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New Talent: Tuna Unalan

01/04/2019
Post Production
New York, USA
507
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Blacksmith's 3D artist on growing up in Turkey, moving to New York and working on high profile jobs for Mercedes and Macy's

Born and raised in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Tuna Unalan moved to the US during high school with little grasp of the English language. One thing about joining a school later on, he says, is that people have already formed their friend groups and it can be tough to crack them. "I would enjoy my own time while bouncing around between different groups." Nowadays though, he's found his tribe and that's at Blacksmith VFX in New York. He joined the crew in late 2015 and has since worked on Budweiser's 2018 World Cup ad, Mercedes' 2019 Super Bowl film and was the lead 3D artist on Macy's Christmas Spacestation spot. 

LBB's Addison Capper chatted with him to find out more. 


LBB> One of your main hobbies as a kid was still life drawing and painting - how does that experience feed into the digital art that you do as a 3D artist?

Tuna> At a young age drawing still life taught me to take the time to study an object in detail. I would observe how the lighting and shadows work, try out different compositions to see what was pleasing to me and I enjoyed getting lost in drawing all the little details I could see. As a 3D artist I am usually having to study the live action plate in order to make a 3D object look believable in that scene. Sometimes you get a good reference that was used on set for what your 3D should match to, so you can study how the lighting and materials work and re-create the same in 3D. However, sometimes you don't get that privilege so you need to rely on your artistic eye to sculpt lighting and composition to create something that looks believable and pleasing. Often times I enjoy the challenge of matching 3D by eye because the creative process that naturally occurs feels more rewarding and at the same time you train yourself to improve more. 


LBB> You mentioned that you and your friends had a "pretty wild and free" spirit - can you elaborate on that? What were you all up to and do you still see that spirit in yourself today?

Tuna> Well, we were all a bit reckless at the time when I was in middle school and I was the youngest in the group by at least four years. We would do things like sneaking into a fairly large and spread out university through the forest while making sure we don't get chased by wild dogs or bears, just to hang around and go to the university’s cafes. Sometimes my friends would sneak out their parents car for a drive and make sure we bring it back in one piece - obviously being the youngest one I would have to sit at the back and go along with the ride but the adrenaline and the fun we had was great. We would also find a camp site in the forest, sit by the fire, make some barbecue and share stories until dawn. Midnight bike rides around the city were also very eventful. 

Over time I have matured and the hammer of life came down with major changes in my life so I wouldn't say I see that spirit in me as much today, but I will always cherish those years because they were fun, exciting and it was the appropriate time to be a little reckless. 


LBB> You grew up in Turkey - where in the country are you from and what was your overall childhood like? 

Tuna> I am from the capital of Turkey, Ankara. My childhood was a mixture of running around outside with my friends, doing sports and playing a ‘bit’ of video games. 


LBB> You moved to the US during high school and had limited English skills at the time - what was that experience like for you? Where in the US did you move to?

Tuna> I moved to New York and not being able to communicate properly was frustrating, and learning the language felt like it was too slow of a process. I had to try to make friends in school from scratch with no proper way of communicating with them. I realised that the only fast way I would learn was if I pushed myself to be social and just talk, even if the things I said were gibberish. Speaking was one thing, and hearing and then understanding was another. I had a rough time with the accents in social environments where people didn’t speak as clearly or slowly like my English teachers would in a quiet classroom. I wish I could have put subtitles on everyone, things would have been much easier. I remember spending a lot of awkward silent moments on a lunch table with everyone and not understanding a single conversation about what the hell was going on. 

Another problem about starting a new school is that a lot of people have already established their friend groups and it was difficult to belong somewhere. Psychologically human beings want to be accepted and supported by their surroundings, it’s a survival instinct, we wanna belong somewhere. I didn’t necessarily care too much about belonging somewhere because I would enjoy my own time while bouncing around between different groups and eventually became a part of all of them. 

Luckily I went to United Nations International School and they were used to welcoming international students whose second language was English. Everyone was very patient and as helpful as they could be. It was really up to me to push myself and adapt to my surroundings. 


LBB> You were first introduced to visual effects while at Savannah College of Art and Design - firstly, what was it about art school that initially drew you in? 

Tuna> I just wanted to invest my time and energy into something I was really interested in. If being creative made me feel good then I wanted to explore that area. I imagined my career to be not just a job that I do because I have to earn money to survive but a hobby that I look forward to doing everyday and earn money while doing it, it sounds like a good way to live.


