Talent Conquers All in Digital Realm
Architects are doing it. Aerospace engineers are doing it. Even photographers and hard-core scientists are doing it.
We’re talking about breaking into the world of digital entertainment, of course. The field is growing so fast that insiders say the opportunities are there for people looking to make a career change.
“Search your soul and figure out what you really love to do,” said Sande Scoredos, director of digital training at Sony Pictures Imageworks in Culver City. Whatever it is, “there’s a job in the industry for that.”
Digital entertainment implies computers and other high-tech equipment, but the most important ingredient for breaking into the industry is talent. That includes two-dimensional drawing skill, creative software problem solving or the ability to visualize three-dimensional structures.
“What will really open doors for you is your work,” said Eric Hanson, a digital artist at Digital Domain, the prestigious special-effects firm in Venice. “If you can display talent, people will embrace that.”
For example, photographers are in demand for 3-D map-making projects and for the tricky transfer of celluloid film to a digital computer format and back again. Scientists with strong math skills tend to join a growing field of computer special effects known as particle systems, where they simulate natural phenomenon such as wind and fire using algorithms developed by research scientists.
Computer experience usually isn’t mandatory--many employers say they will teach talented job seekers the computer skills needed--but it will almost certainly help any candidate. Logging hours on a Silicon Graphics workstation or fooling around with Adobe Photoshop, an image-editing software program, will help aspirants confirm that they would actually enjoy working in digital entertainment.
Of course, that can be expensive. The Mountain View, Calif., behemoth Silicon Graphics Inc. opened Silicon Studio/LA in Santa Monica to teach people how to use its top-of-the-line machines. Courses start at about $200, and many run into the thousands of dollars.
Scoredos suggests that budget-conscious dabblers concentrate on two programs to build a foundation in digital work: Parallax Matador, a high-end, two-dimensional paint program, and Wavefront Composer, a compositing program that is a staple for digital special effects. Or pick up a $600 copy of Photoshop, which runs on a PC.
“It teaches all the basics of digital image editing and computer graphics,” said Alan Lasky, an industry specialist with Silicon Studio/LA.
Still feeling like an outsider? Insiders say it doesn’t matter.
The industry “is open and fresh enough to allow entry into the profession in a variety of ways,” Hanson said. “Conventions haven’t been set yet, and that provides a lot of opportunities for creative and unusual entries into the profession.”
Times correspondent Karen Kaplan covers technology and careers. She can be reached via e-mail at karen.kaplan@latimes.com
