[FRAMED]: Johannes Saam, Senior Creative Developer
[FRAMED] exists to shine light on Framestore’s most fascinating cast of characters: its people. Presented with a probing list of questions and a demandingly short deadline, this feature puts the hopes, dreams, and desktops of our MVPs on the digital wall, for all to see. Welcome to [FRAMED].
Name: Johannes Saam
Title: Señor Creative Developer
Let’s get to the heart of it. What are you guilty of?
Inability to find two matching socks. Ever.
What was your last brush with danger?
LA freeways can be pretty daunting!
Your last brush with greatness?
I ran into Bernie Sanders at the Alamo during SXSW.
Your worst character fault?
Arriving late to phone conferences and announcing my entry despite the fact that everyone is already on call. And follow through.
Your most shining quality?
My incredible, teutonic sense of humour.
You’re on the run from the law, where are you headed?
Mexico! Where else?!
Who’s your partner-in-crime?
Simone, my wife; and Jasper, my trusted little sidekick.
Fantasy cellmate?
Ozzy Osbourne.
Your greatest achievement?
Meeting my wife in the dirtiest of nightclubs in Sydney at 3am on a Tuesday night. And then surviving Australia’s flora and fauna.
Most valuable skill?
A real passion for graphics, and persistence. I got my first job because of it, which led me down this career path.
Go on, say something bragging
I can cook up a pretty mean Wiener Schnitzel! I have been called the Schnitzel God of the Southern Hemisphere.
What’s your pet peeve?
Aggression, I can’t really handle it. Oh and the Second Amendment.
Ok ok, so the day-to-day. What does the DREAM project entail?
Seeing a project come to life from the first idea; being part of that initial spark that drives the creative process; and then assembling the best possible people, paired with the most innovative and exciting technology, to deliver that vision. Ultimately it’s about creating a meaningful project that has a positive impact.
Your career highlight to date?
I was lucky to receive a SciTech Academy Award for being part of the invention of deep image compositing. The award ceremony was definitely one of the highlights so far. Working on Prometheus as a CG Supervisor, as well as CORAL, are honorable mentions for sure.
This week I learnt that:
Austin is an amazing place, and SXSW is a really great forum to celebrate interactive and film. I was speaking twice at the festival [on Volumetric Capture, and with TIME Inc’s Life VR and Stanford University on LUMEN], and really enjoyed that time.
What’s your current view?
Give us a desk tour
I am pleased to have coined the term ‘Tie Fighter’ configuration for my monitors: two vertical connected by one horizontal. One is dedicated to the Framestore Linux-based pipeline, the other two for my Windows-based realtime work. Besides that, my mechanical ‘Das Keyboard’ is clicking loudly. I do collect lanyards from conferences, as well as Renderman teapots from SIGGRAPH. My prized ‘D.I. Joe’, a gift from the Animal Logic team (where I did most of my deep image work) sadly broke at the end of last year. I also have pretty much every possible VR headset close to my desk.
What do you need to work, on the daily?
Coffee from Bar9, the most hipster coffee joint you can imagine: inside a warehouse, serving lattes in glass jars. And walks around the block in Culver City, to solve creative problems, have also been essential to every project.
Framestore is, in three words:
Innovative, creative, fun.
Best thing about your work environment?
Having a motion capture stage right above our desks is very handy, as is the open and creative workspace in the ‘Gallery’ of the LA office. And of course, Bar9 for the aforementioned coffee.
Framestore is great at:
Giving people the opportunity to shine, and be their best; nurturing them from the early stages through to an excellent level of their respective work. We utilise our the long tradition of computer graphics to create new experiences for storytellers. And hopefully we’ll be great at soccer, beating all of our Culver City rivals such as MPC and The Mill…
Dirty nightclubs aside, let’s look at letting loose. Favourite artform?
Generative art, such as fractals, and other math-based art, and experiential media installations.
Favourite images?
Any deep image.
Fictional character you’d like to hang with?
Parsifal in the Oasis from Ready Player One. Or the real OG Parsifal of the Round Table.
Happiness looks like:
Spending lazy days with my family, outdoors if possible, laughing together and enjoying great food.
If not here, then where?
Southern Bavaria or Sydney, Australia.
What do you think of too often?
Where did I leave my wallet?!
And not enough?
Where I left my wallet.
Couldn’t live without:
Iron Maiden.
If you ruled the world:
Free VR headsets for everyone! As well as a universal basic income for all, to enable a diverse and equal environment that nourishes creativity and allows everyone to do and be their best.
Johannes Saam, you’ve been [FRAMED]. Follow Johannes @johannessaam, and sign up to CORAL beta now.
