Make Yourself a Special Effects Professional

Recipe for a Special Effects Professional

Take one individual who really wants to work in special effects, add a large spoon of education and a cup of training; sprinkle with experience and leave to rise.

To turn yourself into a special effects professional, you should already have some of the basics - they include a determination to succeed, because competition for jobs in special effects is strong and a willingness to work hard, starting at the bottom, if necessary, to gain the experience that'll allow you to progress.

Other component parts of a typical special effects professional include creativity and technical ability. These natural aptitudes will be essential building blocks for your degree and the training that follows. Most special effects professionals have a degree in computer animation, another technical subject, or in art, film or theater studies.

This is usually enough to secure an entry-level job. Once you've got a foot in the door you can focus on developing your skills through further training, education and experience.

Special Effects: Where Entertainment and Technology Combine

Your special effects could be central to the success of the whole venture so you need to know how it fits with the other elements of the production. The aim is to entertain, and your specialist knowledge will be what makes that possible.

Whether you work primarily in the office as a computer animation specialist, in the dressing rooms doing make-up and costume, or on the set rigging up devices or explosions, you'll need to have an understanding of film production to get it right.

If you get to the point at which your ideas can make or break a production, you've really hit the big time. But between there and where you are now are a whole load of exciting and challenging special effects job roles.