How to become an excellent matte painter

How can I go to Hollywood to do special effects? My personal experience strategy article

Guzi

Originally I just wanted to write some literary travel notes. Because many students come to consult me, I plan to write down my experience and share it with everyone for reference. It can be regarded as my most exciting and longest four-year travel diary.

For me, a girl who has never left Hangzhou since she was born, the most daring thing in my life is to fly to the United States alone after graduating from college and knowing little about it. I wanted to work in the best special effects industry in the world. I felt that there were so many possibilities in life, and I would have regrets if I didn’t try them, so I came here. Ignoring a million tangles in the process, after graduating from graduate school, I was lucky enough to join the Los Angeles branch of the world's top special effects company that I had looked up to since college, and officially became a Hollywood Matte Painter (one of the positions in the film and television special effects production, called digital in Chinese) Matte painter), I came to the place I wanted to go, met some excellent friends, and started working on a project that I used as a teaching material when I was studying advertising. So, I have no regrets about anything in these four years, everything has been cool.

My experience is as follows.

I started studying art in high school and was admitted to the Film and Television Advertising Department of the China Academy of Art. Because I like painting, I decided to specialize in digital painting and concept design in the post-production of film and television after graduation. I worked in a professional film and television special effects company. I learned a lot from the experience. Soon I applied for an MFA graduate degree in Animation and Special Effects at the Art University of San Francisco, focusing on digital matte painting and concept design for film and television. I interned and took on projects to gain experience while going to school, and graduated three years later. Only after you get the OPT (student internship visa) can you officially go to work. By this time, my English, resume, and portfolio had been accumulated and formed. Fortunately, I met the director and HR of my current company during the recruitment for the graduation exhibition, and I successfully broke through and became a full-time employee and stayed in my current company. Then the company applied for a (U.S. work visa) for me, allowing me to continue working in the United States.

After writing it, I realized that everything I experienced was so concise and clear. In fact, there are some important points that need to be mentioned.

Have a clear goal. First determine who you are in the industry, and then do what you need to do. Positions in the special effects industry include compositor, animator, rigger, modeler, look development artist, matte painter, effects artist, previs artist, art director, editing, colorist, producer, coordinator..., people's energy is limited, do one thing well It’s not easy anymore. I’ve always admired people who can become all-around players, at least I can’t. I often meet friends who choose fear, but in the end, I still have to choose the one that is better for me. I am not a good student. The biggest help the school has provided me is to solve the identity problem of Wai Guoren, a platform to get along with others, and time to improve myself. When I get to school, I don’t learn everything. I only do things that are helpful for my professional direction. The school's courses are very limited, and the most valuable thing is to find ways to learn content that is in line with the industry. Unexpectedly, some people in the school also thought this way. Many talented people came to our school and met many like-minded friends.

Work is the prerequisite for all good things to happen. There are many great opportunities available in the United States. When you stand in front of an opportunity, saying a hundred words is not as good as taking out your portfolio to make them think highly of you and remember you. There are several routes for preparing a portfolio. You can prepare a portfolio based on the company you dream of working for. For example, refer to the style of company A's works. If you know the employees in company A, be sure to ask them what software they use, the rhythm of their work, etc., so that you can become a person who can start working at any time. For example, Blizzard is a company that attaches great importance to whether its employees are its fans.

You can also prepare by referring to the works of multiple mainstream companies, such as ILM, MPC, Method Studio, Double Negetive, Framestore, The Mill, Digital Domain, and Blur Studio. These are some of the most mainstream large companies that do special effects. Other small and medium-sized companies The studio is also great if you have the chance to visit and learn more. Through internships or if you have the opportunity, it will be a great plus to do more projects in the industry and put them in your portfolio. It can be said that ten student assignments are not as convincing as a well-known work in the industry. This is the most direct way to prepare works for entering the industry. The cruel reality is that among tens of thousands of DEMOs, only if your own DEMO can catch people's attention within ten seconds can you have a chance to leave an impression. Tips: The works should not be numerous but should be refined, and put the best ones at the beginning.

Connections are important. But the most important thing is that no matter how many strategies you use, you can't make real friends. Meeting those few like-minded friends who treat each other sincerely is my most cherished experience in the United States! After I came to the United States, I had many opportunities to talk face to face with great people. I was surprised. The biggest thing they have in common is that they are low-key and friendly. This is true from ILM's Art Director to many Chinese seniors who are already working in the industry. They are obviously big names in the industry, but they are not arrogant at all and are very humble and friendly when talking to me. My conclusion is that this industry really needs to be as small as it needs to be, as many talented people as there are, and as fast as the pace needs to be. Only by letting go of aloofness and constantly learning with an open mind can we continue to survive. The chances of meeting people in the industry are incredibly high, and reputation is very important. The best way to get recognition from big names is to do things together. Whether it is a commercial project or a student project, it is an opportunity worth cherishing. Good performance can make others trust you and recommend more opportunities to you without losing your credibility.

