VFX - Junior 2D Artist Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship

The Junior 2D artists apprenticeship will support the responsible for assisting the senior visual effects artists by preparing elements for use in the final VFX shot. This will include:

• creating mattes (masking areas of the live-action footage) by roto-scoping (tracing around objects in the frames) and keying (isolating areas of blue/green screen in the live-action footage) to allow all elements of the scene to be layered convincingly by a compositor
• removing erroneous objects within the live-action footage, such as camera/lighting equipment and safety stunt wires and rigs
• producing simple composites (combining live-action elements and computer-generated imagery to create a shot that looks as if it was captured at the same time by a single camera). These simple composites could be for editorial purposes for test screenings of the film and will be replaced by an experienced compositor or they could be used in the final film for simple VFX shots.

Topics covered in this apprenticeship include

• The importance and methods of retaining the quality of the source material.
• The general VFX shot pipeline, including general knowledge of all artists roles within the shot’s lifetime.
• The film and/or TV shot pipeline, from pre-production, through shoot, editorial, VFX to grading.
• The VFX production pipeline, including shot bidding, turn-over, briefing, reviews, client reviews, deliveries and final delivery
• VFX terminology

For more information on this apprenticeship please visit Institute of Apprenticeships. 

Individual employers will set the selection criteria, but this is likely to include A Levels (or equivalent level 3 qualification) in a moving picture or art related subject. Most candidates will also have English and Maths at level 2 on entry. Some employers may also ask for a portfolio of still or moving image manipulation or the completion of a timed assessment in order to access their artistic and technical ability as part of the selection process.

Apprenticeships are assessed by classroom study coursework and assessments along with on-the-job practicals.

Upon successful completion of their apprenticeship the individual will typically progress to become a compositor and may eventually become a 2D or VFX Supervisor. Junior 2D artists will typically be employed by a range of small to large post-production companies servicing the British and International Film, Television and Commercial industries. They will usually be based in an office environment working on television commercials, television series and feature films.