Tell us about your job role.
I've been working for AECOM for around 16 months as a Junior Graduate 3D Visualiser. The visualisation department I work in, works mainly on ArchVis, producing still images, animations, fly-throughs, graphic design and motion graphics for the company as well as external clients. This may include projects ranging from individual apartments or airports, to large scale roads and city/town development.
Our department also produced marketing material for the Waterloo development that went on earlier this year as well as other major projects I'm not allowed to talk about. I work on many different areas of CGI such as texturing, lighting, rendering and compositing. I remember spending a while modelling a large chunk of Cardiff city!
A large part of the reason I was brought on by AECOM was because of my game development knowledge from university. I was hired to help the company develop Virtual Reality (VR). I have created a large part of the VR content that has been produced for Waterloo, the Serpentine Gallery in London and various other projects that have received less publicity. I've been developing some basic programming skills in Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4, producing interactive VR content that I've travelled across different parts of the UK demoing to staff and clients.
What’s your career highlight?
My highlights so far have been the interesting places and people I've been able to see. I've had a meeting with one of the developers for Autodesk's 3DS Max, visited Epic Game's headquarters in Guildford that included an ‘epic’ lunch and VR demo session of the content they're developing, as well as an all-expenses paid trip to the VR World conference in London this year.
What’s your favourite Solent memory?
My favourite Solent memory by a guest lecture by one of the VFX guys behind the movie Gravity. He went into great depth about what they did and what you need to get into the industry. It was very interesting and rather inspiring.
This course is for you if you want the freedom to explore a wide range of creative 3D practices that can be applied to different professional industries.
What advice would you give to others wanting to get into the industry?
I would tell people to work hard. It's not always about just how good your work is but how committed you are to improving it. When you get into the industry you will continue to learn a lot; companies don't expect you to know everything from the beginning.
Also, if you don't find work straight away, don't be disheartened as this is common. It doesn't necessarily reflect on your work, it could just be the wrong time. Keep trying.
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