
AVID PRO TOOLS

940-hour program – 7 modules
“It’s not just about the knowledge, it’s about the know-how”
For: WVFX Artist, Graphics Designer, Animator
The objective of this 940-hour program is to give students the ability to operate at a professional level in visual effects creation in order to meet clients’ need to add a sophisticated dimension to their film or video production, whether for entertainment or to enhance their visual presentation.
To qualify for this program, students must have successfully completed the 940-hour web design program or be able to successfully take a test for creation with Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects as well as video editing with Premiere Pro.
The course, which includes 7 modules, centers on extensive practice of leading animation and visual effects software such as Autodesk Maya, Blackmagic Fusion, Side Effects Software Houdini or open-source VFX software Blender.
The program also covers the most advanced functionalities of visual creation for Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro and After Effects.
The program is assignment-driven as animation and creation of visual effects require intensive work by the artist. Students will master the fundamentals of visual effects through hands-on assignments. A school day would include a 50-minute session where the teacher explains the basics of a given subject, provides guidance and answer students’ questions. The skills sessions consist of four hours of hands-on assignments under teachers’ supervision.
The final project that students will have to develop over two weeks is an assignment similar to the one they may receive in a professional environment.
The one-year course covers 7 modules:
- Blender, introduction to compositing, rigging, fluids, animation
- Introduction to Maya, rendering, modeling, introduction to Python
- Create an animation with Maya
- Advance Photoshop, Premiere Pro and After Effects for visual effects
- Introduction to Blackmagic Fusion, node-based functionalities
- Introduction to Houdini, procedural modeling
- Portfolio creation
Equipment
Students must bring their own laptop with the following specifications: 15.6’’ VR ready Intel Quad- Core i7-7700HQ (2.8/3.8GHz, 6MB) 32 GB DDR4 2133MHz, 512GB PCIe SSD + 1 TB HDD, 4-in-1media card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060. Retail price, new: about 1,650.
Software required: Adobe Creative Cloud: $19.99 per month
Some other programs offered at The New School Center for Media.