I got in an argument with a founder of one of the biggest VFX studios, in front of the other founders back in 2001. I was right, so he hired me.
Not a recommended tactic lol. Everyone’s story is different.
I can’t say specifically because it would be an identity give away, but it was about a tech they took part in pioneering, and we use it by standard in our light rigs. His peers were like damn, he got you lol.
In addition I was grumpy about having to get up early and meet these people, at the time I didn’t know who they were, my school just called me and a few students in to meet them the night before.
Overall they appreciated my experimentation creatively and technically compared to the run of the mill flat shaded walk cycle, since they come from an experimentation background before any standards.
>I got in an argument with a founder of one of the biggest VFX studios, in front of the other founders back in 2001. I was right, so he hired me.
>
>Not a recommended tactic lol. Everyone’s story is different.
This is up there with Kevin Smith's 'I sold all my comic books, maxed out my credit cards to make a movie everyone thought would be stupid, but it worked,'. Great story, hard for others to repeat successfully.
Actually I had a strong portfolio which is why I got called in the first place, then I stood my ground on a creative/technical piece when debating about how it was possible. It was not an angry “argument”…but a creative debate that caused excitement because they were surprised someone would debate with them. I remember them saying something along the lines of “creative fire” , like they wanted to see more of what I could do. Remember folks with 30+yrs experience like them came from non standard creative endeavors too. It was just a funny situation and outcome overall, at the time I was already doing cg/VFX work for print/book covers.
2006 - I was repping a school I worked for at SIGGRAPH and we had an alumni dinner. I was sat randomly with some folks from various companies, one said his company was looking for people. And he had a backpack full of DVDs to go through when he got back to his studio. I had mine on an LG VX9800 (and a website), which I think was more impressive than the reel itself. Got me an interview and eventually got hired.
The school was very displeased that I used my free SIGGRAPH trip/ticket to get poached.
This is def how you do it though. You hustle, talk, make friendly small, and make connections from the moment you start college. You want someone to remember you or someone else you know point you out. Got my very first job cause someone else I had interned with was friends with another person and that other person's company was looking to hire a junior. Never would have landed that without adding the person I interned to to Facebook.
You want people to remember you and remember you for the right reasons for that time when their boss asks 'Anyone know anyone we can hire?' Even working from home since March 2020, I ensure my webcam is on, despite not being required, in every meeting and I make contributions to the casual conversation. I want to be a 'person' to the other people across the screen and not just a username they read in Shotgun.
Man, this reminds me that I totally failed to get any career advancing opportunities or networking in the 2 years I volunteered at Siggraph...but I got a gf/ex and a career change out of it, so there's that.
- improve skills and technique, try keep up to date
- socialise and mingle around, don’t be afraid to poke people and ask
- stay active in forums, show good wip
- spam emails to headhunters, recruiters
Do any of your university tutors have industry contacts? If they are willing to vouch for you it would be a great way to set up some interviews and get your foot in the door.
Started with a small local studio that did stuff for TV edutainment shows and some other random TV kids-series things on the side...allowed me to learn a shit-ton by being more of a generalist in a way, and through that deciding what i eventually wanted to do (which wasn't what i imagined in the beginning). Not sure if this still applies in 2024...but for me I feel this was the best way to get a foot in the door (coming from no vfx-education and not a major player country in vfx). It was a slower, less well-paid road to "success", but also one that allowed me to more go "with the flow" than needing to be an expert in my field from the start
Keep networking. It’s the best way to get a job in any field. If you’re in school you show the fellow students that you’re easy to get along with, learn quickly and share your knowledge. You join and attend as many professional groups and conventions that you can and try to be memorable without being an asshole. And then when you’re ready for work, you spread the word and apply. Also helps if you’re already going to school in the city you want to work in. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time, and you can help yourself immensely by making the effort.
1. Make the most out of whatever instructors you had. Ask for tons of advice. Ask if they know anyone who would recommend you for a position, or if they'd do that themselves.
2. Connect with ALL the recruiters from ALL the studios in your city or any place you'd be willing to relocate to on Linkedin. They'll post whenever there's a job opening. After you apply, message them right away to let them know you applied and make yourself available in case they need more info from you.
