Dennis Tae Wook Kim 2019 Demo Reel

Monsters & Dreams: Awakening is a very personal short cinematic I made for my demo reel during my time at the Gnomon School of VFX. Based on the first vivid dream I had years ago, this piece captures the same sense of awe and adventure I felt from that experience. I wanted to revitalize the key elements and designs of the dream - the dragon, the carved temple, an approaching figure - and retell the story through the visual effects I had learnt at Gnomon. I went through the entire process from story-boarding and previz, all the way to compositing and editing, going through iterations over the 3D aspects along the way.

The most challenging part for me wasn't the technical obstacles, but the storytelling. Putting together different shots and images in a way that tells - or even hints - at a story in a cohesive manner was a difficult but crucial aspect that I have learnt to appreciate and value more as I continue to grow as an artist. This entire journey is an experience I always look forward to as I move forward in my career.

*Credits and software info in videos

Pray is the second film short I made for my demo reel. After having completed my first cinematic, I grew more interested in exploring the larger film-making process as a whole. I continued to work with green-screen and delved deeper into compositing, which I have come to love the most out of visual effects. 

This piece emerged more abstractly and spontaneously, with more room to experiment with different storytelling techniques. Themes of death, the afterlife, and the surreal are briefly touched upon, and this venture into a less direct approach of storytelling, but still playing with those cosmic themes, is something I'd like to dig further into.

*Credits and software info in video