What you’ll learn
- Be able to describe the VFX pipeline in order, from plate and on-set data through prep, matchmove, assets, animation, FX, lighting and comp to review and delivery, and say what a runner does in that building hour by hour.
- Have installed the free learning editions of the core software, chosen a lane (production, 2D, technical or 3D) and have a twelve-week plan that produces two real shots with breakdowns.
- Know where Stage 1 VFX experience really comes from (your own shots, short films, shadowing, the NextGen and Level 4 apprenticeship routes, Access:VFX, related jobs) and the UK rules on pay, hours and unpaid work.
- Have a Stage 1 VFX runner CV outline modelled on the site's example, a plan for a one-page website and reel, and a three-paragraph approach you can send to a named person.
- Be able to say Sam's five Stage 1 statements honestly for this role, and know exactly what to do next on MFJF: mentor clinic, Academy workshop, then the HotList at Stage 2.
Where this leads
By the end you will have written your own Stage 1 plan, checked yourself against MFJF's five Stage 1 statements, and know exactly what to do next: a mentor clinic, an Academy workshop, and Stage 2, the HotList.
Finish the course and you can build your personal plan: MFJF's three-stage planner for this role, ticked from Your Profile and your CV, with dated next steps and the CV line each one becomes.
The VFX house and the runner's place in it
20 minWhat visual effects are, how a shot moves through a VFX house, who works there, and what the runner actually does from unlocking the building to locking it.
- readWhat VFX is and how a shot moves through the pipeline8 min
- readA runner's day in a VFX house8 min
- checkCheck: the pipeline and the job4 min
Before day one: software, kit and the words
20 minThe free learning editions to install now, how far to take each, what to own, the paperwork, the jargon, and the ten tips turned into habits; then an honest, scored self-audit.
- readThe software to learn now, and how far to take it7 min
- readKit, paperwork, the words people use, and the ten tips6 min
- taskTask: your skills self-audit, scored out of 367 min
Getting experience at Stage 1
20 minThe routes that actually produce VFX experience for someone with no film job, the UK rules on pay, hours, unpaid work, the union and safety, and a task that finds you three routes this month.
- readWhere VFX experience really comes from8 min
- readThe rules: pay, hours, unpaid work, the union and safety6 min
- taskTask: find three routes to experience this month6 min
Your CV, showreel, website and first approaches
20 minWhat a Stage 1 VFX runner CV contains, the title on it, the reel and the one-page website, the three-paragraph email, how to approach houses without annoying them, and what a reference means here.
- readThe Stage 1 VFX runner CV, showreel and website8 min
- taskTask: draft your CV outline and profile line8 min
- checkCheck: the CV, the reel and the approach4 min
The industry around the role
20 minThe map of UK VFX companies, the two ladders out of running, the site's three-year plan, where else the skills go, what the apprentices in the case studies did, and the library for this course.
- readThe map: companies, the two ladders and the three-year plan8 min
- resourcesThe library: do-first to do-later8 min
- checkCheck: the map and the paths4 min
Your plan: Stage 1 to Stage 2
20 minYour plan, saved; the five statements as a self-certification for this role; and exactly what to do next on MFJF.
- plannerYour VFX runner plan10 min
- readHow you know you are ready for Stage 26 min
- checkCheck: the self-certification4 min
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Career plans
