Hi Movie Fans! We often receive inquiries from students interested in knowing more about the visual effects industry. Unfortunately, we tend to be too swamped by the daily demands of production to answer each letter individually, so we've put together a list of resources which we hope will help.

There are many ways to get involved in visual effects. Unfortunately, there is no exact science to constucting a career in the entertainment industry--at MASS.ILLUSIONS alone we come from backgrounds as diverse as Broadway theater, fine art, architecture, software development, the military, and the simulator ride industry. Some of us were hired straight out of college or graduate school as well.

If you are interested in becoming an animator, for example, computer graphics, programming, anatomy, sculpture, and drawing classes, to name a few, can all contribute to preparing you for that specialization. Modelmakers may have experience in carpentry, painting, building architectural models, and so on. An internship (through one's school) or an entry-level job as a Production Assistant can lead to more specialized work on future productions. When you're starting out, it's often more important to "get your foot in the door" than it is to land the exact dream job you'd hoped for. The following Web resources may give you more ideas and information. Good Luck!

The Official Alt.Movies.Visual-Effects FAQ Site This informative site has an excellent section geared towards students interested in breaking into the film industry.

Cyber Film School Classroom The "Classroom" features an exhaustive list of summaries of sites related to screenwriting, production, and sound and editing.

The Visual Effects Resource Center Visualfx.com was created for professionals and for the merely curious. Check out the "resource library" at this site; it's a list of helpful books related to the industry. Many links to more production companies.

The Craft movies.com has a page defining various positions and terms associated with moviemaking.

The Hollywood Reporter The Hollywood Reporter is a daily trade paper for the entertainment industry. Keep up-to-date on entertainment news and information.

fxWorld fxWorld has a "library" and a "how-to" tutorial section, focusing on animation and CGI. More production company links.

3-D Artist Magazine and Computer Graphics World These are two magazines which will be of interest to those of you into 3-D computer graphics. Happy Surfing!

Interested in an internship at MASS.ILLUSION? Contact:

Maureen Blume, Administrative Assistant, internships@mass-illusion.com Due to overwhelming response we ask that email be sent in ASCII Text format only; if you must send image files please do so via snail mail:

MASS.ILLUSIONS Visual Effects
30 Riverview Road, Lenox, Massachusetts 01240 USA
Telephone: +1 (413) 637 4500, Facsimile: +1 (413) 637 0054

Send site commentary to Webgoddess Deirdre Antes.