was thinking like “Oh my God, I’m going to start going to school again, and learn another career, so another 5 years and more money.” All that process… Then, I had a revelation in my last studio with my professor Neil Leach. He said “You can do whatever you want.” He said no problem, and only cool images. And he encouraged SCI-FI. And THAT blew my mind. I could actually get into -fi and nobody was going to criticize me. That’s how I started getting into it and just exploring and studying movies. I started using my knowledge throughout my entire life experience with cinematography and sets and how to shoot a scene and what I wanted the person to feel.
My final thesis was basically a trailer, which I eventually want to make into a miniseries or short films. It didn’t come just randomly because I wanted to do something cool. But this started awakening this passion I have for cinema and creating amazing stories to talk about space. Even the color selection, the camera rotation and the specific color grading in a scene tell a story, and is part of architecture. And that semester just opened my eyes and I realized that architecture is everything. I loved it and it helped me find myself.
M: That’s so awesome. I love when the studios are like that: no deliverables at all, just the final. But it’s up to you, whatever you want to do. It just expands your knowledge as a designer when they don’t tell you “you have to do a museum this semester.” Or “you have to do social housing” and you wonder when you can finally do something that is just not always architecture and building per se. That’s awesome.
Z: Exactly!
M: At any point, did you regret going into architecture?
Z: Every single day for the last three years.
M: (Starts laughing)
Z: Hahaha yeah seriously, I was just like “Oh my God, what did I do?” But after graduation, I thought about it and I took a mental approach and a cold-hearted choice to realize that (architecture) gave me all these abilities that now I can pursue into other forms of profession. So in the end I just realized that architecture is an all-emcopampassin career and it gives us the opportunity to learn a little bit about a lot of stuff. And I decided to take that as a good thing and run with it to see what was the next step in my life. In a short answer, no, I don’t regret it.
M: Right, now you don’t regret it, but before you kind of did.
Z: Yeah, exactly.
M: How has your professional transition from the architecture path into the entertainment industry affect you as an individual?
Z: As an individual it is a process, because I studied architecture and not the movie industry, so they were very different in the aspects of job searching. For example, in the architecture industry it is celebrated when you are with an office for a long time because they think you are trustworthy for lasting a good amount of time. But in the entertainment industry, specifically in TV and cinema they look a lot at all the amount of work you have done. They look a lot for contractors and freelancers. It’s very rare to get a full-time job because they just never leave, that’s why they look for freelancers. And even in the style of presenting your work. In an architecture job, you do a portfolio. ANd it is normally a PDF or a little video, almost like a slideshow, but it is very simple. Instead, in the entertainment world you have to make an online CV and certain types of videos you have to do depending on the role you are going into.
For example, I normally apply for environment artist and when I do that… Environment artists create the worlds, so it has to be more architecture-based, not many animations. But when you apply for animator obviously you have to show your abilities to animate and they want to see the best work but at the same time short and entertaining. The industry is so big that they won’t give you more than two minutes of their time. In two minutes or less you have to get their attention. It’s just two different languages and it's just learning a new way of portraying yourself.
M: Right, I'm guessing that the movie industry, how you're basically describing it, they're looking for people to take on their jobs and manage their time efficiently. In architecture they just look for how you work in a team and how you can produce this work with a team and for someone else. It's very different.
Z: Yeah, it's difficult, because in architecture you're basically building something physical. While in the entertainment industry, in the end it is all computer based and they're looking for people that are 3D visualizers or environmental artist. But then there is the genre that is the generalists, but that is very rare.
M: What is a generalist?
Z: Basically someone that can do from 3D visualization, modeling, animation to VFX. And the reason they look hem up for TV is because they are faster in terms of production and the issues that comes with it is that they cannot look for people that only do the clouds. But generalists do the clouds, the rain, then the water, the evaporation.
M: Oh wow, it's a lot of work.
Z: Yeah, it is. Now the industry is trying to move toward generalists and it is kind of like a weird transition.
M: Yeah, I don't know if you've heard the fact that architecture -- and I hate this saying, I really hate it -- that architecture is a man's career. I wish that it wasn't but it is difficult for women to be successful in their careers and get to the point of where the amazing Zaha got to. There are so many successful and amazing male architects, but what about the women? Do you feel like in the entertainment and movie industry it is the same way? Or is it worse, or better?
Z: Yes and no... It depends. I personally have not been able to meet many female, CGI, 3D designers, because the ones that deviate from architecture go to another path like graphic design and fashion design. But I have not met someone that exclusively does VFX and CGI. But it also depends on the city. Like, if I go to LA or if I go to New York and Vancouver, I might find more over there. But it is very limited and still there are not many female that go that route. It is a very male-derived career, And the reason behind it is that it comes from history actually. In terms of programming, females didn't really want to do that type of work. And now it is because of these new tendencies and opportunities that females are starting to --- not starting to, but are getting more recognition and into the realm of entertainment.
In the gaming world, there are a lot of animators and environmental artists that are female.
M: Yeah, I get what you’re saying. In your opinion… How can a designer… Or let’s just put it in the perspective of an architecture student; how can an architecture student mix the passion that she/he has a career? How can they basically do the same thing that you did? Is it something that comes along with the process and the journey of realizing what architecture and design is? And how can they take the steps in order to achieve this combination of their passions and architecture?
