VFX stands for Visual Effects and it is the process by which you can make your video look different than what you have originally shot. If you haven’t been living under a rock, there’s probably zero chance you aren’t aware of what VFX is. Superhero movies, in particular, depend a lot on the right VFX to make their product look great. Today’s topic- Is VFX A Good Career? Seeing how more and more movies are using VFX, the demand for VFX artists is quite high, which should make for a good career choice. However, this feels like an oversimplification as like everything else, being a VFX artist has its own pros and cons.
Luckily for you, this is exactly what we are going to discuss today. Let’s start with the pros first:
Chance For Your Work To Be Viewed By Millions
Well, this is something that not a lot of jobs can offer you. If you are someone, who desires to have his or her work viewed by millions, you should go for a career in VFX. Seeing the craze of superhero movies, it’s only natural that your work would be viewed by a huge number of people. Also, when you apply to a different company, you can easily mention a popular scene on which you have worked and thus make a great impression on your potential employers(s).
Good Pay
The second positive aspect of being a VFX artist is the pay. As per ZipRecruiter, VFX artists make close to $86K in a year. According to the same source, an average American makes around $66K in a year. Seeing how a VFX artist earns more than an average American does, it’s safe to say that VFX artists are handsomely paid.
Chance To Work On International Projects And Work Abroad
This is quite frankly something which other jobs can offer you as well, however it is still a vital point to make. Movies and games are watched and played all over the world. Therefore, if you worked on one of those popular projects, you have a massive chance of impression someone abroad and hopefully, work on International projects or even work abroad.
Opportunity To Earn Greatly After Years Of Experience
No matter which line of work you are engaged in, your earnings do increase after a while. The same applies to VFX artists as well. While VFX artists in the U.S. earn quite well on average, their earnings also increase after getting years of experience. In the country, entry-level VFX artists make close to $40K in a year while the experienced ones easily make close to $90K annually.
There Are Multiple Opportunities In The Field Of VFX
In the world of VFX, there are different types of artists including layout artists, lighting artists, rendering artists, and matte painters. While one usually sticks to a single discipline in this line of work and continues to work in the exact department for years to come, it’s really beneficial if you know multiple disciplines. This would help you to get more opportunities, especially in small-budget projects.
These were some of the pros of being a VFX artist. Now, let’s talk about the cons of the same-
Long Working Hours
The first and foremost disadvantage of becoming a VFX artist is the long working hours. On paper, the working hours for a VFX artist are 8 hours or 10 hours. However, the reality is a lot different than that. VFX artists easily work for 12 hours and in times of urgency, the working hours could easily go up to 17 or even 18 hours.
Stress And Uncertainty Relating To Work
Let’s start with stress first. As a VFX artist, you get to work on awesome movies or video games. However, these do come with quite restricted deadlines. With that being said, you have to work tirelessly to achieve your targets or the quality of work your manager expects from you. Also, it often happens that your work might not impress the client, due to which you might have to work on the same stuff once again. Uncertainties in the life of VFX artists mainly relate to those working as freelancers in the aforementioned field. A freelance VFX artist might be saying no to offers due to excess work one day and not having anything to do some days later. This is precisely what the life of a freelance VFX artist looks like.
VFX Artists Don’t Usually Have A Great Social Life
As previously mentioned, VFX artists easily work for 12 hours and in times of highly strict deadlines, the working hours could easily extend up to 17 or 18 hours. Therefore, it’s obvious that when you devote such a huge portion of your life to your work, you likely won’t have a great social life.
Inactive Lifestyle
This con is related to not just VFX artists, but to every other person who has a desk job, and not much physical activity associated with it. VFX artists work for hours on end in front of computer screens. It’s obvious that they don’t have an active lifestyle and the result of leading such a lifestyle is known to all. Working for hours on end in front of screens can lead to a loss of sleep as well.
New Technologies And Working On Projects You May Not Like
Another con of working as a VFX artist is that you will have to keep yourself updated with new technologies and tools that are being used in the industry. Also, different companies might be using different software for their work. Therefore, you must have a positive and problem-solving attitude if you wish to work in the VFX industry. It’s also worth mentioning here that the best part of being a VFX artist is that you get to work on exciting movies, TV series, and video games. However, this may not always happen and at times, you might have to work on projects that may not interest you a lot.
Outsourcing And Competition
While U.S. remains the best place to work as a VFX artist, the competition from other countries can’t be denied. In today’s world, more and more VFX work is being outsourced to companies in England, India, China, and Australia. In the U.S. itself, there is high competition among VFX graduates to work at different visual effects companies in the country.
Other Factors You Should Keep In Mind About The VFX Industry
Location
If you are looking to have a successful career in the VFX Industry, you should know that your location is of immense importance here. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Portland, and Austin are some of the places that provide you with the best opportunities to succeed in the industry.
Top Colleges For Studying VFX In The U.S.
The Gnomon — School of Visual Effects, Games & Animation is located in Los Angeles, California. As of August 2021, the fee of their course, “BFA Degree in Digital Production” is $107,525. In case you don’t want to opt for this college, you can study at The Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. It is an incredibly famous college and it offers several courses in the field of art, entertainment, graphic design, and VFX. In case, you are looking for a third option, you could then study at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. Here, the average cost after aid is somewhere close to $32K.
Conclusion
There were some of the pros and cons of choosing VFX as a career. Now, it’s hard to say if VFX is a good career, as it is highly subjective. On our part, we can just hope we have provided you with some details that might help you in making your decision.
