1 Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your background.

I am David Mateo, i live in a town Moncada in Valencia. I am a pharmacist and clarinet teacher, i have always liked special effects. I started at the end of year auditions making chromas with my students and adding effects, as I loved I have done in CICE a master in VfX, in the master i saw that i liked composition, i am a graduate in Digital Composition at Animun Creativity Advanced School, i have taken advanced composition courses in Gnomon, Rebelway. I am currently preparing for the Nuke Certified Trainer with my mentor Victor Perez.

2 What made you become/why did you choose to become a digital designer/artist?

What has made me the most to be a digital artist is cinema, I am an admirer of the Lord of the Rings saga, i have always loved the effects of those films, also George Lucas' films, the Star saga Wars.

3 Tell us more about your business/company, job profile, and what you do.

Now i am a freelancer, although i would like to work in a large studio, i have participated as a Digital composer this year, in films like Mercy Land and Swap, very enriching projects.

4 What’s your favorite kind of digital design and why?

The challenges are immense, with each scene presenting significant technical complexity. However, I've dedicated countless hours to pursuing my passion. My favorite scene is the opening one, titled 'Harrots,' inspired by 'El Papel de la Navidad,' an advertisement by 'El Corte Ingl

5 To you, what makes a “good” design?

Always say the same thing, the most important thing is that your design or composition provokes feelings in people, that is truly interesting, people must perceive what you have created, for your work to make sense

6 Describe your design style and its main characteristics.

I like to innovate my designs, try new techniques, make the difficult simple, i try to see many references and trends, i get a lot of inspiration from going to museums and seeing many operas, it is a way to see different styles and create what you like the most, in my case, always elements that provoke some feeling in the people who see my compositions.

7 Tell us about your design process.

I mentioned it in the previous question, it is seeing a lot of art, in this case i am inspired by what I see in museums and also in music, music is a very great art of expression, everything always with continuous training to be able to develop your ideas You need, on the one hand, technique and inspiration.

8 Where do you draw inspiration from?

I get inspiration when i see art, i usually look at a lot of references, watch a lot of cinema, go to museums and listen to a lot of classical music, when i I want to express my ideas, i try to apply my technical and artistic knowledge and try to capture what i have thought in my compositions.

9 What current trends in digital design (or really anything digital related) are you most excited about?

The trends that I like the most are those that will surprise you with their quality, complexity of the scene and its color, there are great studios, i am a big fan of ILM, i think they are the best in visual effects, technically they are impeccable and artistically fantastic.

10 Congratulations! As the winner of the 2023 Vega Awards, what does it mean to you and your company and team to receive this award distinction?

I am over the moon to receive this distinction! First of all, i would like to thank the international jurors for choosing my project as a winner. It's a truly meaningful honor to have professionals of this caliber choose my work. Winning awards in such a competitive field is no small feat, given the incredible talent out there. It's an incredible feeling of happiness, knowing that the countless hours of hard work and effort have paid off.

11 Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2023 Vega Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?

My composition brings together technically very complex scenes, where I apply the most advanced techniques in composition, all the scenes presented have great technical difficulty, from making scenarios with 3D projections starting from a simple chroma, applying particles to make fog, dust, spheres with confetti They require a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of dedication and having advanced technical knowledge. For me it is a dream to be able to participate in the Vega Awards, because of the prestigious jury, you see that people with so much talent choose my work, it is one of the most gratifying things that can happen in your life, you see that companies like Disney are presented, Sony,Cartier,Boeing....it's a dream come true.

12 What was the biggest challenge with this project?

The challenges are immense, with each scene presenting significant technical complexity. However, I've dedicated countless hours to pursuing my passion. My favorite scene is the opening one, titled 'Harrots,' inspired by 'El Papel de la Navidad,' an advertisement by 'El Corte Ingl

13 How has winning an Award developed your practice/career?

I hope that this award opens the doors for me to be able to work in a great studio, I am a simple person, I am not going to stop learning and continue working hard and with a lot of effort, as my entire family has always done, my family is humble people and very hardworking, everything i am and what I have i owe to my family.

14 What are your top three (3) favorite things about the digital industry?

- The wonders of visual effects. - I really appreciate a well-crafted movie script. Even with the most exceptional special effects, a compelling script is essential to effectively convey the desired message to the audience. - The way videography can arouse emotions in viewers.

15 What makes your country specifically, unique in the digital industry?

I am Spanish and in Spain we are very passionate people in what we do, we transfer this passion that we have to what we like most, if you add passion for what you like you will have a good result, because you are doing what you like most with a very strong feeling.

16 Where do you see the evolution of digital industry going over the next 5-10 years?

Unfortunately, i think it will be linked to artificial intelligence, which is doing a lot of harm to artists, some algorithms are going to replace people and that worries me enormously.

17 If you were a student entering this industry or an aspiring Vega Award submitter, what advice would you give them?

he advice i would give them is to present their best work and to do it with passion, enthusiasm, work and effort. You can win a Award or not, because winning Awards is always very difficult, the most important thing is to have done what you like the most. without thinking that you are going to get a Award

18 What resources would you recommend to someone who wants to improve their skills in the digital industry?

Well, the best resource is to work and train continuously, you cannot think that by winning an award you have achieved everything, an award is the beginning that you must continue to strive even harder, since there are fantastic artists who have never received any award. An award It's a beginning not the end.

19 Tell us something you have never told anyone else.

The truth is, the only thing i had not told anyone is that i was going to participate in the Vega Digital Awards, in fact my family will know if this interview is published.

20 Who has inspired you in your life and why?

The person who has always inspired me is my mother and unfortunately now she has Alzheimer's and hardly knows us anymore. She has always told me to fight for my dreams, but dreams are not achieved just by thinking about them, you have to work hard, put in a lot of effort and do what you like most. My mother has always given her life for all of us, she has gone out of her way to ensure that we do not lack anything, she is my greatest idol! She always reminds us that while we may not always be successful, as long as we give it our all with hard work and enthusiasm, we can find comfort in knowing that we have done everything we can to achieve our goals.

21 What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?

The key to success is to work very hard, train yourself continuously, do what you like most with enthusiasm, that is part of the key to success, but luck also intervenes in a percentage, there are incredible artists who have never received any awards. I want to thank this prestigious jury for having awarded my work. It is an honor for me that people with so much talent and prestige have chosen my work.

22 Do you have anything else you would like to add to the interview?

I would like to thank the international juries once again for this incredible distinction! I would also like to thank the fantastic Vega Digital Awards team for their incredible work and for giving people like me a platform to showcase my passion; It's really a wonderful thing that they do for all of us. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart, to each and every one of you!

WINNING ENTRY

2023
 
VFX Compositing Reel David Mateo Gonzalez, Animun Creativity Advanced School - Vega Website Awards Winner

Entrant Company

Animun Creativity Advanced School

Category

Video / Online Video (Single) - School / University

2023
 
VFX Compositing Reel David Mateo Gonzalez, Animun Creativity Advanced School - Vega Website Awards Winner

Entrant Company

Animun Creativity Advanced School

Category

Video / Online Video (Single) - Self-Promotion