June 22nd was the 2012 professional jury, a key moment which wrapped up the courses for the 3rd year ArtFx students. This is when they presented their films and demoreels in front of the professionals who had come to find their future collaborators. In summary, an intense day.

The films and the demoreels of the students

The students are responsible, in their last year, for creating their own film and confronting the realities of a production. Each group, which consisted of 3 to 5 students, chose their own leader. The other students (14 students out of the 39 from this year’s graduating class) chose to work as freelancers and in this manner traverse several films. The students produced their films from beginning to end: shooting, directing the actors, CG animation, visual effects, editing, supervision, etc. This exercise is an essential educational component at ArtFx.

The professional jury at graduation is the occasion for the groups to present their films and the making-ofs they have created, and for the student freelancers to present their demoreels.

The 2012 graduation films are a very good vintage and you can see them soon on ArtFx’s Vimeo channel. You will also find here on the blog, in the upcoming weeks, students who will come to tell you a little more about their creations.

Employment objective: the numerous studios in attendance

There were again numerous professionals who came this year to discover the graduation films and meet outgoing students; a session of individual ‘speed dating’ interviews were also organized at the end of the afternoon.

Many studios represented:

A moment for exchange with the Pros

The professional jury is also a privileged moment of exchanges between the professionals and the ArtFx pedagogic team regarding the expectations and the needs of the studios.
The dialogue with the professionals all throughout the year is also one of the specifics of the school and the conditions of the students’ success, notably their entrance into the professional world.

The professional opinion from the sector

Two studio representatives provide their testimony on this year’s graduation jury.

Nicolas Aithadi, VFX Supervisor at The Moving Picture Company:
« It is the only jury where I participate each year because it is the one that comes closest to my requirements. This system with the students producing their films and the others working as student freelancers is closely linked to many of our work methods. This is a pool of young graduates who are important enough to us that we are regularly recruiting them each year. They have a global understanding of the pipeline of creating a film and a very good comprehension of the system before arriving to our company, so they are better able to integrate into a team. »

Jean-Jacques Benhamou, HR Director at Illumination Mac Guff:
« I am a regular on the ArtFx jury. It is the only school which trains students in FX supervision and which works with real images which is at the heart of our business. From one year to the next, I notice that there is a real progression in the students’ work and in their films, in the same manner that we, producers of special effects, are asked to progress from year to year. All this to say that the school is working well and that they are aligned with the industry. »

To learn more

ArtFx Vimeo channel – Promotion 2012

[small_button]English version by Danielle Harrell, English teacher for ArtFx[/small_button]