Chetan Thaker
CHetan THAkER - 2015/2016
What education did you have before you took the Visual Effects for Film and Television course?
I completed my Diploma in Film Animation and Visual Effects from Zee Institute of Media Arts, Mumbai, India in 2006. After completion of the course, I worked on a Canadian film as a Compositor, where I started learning Nuke. Subsequent to that, my love for animation and visual effects led me to Glyndwr University, United Kingdom to study BA (Hons) Animation in 2007. Upon graduation, I started working as a 3D Generalist and later Compositor. After gaining sufficient work experience in various areas, in 2015, I decided to pursue Visual Effects for Film and Television program at Seneca College to brush up my skills in Compositing and to gain more knowledge in Coding for Visual Effects.
Tell us a bit about your experience at the college.
Coming to learn Visual Effects at Seneca was one of the best decisions of my life. Every faculty at Seneca has strong passion for teaching and research, and are very supportive. The most amazing thing about Seneca is that each faculty member is currently involved in the Visual Effects Industry, and that way we got to learn up-to-date tools and techniques.
They were able to quickly solve any query that we had, no matter which software. Having 24 hour access to the classroom was a bliss as well, and so was the access to Camera / Lighting equipment and the Green Screen room. Overall, learning at Seneca was an outstanding experience.
How do you use the education you got at Seneca in your job today?
I currently work as a Compositor at Pixomondo, Toronto. Education at Seneca, left me with deep understanding and better knowledge of Compositing and Visual Effects. Everything that I learned at Seneca, helps me get my tasks done faster and with more efficiency. In Compositing, we come across number of challenges everyday, and that's where Seneca's education helps me in resolving those issues / challenges; specially when it comes to building a tool using Python, which saves a lot of time for artists in production environment.
This is Chetan's demo reel when he graduated from the program in 2016
What advice would you give potential students who are thinking of taking the course?
Before you start your education at Seneca, it would help a lot to have general understanding of 3D Animation and Visual Effects. As you enter the course, please pay close attention to every aspect of Visual Effects. 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. Each faculty at Seneca is specialized in their respective field and also have extensive knowledge of other areas. Whenever you have a doubt or a question, please do not hesitate to ask them; and spend as much time as you can in the classroom to learn and grow together with your classmates.
(Written in 2016)