SCAD VSFX Department and The Recruiters Roundtable

Illustration by: Nancy Hollis

On Friday, May 5th, the Visual Effects department at SCAD hosted its first Recruiters Roundtable through the Vision community. This portfolio review was entirely virtual and moderated by the students themselves!! Through an open conversation, they received advice from professionals at The Mill, ILM, Psyop, Powerhouse, and WETA FX. These portfolio reviews were beneficial, not only for students presenting their reels but also, to the audience witnessing it through Zoom. We all had the opportunity to learn how to improve our portfolio by listening to the advice professionals had to share. In this article, I will share the opinion of some students that participated in and hosted this event.

When listening to the words “critique day” or “portfolio reviews”, many students here at SCAD get nervous. During this time, their work is put under the spotlight, which could be one of the most vulnerable moments of their career. However, it is an excellent opportunity for growth as students can improve their skills and connect with industry professionals by putting their work out there. That is what the Vision Recruiters Roundtable was all about, and many students were fascinated with this event.

Emma Schaberg, a Visual Effects Junior, had the opportunity of meeting with Sam Alicea (Senior Texture Artist at WETA FX), and she shared her experience with us: “It was a very positive review as Sam gave very helpful advice to push my reel in the right direction for employers to view. I was excited to hear everyone’s feedback as it was all relative to each other and would benefit everyone’s portfolio regardless of who was in the “hot seat”. Alexis Behilo, A Visual Effects Senior, also shared her experience while being reviewed with Lou Bones (Creative Talent Director at Psyop): “The experience was good. It was a great way to practice presenting your portfolio to an industry professional in front of other peers.” Even though the portfolio reviews can be nerve-wracking, especially in front of other people, these exceptional students show that it was a very enriching experience not just to the participant but everyone witnessing it.

The first Vision portfolio review was entirely virtual. The pandemic has changed the perspective on approaching communication in big events like this one. However, this has its own pros and cons. Mateo Solorzano, a Visual Effects Junior whose portfolio was reviewed by Christy Page (Senior 3D Generalist at ILM), shares his opinion on the virtual approach “I think it was great, but I’ve had another experience in person, and I feel like it is more intimate that way.” Emma Schaberg also said, “I believe having a virtual portfolio review was very successful and would work in any case, but I can’t help but hope that we have an in-person experience sometime in the future. The virtual aspect was easy to overcome, and we were prepared for any issues to arise, but sometimes our mentors weren’t familiar with using Frankie (the portfolio reviewing site), or Frankie itself would crash in the session. Having in-person, although it’s hard to arrange, would ultimately be best for the future.” Alexis Behilo also shared her opinion on the pros and cons of this virtual experience “Zoom is easier for the industry professionals and students because no travel is involved. But Zoom gets rid of the face-to-face personal spreading practice.” As we can see, even though the virtual approach is very convenient in many cases, students also value direct contact with recruiters when it is done in person.

Overall, students were delighted by the VFX Department’s first portfolio review event. It is highly recommended that upcoming students or those who could not participate this year try it if they are given an opportunity in the future. Visual Effect Senior Amanda Skeith was reviewed by Lou Bones (Creative Talent Director at Psyop) and encouraged other students to attend by saying, “The portfolio review was a great event and opportunity for students to get feedback on their work and hear what industry professionals look for in a demo reel. It was also really amazing to have the opportunity to moderate two of the panels as well and participate in the events from that perspective. I would definitely recommend this event to other students.” Additionally, the portfolio review helps students promote their work with professionals and other peers in addition to getting a leadership opportunity by moderating the event as Amanda did.

Emma also shared with us how beneficial the portfolio review was for her. “I would absolutely recommend round table portfolio reviews to any students in the department. It is beneficial not only to hear other people’s critiques and feedback to apply to yourself, but it’s important to overcome any fear of showing your work. It’s something I’ve always struggled with when putting yourself out there to show your progress or reel even if you aren’t confident, it is at its best, but the reviews help push you in the next right direction without any pressure. Everyone is in the same boat as you, and together you can better your presentation skills and reel for employers.”

Getting out of the comfort zone is an excellent opportunity for growth, essential to achieving any goal. Doing this with a supportive group of people is an advantage in and of itself. 

All the students that shared their portfolio review experience with us agreed that if they could participate again, they would do so. Alexis said, “It’s a good way to learn how to ‘sell’ yourself and present your work to potential employers.” along with Emma, who said, “Communication is just as necessary a trait as being a good artist. Being a moderator for this event was exciting- because although I can be introverted and get nervous to do public speaking, it pushed me to further practice how to have confidence and speak to employers.” This event’s communication opportunity is highly enriching, something that everyone should take advantage of.

We look forward to seeing what the future holds for upcoming portfolio reviews. If you ever get an opportunity to participate, do not hesitate to say yes and enter that open door despite the nerves. Who knows where that connection will lead you?

Special thanks to Alexis Behilo, Mateo Solorzano, Emma Schaberg, and Amanda Skeith for participating in this interview, in addition to all the professors in the Visual Effects department that worked hard to make this portfolio review a reality. Last but not least, we want to thank all the recruiters that took the time to participate and review the student reels; we all benefited from their advice.