VOTD: ILM's Mike Jutan's TED Talk On "The Power Of Enthusiasm"

Earlier this year I received an e-mail from Mike Jutan, a Research & Development Engineer at George Lucas' visual effects powerhouse Industrial Light & Magic, who was prepping his TED Talk. Despite having previously worked at Pixar, Mike was having trouble gaining clearance for a WALL-E image he had found on /Film. I was able to connect him with the right people, and he finally got the mouse house's permission. Jutan's TED Talk is about "The Power of Enthusiasm". While the movie isn't completely movie-centric, I think it's worth sharing. Here is a brief description from Mike:

A large portion of the talk (begins around the 8 minute mark) is about the moment I first saw the friggin' epic T-1000 effect in Terminator 2 as a 10 year old kid and I knew at that moment I HAD to do visual effects with my life. I talk a lot about my journey, from dream to little wins, internships at Pixar, and finally achieving my dream to work at ILM 15 years later.

I think in this cynical world, Mike's message is important. Watch the TED Talk now embedded after the jump.

Official description:

At age 10, Mike Jutan envisioned his future at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), George Lucas's groundbreaking visual effects film studio. His passion for computer graphics led him to earn his B.Math (Honours Computer Science Co-Op) degree at the University of Waterloo. He now lives his childhood dream every single day as a Research & Development Engineer at ILM in San Francisco, California. Mike is always busy planning his next adventure, to explore the globe and to make a difference to the world around him. Using his mentoring skills and extremely contagious enthusiasm, he is determined to share his joie de vivre with the world and inspire the next generation through a blend of art and science.