Aditya Thirunirmalai -2017/2018

What education did you have before you took the Visual Effects for Film and Television course?

Before Seneca I perused a one-year 3D Animation and Character design course at Fanshawe College. Along with this I also have completed a Diploma in Digital Media specializing in Film making and Visual effects. During this period, I acquired an overall knowledge of the post production pipeline and got exposed to areas such as texturing, lighting, rigging, Modeling, drawing, motion graphics and Compositing in general. These courses helped me kick start my career in Visual Effects.

Tell us a bit about your experience at the college.

I had an amazing experience at Seneca. I felt like the 8 months was short because there is a lot of content to learn and process in the given period of time. The program's primary goal is to build a good foundation and understanding of Visual Effects from the ground up. The professors constantly encouraged and pushed me to do better and improve my knowledge and skill-set. Their artistic abilities and passion for the industry as a whole was one of the biggest motivators for me during my time there.

How do you use the education you got at Seneca in your job today?

After completing the VFT program at Seneca, I managed to get interview’s to around five well known studios in the city. Without a doubt in my mind, I chose to join Pixomondo as a compositor, as soon as they offered me the position. The VFT course will help you develop the necessary skill set and will lay a solid foundation required to start of in ANY studio.

What advice would you give potential students who are thinking of taking the course?

The course is pretty intense and having some prior knowledge does help. While it’s important to focus on a particular area of interest, this program gives you the opportunity to venture into a variety of subjects and areas. I would suggest to make sure you know which area you want to specialize in within two months of the programme’s start date. I always knew that I wanted to get into compositing, hence I could produce more shots for my reel by pre-planning.

Ask questions! I never hesitated even once to raise my hand and clear my doubts even though at times I knew the questions might be stupid. There will be other students having prior knowledge in the batch. Do not be intimidated, instead learn from them as well. I would recommend to start gathering footage's for your reel in the first semester itself as you will face problems to shoot outdoor footage's once winter gets in full swing. When you do get corrections from a professor, whether it be for an assignment or your reel, make sure you get it done in the given timeline. All the instructors have a lot of industry experience. It’s important you show that level of obedience and commitment towards them and your work at the same time.

Lastly be realistic with your goals and strive to achieve them with a lot of effort, time and hard work. It’s certainly not an easy task, but that is what makes the accomplishment rewarding in the end. Good luck!

(Written in 2018)