I have imported all the old posts from this address and am in the process of transferring the old graphics and videos across. You can find the old posts by going to the top of the page and clicking on “Old Posts”.
At the moment I am trialing using a basic account with Squarespace, which means I don’t have a unique URL. If all goes well I will look at upgrading and hosting www.thejuniorcompositor.com at Squarespace.
Hopefully this will mean less disruptions on your end and a lot less frustration on my part.
You may recall, if you have read all of my posts (and why wouln’t you, they are literary gold!) that early on I posted some thoughts and links abou unpaid artists and the closure of Metero Studios:
It seems like some kind of agreement has been reached with the artists getting 70% of their wages. That’s right, 70% of their wages for producing A-level visual effects for a major VFX studio which was in turn part of the Discovery group. That is to say, Discovery are not exactly hurting for cash. There are more than a few galling aspects to this case, least of which is working for 3months and not getting paid. There is the fact the artists got shafted and not paid just before Christmas. That pretty much sucks the big one, but how about Meteor effectively shutting down and opening again with the same muppets running the business with the same equipment on the same premises? This is what happens with limited liability companies. They can go bankrupt/insolvent and wind up and there is nothing you can sue them for. They sell the equipment and facilities to another $2 company for cents in the dollar and start again as a “new and different” company.
This question seems to come up quite a bit on various forums: “Should I go to school to study 3D computer graphics or visual fx”. The answer is yes. Or no. Or maybe. That’s not very definitive is it? Well, neither are the needs of newcomers and studios. I won’t go into which school you should go to, that is a whole kettle of fish and you are better off asking people like ex-students on the afore mentioned forums.
Goofy hat? Check!
Maybe a better question to ask is: “Do I need to go to school”. And the answer is: it depends. At this point you might be wanting to stick a sharpened pencil in my ear while screaming “Well what’s the bloody point of you or you blog, eh Matt?” and you might be right. Here is my general view on *needing* to get a piece of paper for your qualifications. For the more art focused side of the industry, personally I don’t feel you need qualifications. You need to be able to show you have the chops to do the work. Being able to produce good work on time and on (or under) budget is more important than a degree. For the more technical sides, like TD’s (Technical Directors), scripters, programmers etc, the fact is that studios do often like to see some kind of accredited qualifications.
I realise you have probably heard this pithy little acronymn before, but really, they are words to live by. Or an acronymn to live by. Or whatever.
If you are doing a small project, or more likely, a one man/woman project there is the temptation to think big. Sometimes a little too big. There is nothing wrong with having grand plans, and I am all about using our Mad Skillz to make low-budget look high budget, but there is something to be said for a simple, snappy idea well executed.
While it’s not compositing, check out this little short. Under 1 minute, tight like a drum and funny as all get out
Or perhaps you have heard of a little movie called District 9? If not, then shame on you and everything you stand for. If you have, I am assuming you have seen director Neill Blomkamp’a original short “Alive in Joburg” made a few years ago. 6m25sec and it got turned into a feature. A solid idea well executed with no extra fat.
For one more example, go back and check out that short vid I posted, Escape from City 17. Short, snappy, low budget but focused and done well.
