Whether you’re already at school, looking to find a new school or even considering moving overseas to study, nothing beats hearing from the students themselves! We speak to Shaunak Roy about the ins and outs of studying at 3DSense Media School in Singapore.
The Specifics
What’s the name of your school?
What’s the name of the neighbourhood?
Clarke Quay.
Closest train station or public transport option?
Clarke Quay MRT station just below the school.
How long have you been there?
A year and three months now. I did the Diploma in Visual effects & Animation program (DVE) from March 2017-March 2018. Before graduation I was offered the Diploma in Film Production (DFP) which began in April 2018.
It was a chance to make an animated film with all the talented students picked from the different specializations , so I had to say yes.
Why did you choose to study here?
Well, I was searching for good 3D art schools all over the internet, where I coincidentally found The Rookies website. From there I found 3dsense Media School and was impressed quite a bit with the student work there.
So in a Skype session with Justin Chua, I inquired about the school and the course structure. I liked that we could specialize in either Modeling, Animation or Visual Effects from Term 2. This and the student works made me realize that 3dsense was the perfect place for me to grow as an artist.
The Scene
When you walk outside, what's the first thing you see?
3dsense is located at Clarke Quay Central, a mall in the Clarke Quay area in Singapore. Outside the mall is the Singapore River, a picturesque tourist attraction. It is a great place to go out and replenish when taking breaks.
The closest shop to outside your school is:
Well there is a beauty Salon beside the school. Also a tech gadget store is nearby, if anyone wants to buy some emergency backup drives or get a cool RGB keyboard.
Your school is great, but you would t mind a bit less:
Maybe less kids around the area since there is a Childcare center nearby).
The unofficial uniform of your school is:
Our 3dsense T-shirts mostly. Most of us wear casual attires on normal school days. On special days such as reviews or graduation day, we dress up a bit to add to our presentation--not a rule but more of a tradition now.
A mandatory stop for anyone new to your city:
As a fellow foreigner in Singapore, Sentosa Island is a pretty cool place to go to. It has a beach, Universal Studios, a Casino and various other places of entertainment.
A common myth about your school is:
Not only my school but a common myth about CG art field is that people may think it is easy. It may be fun but definitely not easy.
A quote that drove me quite a bit was during one of our industry talks by Justin. He was talking about how our work and rest should be balanced and how it is important to have a good night's rest. He ended the talk by saying:
“Yes, we should all have a good night's rest , but tell me? if at the end of the day you don't do your work and the deadline is approaching can you really have a good night's sleep?”
A massive night out for students at your school is likely to be:
Well it probably would be either be an activity of either watching a film, drinking at a bar, going for a karaoke session or even a gaming night.
The Superlatives
You won’t find a better place to eat than at:
Too difficult to choose one, but the most common area to eat is the Food court at the Basement. It's quite crowded during lunch hours but if you get a place there is plenty of places and cuisine's to choose from.
The strangest thing you’ve ever seen at your school is:
A sign that says in case of fire alarm, please unplug your external hdd/pendrives and take them with you.
One thing you’d never change about your school is:
The dedicated and hardworking spirit of all the students. When you see your classmates work hard all day, even during the weekends, it inspires and motivates you to do well.
I remember before graduating, we all thought once we graduated we would just rest and play games. But the very next day a lot of us came back to polish up our work a bit more and get that extra bit of quality.
But one thing you wouldn’t mind seeing changed is:
One bittersweet limitation is time. The course is one year and time does push us to achieve a lot in that one year but at the end it does feel very short. Not just work but in that short span you do make wonderful friends and the school becomes like a home. But after one year , you have to move on and take the next step in your career.
Someone gives you $1M to pimp out your school. You use it to:
I would try and expand the school and all the rooms. Boost the PC specs to Intel i9's or AMD Threadrippers with the GPU being Nvidia Titan or quadro P5000. I would also love a dedicated renderfarm.
More lecturers maybe, and a themed re-design of the school. Other things would include a larger pantry with a coffee machine, and adding a hostel in the school.