Z: Well, I think that it comes from life experience, as part of growing up. Because as I said before, from my own experience, it came kind of late in my career. But what I would tell someone is to embrace their life experiences. If you’re a person that likes skating but then decided to go into architecture, then take that into the next level and integrate it into your career. Don’t let anything stop you from sharing your passions and bringing them into your career.
Because sometimes we feel as designers that we have to separate from our true hobbies. Or things that we believe are not important… They are, because they’re a part of you and they define you. So one of the things I wish someone had told me is not to take anything for granted in the sense of letting go of my passions to become someone that is expected of me. And just exploit those experiences you had that let you become you and nurture it so that way you can find yourself quicker. And also don’t be afraid of making mistakes and going back and forth.
What am I good at? How can I put this into what I do every single day? And just run with it and be unapologetic. Because that’s how you cave the path of being a better designer and being a better person.
M: And I think that one of the really good things about the world we live in now are all the tools that we can use from the internet. I mean, I’m pretty sure you learned all those things by yourself, through YouTube, through downloading the software and saying “you know what? I wonder what will happen if you click this button.” So definitely the internet is an enormous resource that sometimes we take for granted.
And even in school you can take all the classes… Like for example, if you are into psychology, take some classes that deal with psychology. Maybe it will make you a better designer… Which I’m 100% sure that it will, haha.
Z: Yeah! And the best architects that made the best designs are psychologists because they are able to get into the mind of the clients and the user.
M: Yeah, and even the most successful architects in the world… Like for example, Rem Koolhaas was a journalist. He basically went into journalism and then went into architecture. Now, he says that he can see spaces in a very different way through the videos that he takes. He loves cinematography and stuff like that.
And even Zaha Hadid… I mean, we were just talking about her but she literally studied math. She studied math and then went to the AA to study architecture. And look at all the amazing forms that she was able to achieve just because she knew how to push the boundaries of how the structure can work.
Z: Exactly
M: It actually reminds me of my own experience, because I actually went into journalism first before architecture.
Z: Woah, I did not know that.
M: Yup. The Archiologist was basically born from that love I had for journalism… So there you have it, it does work! Hahaha
Z: (Starts laughing). See? See? That’s why I feel like it is so interesting because then you create these different hubs and experiments and architecture starts molding into something else. I cannot give you the definition of that “else” but it becomes something completely amazing.
M: Mhm, alright so tell me a little about… And this is going to be one of the last few questions… Tell me a little bit about storytelling. Because I’m sure that as a CGI Artist and an animator, you are very aware of how to tell a story. And architecture and selling in general, works best when you have a narrative. And works best when you tell a story. So, how does storytelling work in the architecture context and what are your tips on storytelling?
Z: Ok, everything…. And this is from my own point of view. Everything needs to have a developing process. Some people start sketching, some people start modeling, but I start with a piece of paper. This is the part of writing ideas, not even touching the sketchbook. And I write simple words. Depending on the program, what do I want to portray? Think about it as a one-to-one scene, and instead of a third person, think about it in first person.
M: Like you’re thinking about what she’s feeling? What the person in the scene is feeling?
Z: Exactly, and once I have those ideas, I start sketching. And then it becomes a layering process of sketching, to basic shapes, then to modeling and remodeling of the shape. That process is never ending, it is just cumulative. Then from that first process I need to think about how I’m going to present it. Who’s going to see this process? Who’s my client or the experiencer? In a sense you want to manipulate the viewer into seeing what you want them to see.
All the layers start going on top of each other. So in this particular scene, piece, or view… I need to make them see this piece of land or architecture, object, or color. The presentation is super important. Because sometimes you can create the most amazing pieces of design but if the presentation is bad then it doesn’t fly. Same for me, in architecture… The storytelling is not about producing the final product but about the journey. Not about producing that final product but it is about the journey that took you to that final product, that’s storytelling in itself.
M: So every scene must have a why. Everything that you do, every process must have a why. That's good advice. I feel like architecture is literally all why. “Why did you do that?” “Well because…” And you must answer with your concept.
Alright, so final question… Where are we going to see you in the next 10 years?
Z: Winning an Oscar. (Starts laughing)
M: Hahahaha
Z: No but really… In ten years… Well, I’m already doing the process of creating my own company for VFX and production and post-production. All that… Maybe it will become a Miami Hub because I saw that there is an over saturation of the market in LA, and New York and these cities that are typical. But Miami is kind of “virgin” in that aspect and there is a market that has not been explored.
But the possibility of also traveling the entire country and having the freedom of freelancing. I would like to also continue learning. And be on the constant journey of self discovery as a designer and just enjoy the trip.
M: Yeah… But it looks like you’re doing amazing! I can’t wait to see what you do in the next year. And I will definitely be there every step of the way with you. This was a great conversation, from someone that is not really connected to the building industry but it is something completely different to what people think architecture is really about. But it is still design and it is still architecture. So thank you for coming here and letting us know how important it is to expand your horizons with your hobbies.
Z: No, thank you for having me. It is always so rewarding to have these types of conversations with like-minded people. So I really appreciate that you took the time too.
