To all the art lovers and enthusiasts who are considering a school for art, I’m a recent graduate of the 3D Animation and Visual Effects Program at Vancouver Film School, and here’s what I got to say about my 1-year journey:
As a child, I grew up like a lot of us, watching Pixar’s and Disney’s films, during which my love and passion for 3D grew and evolved into wanting to become a part of this creative industry. I couldn’t imagine a better career than to do what I love and am most passionate about, and having to wake up every morning to a job that feels more like a fun hobby rather than an obligation.
I chose this school for a variety of reasons. Prior to going to VFS, I had little experience in 3D and I wanted to learn enough to feel confident enough to step my foot in this industry. I was browsing one day through my options and came across some of the VFS demo reels from the 3D Animation and Visual Effects program, and they looked great!
The multicultural students in my class who have become my friends after spending long hours working together on a daily basis, have also played a huge role in shaping my journey
I was really inspired and motivated but never thought I would end up having a demo reel close as good as the ones I saw in a matter of 1 year. That was one of the major factors that pushed me towards choosing this school.
The program is broken down into 6 terms. The first 2 deal with the basics of 3D modeling, texturing, lighting, animation, compositing, and visual storytelling. By the end of Term 2, every student gets to choose one of the 3 streams he/she is interested in: Visual Effects, Animation or 3D Modeling (along with texturing and lighting), and I chose the latter.
Term 3 continues building up the technical aspects of each course, with emphasis on the courses relative your chosen stream, and a lot of time is dedicated to the pre-production and concept development of your demo reel.
The last 3 terms are mainly working on your demo reel with constant feedback from the tutors, staff and your assigned weekly industry mentors, and this was the best part of the experience for me.
Not only were the instructors, teacher assistants, and industry mentors extremely helpful and knowledgeable, but also inspiring and motivational in so many ways, and always took the time to provide you with the help and guidance needed.
Having professional resources within reach is very convenient and beneficial as they guide you through your working process and help you achieve your goal of creating a great final product, which is your demo reel.
Last but not least, the multicultural students in my class who have become my friends after spending long hours working together on a daily basis, have also played a huge role in shaping my journey. We all shared whatever knowledge, experience, advice and most importantly motivation we had to keep pushing each other forward.
Overall, this one year at VFS was one of the best experiences I’ve had as I graduated as a strong artist, ready to step into the industry, with lots of friends and connections that I will carry on with me for the rest of my life and I’ll always be thankful for it.