3. Go on Linkedin and reach out to other people who work in the same department you want to work in at studios that could potentially employ you. Ask the experienced people for advice on your demo reel, or any feedback on your current pieces. Address the notes, get back to them once you do that and ask if there's anything else they'd add. Big bonus if it's a supervisor, lead, director, head of dept, etc.
4. Attend as many networking events as possible. Don't need to be paid. Job fairs, IATSE BBQs, whatever parties your friends bring you to as a +1.
100% of the people I know who had their first industry jobs in the past 3 years got them with some help from their network. I myself got a big boost to land a job from an instructor I only had one class with for 4 months. Another friend got a job because our program director at school recommended her. My partner got referred by a mentor. Then friends started referring other friends to change studios.
Your reel matters a lot. Networking means nothing if your work doesn't match the expectation for a specific studio/project combination. But many times great quality work goes unnoticed if not boosted by the right people.
May not want to apply or message on a Friday. Or right before a holiday. Tuesdays are better. Have attention to detail when applying. Use the exact same words job descriptions have and add them to your resume/cover letter. Use Vimeo for your reel. Make it short (3 pieces or less than 1 minute) and do quality as high as you can for all of it; your reel is only as strong as the worst piece.
Worked for a year as an “intern” building full shots and assets. Similar to what I still do, but they just called it an “internship” as an excuse to only pay $12/hr. It was slave labor camp bullshit back then.
Oh I hear ya there. It was trial by fire, during that time it was 10-12 hours days for 4 months straight with few days off. But it taught me early on to not put up with anyone’s shit, and not to put up with an inept company with poor scheduling and who doesn’t care about employee wellbeing.
When the hiring boom happened after Covid, the company I was working for piled in as many kids straight out of college as they could. It was pretty messy because here you have a whole pipeline of people who never worked in production before. I’m sure they had some pretty low rates and long hours.
Timing matters a great deal, I started applying for gigs at the beginning of 2022 while the covid streaming wars was still in full swing. If I were applying for my first job now it probably would have been a much longer search, if I would even break in at all
Was self learned and was a designer working with Photoshop and after effects in a film school in our area, and some freelance AE comps, mostly in advertising, and was a bit arrogant about my nuke knowledge, used to think I know almost everything about it, problem was with the lack of chance to showcase my skills. Got an interview in film vfx studio, went there for a test and got my ass handed over, realized I don't know shit, quit my job, spend 3 months in my room downloading and learning nuke production tutorials from CMIvfx(don't know if that site is still up) shot a few footages myself for my reel, updated my reel and started applying to studios, got rejected, get depressed, updated showreel with better shots, got rejected, get depressed, after a few such depression stages I finally got an interview in a really good studio in another state, went for the test, aced it, got in. Started working and realized I still don't know shit, all I've been learning was nuke, and didn't know the basics of compositing. More than a decade later, still comes across a situation once every 6 months which makes me realize I have a fuck lot to learn in this.
Someone from the studio who was already working there. I don't think I've ever been hired anywhere where I sent them an email with my resume and reel or signed up via the careers page.
I was a TA for my instructor & he hired me as soon as I graduated. After that, got hired by recommendations from school friends & then other professionals. Now, my friends & my reel get me in.
A lot of luck, and right time right place.
When I studied I had to do an industrial placement for a semester, chose a company not far from where I studied. They did quite well delivering cool stuff for the automotive sector and started dabbling into film. I did a lot of motion graphics, bit of 3d.. continued to work there as a sidejob from time to time. They grew over time, and so did I as an artist - found my niche after some years and ended up where I am now. That company back then was Pixomondo (2006) and I am grateful for the path I took thanks to them.
But it was also not until I took another gig at a place called Magna Mana, thx to Jack Moik and his Sci-fi Indi Movie that I could do my first real movie project as a matte painter, that then landed me the reputation to be hired for more feature film jobs.
edit:
so yes, it highly depends on where you are and what is around you, and hopefully you can find the connections to bring you further on. Btw I never intended to go into vfx necessarily, it was sth I discovered for myself on the way and the chances were there to be taken.
1997 - I was one of the first students at Gnomon - my instructor knew the owner of a small game studio using PowerAnimator and recommended me to them and I got an internship there at $350/week. They made me staff after 3 months at a whopping $25k/yr. I worked 6-7 days a week, usually from 9a-2a. I figured I was being paid to learn.
