Got another chance to guide a student towards (or away) from our program here at Purdue. I think the QA here and the answers I gave this prospective student are ones to consider if others are thinking about a school for learning Computer Graphics. Below is a string of emails
STUDENT: Professor Triplett, My name is (Your NAME) and I am a freshman at XYZ University in XYZ. I have applied to transfer to Purdue for the Fall of 2021 and have been accepted into the Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Computer Graphics Technology. I plan on majoring in Visual Effects Compositing. As I am getting much closer to making my final decision for Fall, I had reached out to Mr. ROBOTO (an academic advisor) and he has suggested that I connect with you. I would like to see if you could connect me with a current student that has selected this major. I would be interested in talking with them about the course work, projects, and their experience with Purdue Polytechnic as a whole. I look forward to hearing back from you. Thank you, (Your NAME) PROFESSOR TRIPLETT: I'd be happy to discuss this with you. Let me ask you a few questions:
STUDENT: Professor, Thank you for your reply. I would be happy to address some of your questions. In addressing my 5 year goal, I would say that I would like to have graduated with a degree that will provide me the opportunity to get a job in the field of compositing/film editing and a Theatre minor. I want to have had the chance to work on projects that genuinely interest me and allow me to learn a lot more about this field. I hope to work in an internship during my time at Purdue as well as study abroad. I hope in that time I have made some very good connections in the industry. While I haven't done any compositing, I have plenty of experience in editing photos and editing videos. For photos, I've worked on rotoing out people and objects, adding them, reshaping, cutting out, blurring, etc. For video editing, I've done green-screening, text overlays, keyframing, and general video editing. In terms of research, I have seen many videos of a certain group of compositors in their office working on projects. I know that there are several directions that one can go as a compositor. I have a tremendous talent for drawing and I am highly creative. I look forward to speaking to you to learn more from you and move closer to making my decision for next fall. Thank you, PROFESSOR: I would check out this page: https://www.vfxforfilm.com/trailers You can start compositing in Nuke and see how you like it before you enter a program. If I am being 100% honest, for compositing our program only has one dedicated class and I believe they are using After Effects in that class. We used to offer classes in Nuke and camera work classes, but our funding to keep Nuke in our labs was not enough (Nuke is extremely expensive for universities). If I was to start all over again with an aim at going into compositing, I would probably go to Lost Boys: https://lostboys-studios.com/ Lost Boys School of Visual Effects | The Studio That Teaches I don't want to burst your bubble, but I am sure you understand that I would not lie to you if I am sending you somewhere else. Truth be told, if you come to Purdue and you really work hard, you can come out of our program with a decent generalist skill set. However, because we only have one compositing class, that is hardly enough for someone who wants to specialize in compositing and go right into the workforce. The guy who owns VFXforFilm.com is a close friend of mine, he is a pro compositor and is working for Netflix on some big titles right now. He would probably tell you to go to a place like Lost Boys and learn online too. When I went to art school (a game art and design program), the most important thing I did was study beyond the coursework. What I mean is, I studied what my teachers had time to teach in class, but I also studied a ton of stuff on my own that the instructors did not show me. I was hired at a big game studio (Midway Games (now NetherRealm)) 3 months after I graduated. The key to my success was all the extra research and practice I poured into my school projects. If you have this kind of attitude and work ethic, I think you can go to any decent school (Purdue) and get a job when you come out, but you must really go after your goal, which means going beyond "the basic coursework". One other component I didn't mention is aptitude plus perseverance. What I mean by aptitude is: do you have ability in the area you are studying (a knack for art, or in your case compositing (which is sort of a tech art)), and will you enjoy doing the work? If so, you have a much higher chance of succeeding in the area you are studying and will persevere. If you have never tried your hand at compositing, it is hard to know if it is right for you. That is why I asked in the first email if you have tried compositing. You have done a form of compositing with stills, so you probably will like it, but I would still dig into some Nuke tutorials and see if this is the type of work you'd like to do for 8 to 14 hours a day (14 hours if you are in crunch time...it happens!). Purdue as a University sets you up for a broad amount of knowledge, some in your area of expertise, but more of a generalist approach to your major. If you still wish to come to Purdue, know that we have had students that came through our program and are now working in the VFX/Compositing industry, but just like me, they had to do a lot of self-study to specialize in the area they were interested in to prepare themselves for an industry job when they graduated. Thinking back, I don't know anyone that I have come across in the CG industry that hasn't done a ton of self-research/practice that made it into the paid workforce. That being said, one way or another you will need this mentality for success. In summary: As far as Purdue as a school for compositing, I think there are more focused programs out there that will fast track you towards a career. However, if you want a broader experience and you take the right steps by working outside of class, you can still meet your goals. The advantage to the Purdue approach is that if you decide one day that you don't want to be a compositor, or you want to move into leadership roles, you would most likely be better prepared for that shift. I just wanted to let you know what you would be getting yourself into so that you don't have a mismatch of expectations! Hope that helps, Daniel Triplett MFA
1 Comment
DAn Driplett
3/9/2023 04:56:34 pm
LOVE mlb nickeldoen game
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDaniel Triplett, is an artist that worked in game development for over 6 years, and now teaches in the Computer Graphics Technology department (CGT) at Purdue University. Archives
March 2021
Categories |