Disagree. Just go to school for the right thing, like engineering.
Agree. I’ve learned some of my best tips sitting next to an experienced artist.
2 Likes
Every time I watch a video or read something I always have the question of …“Why?”
Anytime someone shows me something on the flame I ask why this way and maybe not this way…And I get an even more in-depth explanation that helps me even more. In person training is by far the best way that I have been able to learn and therefore I know there are others out there that learn the same and struggle learning by just watching a demo on YT or just reading something about it. I have SOO many questions about everything. I question everything. Some people like it, and some don’t.
I’ve also let the school know that artists will be getting paid for their time and efforts. So no question about being underpaid or doing this for free. I made sure of that.
But mostly my concern is that there is a generation gap in Flame and I have the support of the school, Autodesk, and potentially Xencelabs for this project so Im very excited to get this off the ground as its been a year in the making.
3 Likes
I see!..Is this something youd like to be involved in?..If so, can you DM me your email so I can put you on the group email Ill be sending out pretty soon 
Good news! Specs Howard School of Media Arts is now fully connected and running under LTU, Lawrence Tech University, and is called Specs@LTU, Specs@LTU
They had a very successful Summer Camp program this past July/August and are gearing up for next summer!
The website is still being updated, but at least you’ll get an idea of how the 4 weeks of the camp are bring structured.
1 week, 6rs/day (3hrs, lunch, 3hrs)
My question for you all is, What is the best structure for a week course in flame?……for High school students (17-18, maybe 19yo?) transitioning into college?
If they sign up then there is an interest. But to get the interest I need to sell what flame IS and what it can DO.
I’ll be teaching the course the last week in July, and so they asked that I have a small description to them in the next couple weeks about the course but wanted to ask you guys the best way to structure this course? I have a loose idea of stating with conform but almost maybe skipping that and getting right into some of the stuff that Even TikTok can do since thats the craze right now. And I only have a week so its like I need to get to the point quickly.
I want to show them the crazy awesomeness of what flame can do….And thank you to everyone who had also sent me links to your reels earlier as that will be put to good use as well.
Do you know of any movies/shows/music videos either that you know of or worked on that you can say was done in flame? I’d like to be able to mention this in the description that is in the registration for the class.
Also, for local Detroit flame artists……Would I be able to bring students to your studio for a show and tell?
They said I would have permission for a trip on any of those days to tour a post house/studio? Please let me know if you would like to help out and let students do a tour of your facility!
So much still in the works and thank you so much for wanting to be a part of this journey!
1 Like
Hi Amanda,
This 5-minute overview might make a good intro to the course.
2 Likes
It’d be easier to assist if you are able to provide a significant metric tonne of details.
Transitioning to college? Not sure what that means. Are these eventual film school brats? Do they have majors/minors in mind? Or is it a more big picture/vocational type of atmosphere? Who are the typical kids that sign up for this program? Socio-economic backgrounds? Do they have computers? Do you have a computer? Do any of them have a background as makers or content creators? How many hours per day? Is this virtual or in person? And what kind of room will you be in?
I’ve given a lot of tours and short Q&A sessions to college students already in post-production/film school programs and I don’t remember it being a warm crowd. Not because they weren’t kind, but because there was no way for them to possibly give a shit about all the crazy things I give a shit about. Unless these kids are motivated makers who need to solve problems with their content, it sounds like quite the challenge.
What has worked well for me in the past is to instead focus on what problems visual effects can solve and what problems it creates. Someone has an idea for a story. "An alien spaceship appears’ is the classic intro. What kind of alien spaceship? Where does it appear? Is anybody else in the shot? Do you see the aliens? What kind of aliens? Are they scary? Do they communicate? What does the spacecraft look like? Does it land and interact with anything? You can see how a simple question can give you great insight into all the things one must do to make visual effects.
In high school, I started making marketing videos for athletes for them to get scholarships. In one of my videos, in the background was a garbage truck. And one of the parents wouldn’t pay me because of the garbage truck in the shot. And I couldn’t reshoot it. So I had to do a split screen from another part of the shot to remove it. And that was my introduction to visual effects. That is a much more valuable lesson for a high schooler than how to conform in Flame. That focus would be manageable, relatable, and have a much higher chance of success.
BIG EDIT:
Or…and I’m spit balling here…another angle would be to instead focus on image manipulation and creating educated consumers. As in, grab a pile of magazines to distribute…beauty, popular mechanics, National Geographic, car mags, bike mags, anything…and distribute them and have the kids rip out pictures that are interesting to them. And then talk about what was likely manipulated and how and why. And by whom. And bonus points for finding dodgy Photoshops. Or heck. Photoshop Fails subreddit is a goldmine of instant classic compositing and retouching fails. https://www.reddit.com/r/PhotoshopFails/ . Likely to get a chuckle out of the saltiest of teens me thinks.
Those are lessons digestible and relevant to all humans. And, anecdotally, that has worked with my 13 year olds and 10 year old quite well, so maybe applicable to older teens.
5 Likes
Yes! She has also been helping me out with lots of good info throughout this process!
This is great! Thanks for this!
Thanks @randy for all the good info! Specs was a trade school for Film and TV so if they apply then there definitely is an interest. As for major/minors in mind, that I wouldn’t be too sure of. Specs is now fully incorporated into LTU college, so they can take these film classes on their own or as part of a set minor/major. I think the structure with the classes is a little bit different than traditional colleges.
The classes would all be on site in Detroit. I have the support of Autodesk getting us las many licenses that we need and also talking with Xencelabs on discounted Tablets. So far the class size can be up to 20 and 6hrs a day with a lunch for this 1 week long summer camp. I see what you mean about needing to have a want, and they wouldn’t sign up for the class is they aren’t at least in the littlest bit interested, so thats the good part. But all the other factors are almost unknown and thats why I feel like almost a foundations class with a heavy emphasis on shaders could be cool. I feel like TikTok videos is where its at for this generation coming up. We need a T2 shader (TikTok) like A2 beauty lol. But mostly to dive into the cool stuff that they would see in social media videos. Ill get more and more info as the next few months pan out, so then ill know how to build a curriculum more, but just needing more ideas even with the littlest of info I have. All these ideas people have thrown my way has really helped!
1 Like
Hi Andy, was there an area created for educational stuff in the end? We’ve have a couple of trainees starting soon and I wanted to try and consolidate some of the online learning material. It’s come a long way since I learned Fire by remaking an old commercial from a Digi Beta that shipped with the software. (Although that proved to be quite a good way to do it). Thanks
Yup. We’re in soft launch phase but up and running!
2 Likes