COURSE: ONLINE MENTORED

FAVOURITE MOVIE ONE LINER: “Oh,good. For a moment there I thought we were in trouble” Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

BEST VFX SKILL LEARNT TO DATE? : My best skill is probably modelling and lighting in Maya, although I must say that as a youngster, I always loved trying to do stop motion using my old computer and a webcam - although I don’t practice it as much anymore, I’d love to hone that skill one day too!

WHY VFX? I always liked creating films on our old DV camcorder and editing using my old ‘emac’ computer I had when I was younger, and I think I've always thought that a career in the VFX industry would be great. But I only started to understand the different VFX processes and fields when I was searching for visual effects courses and came across Escape. I was looking for a course to do after coming out of short term employment after leaving school and I sort of stumbled across VFX, It was something that I had always been interested in.

ABOUT? Gavin studied our online mentored course in 2012, and has been perfecting his reel since finishing, he told us…  “when I’m not sharpening up my Maya skills, I enjoy playing football, (although it’s more 5 a side when i can fit it in these days).and like many VFX artists I’ve always liked movies and TV but only recently have started to fully appreciate both mediums, In fact, I think I’ve started to become a bit of a movie geek!”

Gavin's Top Tips

ADVICE:  Since I haven’t had any experience yet in the industry the only things I can say are about own abilities. But here goes! 

1) I would say that if you have ever had an interest in any form of film/media/computer design/animation or just love of film and visual media and are thinking of a VFX career, you should just go for it.
I remember thinking “is this right for me?” worrying about if I would be able to do it. Sometimes learning the new skills can be daunting and you feel that you’re not progressing, but just keep working hard at it and it will eventually click and you will see the progress you are making.

2) It can be hard work and sometimes you have to be a bit of a perfectionist to get a scene looking just right, but it is really a case of the more effort and attention you put in, the more you get out. It’s not just what you learn and the things you do on the course, but during and particularly after the course - messing around and practising with the software I’ll have made a huge improvement on my skills, you have to be willing to experiment and hone your skills in your own time as well.

3) I always try and remind myself just how far I’ve come, from knowing nothing and having absolutely no practical skills, to what I’m able to achieve and create now, and it can be the same for anyone else.   

Gavin's Showreel