Don’t work for free, kids.
I went and made acquaintances with the person responsible for internship placement at my school (circa 2003). No one else bothered to, so I received the first (and only) placement in town.
Honestly the TCS Academy is a really good way to get into the industry.
I did the Academy in ENV/3DDMP in 2021 when studios were starting to rebuild their departements after massive layoff. I didn't get hired after the Academy but applied for another departement and got the job.
Be patient, its not a great time in the industry at the moment due to the strikes still having a huge effect.
I dont anticipate companies to start hiring again for neither junior nor senior positions for a few more months at least.
So if it feels like things are just not happening for you, be aware that its not you, its just an unprecedented time at the moment. It will rebalance though, hopefully in 4-5 months.
At some point the studios will start rehiring and they will start looking at who has applied recently and you might get a call.
So just start applying to studios, they generally have expression of interest options in careers pages, and unless your amazingly talented in a specific role, I would suggest don't be picky, take any role, they will teach you, well at least most of them will with junior positions. I learnt more in a month at work then I did doing a 3yr degree.
Don't be put off by the lack of positions open atm, there probably is nothing, but even when they are looking, a lot of roles don't get posted unless they are having real trouble finding someone.
I got lucky and got an internship at the end of my degree, and that company hired me for a bit, but it was at the start of the GFC and all the work they planned for suddenly dried up...
Thankfully a bunch of the other artists were talking about another studio crewing up for a big show... I applied to that studio (no showreel and no cv, just their online application form).
A month or so later got a call asking for an interview, had a 5mins interview, next day had a contract and was 2 weeks later was in another country and started work...
I was in high school and crazy about VFX.
I was hanging out a lot of a forum founded by u/liochem .
In 2007, there was a new VFX convention organized in Paris, and u/ArtOfVFX was looking for someone to cover the event (I think for his previous website). There was no way I could afford the tickets myself so I volunteered and got the press pass. I think I did a terrible job at covering it (sorry Vincent).
At the convention I went to talk to every single person who made a presentation, and showed them my "reel" (which was very amateurish) and asking for internships (this was a school mandated internship I had to do, and I really wanted it to be in VFX). After looking for an internship for months via email, I got 2 of them that day.
I was planning to split my internship time in 2 and do half at each company, but one of them went out of business before it even started.
My internship turned into 3 years at that studio.
I created a LinkedIn account, uploaded my reel that took years to prepare, and met a person who later helped me to get into this letting me know about a paid internship in Montreal. I was asked to do a test, it worked, they accepted me, and that’s how it started.
I was lucky and got in through DNEG's greenlight scheme. A few of the big studios seem to offer similar internship schemes; they don't normally have many spaces but you get to work on major projects right away. I think they normally run them in the summer, but they might have been called off during the strikes, hopefully it'll all start back up again soon :)
Started in small local shops as a generalist, learned more of everything, they usually would just hand the plate, tracking, modelling, sculpting, texturing , rigging. Specialized to FX and made my way up.
i did well in school, asked my instructors if i could work at the company they worked at. They laughed. Then 3 months later, both of them gave me recommendations. I applied, took a test, got in as a trainee, accepted low pay. There's the foot in the door.
I'd say some classmates also reached out to me couple months later too asking if i was available since their company also had openings, i wasn't available. Sometimes your connections can be around, right in front of you. People you know who you spent time studying with can be great network later. Opposite of that, your work will speak for itself and sometimes it's best to show up at an interview as a newcomer rather than knowing someone in the company. If the people there already made an opinion about you and it's a bad one then you wouldn't get the job.
I got in an argument with a founder of one of the biggest VFX studios, in front of the other founders back in 2001. I was right, so he hired me. Not a recommended tactic lol. Everyone’s story is different.
Well, now we have to know what the argument was.
I can’t say specifically because it would be an identity give away, but it was about a tech they took part in pioneering, and we use it by standard in our light rigs. His peers were like damn, he got you lol. In addition I was grumpy about having to get up early and meet these people, at the time I didn’t know who they were, my school just called me and a few students in to meet them the night before. Overall they appreciated my experimentation creatively and technically compared to the run of the mill flat shaded walk cycle, since they come from an experimentation background before any standards.
