Burce Boran - 2016/2017

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

In 2010, I was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Communication Design from Istanbul Bilgi University. I first started with 3D at university. It was an elective course. After university I started my career in Istanbul as a 3D modelling and rigging artist. In Turkey, we have a big movie industry but when it comes to visual effects it is very limited. My dream was always to work on blockbuster projects.

Tell us a bit about your experience at the college.

After I decided to take a big step and leave Istanbul I researched schools. I looked at nearly every VFX school in US, Canada and Europe. At that time I was mailing lots of schools. I could not get an answer from lots of them they gave very limited information. I remember the first day I sent an email to program head Joe Raasch five months before program started. I asked him detailed questions about the program. He answered my all questions one-by-one in detail. After I saw the demo reels of the students, I knew Seneca VFT was the best choice for me. It was an amazing experience. I met very friendly and talented people. My teachers guided me very well to prepare my demo reel. I asked lots of questions about look development since I am an asset artist.

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

I am an asset artist. I do 3d modelling and texturing. I got three job offers from the biggest VFX companies in Toronto one month before my program ended. Currently I am working on the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery TV show at Pixomondo. Now I am able to follow with my supervisors and do my daily tasks at the studio. I started using Mari in this program which is a key software when it comes to texturing. I also learned Substance Painter which helps me a lot in daily tasks.

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

This is an intense program where you really need to work hard and practice as much as possible. In my opinion it is the only program that can lead you to get a job in a very short time (eight months). My biggest advice is to always ask questions. In the program there will be people with different levels. Sometimes you can feel you are very unexperienced or experienced than the other students which is very normal. The key is to ask whatever question you want. Your teachers are always there for you and they will always answer any level of your questions. I asked lots of personal questions about look development and texturing pipeline to my teachers and they always guided me very well.

(Written in 2017)