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Is there such a thing as a fun and rewarding industry in this world?

THE entertainment art industry is definitely one of them. Cinema is more than just interesting plots and gripping dialogues. Most often, it is the awe-inspiring scenes that always determine the success of the best visual effects movies. Visual effects, or VFX, are effects added digitally in post-production to create entirely new backgrounds, add characters or creatures, large crowd simulation, remove or add objects and fix production issues. The visual effects industry has seen a stark progress and innovation for the past 20 years, bringing meaning to the words ‘movie magic’. It is the result of filmmakers who push the limits of innovative storytelling in the shape of fantastical screenplays that bring imaginary worlds to life, sending sparks running from the screen through the viewers’ minds.

The Lord of the Rings, Avengers and Harry Potter franchise are examples of box office-smashing films that utilises visual effects and have a large following. When speaking about visual effects, Life of Pi is one of the titles that is never left out, having garnered 11 Oscars for its unforgettable movie experience. In Inception, the film’s incredible visual effects and ability to bend the surroundings gave viewers a trippy experience beyond imagination.

A rapidly growing industry where visual effects is used in almost every film production nowadays, the global VFX market is expected to reach US$23.8 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of around 11.4 per cent, according to a report by Zion Market Research, making this a truly lucrative industry to venture into.

“Smilodon” is a photorealistic creature work by Sonia for her final year individual project at The One Academy.

VFX is now widely used in many films and series, integrating actual footage and manipulated imagery to create realistic-looking environments that are either too dangerous to shoot, or worlds that do not exist. However, it is not solely used in the movie industry as other fields such as advertising, gaming and even marketing are now using VFX to produce content for the masses. Gaming is one of the most popular hobbies worldwide. Without a doubt, careers in game design is high in demand and well-rewarded in this lucrative sunrise industry.

Sonia

That is where an education in VFX comes in handy. With The One Academy’s Film Visual Effects (VFX) diploma programme, students have the opportunity to immerse themselves and learn techniques that are used in Hollywood to produce blockbuster films. The graduates from there have gone on to work in many esteemed filmmaking companies both local and abroad such as Tau Films and even Disney Pixar. The knowledge they gain is derived from a course syllabus carefully curated in collaboration with John Hughes Institute (JHI) and Tau Films, Oscar-winning production companies founded by esteemed executive producer John Hughes who has received a number of awards for his visual effects work in movies such as Babe, The Golden Compass and Life of Pi.

Sonia Seow is one of the very first graduates of the programme at The One Academy since the course was introduced in 2016. She is now a Junior Character FX Artist, recently landing a job offer from Moving Picture Company (MPC) Montreal. She joins the ranks of MPC artists who have produced award-winning work for films such as Life of Pi, The Jungle Book, The Lion King and 1917. Many Hollywood movies were filmed in the picturesque backdrop of Canada, where MPC is based, making it one of the main studios that produce VFX for Hollywood.

Growing up in an artistic environment helped spark her interest especially because it was one of the ways she could relate and communicate with her parents who were both artists as well. However, it was her love for cinema that really steered her into this direction.

“Every Friday night was movie night with dad and the excitement of queuing up to buy salted popcorn and sitting in the dark silence of the theatre hall awaiting to be transported to an extremely believable world of someone else’s imagination was everything to me. From then, I knew I wanted to create worlds and realities where people could go and experience,” said Sonia.

“It’s growing fast and things are becoming more optimised with every new update making it easier for artists to focus on the artistic side of VFX. It’s an exciting time to join the industry with more niche roles becoming easily accessible to pick up. I hope to see more Malaysian VFX artists as it’s high in demand too!” Sonia described the flourishing industry.

This 3-year course offers students an innovative learning environment to develop their knowledge and practical skills on how the VFX field integrates computer graphics and 3D components with live action plates. At the end of the course, students are able to gain interpersonal and hands on production skills that will lead them to wider career paths and get acquainted with the latest information technology in the VFX industry.

The One Academy is committed to providing the best art education programmes and continues to nurture its students passionately through its “Masters Train Masters” coaching philosophy, which has been practised for over 30 years, by providing diploma and degree courses namely Advertising & Graphic Design, Digital Animation, Digital Media Design, Film Visual Effects, Interior Architecture & Design, Illustration, Fine Arts, Paris Fashion Design & Pattern Making, Computer Science, Game Design and Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation. For more information on The One Academy, visit www.toa.edu.my or call +603-7875 5510 or e-mail your enquiries to enquiry@toa.edu.my.