Meghdad AsadiLari

Assistant Professor | School of Film and Animation | College of Art and Design | RIT

Case Study 2G: Industry Collaboration and Pedagogical Outcome

Project Overview:

This case study documents two professional commissions from Optic Sky Productions, completed in the summer of 2025. The two projects differ in nature and scope, but together they illustrate how sustained industry relationships generate creative work and, in one case, a direct and significant student career outcome.

Project 1: Character Rigging for the Children's Museum of Indianapolis:

I was contracted by Optic Sky Productions to develop character rigs for a projection mapping piece for the permanent exhibition "All Aboard!" at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. I rigged two main characters, each with five turnaround poses to support angle-switching during playback, and animation-friendly setups for expression-based animated hairs.

Excerpts from the final animation of the two main characters (left and center); character turnaround with expression-driven hair animation (right)

Project 2: VFX Compositing for a Broadcast Commercial:

I was contracted by Optic Sky Productions to serve as VFX artist on a broadcast commercial for a regional law firm. The technical scope was focused on two specific VFX elements: integrating a CG traffic light and telephone poles into live-action road footage, which involved camera tracking, rotoscoping, realistic lighting and rendering, and final compositing to broadcast delivery standards. Other VFX elements in the commercial were handled separately by the production.

For this project, I proposed my student, Arden Stein, to join as a paid freelance VFX artist. This was his first professional freelance engagement. Optic Sky initially sought me as the artist, given the broadcast standard required. To bridge his classroom skills into industry practice, I proposed Arden instead, assured the company I would take full responsibility for the quality of the work, served as point person and his supervisor, and directed him through every shot. The techniques he applied were ones developed in my VFX and Compositing course. The work was accepted and aired nationally, validating it not as classroom practice but as professional-grade production.

Excerpts from the final commercial

Peer Review and Professional Validation:

Both projects arrived through faculty referral networks, reflecting peer confidence in the professional quality of my technical work. Optic Sky's decision to engage me across two distinct projects reflects an additional layer of professional validation: an industry studio reviewed my work and returned with a second commission.

The VFX work for the broadcast commercial was accepted for national airtime, including distribution on Amazon Prime, an industry standard for broadcast delivery quality. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis installation represents a commission by a major public cultural institution for a permanent large-format display.

Dissemination:

The broadcast commercial aired nationally and on Amazon Prime. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis projection mapping piece was delivered for the upcoming public exhibition at one of the largest children's museums in the United States, with ongoing public viewership.

Recognition and Student Outcome:

Arden Stein used the national broadcast commercial as the sole piece on his VFX reel and was hired for a VFX internship at Framestore, Los Angeles, for Summer 2026. Framestore is among the most prestigious visual effects studios in the world. Arden specifically acknowledged that being trusted with a real production, and being given the opportunity to apply classroom techniques in a professional context under my supervision, was central to his career advancement.

This outcome, a student moving directly from coursework into a paid internship at a world-leading studio on the strength of work produced under faculty mentorship, signals the broader argument of Track 3 of my Scholarship: that effective teaching produces results that reach beyond the classroom.

Dissemination:

The broadcast commercial aired nationally and on Amazon Prime. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis projection mapping piece was delivered for the upcoming public exhibition at one of the largest children's museums in the United States, with ongoing public viewership.

Recognition and Student Outcome:

Arden Stein used the national broadcast commercial as the sole piece on his VFX reel and was hired for a VFX internship at Framestore, Los Angeles, for Summer 2026. Framestore is among the most prestigious visual effects studios in the world. Arden specifically acknowledged that being trusted with a real production, and being given the opportunity to apply classroom techniques in a professional context under my supervision, was central to his career advancement.