Ardhendu Dey -2018/2019

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

Prior to VFT I perused a one-year 3D Animation and Character design course at Fanshawe College. I got a bachelor’s degree in animation and multimedia back home in India. However, my childhood passion for movies drove me to start learning VFX as a hobby and developed my portfolio. That’s when I decided to join Seneca as a first step to pursue my dream career in Visual Effects.

Tell us a bit about your experience at the college.

Coming to learn Visual Effects at Seneca was one of the foremost decisions of my life. Having studied 8 months here, if I can repeat once again, I would do it in a pulse. The program's primary goal is to build a good foundation and understanding of Visual Effects from the ground up.

Faculties, the backbone of this course, are energetic, friendly and not only the top industry professionals but incredible teachers. They know when to push for a better result. They not only help out during class hours, but also give personal inputs on your work through very specific critique videos and solutions through email. Along with 24hrs access to the lab, we are also given access to a lot of essential tutorials and stock footages and so was the access to shooting equipment such as Cameras, Lights and the Green Screen room.

The atmosphere in the classroom was also one of the best I have ever experienced. Surrounded by talented individuals in the class, who constantly shares their thoughts and ideas. Overall, learning at Seneca was an formidable experience.

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

After finishing VFT, I managed to get 5 interview calls but choose to join Pixomondo as a Compositor without any doubt in my mind. I was very determined to be a compositor as an outcome from the course but I have learned FX, 3D workflows, Python Scripting what is now helping me in my workplace.

The VFT course will help you develop the necessary skill set and will lay a solid foundation required to start of in the VFX industry.

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

VFT is pretty intense and having some prior knowledge does help.

The earlier you can identify the area of specialization, the more focused your learning will be. It is always an advantage if you already know which department you want to mastered in and get the job but if you are not sure about it, just go through ALL the classes, finish the assignments and come with too many queries. And believe me, you will be where you want to be.

As in production facility we have to work with number of departments on everyday basis; and having thorough knowledge of every aspect helps us in resolving issues and solving critical problems that may arise; be it Match-moving, 3D Asset Development, Lighting, FX or Compositing.

Ask Questions! Don`t hesitate to raise your hand in the class to clear your doubts. Do not be intimidated, to take help from the faculties and the talented students around you. Be ambitious, share ideas and resources with others.

Kindly focus on the assignments time to time, sometime it might be a lot to do but it will help you to achieve the speed of the work. Be generous with others, discuss your shots prior, come with a lot of energy in the class. Trust me, you will enjoy it out of all odds, be realistic with your future goals and achieve them with a lot of efforts.

(Written in 2019)