Kim LeBrane is one high achiever. After graduating from Stanford with a mechanical engineering degree, she went on to get her masters in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. She started her career by working as an automotive engineer at the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) in Fremont, California. She realized during this time that this was not exactly what she was looking for, so she moved on to something completely different, working as a teacher’s assistant to children with special needs. Still not feeling quite fulfilled, she decided to enroll at Expression College in the Animation and Visual Effects program, and she hasn’t looked back since.
Kim chose the Animation and Visual Effects program, because she has always been passionate about animation, and decided not to push her passion aside any more. She knew that in order to do this she would have to learn how to tell a story visually, invent characters, and then put it all together into a creative piece. Her mechanical engineering knowledge helped her in various aspects of animating, but to her surprise, she found out that she loved compositing and doing particle effects and preferred this to animating. She had discovered her specialty.
One of the most challenging classes for her at Expression was the Drawing Boot Camp class. Under excellent instruction from Chrystene Ells, she was pushed in areas that she never experienced before. As a result, Kim said that that she walked away with much greater confidence overall.
What did Kim like best about Expression? “The best thing about it is the incredible instructors that teach here,” said Kim. She felt that they genuinely care about the students and that they are very dedicated to helping everyone succeed. “Ty Carriere went above and beyond, and helped me so much, even when he wasn’t scheduled at work.” says Kim.
What were her favorite classes when she was here? “Composting 2, Advanced Effects, MSV I - shooting a movie and writing a script.” says Kim.
Kim graduated from Expression College in May of 2006 and is already working at the Hope Technology School as a Para-educator teaching after school film classes. These classes include several aspects of film making including: storytelling, screenwriting, storyboards, settings, props, costumes, rehearsals, blue screen shooting and compositing. She came to Expression knowing what she wanted to do, but unsure about her specialty.
Her advice to future students is to know what you want to do before you come to Expression. If you know what you love to do, then Expression is a great place to learn how to do it well. Expression is not necessarily a place just to come and find yourself. She also encourages students to get to know your fellow students well, both inside and outside of the classroom. “These are the people that will help and support you while in school, plus they might just be who you work with on future projects in the real world.”
What are Kim’s future goals? She would like to stay in California, and to continue specializing in particle effects for feature films such as Harry Potter 6, and work for smaller companies like the Orphanage, Rhythm and Hues or Digital Domain.
