Why Study VFX?

I have been asked recently to name reasons to study VFX in this day and age riddled by strikes and the galloping AI.

VFX is not going anywhere, almost every image we see has some form of VFX i.e. it was not captured in its totality in one pass in camera and consists of two or more live action elements, or it has been either wholly or partly generated in the computer (CGI).

When studying VFX you learn how to observe the world around you, you learn what makes a captivating image and you learn what makes a gripping story. You are part of a film making community and films help us make sense of the world around us, help us understand other people’s emotions as well as our own. We can feel warm human hugs while cold rattling robot ones make us shiver.

AI generated films will be just a repeat of what we have been seeing for the last few decades coming from the mainstream Hollywood, a lot of action but little story, created without any link to any culture, with simplified stories that can be viewed anywhere in the world and are created purely for merchandise and profit.

The thing to remember is that AI is neither artificial nor intelligent and certainly not creative or with feelings. It had to steal human works to output anything and now it will feed itself on its own output. I don’t think that output will satisfy the human need for ideas beyond ourselves. We will continue to crave real heroes in real human stories like Erin Brockovich and John Keating who make us want to be the best version of ourselves.

So, AI is unlikely to replace artists or traditional film making techniques. It may enhance some processes, give us some new tools and even live alongside as full AI creations like Stereo films have been. It just won’t be able to replace filmmaking or VFX fully as its computing power needs will make it unviable because of its disastrous effect on the environment as well as its potential to cause societal instabilities.

So, choose a great VFX school with strong links to the industry, take a VFX course and learn how to create captivating visuals using ever changing tools.