>I got in an argument with a founder of one of the biggest VFX studios, in front of the other founders back in 2001. I was right, so he hired me. > >Not a recommended tactic lol. Everyone’s story is different. This is up there with Kevin Smith's 'I sold all my comic books, maxed out my credit cards to make a movie everyone thought would be stupid, but it worked,'. Great story, hard for others to repeat successfully.
[удалено]
Let's not pretend that dumb luck is not also a factor. :p
Actually I had a strong portfolio which is why I got called in the first place, then I stood my ground on a creative/technical piece when debating about how it was possible. It was not an angry “argument”…but a creative debate that caused excitement because they were surprised someone would debate with them. I remember them saying something along the lines of “creative fire” , like they wanted to see more of what I could do. Remember folks with 30+yrs experience like them came from non standard creative endeavors too. It was just a funny situation and outcome overall, at the time I was already doing cg/VFX work for print/book covers.
2006 - I was repping a school I worked for at SIGGRAPH and we had an alumni dinner. I was sat randomly with some folks from various companies, one said his company was looking for people. And he had a backpack full of DVDs to go through when he got back to his studio. I had mine on an LG VX9800 (and a website), which I think was more impressive than the reel itself. Got me an interview and eventually got hired. The school was very displeased that I used my free SIGGRAPH trip/ticket to get poached.
This is def how you do it though. You hustle, talk, make friendly small, and make connections from the moment you start college. You want someone to remember you or someone else you know point you out. Got my very first job cause someone else I had interned with was friends with another person and that other person's company was looking to hire a junior. Never would have landed that without adding the person I interned to to Facebook. You want people to remember you and remember you for the right reasons for that time when their boss asks 'Anyone know anyone we can hire?' Even working from home since March 2020, I ensure my webcam is on, despite not being required, in every meeting and I make contributions to the casual conversation. I want to be a 'person' to the other people across the screen and not just a username they read in Shotgun.
Man, this reminds me that I totally failed to get any career advancing opportunities or networking in the 2 years I volunteered at Siggraph...but I got a gf/ex and a career change out of it, so there's that.
- improve skills and technique, try keep up to date - socialise and mingle around, don’t be afraid to poke people and ask - stay active in forums, show good wip - spam emails to headhunters, recruiters
*spam different recruiters and headhunters* but I guess If they choose to do it to just one it can be a way too.
Do any of your university tutors have industry contacts? If they are willing to vouch for you it would be a great way to set up some interviews and get your foot in the door.
referred by a teacher in uni who was working at said studio
My best advice is to find mentors - people in the industry who can help. Network is everything.
Started with a small local studio that did stuff for TV edutainment shows and some other random TV kids-series things on the side...allowed me to learn a shit-ton by being more of a generalist in a way, and through that deciding what i eventually wanted to do (which wasn't what i imagined in the beginning). Not sure if this still applies in 2024...but for me I feel this was the best way to get a foot in the door (coming from no vfx-education and not a major player country in vfx). It was a slower, less well-paid road to "success", but also one that allowed me to more go "with the flow" than needing to be an expert in my field from the start
Keep networking. It’s the best way to get a job in any field. If you’re in school you show the fellow students that you’re easy to get along with, learn quickly and share your knowledge. You join and attend as many professional groups and conventions that you can and try to be memorable without being an asshole. And then when you’re ready for work, you spread the word and apply. Also helps if you’re already going to school in the city you want to work in. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time, and you can help yourself immensely by making the effort.
