LOS ANGELES — Technicolor (www.technicolor.com) has announced the launch of the Technicolor Academy, a talent training and development program based on the methodology and success of MPC Film’s four-year old program, MPC Academy. The mission is to develop, nurture and grow computer graphics artists’ skills and abilities, and prepare them for a role at one of Technicolor’s film and episodic content VFX studios. These include MPC Film, Mill Film, Mr. X, and Mikros.
Spearheaded by Technicolor Academy’s global head of learning and development, Jonathan Fletcher, the Academy will inspire the next generation of visual effects artists, creating a diverse, dynamic and driven workforce that can work with the latest technologies for ground-breaking productions. It will host recent film-school graduates, offering a 12-month, full-time paid internship and contract. The course starts with eight to 10 weeks of intensive hands-on training, on state-of-the-art software tools, after which the candidates move into a dedicated career pathway where they will learn the film VFX pipeline, starting with placement and real-world experience at one of Technicolor’s VFX studios.
“MPC Academy was a great success for the studio, training more than 600 artists,” explains Fletcher. “Our plan now is to expand on it, deploying the Technicolor Academy to locations where the industry is growing and where we have a definite need for talent. We're simply amplifying a best practice across all of Technicolor’s VFX operations.”
Training will be provided by some of the industry’s most experienced VFX professionals using a blended combination of workshops, master classes and online training, offering a unique learning pathway, practical support, and career inspiration for aspiring artists.
The Technicolor Academy will open training facilities at key Technicolor VFX locations such as Montreal, Bangalore and Vancouver in July 2018, followed by Adelaide, Australia, later this year. Technicolor plans to enroll more than 400 students in 2018, with plans to take on 600 additional artists in 2019.