Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/983981
www.postmagazine.com 37 POST MAY 2018 EDUCATION What do you think makes your program different from others? "The classes we teach, in conjunction with the University of South Australia (UniSA), are delivered onsite at Rising Sun Pictures' studios in Adelaide and are taught by our visual effects artists. RSP believes in the highest quality of training and therefore we continually review and improve what is taught and how content is delivered so students can be equipped with the best possible skills to enter the local and global VFX workforce. "The curriculum developed with UniSA is dynamic and driven by the artists that teach, and contribute, to the visual effects you see in movies. Our aim is to develop junior operators that can hit the ground running in a studio. Developing the curriculum is an ongoing consultation process between RSP and the UniSA. Training is student-centered. Student employability both locally and globally is our goal. We work hard to make sure our graduates leave here with a piece of paper that really means something." Are other studios doing anything like this? "There are several variations of our program, but as far as I know, we are the only visual effects company that delivers 100 percent of a qualification or series of subjects in a real-life, studio-based environment. Students enroll through the university and attend classes at our Adelaide based studio — that's pretty unique and exciting!" Do you think something like this would be successful in the United States, for US-based artists? "The success of any decent teaching model like ours requires dedication and support from senior management, artists and a fast-moving educational institution like the University of South Australia. We're very lucky to have all that here in beautiful Adelaide, South Australia! Could this be replicated anywhere else? Possibly, but we think we've built something pretty special that's hard to mimic." What does RSP see as the key technology areas that artists need to continue to develop? "Aside from the usual emerging soft- ware and updates, RSP artists need to focus on remaining inquisitive, explor- ing new options and being independent learners. It's this type of mindset that we encourage with our students so that they can leave our training rooms as desirable employees." How does the program integrate with your studios? "Classes are onsite and immersive. The RSP training rooms are adjacent to the main studio and students have full access to the studio as if they were employees. It's the networking and 'accidental colli- sions' with artists and other day-to-day studio experiences that contribute to the immersive experience that make our train- ing experience so special." What else would you like to share? "We've had consistently positive feed- back from employers about our gradu- ates and are regularly asked when the next round of students will be ready? As Lincoln Wogan, VFX producer at Resin VFX, commented after taking on three of our graduates in 2017, 'Finding good, capable junior compositors who can fit into a team and workflow has become less of a challenge thanks to the Rising Sun Pictures Graduate Certificate in Compositing and Tracking course. RSP graduates are skilled, have great attention to detail, understand workflow principles and are essentially ready to work. It is one of the first things we look for on a re- sume when hiring a junior. It is as close to a quality guarantee as you can get.' "With education, you can't be com- placent. At RSP, in collaboration with the UniSA, we believe in continuous improvement, and as a result, our grad- uates are highly sought after by other companies locally and globally. Aside from employing over 25 students from the RSP Education and UniSA partner- ship, our graduates have been employed by the following studios: Animal Logic, Method Studios, Resin VFX, Cutting Edge and The Foundry." Note: Lucy and DiC (opposite page), a short film directed by Jeremy Kelly- Bakker and featuring character anima- tion produced by students enrolled in Rising Sun Pictures' Graduate Certificate Programs in Visual Effects, took the award for Best Comedy at the 20th South Australian Screen Awards recently. See: vimeo.com/238020482. For more on Rising Sun Pictures' courses, visit: education.rsp.com.au. RSP completed VFX on Thor: Ragnarok. The education program prepares students for high-profile projects. Classrooms are set up to mirror real-world working environments. Anna Hodge