Joseph Ankrah - 2016/2017

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

Before attending the VFT program I was in the 3-year game development program at George Brown College.  I mainly focused on 3d Modelling which helped as I came into the program having some knowledge in 3D to help start me off.

Tell us a bit about your experience at the college.

I came into the program expecting an intensive, fast paced and extremely informative setting. That is exactly what I experienced throughout the program. There was a lot to take from each class and a lot to be done as well.

With the help of the instructors I was able to maintain my pace and get all the necessary work done. The instructors are all industry professionals with a lot of experience under their belt. Having such people as instructors helped enormously when it came to solving complicated issues that were encountered as well as just asking general questions. We had access to the classroom, which a lot of us took advantage of to get assignments completed. The class is equipped with the latest software, so we had no choice but to take advantage of it! 

The overall atmosphere in class was great! I had the opportunity to meet and study with talented peers whom shared the same motive in wanting to pursue visual Effects.

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

I was fortunate enough to land a compositing job after the program came to an end. Right of the bat I can say that I've been applying the lessons, information and techniques of the duration of the program at work. 

The program gave us a good platform that exposed as to the different situations we could encounter in a real life studio setting. As a result, I've learned to find ways in approaching difficult situations. You learn quite a lot while on the job as well from the talented artists around you.

There are so many ways to tackle a shot and on the job you come to understand that. You never really stop learning because of the amount of ways to go about solving a problem.

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

Eight months may seem like a long time, at least that's how I saw it, but it really goes by much quicker than expected. You should take in as much of the information as possible. There will be a lot and it may get difficult at times because there may be
way too much being thrown at you. That's mainly why the instructors are there for, to support you through the process, so feel free to reach out to them for help. 

It's good to find the area you want to specialize in and then build your demo reel around that. It will help prevent any time loss. Also take advantage of the classroom and the software. They are accessible to you at all times and can help greatly in getting assignments/demo reels completed. 

Lastly, enjoy your time there! It's good to work hard and that's exactly what you should do but you should also appreciate the moments and encounters.

(Written in 2017)