A question to all:
How did you approach becoming part of the visual effects field? Was it originally what you wanted to do? And are you happy with where you are now?
Or, perhaps, more interestingly: Was the field what you expected it to be like?
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Past in Visual Effects –
April 21st, 2003,09:04 AM
A question to all:
How did you approach becoming part of the visual effects field? Was it originally what you wanted to do? And are you happy with where you are now?
Or, perhaps, more interestingly: Was the field what you expected it to be like?
I sorta fell into it. I originally was in college for aerospace engineering, but it wasn't my thing. I was doing 3D in Lightwave at the time, and decided that was something I wanted to do (3D), so I went to school for it. Had a course in compositing in Alias|Wavefront Composer, and liked it so much I decided to do that instead of 3D! I like the quickness of compositing as opposed to 3D, and I like to have the final control over what a shot will look like in the end! I quite feel for 3D artists that have some amazing 3D work done, and the composites that the 2D artist creates does not look real or even very good!
In terms of what I was expecting, I really didn't know what to expect. It was definitely tough getting my foot in the door, especially in Vancouver (there's less that ten visual effects studios). I am happy where I am now (freelancing/contract). It allows me to work and play with reasonable amounts of time allocated to each.
If you are looking to get into visual effects for the money, don't. This industry is full of fresh talent willing to work for bottom dollar. Everyone that I know that is a 2D or 3D artist in visual effects does it because they love doing it, and they don't mind putting in 80 hours a week to do it.
childhood dream –
May 15th, 2003,11:47 AM
I can answer your question -
I watched neil armstrong walk on the moon live. right then, i was hooked on outer space.
my oldest sister watched trek all the time, so i got into it early and became a sci fi geek by the time i was 6.
television was my babysitter, and i oftentimes had the house to myself on friday nights. always found a sci fi flick to watch.
when i was about 8 or 9, i saw the war of the worlds. i was sure i wanted to do special effects for movies right then and there.
i got into model building, then home made explosives, and destroying my models.
i then graduated to capturing those things on super 8 film, then actually making little stories around them.
i had no support system in place though, and eventually quit because i was convinced through parental pressure i was wasting my time and money. dreams crushed by a short sighted, unsupportive parent.
fast forward about 12 or so years.
my friend and his brother start up a small computer animation studio. they ask me to learn some programs, knowing i had an art school education. i start out learning photoshop, doing texture mapping.
i soon become intertested in 3D, and so i learn modeling. after a few years of unpaid learning and miniscule work from their as of yet unknown little studio, i eventually quit my beastly job in photography and go to animation school.
hated it.
unqualified instructors trying to inspire kids with stars in their eyes. telling them they'll never get a job if they can't do character animation, as there aren't any other kinds of jobs out there... bad.
i become desperately bored with animation and want to learn effects work, compositing.
another friend decides to make a short sci-fi film, and needs fx done. his friend in ILM can't commit to all the shots, and so i'm selected to do them.
i drop my student work and do 6 fx scenes fore his film, first time doiung compositing, using AE.
school ends soon after film is done, and i get a compositing gig at a satudio on a tv series.
from there i eventually found DF and dropped AE like a rotten potato.
since then, i've worked on a second tv series, two features, two more shorts, and other odd jobs here and there.
realization of a childhood dream.
i agree with aruna, it ain't for money. it's the love baby, the love. you have to LOPE what you do to be in this biz. and what can be better than having a job you love? few people in this world rarely even mildly tolerate their jobs. we have the best job in the world- satisfying, fun, cool, exciting, challenging and totally enviable.
I had no idea computers would be this bog. i left high school when computers were just then appearing in classrooms- back when the now museum piece computers required cassette tapes for backup, and all you could do was BASIC. i felt they were useless.
i always thought fx work would remain optical, remain models. never dreamt computers would take over.
i keep remembering my opinion of them as i left high school. wow, was i wrong.
~A.