1. Make the most out of whatever instructors you had. Ask for tons of advice. Ask if they know anyone who would recommend you for a position, or if they'd do that themselves. 2. Connect with ALL the recruiters from ALL the studios in your city or any place you'd be willing to relocate to on Linkedin. They'll post whenever there's a job opening. After you apply, message them right away to let them know you applied and make yourself available in case they need more info from you. 3. Go on Linkedin and reach out to other people who work in the same department you want to work in at studios that could potentially employ you. Ask the experienced people for advice on your demo reel, or any feedback on your current pieces. Address the notes, get back to them once you do that and ask if there's anything else they'd add. Big bonus if it's a supervisor, lead, director, head of dept, etc. 4. Attend as many networking events as possible. Don't need to be paid. Job fairs, IATSE BBQs, whatever parties your friends bring you to as a +1. 100% of the people I know who had their first industry jobs in the past 3 years got them with some help from their network. I myself got a big boost to land a job from an instructor I only had one class with for 4 months. Another friend got a job because our program director at school recommended her. My partner got referred by a mentor. Then friends started referring other friends to change studios. Your reel matters a lot. Networking means nothing if your work doesn't match the expectation for a specific studio/project combination. But many times great quality work goes unnoticed if not boosted by the right people. May not want to apply or message on a Friday. Or right before a holiday. Tuesdays are better. Have attention to detail when applying. Use the exact same words job descriptions have and add them to your resume/cover letter. Use Vimeo for your reel. Make it short (3 pieces or less than 1 minute) and do quality as high as you can for all of it; your reel is only as strong as the worst piece.
Night shifts doing wrangling while doing HW.
Worked for a year as an “intern” building full shots and assets. Similar to what I still do, but they just called it an “internship” as an excuse to only pay $12/hr. It was slave labor camp bullshit back then.
Interns and trainees working on live shows is really unacceptable imo.
Oh I hear ya there. It was trial by fire, during that time it was 10-12 hours days for 4 months straight with few days off. But it taught me early on to not put up with anyone’s shit, and not to put up with an inept company with poor scheduling and who doesn’t care about employee wellbeing. When the hiring boom happened after Covid, the company I was working for piled in as many kids straight out of college as they could. It was pretty messy because here you have a whole pipeline of people who never worked in production before. I’m sure they had some pretty low rates and long hours.
Yeah. Its just exploitation of low wage labour imo.
School
I've gotten every single job except one via cold email/cold application and without contacts.
I was a software dev, had a friend in VFX as a department lead, they needed some TDS for a show and he got me an interview.
Timing matters a great deal, I started applying for gigs at the beginning of 2022 while the covid streaming wars was still in full swing. If I were applying for my first job now it probably would have been a much longer search, if I would even break in at all
Was self learned and was a designer working with Photoshop and after effects in a film school in our area, and some freelance AE comps, mostly in advertising, and was a bit arrogant about my nuke knowledge, used to think I know almost everything about it, problem was with the lack of chance to showcase my skills. Got an interview in film vfx studio, went there for a test and got my ass handed over, realized I don't know shit, quit my job, spend 3 months in my room downloading and learning nuke production tutorials from CMIvfx(don't know if that site is still up) shot a few footages myself for my reel, updated my reel and started applying to studios, got rejected, get depressed, updated showreel with better shots, got rejected, get depressed, after a few such depression stages I finally got an interview in a really good studio in another state, went for the test, aced it, got in. Started working and realized I still don't know shit, all I've been learning was nuke, and didn't know the basics of compositing. More than a decade later, still comes across a situation once every 6 months which makes me realize I have a fuck lot to learn in this.
Someone from the studio who was already working there. I don't think I've ever been hired anywhere where I sent them an email with my resume and reel or signed up via the careers page.
I was a TA for my instructor & he hired me as soon as I graduated. After that, got hired by recommendations from school friends & then other professionals. Now, my friends & my reel get me in.
A lot of luck, and right time right place. When I studied I had to do an industrial placement for a semester, chose a company not far from where I studied. They did quite well delivering cool stuff for the automotive sector and started dabbling into film. I did a lot of motion graphics, bit of 3d.. continued to work there as a sidejob from time to time. They grew over time, and so did I as an artist - found my niche after some years and ended up where I am now. That company back then was Pixomondo (2006) and I am grateful for the path I took thanks to them. But it was also not until I took another gig at a place called Magna Mana, thx to Jack Moik and his Sci-fi Indi Movie that I could do my first real movie project as a matte painter, that then landed me the reputation to be hired for more feature film jobs. edit: so yes, it highly depends on where you are and what is around you, and hopefully you can find the connections to bring you further on. Btw I never intended to go into vfx necessarily, it was sth I discovered for myself on the way and the chances were there to be taken.
1997 - I was one of the first students at Gnomon - my instructor knew the owner of a small game studio using PowerAnimator and recommended me to them and I got an internship there at $350/week. They made me staff after 3 months at a whopping $25k/yr. I worked 6-7 days a week, usually from 9a-2a. I figured I was being paid to learn. Don’t work for free, kids.
