TOWER OF YOUTH

This all teen youth media and communication arts organization is dedicated to organize and promote digital literacy, education system modernization, a world class media workforce, economic and community development through its training, partnership networking and media entries programs. Empowering youth voice is the heart of our work by introducing, elevating and channeling computer supported creativity to its highest accomplishments. YOUTH ARE THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM! The Tower of Youth shows the way to bring youth, educators, industry, community and government leaders together in a new paradigm of breakthrough excellence and quality in all our lives.

Michael Lester was born and raised in Sacramento. Michael knew he wanted a career with computer graphics since elementary school. By the time he was 13, Michael had a basic understanding of computers and graphic design. He started looking for creative outlets to explore all the possibilities. After learning about the Tower of Youth, he and a good friend and schoolmate set to work and entered the 3rd Annual Teen Digital Reel. Each year for the next four years, Michael learned from the software he had won in previous years, and nurtured his creativity. In his senior year of high school, Michael was fortunate enough to take the grand prize at the 7th Annual TDR, and was well prepared for college.

Michael attended Ex'pression College for Digital Arts, and graduated valedictorian in 2005. Michael's first job out of college was at The Orphanage, a visual effects house in San Francisco. He started out by doing a process called match moving, which is the process of analyzing live action footage and creating a computer generated camera to insert animated elements into the scene. Then he was given the opportunity to transition into the role of compositor, which involves creating a final image by combining its constituent elements, such as a matte painting of the background, actors on a blue-screen, or computer generated imagery. A great deal of effort goes into adjusting colors, shadows, and edges in order to make the pieces indistinguishable.

Caught in the economic collapse of the 2009 recession, The Orphanage visual effects house declared bankruptcy and all the staff was laid off. After weighing the balance between job security and exciting opportunity, Michael joined Spy Post, a small post effects house in San Francisco, in an effort to build a visual effects division in the company. As CG Supervisor, Michael spent the next year creating a pipeline that could facilitate premier visual effects to be created quickly and efficiently.

Over the past seven years, Michael has worked on such films as Superman Returns, Die Hard 4, Iron Man, Avatar, and Priest. Michael additionally creates visual effects for series television, commercials, independent films, and stereoscopic conversions.