Hasta La Motion!

Hello, all. I’m looking for some advice regarding applying for a VFX position for the first time.

I live in Denver, and my current dayjob is in IT, but I’m planning on moving to LA at the start of next year to finally pursue VFX as a career. I’ve worked on effects for student films, shorts, and hobby projects, …, for years, but the only real dayjob I’ve had relating to the industry was as a Lightwave animator doing forensic animation for trials a few years back. (And wound up being more of an inhouse tools and scripts guy when they realised I could do more than just basic 3D.)

But, I’ve also been involved in a lot of local film production outside the scope of VFX. So, do you guys think that it makes sense to include experience doing things like lighting on student films on a resume when applying for VFX work? What about acting? Currently, my only IMDB credits are for on-screen work rather than technical work.

To my mind, it seems like it makes sense to push the fact that I have production related experience, and I’m not just a guy who has had an IT career. But, I doubt that including a full acting resume as a second page to an IT resume is the best way to do it. What do you guys think? Would love some feedback on the subject as I slowly start preparing myself to hit the ground running next year.

On a vaguely related note, is there any value in creating a ‘tools reel’? In the rare cases when I have free time, I sometimes play around with writing small graphics related programs. Conceivably, I could write something just functional enough to do a few shots with my own code as the primary comp tool. Of course, any tool I might write would be much less sophisticated than something like Nuke, so the resulting reel would probably turn out much less impressive than an ‘artist reel’ done with professional tools. For somebody looking for comp / tracking type positions, would that type of extra reel just be a distraction? Or could it help get a foot in the door on a technical side such that one could eventually move to a more artistic role?

As our lead design artist, you will work closely with our Creative Director to develop initial designs, previs and required material for a wide range of projects ranging from Hollywood blockbusters, fast paced commercials to cutting edge corporate videos.
Responsibilities: Must have the ability to work directly with our Creative Director and our clients during the initial design and previs stages of a project. Quickly provide multiple iterations of designs, storyboards, previs and animations per the Creative Director’s needs to pitch a concept
·4+ years of experience working in high-demand, high-volume production environment
·Design, sense of space and an ability to conceive and create a compelling pitch
·Thorough knowledge of Adobe Suite, including Photoshop, After Effects and Illustrator required.
·Proficiency in Cinema 4D, Maya and Flash animation a plus.
·Experience compositing is a plus
·Ability to manage multiple projects and set priorities in order to meet deadlines and achieve required creative specifications is required
·Proficiency in polygonal modeling and setup as well as texture and lighting is desired
·MUST BE LOCATED IN THE SF BAY AREA or be willing / able to relocate without reimbursement.
·Latest Demo reel (online reel highly preferred).
email jobs@wagic.com
Looking for cutting edge work /corporate types need not apply