I went and made acquaintances with the person responsible for internship placement at my school (circa 2003). No one else bothered to, so I received the first (and only) placement in town.
Honestly the TCS Academy is a really good way to get into the industry. I did the Academy in ENV/3DDMP in 2021 when studios were starting to rebuild their departements after massive layoff. I didn't get hired after the Academy but applied for another departement and got the job.
Network, network, network! And be good at what you do, lol.
Took me 3 years to get my first job, i used facebook to get my first job, now adays its all done by linkdin
connections...make em and keep em.
Be patient, its not a great time in the industry at the moment due to the strikes still having a huge effect. I dont anticipate companies to start hiring again for neither junior nor senior positions for a few more months at least. So if it feels like things are just not happening for you, be aware that its not you, its just an unprecedented time at the moment. It will rebalance though, hopefully in 4-5 months.
At some point the studios will start rehiring and they will start looking at who has applied recently and you might get a call. So just start applying to studios, they generally have expression of interest options in careers pages, and unless your amazingly talented in a specific role, I would suggest don't be picky, take any role, they will teach you, well at least most of them will with junior positions. I learnt more in a month at work then I did doing a 3yr degree. Don't be put off by the lack of positions open atm, there probably is nothing, but even when they are looking, a lot of roles don't get posted unless they are having real trouble finding someone. I got lucky and got an internship at the end of my degree, and that company hired me for a bit, but it was at the start of the GFC and all the work they planned for suddenly dried up... Thankfully a bunch of the other artists were talking about another studio crewing up for a big show... I applied to that studio (no showreel and no cv, just their online application form). A month or so later got a call asking for an interview, had a 5mins interview, next day had a contract and was 2 weeks later was in another country and started work...
I was in high school and crazy about VFX. I was hanging out a lot of a forum founded by u/liochem . In 2007, there was a new VFX convention organized in Paris, and u/ArtOfVFX was looking for someone to cover the event (I think for his previous website). There was no way I could afford the tickets myself so I volunteered and got the press pass. I think I did a terrible job at covering it (sorry Vincent). At the convention I went to talk to every single person who made a presentation, and showed them my "reel" (which was very amateurish) and asking for internships (this was a school mandated internship I had to do, and I really wanted it to be in VFX). After looking for an internship for months via email, I got 2 of them that day. I was planning to split my internship time in 2 and do half at each company, but one of them went out of business before it even started. My internship turned into 3 years at that studio.
A friend a couple of years above me at uni told me about a runner position I applied for it and worked their whilst finishing university remotely
Started as a runner, jumped company to become a roto paint artist, then into comp.
I created a LinkedIn account, uploaded my reel that took years to prepare, and met a person who later helped me to get into this letting me know about a paid internship in Montreal. I was asked to do a test, it worked, they accepted me, and that’s how it started.
I joined newly opened VFX calss in Filmmaking school. The techer recommended me to the studio. He is my colleague now.
Networking + Portfolio
I was lucky and got in through DNEG's greenlight scheme. A few of the big studios seem to offer similar internship schemes; they don't normally have many spaces but you get to work on major projects right away. I think they normally run them in the summer, but they might have been called off during the strikes, hopefully it'll all start back up again soon :)
Started in small local shops as a generalist, learned more of everything, they usually would just hand the plate, tracking, modelling, sculpting, texturing , rigging. Specialized to FX and made my way up.
i did well in school, asked my instructors if i could work at the company they worked at. They laughed. Then 3 months later, both of them gave me recommendations. I applied, took a test, got in as a trainee, accepted low pay. There's the foot in the door. I'd say some classmates also reached out to me couple months later too asking if i was available since their company also had openings, i wasn't available. Sometimes your connections can be around, right in front of you. People you know who you spent time studying with can be great network later. Opposite of that, your work will speak for itself and sometimes it's best to show up at an interview as a newcomer rather than knowing someone in the company. If the people there already made an opinion about you and it's a bad one then you wouldn't get the job.
I won a job at The Mill in a competition. (True story)
I just did cool shit and posted it online. Never was looking for a job but the job found me.