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.
Continuing from Part 1, letโs pick up where we left off:
๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
The goal becomes: Make something cool.
Not: Master the technique.
Not: Understand the why.
Students get caught up in aesthetics. They want a flashy result as quickly as possible, so they skip the fundamentals and mimic things they donโt understand.
The result? Reels that look good on the surface but fall apart under scrutiny. Ask them to explain their process and many freeze. Because they donโt know why it works. They only know that it worked once.
Worse, project-based learning conditions students to chase applause, not insight. They want likes, praise, and validation not critique. And when feedback does come, they get defensive. Because they were never taught how to think critically about their work.
๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐
When every student is doing a different project, thereโs no consistent standard.
No baseline.
No shared measure of progress.
Worse, it breeds ego. โMy shot is harder, so I must be better.โ
But thatโs not how studios think.
Studios donโt reward complexity.
They reward reliability.
They want:
- Clean roto
- Accurate paint
- Organized comps
- Calm, confident problem-solving under pressure
And if those core skills arenโt tested and verified before graduation, students leave school unprepared and donโt know it until itโs too late.
๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฏ๐น๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐ฒ๐
This might be the worst part.
The model fails them but they think they failed. They internalize the struggle. They stop asking for help. They burn out quietly, thinking everyone else is โgetting it,โ while theyโre falling behind.
And thatโs why I built ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐.
Not to limit creativity.
But to make sure every student had the core skills studios expect.
To ensure no one slipped through the cracks.
To shift the responsibility of teaching back to the teacher, where it belongs.
We still encouraged creative projects. But those projects stood on top of structured, testable fundamentals.
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ.
๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐.
Theyโre not failing.
The system is.
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