Nakaka-proud malaman na isang Pinoy ang nasa likod ng bonggang visual effects ng mga big Hollywood movies na The Dark Knight, Iron Man 2, Captain America, Avengers, Wakanda Forever, Elvis.
Ang may gawa nga ay ang Vancouver-based visual effects artist na si Jo Ann Belen.
Taong 2013 noong manirahan sa Vancouver, Canada ang pamilya ni Jo Ann at sumabak siya sa visual effects pagkatapos niyang mag-train sa London. Sa Singapore unang nagtrabaho si Jo Ann bilang visual artist.
Maraming naging sakripisyo si Jo Ann para matupad ang pangarap. Kabilang na rito ang pag-iwan niya sa bunso niyang anak na magwa-one year old lang daw noon.
“It was actually probably the toughest decision I had to make because it was choosing between my career and my family priorities because she was just one year old. But then I had this inkling that eto na ‘yung opportunities. It’s a chance in a lifetime,” sey ni Jo Ann na nag-train sa Double Negative in London at naging roto artist para sa pelikulang Hellboy.
Noong makita raw ang pulidong gawa niya, binigyan siya ng next project as compositor sa pelikulang The Dark Knight. Ang compositor “is the one who puts together all the film elements to create the final image that the audience sees in the movies.”
“After three weeks biglang sabi nila, I think you can do a bit more. My first shot, first task was to paint out ‘yung mga rig, ‘yung, crane, ‘yung crew. It was a helicopter crashing in the streets of Chicago. Then they moved me to more difficult comp work, which was this one shot with Heath Ledger. He was hanging on the roof.”
Sumunod daw na project niya ay ang Marvel film na Iron Man 2 at nagkasunud-sunod na ang mga malalaking trabaho para kay Jo Ann tulad ng Game of Thrones, Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Avatar.
Pero kahit daw successful ang career niya, ramdam pa rin daw ni Jo Ann ang discrimination sa workplace dahil isa siyang Filipino at isang babae pa.
“I could see the look in their eyes that ‘kaya ba talaga ng babaeng ‘to, you’re so tiny’. But when they see that you could do the job, the trust just falls into place. So yun yung masarap na feeling na, ay hindi na nila tinitignan yung ano, yung kulay mo it doesn’t matter kung may accent ka.
Kelan lang ay na-elect si Jo Ann bilang member of the board of managers of the Vancouver Visual Effects Society. (Ruel Mendoza)