As for identity, this is the biggest waste of time and incompetence for me. The United States is a country governed by laws, and there are no shortcuts. As a Wai Guoren, trying to transform from a student to an industry worker, I have experienced countless pressures. Not to mention those with green cards, if you come to the United States as a student with an F1 student visa like me, you can get permission from the school to earn credits through internships during the summer vacation. At this time, you can apply for CPT to find an internship with a company in the industry and work with a salary. If you have OPT after graduation, it is recommended to choose a STEM major so that the OPT period changes from the regular one year to an extension of 24 months (it was originally 17 months and was recently changed to 24 months). At this time, it’s time to actually enter the industry and find a job. Then discuss with the company to apply for an H1B work visa or an O1 artist visa. The specific conditions for applying for a visa are too complex to be described in ten thousand words, but detailed information can be found on various websites. Luck is a big factor. I am very lucky. I got H1B with a 27 chance of winning this year. I have seen many cases where seniors who are more professional than me were forced to return to the country due to identity issues due to "luck". No matter how sad everyone was, there was nothing anyone could do. Although I think it is a good thing to return to China for development, but for today's theme, many things are really unfair as a crooked nut. Let me tell you a successful case around me. A senior student from Malaysia only wanted to change his life and stay in the United States. He came to our school on an F1 student visa. After graduation, he worked at ILM, the world's most powerful special effects company, on an OPT visa. Unfortunately, he didn't get the H1B work visa for the first year, and his OPT was about to expire again. He went back to school and spent a year studying for another degree, then got OPT and returned to ILM to continue working. In this way, I was selected for H1B in the second year at ILM and won the lottery. After that, he moved to work at Disney, where he obtained a Green Card for Special Talents. Since then, he has lived the life he wanted. When I met him, he was at EA (one of the most powerful game companies). When he showed us around, I was really envious.

English communication skills.

How much English do you need to work in the American industry? My Chinese colleagues and I often joke about "English is not good". In fact, my English is adequate for work. If I can understand and express my opinions when discussing work, it is basically sufficient. My director attaches great importance to whether I have good communication skills. This includes having a cheerful personality and liking to work with people, so that people feel comfortable working with you. When I mentioned that my English is not as good as that of Americans, my director said that he used to work for Double Negative in the UK and once had a meeting with French people. As a result, the meeting ended with everyone starting to speak French...so he felt that English was not good enough. It doesn't matter that you can tell a lot of stories and make jokes like an American, and it's completely okay to ask questions when you hear something vague. As a girl, I am not afraid of losing face. When chatting with my American colleagues, I often hear an unfamiliar word and ask directly what it means. For example, one time I had to read an English script and draw a scene concept design. There was a line in it that said "Hey, don't fucking around!" I asked my colleagues directly: "What's fucking around means?" Everyone laughed... It took half an hour to explain to me what it meant. Fucking around...actually means don't look around, be distracted, and have nothing to do. It is a slang usage. The Mill is based in London and has colleagues from all over the world. There are especially many British people who speak British English. The pronunciation and intonation of British English and American English are very different. Being used to American English, I was really miserable when I met a director who spoke British English. I heard 60 and guessed 40. But after working together a few times and getting used to it, it became less of a headache. We all finished the shots together and were very happy in the end. When I came to the United States, I only had CET-4 or CET-6. Once you come to the United States and receive more than two years of immersion English training in life, study and work, it will not be difficult to improve to the current level.

Looking for a job is usually during the graduation season. This is the most tangled period that everyone has to go through. After reading many cases, whether you find a job or not, you have to do your best and let fate dictate. Once you have entered a good company in the industry, it is not a big problem to change jobs in several mainstream companies, but it still takes a lot of effort to get started. How to do your best, the portfolio, connections, identity, and English mentioned above are all essential. The time of graduation is also very important. The operating cycle of the American industry generally has many projects in the spring and summer, so there are many opportunities to graduate at this time. Don't graduate on Christmas, it will be very depressing. As a way to find a job, I recommend the website Linkdin, which allows you to directly communicate with HR in many large companies. A must-see is the official website of each company, which generally lists the vacant positions. Although too many people have put their trust in my wife, I might as well give it a try. This is how I got many interview opportunities. Insider recommendations are especially important and straightforward. It’s hard to gain a company’s trust without recommendations from insiders. Many of my friends have entered the world's top companies in this way. I can’t finish the interview, resume, and cover letter for the American special effects industry at once. If I have time, I can write a guide to talk about my experience in N large, medium and small companies that I have interviewed, including email exchanges, phone interviews, on-site interviews, etc. . Patience is essential when looking for a job. Many of my friends have waited depressingly for half a year or a year, but then they suddenly joined a very powerful company. There are also those who were lured away by big companies before graduation, but most of them couldn't hold on anymore and gave up and returned to their country or moved to another country. In short, opportunities are for those who are prepared. There are many opportunities in the United States. In the end, it all depends on fate.

As for my current situation, I have just entered the industry and I have been immersed in learning the skills and attitudes of great people every day. I have improved a lot this year. There will be new situations at any time and I can learn new things. thing. I also realize that I still have a lot of unfinished things and I haven’t learned enough knowledge.

The values ????of this article are some summary of my three years of hard work. I hope it can be of some reference value to friends who hold the same dream. During the days of working in Los Angeles, and hearing and seeing real cases around me, my values ??have been improving and changing. Being a special effects artist in Hollywood does not mean that you are good at everything. It just means that in your film and television career, you have been there and learned from it, so you have no regrets. However, these four years of living as a female man have made me more mature, independent, confident and cheerful. It is a very precious experience in life and generally very cool.