Escape Studios experience part 02
After the course, I also applied for a project. It was a project to test a new team building approach for future courses. It became a very intense and joyful 2 weeks; meeting and playing - I mean - working with creative and enthusiastic people. A lot of fun - I mean - it really can be a lot of fun testing different tasks in order to build a team. It was our project leader's duty to keep everything under control and Jim has never failed so if you need someone to build a team he's a right guy. We got tasks from our tutors and some escapees too who already started their careers in the industry like Carlos who is also a natural entertainer.
With the course another great benefit came too. After we finished the course we were entitled to use the facility to work on our showreel. It was a great time coming every weekday to the studio, felt like coming to work a bit. Meeting every day with great hard working creative and extremely talented people was always a good feeling - it is simply a place where's good to go. Escape also offered us opportunities to work on small projects like shorts and get credits for them on IMDB.
There is one thing though that I must mention about the whole VFX magic before I go on. There is something that people out of this industry will never really understand probably which is how time-consuming and challenging sometimes it is. It is crazy when you try to explain to your family and friends what is that you are actually doing and that you spent weeks (or months) on the video that is only 5-6 secs long. I guess this is the kind of magic about VFX that keeps these people sticking together and creating nice and friendly environment - because we are not just understand how much effort - hours of hard work - creative decisions - problem-solving - nerve-shredding moments waiting for the renders hoping it looks as you expect - it takes but appreciate these works and achievements. This is basically the invisible team that makes the movies you watch so spectacular. Again it was great to spend time with other dedicated people to be part of this growing invisible team.
Another opportunity came when I was just about to finish my first showreel - that I wasn't 100% happy with but it was kinda ok. The opportunity called The VFX Festival which is organized by - yes of course - the Escape Studios and they needed some volunteers so with some other regular visitors of the studio I applied for the role. It was just another great experience working as a team with friends. There were studios recruiting and presenting themselves showcasing the future
of the industry and some recent emerging technologies.
Before the VFX Festival started I got a newsletter from Escape that a post house is looking for roto/prep artists. A few of us applied and we had an interview on the same day. I got really happy when they e-mailed back and I found out that the studio was the Union VFX looking for people which is a middle scale studio known for its beautiful invisible works. The interview went well and 2 weeks later they asked me if I can start on the next day - very quick but this is how it goes in the film industry in general. I couldn't believe how lucky I was - the first job I applied with my fresh showreel has not just replied but I got on an interview and I not just got an interview but I got a job with some other escapees. For this, I owe huge thanks to Escape Studios; to all the people there maintaining the creative / enthusiastic / fantastic atmosphere! Happy End :) (told you)
