There are six components that I created for my original compositing program.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฟ๐
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐
๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐บ
Each of these has a backstory. A reason for being. None of this came from guesswork or committees. It came from watching what worked, what failed, and what needed to exist.
Letโs start with the first: ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น (Part 1)
From day one, I wanted the program to produce results that were:
๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ
๐ง๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ
๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ
Every lecture fed directly into shot creation. Students would complete 8 to 18 shots for their demo reels, each one designed to test and showcase ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
Even if a student ignored the rest of the curriculum, this section alone was the core. This was your ROI. How to do shots.
It was originally built on project-based learning. But I quickly saw the failings of project-based learning (PBL).
While PBL sounds great in theory. But hereโs what really happens in practice:
๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐พ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป
You only get good at what your project demands. If your shot doesnโt require complex paint work or roto or edge treatment, you leave school without those skills. And guess what studios often assign you on day one? Exactly the thing you never learned and depending on the studio, they might not have the patience to watch you fumble around, burn hours, and cost them money.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒโ๐ ๐ป๐ผ ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
Real education is built layer by layer. Foundational skills first, then complexity. But project-based learning throws students into the deep end, hoping they learn how to swim. Often, theyโre expected to solve problems they havenโt even been taught to recognize yet. Itโs like walking into a maze with no map, no clues, and being told the only way out is to โfigure it out.โ Itโs not empowering, itโs disorienting.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ.
When a student struggles, Iโve seen instructors respond with: โWhy donโt you figure it out? Hereโs a subscription to Digital Tutors or Pluralsight, check our server for tutorials, or just try YouTube.โ
Thatโs not mentorship. Thatโs deflection.
It places the burden of education on the learner, often the least equipped person in the room to diagnose their own gaps. And over time, this system conditions students to blame themselves. They stop questioning the model and start believing theyโre the problem.
To be continued...
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