Interview with Jindeuk Kang

Hello, my name is Jindeuk Kang, and I created a basketball video as my portfolio project.

I completed the VFX Regular Course at SF Film School and was able to get a job after completing my portfolio.

My background was not in video or computer-related studies. I graduated with a degree in Optometry and worked as an optician for about four years. Then one day, I decided that I wanted to try doing something I genuinely wanted to do. That was when I started looking into different career paths.

While exploring my options, I came across SF Film School. I asked about the program and was told that even complete beginners could learn the necessary skills. I decided to give it a try without looking into other schools and joined SF Film School.

I really liked that the classes were taught in small groups by class cohort. More than anything, I enjoyed the classes because I felt like I was finally learning something I genuinely wanted to do.

Another reason I became interested in this field was because I had always loved Pixar animations. I was especially moved by WALL-E. After watching it, I thought, "I want to work as an animator on an animation like that someday."

In WALL-E, there is very little dialogue, and the characters are robots, yet they express so many emotions and tell so much of the story through their facial expressions and movements alone. After watching WALL-E, I bought a book about Pixar and became interested in learning more about Pixar and its productions.

As I learned more about CG, I started dreaming of working at Pixar someday. With that dream in mind, I eventually joined SF Film School.

However, once I started, I was basically a complete beginner when it came to computers. I knew that Photoshop existed, but I didn't even understand the concept of layers, and I had never used any of the other CG software before. My classmates even used to call me a "computer illiterate."

But just as my instructors told me, if you don't know something, you can learn it. Even someone with absolutely no experience like me could do it. As the classes progressed, I gradually started enjoying the process, and I could see my computer skills improving little by little.

After completing the regular course, I joined the portfolio class. At that point, I still hadn't clearly decided what I wanted to create. As I worked on my portfolio, I changed the concept several times, which naturally increased the workload. Having to start over multiple times also affected my motivation, and the process took much longer than I had originally expected.

Eventually, I went through a period of burnout that felt like it would never come to an end. It was difficult, but seeing my classmates working alongside me and staying up late together gave me a lot of comfort and motivation. I think having classmates who share the same goal can be a huge source of strength during difficult times.

I would like to sincerely thank all of the instructors who taught me despite my lack of experience and gave me so much valuable advice and encouragement.

And if there are people who want to study CG but are hesitant because they are wondering, "Can I really do this?"—I hope my experience can give you some courage.

Even someone like me, who was practically a complete beginner with computers, was able to do it.

Don't worry too much. I hope you can look at my experience and find the courage to take that first step. ^^