special effects

ambersgod · November 26, 2004

Howdy

I know that this is not a site dedicated to special effects but I am at a loss of where else to turn. I am a high school student interested in special effects for a living. Although I have tried, I cannot find anything to help me and was wondering if anyone could point me in the correct direction. Thank you all for your help!

I'm out! :blink:

Keith Mottram · November 27, 2004

Howdy
I know that this is not a site dedicated to special effects but I am at a loss of where else to turn. I am a high school student interested in special effects for a living. Although I have tried, I cannot find anything to help me and was wondering if anyone could point me in the correct direction. Thank you all for your help!

I'm out! :blink:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

special effects is a very loose term do you mean in camera, digital or optical effects. assuming you mean digital you could try creativecow.com which covers most of the digital effects programmes (discreet to maya to AE) or highend2d.com. if your talking about in camera/ models etc then i dunno.

ambersgod · December 3, 2004

howdy again!

aT this point, being a high school student who excels at both types, I currently don't know which direction to go yet. I have experience with computer graphics, and models, make-up etc. Thank you for you past response and your future responses, if any.

I'm out! ^_^

Annie Wengenroth · December 5, 2004

Well, SCAD offers a program in visual effects. So you might find something like that of interest. Not to shamelessly promote my soon-to-be alma mater or anything. :-P

Mark Allen · December 5, 2004

Special Effects is a world of specialties. Even inside the world of 3D alone you could spend years mastering just the art of textures. When I was a visual effects supervisor I had one artist who was 15 and amazing (I had seen some of his work he'd posted online and thought I could use him and did). I assumed his parents were artists and he'd been studying art all his life - but, in fact, no. His parents were scientists and he had learned how to focus on problem solving and was exceptional at being aware of his work - he had the ability to see problems in his own work, then ask himself (and others) how to improve on them. (Most people (especially adults) do not have the ability to objectively see their own work.) He'd also spent a summer working as an intern at a video game company's 3D department at 14.

Simply to say - it's not always how many years you try to learn something, it's your approach. So learn that now, while you're in highschool, and you'll be way ahead of the game.

Now - resources. There is actually a school for special effects in Los Angeles called "Gnomon" and found online at http://www.gnomon3d.com - they have about 80 DVDs availabe or more covering everything for analogue media to 3D techniques. Originally they had relatively unknown artists - but recent DVDs have included Matte Painting by Dusso and Conceptual Design by Syd Mead. Those are some big names. But most of the DVDs are very well thought of.

As for free resources, the web is obviously full of information on this stuff. I would, however, recommend trying to figure out what aspect most interests you and then become the best at that. Specialists find it easier to get work and they get paid more. Generalists think they will have more options of finding work, but in actuality they often have split their time up too much be one of the "best out there."

Good Luck!

Send me a private message or post in a follow up link any online samples of your work.

Annie Wengenroth · December 7, 2004

Oh yeah. Those Gnomon DVD's are good. They have some available where I used to work. I would also say, just start networking with people and WATCH LOTS OF MOVIES. I watch so many movies nowadays that the real world seems oddly jarring. I consider it a valuable part of my education outside of school. I do it both for sound design and cinematography.

Matt Pacini · December 8, 2004

The best ting you can do is find an FX house and offer to work as an intern, i.e. = for free.

Work your butt off, read everything you can get your hands on, learn everything from anyone you can, and hopefully they'll see the need to hire you at some point.

I read an article about Jim Cameron, that said when he was working for Roger Corman, doing illustration, & grunt work, they were so impressed with his energy & ambition that he eventually moved into directing.

They said he was the only guy who was actually running from office to office to get stuff done.

Nothing works like a good work ethic, even for guys with bad attitudes like Cameron!

Matt Pacini

Adam Frisch FSF · December 9, 2004

Cinefex is a good magazine to read. Although for me who's more interested in in-camera effects and physical effects like minitures and such, that magazine has become very 3d oriented in the last 5 years. There is still a lot of model work being done and I doubt it'll disappear altogether, but who knows?

There's a brilliant book by Mark Cotta Vaz about the history of the matte painting which you should buy immediately. It's called The Invisible Art and covers the history and techniques of the matte painting, one of the corner stones of in-camera and post effects.

Matt Pacini · December 9, 2004

Cinefex is great.

I actually helped (a little) a friend of mine get an FX job from an ad that was placed in Cinefex (at X-FX).

Within a couple years, he was working at Stan Winston's shop.

He's a great machinist for mechanical FX, and done some great work.

Now I can't get him to make custom stuff for me anymore :(

Matt Pacini

ambersgod · December 23, 2004

Howdy!

Right on, thank you this is all awsome information. How would I go about getting a persubscription to that magezine?? Thank you all for the great info!

-I'm out!

Wendell_Greene · December 23, 2004

Here are two other online resources you may find helpful:

Computer Graphic Networks

VFXPRO

You should also buy the book "Visual Effects Cinematography" by Zoran Perisic.

Last but not least, there are also back issues of "American Cinematographer" you can purchase online so you read about the visual effects on your favorite films.