Started off when I got my Amiga 500 (1984?)
and realised that it wasnt only games
you could write your own pictures.
soon after I got an Amiga 1200 6megs!!! of ram
and running at 14mhz on a cover of
commodore user there was a 3d app called imagine on the cover disk
At this time I was a pastrychef working stupid stupid hours.
also had a program called deluxe paint 2,3,4 and Brilliance (still have it in box at home)
so i comped whatever i made in imagine with deluxe paint and brilliance
and then lost the video tape (with the amiga you could run it straight through
your video and tv) with 3 years work.
got an apprenticeship in the graphic prepress trade which involves alot of
colour correction, masking, retouching.
am starting to find it a lil boring
and want to make the move into moving images film/tv.
and here I am atm working on a reel using combustion.
(From my "about" page)
Well, after a long and successful career as a baby and then a child, I sucessfully made the shift to teenager and after discovering girls decided to make this a permanent career move, unfortunately I then turned 20 and the whole damn thing went out the window.
I started screwing around with computers when I was 12 years old. And after typing a LOT of BASIC on my C64 I finally got Logoâ„¢ up and runningIT ALL STARTED RIGHT THERE!!!!
After leaving school in 1987, I went to work for a bank of all places, they fired me after a year (I knew the moustache just didn't work). Well, being of a positive disposition, I tool my immense and impressive 80s mullet off to the unemployment line. I spent the next two years wandering around NZ with a band, playing bass, not earning any money and learning that a band was a REALLY good way to pursue the "chasing girls" aspect of my career.
After the band broke up, I went to work selling encyclopedias door to door, left that after 6 weeks and went back to the bosom of my parents. After 2 weeks of that, I landed a job in an AV company in Wellington, driving a van and generally running about after people.
Within 3 weeks I was running the computers, learning 3d and doing 35mm slides on the first 486 in NZ
(new stuff)
AS of this last couple of months I am kinda confused as to where to go, I bought Maya and have been doing some funky little animations which I comp in After Effects .. yes yes I KNOW, but I like it so shut up, I use Combustion as well, if that saves my soul in any way ...
So still a 2d Guy mainly, but getting better and better on Maya every day. Spent a year teaching starry-eyed students that Character Animation WASN'T the be all and end all of the industry and now freelancing and slowly starving to death.
Oh yeah I can edit too.
And gave up chasing girls .. they chase ME now! Must be the hair
This hair?
And I'm quite liking the fact I'm aiming for TD country in the 3D industry - a lot of people seem to be looking for TDs...
May 17th, 2003,10:13 PM
Erm ... no ...
THIS Hair!
Too Much Bloody Vodka!!!
Last edited by ValHallen; May 17th, 2003 at 10:23 PM.
Erm .. Down here!
'the hair' –
May 18th, 2003,04:35 PM
isn't it fascinating how a thread can lead to an entirely different discussion?
I would like to start a new one...
What was your reaction to valhallen's hair, and how has it affected your career, and / or life in general? would you rahter see the mullet?
was it what you expected, and in what ways were you unprepared for the massively follicled mane's influence on your present work?
how do you feel now that you have seen 'the hair', and have you any regrets?
gosh vh, you remind me of robert plant!
~A.
Robert Plant?!?!
Holy Shit!
Note to Self: Get Haircut!!!
Thread Jacking .....
It is interesting how the subject of a thread can change so radically. Not that I disapprove of where this one went! For those of you who respectfully replied (all of you) thank you all very much!
And also, good choice of an avatar, Andromeda Girl. Trekkies UNITE!!!
Not to imply you are a trekkie, as I really don't know for sure....
Oh well. I've been searching for a thread to contribute to, and I came upon a trail of recent replies to my own old thread. Oh well. Back to searching.
I blame the Zombie .. he bought up the hair ....
Right...the hair
Andromeda Girl, what tv shows did you work on?
BlackKnight
something for ya cg guy –
May 20th, 2003,05:36 PM
hehe...that would be the Botany Bay behind the Enterprise
Good old optical effects days!
BlackKnight
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