LBB> And then how did you stumble upon VFX as something to focus your studies on? And why was it such an appealing medium for you to explore? 

Tuna> I stumbled upon VFX at SCAD during a tour visit to the Digital Media building and checked out some of the top student work. It was an appealing medium for me because I wanted to make other people feel as fascinated as I felt when I saw some great VFX work on the big screen. I thought it was a rewarding experience for me as an artist to connect with an audience and make them believe in something that is not really there. 


LBB> Nowadays you're working out of Blacksmith - how is life there? Why was it a good fit for your first proper foray into VFX?

Tuna> Blacksmith is such a great fit for me, I absolutely love the culture here. I am working with a small but highly talented group of creative individuals who are passionate about what they do. We take care of each other and everyone is supportive and on the same page. It's a healthy environment to work in, they work smart, efficient and they really value their employees’ happiness. 

I have had a lot of amazing opportunities and responsibilities that evolved not only my career but also improved me as an individual. Considering the fact that we were a much smaller team when I first started, I had the opportunity to step up and be more involved in projects than I normally would’ve at a lot of other places. Being on the same page with everyone else and speaking the same cultural language just makes everything that much better and easier. We are all mates here doing cool shit and kicking ass. 


LBB> How do you find working on short form content? Is long form something you'd like to explore in the future? 

Tuna> Working on short form content is great because you get to create different things and face different creative challenges frequently, therefore, growing and exploring more. It really keeps you on your feet and you hardly ever get bored. That being said, I also did enjoy some relatively longer form content that came into Blacksmith. You bond with a shot and see it shape up over time, that's always a fun experience. Long form could be something I would want to explore more in the future, after all it's a different experience, which means growth. 


LBB> You've already worked on some pretty massive jobs - the Macy's 2018 Christmas ad and Mercedes' 2019 Super Bowl spot. What did you take away from those jobs? Do higher profile projects like those affect your approach at all? 

Tuna> Macy's Spacestation and the Mercedes 2019 Super Bowl spots were both high profile jobs, particularly Macy's Spacestation which was heavy on VFX and we had a good number of fully or almost fully CG space shots. I definitely have grown a lot from leading the 3D for that job, it naturally pushed me to be more communicative and help drive each shot to be the best that it can be with the time and resources in hand. Mercedes Super Bowl is a big one too because millions of people watch the Super Bowl, especially for the commercials, and this particular spot came with the challenge of creating an Orca jumping from a pond into an ocean so it was particularly very involved with water effects. I learned what it means to work in heavy FX scenes, what types of challenges I have to keep in mind to work efficiently and keep on top of my schedule because FX work can be quite time intensive. 


LBB> Which other projects are you particularly proud of and why? 

Tuna> I am also proud of the 2018 FIFA World Cup spot we did for Budweiser. It was one of the biggest and most creatively involved projects I have worked on. Before they even started shooting the spot, I had the opportunity to be involved in designing and creating the drone shell which was then 3D printed by Legacy Effects to be attached on an actual drone and practically used in some of the shots. This spot was particularly interesting for me because as Blacksmith we were also involved in creating a captivating story around this young drone who forgot to grab his beer and got left behind while his peers were headed to deliver their beer all around the world which eventually leads them to be at the World Cup, and we get to follow him through his journey to the stadium. Naturally we created a good number of fully CG shots in the beginning of the spot to build up and drive the story. I really enjoyed being involved from the very early stages to the final picture. The spot was showcased in over 50 countries and I was on it for five to six months, starting from the design phase to the final picture. 


LBB> Who / what are your biggest creative inspirations? 

Tuna> I particularly enjoy Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography and visual style but I have to say that the people I work with around me are my biggest inspiration. It's a really inspiring thing to walk into work every day and watch these highly creative and experienced people handle all sorts of challenges, especially the way they handle it.


LBB> What do you like to get up to in your downtime? Any quirks or hobbies we should know about? And do you still practice drawing and painting?

Tuna> I haven’t been drawing or painting much since I started doing digital art. I really enjoy doing photography, going around in the city and capturing whatever is interesting that comes in my way. I started investing myself more in different lenses and studying different techniques of shooting photography. I also enjoy anything about health, fitness and working out. Even though I am taking a different direction now I trained in weightlifting and powerlifting for a few years. It's good to get up from a chair and lift some weights! 

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