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🌟 The Allure of Short Courses 🌟
There are plenty of fantastic compositing courses on the internet, priced anywhere between $20 and $600. These courses typically come with project data for you to follow along. Sometimes instructors only provide the elements, hoping you watch their videos and do the work.
🌟 The Problem with Accessibility🌟
Herein lies the problem. All elements and footage from these courses are available to everyone who paid for them or downloaded them off warez sites for "learning purposes."
The more complex the tutorial, the less it can be transposed. The person doing the tutorial can only comp that shot with the elements provided. Sure, they can add their own stock elements, optical effects, and color grading, but the shot is mostly just another variation of the preview or final render provided by the instructor.
A person taking these courses cannot apply that knowledge to other footage since it would require an enormous effort to capture similar footage.
🌟 The Sameness Fatigue 🌟
Let’s say you buy a course for $499. You’re excited, watch all the videos diligently, and follow the instructor’s directions. Great, you’ve produced a composite that looks pretty much like the tutorial.
But here’s the problem: these courses were probably purchased by hundreds of other people. Even if just 5% of them do exactly what you did, you end up with a lot of people with the same shot.
Chances are, a few of them will apply to the same job openings as you. The lead and supervisor at these studios will see the shot for the first time and be wowed, but the next person with this shot won’t be as impressive. Soon, everyone realizes it’s a tutorial shot. They think, "This person can follow instructions but can’t solve complex problems on their own." And then any reel with these shots will not be taken seriously or just skimmed over.
🌟 The Harsh Reality 🌟
Week after week, month after month, more applicants apply with these same shots. Each new applicant discovers these courses at different times, thinking they’re saving money on tuition to get a compositing job at their favorite studios. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
I know this because many of my former students do these courses, apply to studios, get rejected or ghosted by recruiters, and finally throw their hands in the air and seek professional training.
🌟 The Right Question to Ask 🌟
Remember, the quality of your question, determines the quality of your life.
So, what’s the question you should ask?
It’s simple.
Ask yourself, where can I go to learn to build a unique portfolio that showcases all the compositing skill sets a VFX studio is looking for?
P.S. What’s the funniest or most unexpected thing you’ve learned from an online course?