VFX Salaries, Locations, & Schools (VFX Intro | Part 12)

In this lesson from our Start Your VFX Career series, Caleb Ward will guide you as you learn about VFX salaries, locations, schools and more.

[deveshupadhyay]

I have spend 11+ years in VFX industry and I can say every details given in video is correct and very well explained.

[ron]

One thing I want to mention here is the Indian perspective. As he says in the video India is growing like crazy in VFX and it's true, India is growing but you should remember that NONE OF THE SALARY NUMBERS SHOWN HERE HAPPEN IN INDIA. As a junior, you will get almost nothing. Rich kids might get more pocket money than your salary. The industry doesn't work on an hourly rate here. The industry is growing here it's true, you have big studios like MPC, DNEG, Framestore, Mr.X but they only do bulk shots here that means you will mostly be running setups or create very small setups even as a senior. The Indian VFX industry is very different than what you see here. All those points about long working hours and weekend work happen twice here, you might do 12hrs job daily AND ALSO THERE is NO OVERTIME PAYMENT. Basically, India feels like an illegal labour market for VFX where big western studios just exploit us. Now you might say what if I work in the local studios? Local studios are even horrible they don't care about anything, even your death. Irregular payments, extremely long work hours (sometimes you may spend weeks in the studio) lots of stress and unrealistic deadlines are very common in local studios. THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOU OR YOUR EXPLOITATION. So, don't we get a good life as VFX artists in India? Sure you will if you have skill here you will get a good amount at least in Indian standards but you have to make the choice here. Do you want to create the flashy shots that you see in the showreels of your favourite VFX artists? then no India is not for you, you will barely get such shots here as the Western studios don't send any. The hiring criteria here is extremely low, some studios here have the largest teams. So, if you don't really stand out you won't go to that "good enough for India" salary bracket. Also when you reach that bracket you get more work, more stress, more pressure and remember no overtime pay so I guess the only good life for Indian VFX artists is to get out of India with proper skills. These days you can learn from websites like Rebelway and others so do learn well, learn from production if you are already in it and try going out. Of course, this also depends on what you want to do. You have your family, friends here etc so going out can be very challenging but I guess that's how it is. Hope this helps the newcomers and you know what you are getting into. As a junior or even unskilled mid-level, you might not do a lot of overtime but again your salary will be low too but once you have got skills and you are standing out try going outside if that is your goal or if you are willing to.

[samhilliard]

13:10 Quick correction WETA is in New Zealand but Australia does Have an ILM studio Now

[NaveedKhanYT]

What a great video!!
12:39 India has really been growing lately but the pay here is very bad tbh. A intern in US might get $15 per hour but here in India they might get $15 or less for a day!
That's why most artist do freelance work here
(This is from what I've heard from people on online forums and some YouTubers who have worked in the bollywood industry.)

[jamesdnooob]

Im going to SAE in september and was scared bc of the price and if im on the wrong path and if it was worth it to get a asmall job to pay for a vfx school im not sure about but i feel really comfortable after watching this video. Also a lot of good information for my future. Thank you a lot, u really helped me. :)

[neelkamalbandgar]

Thanks a lot Sir 🙏🏼 You are doing very great work❤ This is my dream Job🥹❤

[pandagaming]

I currently go to gnomon and I can say it is definitely worth the money

[donvangelis]

Thanks! Awesome video.I’m 34, and I want to become VFX artist in Houdini.

[matiasadrianmahler]

Lol, I wasnt expecting to see my work in this video, I actually forgot I sended it to them 2 years ago XD

[klinton]

Rebelway courses are not only course, their emotions ❤️, love it. 🍭

[Voolcan]

moving to vancouver in two weeks, im terrified and think the competition is going to eat me alive since iv only done personal projects and freelance stuff...this video gave me some comfort.

[SeniorAdrian]

Where do schools get their budget? Is it from taxes? How do you found a school like this? Talk with the government? Also the vfx studios, where do they get the budget? From Studios? And Studios borrow money from the bank?

[brucewayne]

@Rebelway 
Please make a video about people outside USA & Canada. We can't afford schools.

[ericvasquez]

Great video with a lot of valuable information. The only thing that I can say was not very accurate were the salaries. I know these stats are from Zip Recruiter, but lawyers and architects definitely make way more money than 80k a year. I’ve been a graphic designer for almost 15 years and was making more than the 40-50k range mentioned here after two or three years.

[BlakeMcGuireVFX]

Hey! Awesome Presentation! I'm just wondering if I can get a physical copy of the ebook somehow? That's if you do it, think that'd benefit me more having it physically on front of me rather than a virtual pdf. Thanks guys

[TheFloofinArtist]

What’s the usual time gaps bewteen contracts?

[TheFloofinArtist]

Is there any good ones in Chicago? And would the Saic be a good school to go to for vfx/cgi

[tinyboy]

What about the advanced houdini fx - chase
When will it come out

[raneemFX]

Greate info there and wow there are some bold moves

[elshadoruc]

Thanks for great information,
Is 1year vfx or 3d animation collagies effective for learning widely.
Can i learn vfx and 3d with my 10 years adobe premiere knowledge in 2 collage years??