VFX film careers – an introductionSTEMNET Scotland

Yen YauTalent Development Manager

Into Film

The Bigger Picture

• Creative Industries now worth £8.8 million an hour to UK economy (DCMS 2015)

• Need to recognise convergence of media and disruptive digital media technologies

• The creative economy is one of the few industrial areas where the UK has a credible claim to be world–leading

• Need to equip young people with transferable skills 21st century skills.

Statistics

The Bigger Picture

Creative Industries Strategy 2014

Examples of technology impacting on film-making

• 3D printing• Cloud and

collaborative workflows

• Drone cameras

Source of image: CosProp http://www.cosprop.com/

Some StatisticsKey Findings•The UK’s creative economy had 2.6 million jobs in 2013, consisting of 1.7 million jobs in the creative industries.

•The UK’s high–tech economy had 3.2 million jobs in 2013, 2.4 million of which were jobs in high–tech industries (825,000 in STEM occupations)

•Employment in the creative economy grew on average over three times faster than the workforce as a whole (4.3 per cent per annum (p.a.) vs 1.2 per cent p.a.) between 2011 and 2013.

•Employment in the high–tech economy also grew faster than the workforce over this period (2.1 per cent p.a. vs 1.2 per cent p.a.).

Where are the Opportunities?

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• Management, leadership and business skills • A key gap for the future is new and digital technology

and particularly managing the change from traditional to digital media.

• In production digital camera skills and awareness are lacking

• For exhibition and distribution employers a key focus is exploiting opportunities such as online and digital sales, marketing and distribution and dealing with threats eg. file sharing.

• In post production, the VFX industry is facing a skills shortage of new entrants with strong STEM backgrounds

Good time to be working in the VFX industry

Did you know…..

Stages of making a film

The Skills ShortageUK National Shortage Occupation ListRelates to jobs under Tier 2 of the new five-tier system.

If the job is on the shortage occupation list then an employer can offer the job to an overseas person without having first fulfilled the Resident Labour Market Test by advertising the vacancy in the UK. The list is current at 14 November, 2011 but is subject to change at any time..

Producers and directors in the following roles within visual effects and 2D / 3D computer animation for film, television or video games: 2D supervisor, 3D supervisor, computer graphics supervisor, producer, production manager, technical director, visual effects supervisor.

Graphic Designers roles within visual effects and 2D / 3D computer animation for film, television or video games: compositing artist, matte painter, modeller, rigger, stereo artist, texture artist

Getting on – the VFX skills spectrum

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Stages of making a filmVFX Careers Doc-2.jpg

Routes In

Historically, entry into VFX was informal, usually through the runner route.

However, the industry is changing and most entrants now study a course offered by a private vocational training provider or a university.

Suspension of disbelief

VFX Film Resources

•The Core Skills of VFX http://www.skillset.org/animation/qualifications/article_8377_1.asp

•Breakdown showreelshttp://www.artofvfx.com/?p=6591

http://www.moving-picture.com/showreels/vfx-breakdowns/

•Individual Career Profiles and Case studieshttp://www.dneg.com/career_profiles/

Developing a Portfolio• The FoundryNUKE – The award-winning tool for visual effects and the industry’s standard

software (http://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/nuke/non-commercial/)• AutodeskMaya – 3D computer animation, modeling, visual effects and rendering software

tool(http://www.autodesk.com/education/home)• FusionTools for compositing, keying, painting, animation, stereoscopic 3D and more, all in

a single application. Currently only available for windows(https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/fusion)• SculptrisIf you're new to the world of digital sculpting, Sculptris is the ideal ground on which

to get started(http://pixologic.com/sculptris/)

Useful Websites

• BAFTA Guru• Double Negative• Escape Studios• Shooting People• Screen International• The CG Society• College of Production

Interstellar - the science behind the film

Visualizing Interstellar’s Wormhole – American Journal of Physics

Earlier this year saw the publication of Visualizing Interstellar’s Wormhole, co-authored by Professor Kip Thorne and Dneg’s Oliver James, Eugénie von Tunzelmann and Paul Franklin, in the prestigious American Journal of Physics (AJP).

“This is a wonderful article that provides some of the background and detailed calculations that went into creating the beautiful images seen in the movie.”

David P. Jackson, Editor – American Journal of Physics

Getting in Touchyen.yau@intofilm.org

Skills FusionSecond Light Labs

@yenyau@getintofilm