Kelsie Lee (She/Her)

About me

I was born/grew up in: Vancouver, BC

I now live in: British Columbia

I completed my training/education at: I completed a Digital Design Diploma with specialization in Motion Graphics at the Vancouver Film School

What I do at work

I design simple and complex motion pieces for use inside BC Place stadium. I also design pieces for social media and television. I mostly use a program called Adobe After Effects.  But I also use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and sometimes Cinema 4D to produce my work.

It's my job to look at a still image from our design team and figure out how to bring it to life. I usually add key frames to create motion. Sometimes I write code in After Effects to achieve this effect with a loop feature. That process is perfect for simple, loop-style animations.

I work as a member of a five-person design team. I’m the only motion designer. Together we work as a perfectly oiled machine. We complement each other’s skill sets in an uplifting environment.

My career path is

I never expected to end up here. School was never my thing. I loved going to parties, watching movies, and playing video games. I used to code HTML websites but I didn’t know I could have a job that includes some of these pastimes. I went to university for a bachelor of fine arts degree, which I never finished. I went back and I did a Vet assistant course, which I did finish. I worked in that industry for a while but it wasn't right for me.

Then, when I was 26, I found the Vancouver Film School and I excelled. I had found my place! I graduated with very high grades and now I'm five classes away from finishing my Bachelor of Media Arts.

I don't believe I had any specific influences that encouraged me towards my career. I honestly found my path by accident. As for failures, I have had so many failures. But I’m stubborn and I just never quit. I just keep pushing back. Then, finally, it just worked and I stopped failing.

I am motivated by

The constant change in tech excites me. The fact that any day, a new product can come out and be better than the last is incredible. We are living in a very fast-paced world right now. It's super neat! I think that's what makes this job great for me. I love learning new things and besting what I’ve done in the past.

How I affect peoples’ lives

I don't think my career particularly affects anyone's life. However, it would be worth it if any young person saw something I created and it inspired them to a career in motion design. My job is fulfilling because I’m always learning as tech grows and changes. There is never a dull moment. Because I design for a very public audience, I am very conscious of what we put out into the world.

Outside of work I

I still love movies and video games. I also spend a lot of time online learning about new tech and what other designers are doing. I love being outdoors and I’m currently learning another language. That's fun - sort of, lol. I also like to ride my bike, go to the gym or spin class and socialize.

My advice to others

It's such a cool, complicated world. There are so many options once you start learning about motion graphics and visual effects. If you get discouraged on one path, just keep going and see where that takes you. If I hadn't done that I wouldn't be where I am today. You have to keep going and keep learning, especially from discouraging situations. Learn from your failures but also your successes.