Ali Noorani

VFT Program 2012/2013

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

Before coming to Canada and joining the course I had a diploma in Visual Effects as well a degree in Business from a college in Mumbai,India. The diploma in Visual Effects gave me an insight into the world of FX and animation. That course did not allow me to specialize in one particular field and gave a more general overview of all the processes and tools required in the field.

Tell us a bit about your experience at the college.

The experience was great and I had a great time learning at Seneca. At the begging I had a tough time as the main 3d software used was Maya, which was new to me at the time as the 3d software I had learnt was 3DS Max. However the teachers and the curriculum at Seneca were very helpful. It allowed me to learn Maya as well as a completely new 3D software called Houdini. After being in the course for about three months I realized that I wanted to develop my skills in the area of creating 3D effects like dust, explosions, deconstruction of 3D models and other dynamic effects. Once I had figured out my goal I only worked towards increasing my knowledge in software's used in the effects industry, mainly Maya and Houdini. However, during the first semester we had a lot assignments in which we had to use different software packages such as Nuke, After Effects, PFTrack etc. This allowed me to gain knowledge in many different software packages and made me more aware about the pipeline and procedures used in the studios for creating FX. During the second semester the assignments were reduced and I was allowed to work on my own shots which allowed me to learn about the field I was interested in. 

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

The first job I got was of a junior Effects Artist at Arc Productions. I used most of the tools and techniques I learnt at Seneca Collage. The most important tool I learnt at Seneca was that it doesn't matter which software or program it is, the fundamentals always remain the same. I also learnt the importance of working in an organized manner and maintaining a clean workflow. One of the most important skills I learnt at Seneca was time management and time allocation which is a very important skill required at the work place.

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

Work smart not hard! Sometimes your shots will look terrible,stuff wont work,it might not turn out how you expected. Don't give up. Put everything you have in the eight months you are there and at the end you will have an amazing demo reel.

 (Written in 2013)