VES Education Initiative Resources
The VES Education Initiative is a long-term project committed to finding and creating avenues to expand the visual effects global talent pool, with a focus on attracting and investing in the untapped potential of diverse and often underrepresented communities. This includes finding raw talent and creating new opportunities for those currently employed in visual effects.
The VES Education Initiative Resources page will continue to grow and evolve, so please come back often to explore new content.
VES Members Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program
The VES Member, Education and Training Committee, will be taking applications for both Mentors and Mentees to participate in the 2024 VES Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program soon. Stay tuned for the information being shared in an upcoming global newsletter.
We’ll be seeking mentors who want to make a real difference by helping someone along in their career path. And mentees who are looking for some career insights and guidance. This is a wonderful opportunity for VES members who want to transition their career, acquire new skills or simply get career advice by being paired with a seasoned VFX professional. We’re excited to connect VES members to help each other grow and succeed in this exciting industry.
Is school outreach more your style? The VES Education Committee is looking for volunteers to provide presentations to high schools and colleges to inspire the next generation of VFX professionals. Contact Rose Duignan for more information.
Registration Forms
Enrollment is now closed for the 2025 program.
Program Policies and Procedures
All Mentors and Mentees must conform to the VES Code of Conduct.
Mentors and Mentees may be asked to participate in a virtual Happy Hour session twice during the program.
Mentor / Mentee Expectations
Presentation and Materials
This catalogue will continue to grow and evolve, so please come back often to explore new content.
Careers in VFX Speaker Series
Megabrain Masterclass Series
Publications
Recorded Presentations
School Presentations
- Careers in VFX Speaker Series- Week 1: Fortunato Frattasio – Career Opportunities in Visual Effects
- VES School Outreach Presents: Erik Smitt on Exploring Animation
- VES School Outreach Presents: Billy Shih on the role of Gaming-Technical Artist
- VES School Outreach Presents: Andrew Watkins on Producing in Virtual Production
- VES School Outreach Presents: Christian Gossett Vila on Story Artist – Graphic Novelists
- VES School Outreach Presents: Karen Heston on VFX Supervising
- VES School Outreach Presents: Fortunato Frattasio on a VFX Industry Overview 2021
- VES School Outreach Presents: Fortunato Frattasio on a VFX Industry Overview 2022
- VES School Outreach Presents: Megan Scribona on Video Production
- VES School Outreach Presents: Doeri Welch on Talent Acquisition
- VES School Outreach Presents: Bruce Buckley on Storytelling and Animation
- VES School Outreach Presents: Christian Gossett Vila on Story Art 2022
- VES School Outreach Presents: Mark Andrews on Animation
- VES School Outreach Presents: Christopher Webb on Careers in Cinematography & Technical Direction
- VES School Outreach Presents: Jeremy Bolan on Story Art
- VES School Outreach Presents: Jeffrey A. Okun on VFX Supervising
Education, Internship, & Mentorship Resources
This catalogue will continue to grow and evolve, so please come back often to explore new content.
Education and Career Development
Commercial Directors Diversity Program (Los Angeles)
CSU Entertainment Alliance (Los Angeles) – Career Resources
CSU Entertainment Alliance (Los Angeles) – Virtual Events
D&AD New Blood Academy (Global) – Online Creative Courses
Film2Future (Los Angeles) – High School Workshops
Girls Who Code (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India) – Programs for 3rd Grade–College
Hola (Los Angeles) – Visual Arts After School Program
LA Urban League (Los Angeles) – Training, Apprenticeships and Job Placement
LatinX in Animation (Los Angeles) – Networking and Professional Development
Liaison of Independent Filmmakers (Toronto)– Resources for Lab/Post/SFX, Technical, Union/Guilds, etc.
Nick Animation Artists Program (Los Angeles) – 6-Month Paid Program
NOVAC (Louisiana) – Indie Filmmaker Classes, Digital Media After School Programs, and Summer Camps
One School (Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Global) – 16 Week Portfolio Program. You don’t need to be in the area to apply. Make sure the local timezone works for you.
Veterans in Entertainment (Atlanta/Savannah, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, NYC, Washington, DC)
Fellowships
&Design (United States) – Fellowship
4As MAIP (United States) – Fellowship
Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (Los Angeles) – Fellowship
Disability Belongs (Los Angeles) – Fellowship
Internships
CSU Entertainment Alliance (Los Angeles) – Internship Program
CSU Entertainment Alliance (Los Angeles) – Internship Resources
CSU Entertainment Alliance (Los Angeles) – Free & Discounted Opportunities
EICOP (Georgia, Los Angeles, New York) – HBCU Internships
Emma Bowen Foundation (United States) – Paid Internship
Group Effort Initiative (Los Angeles) – Internships, Mentorships, Workshops
National College Resources Foundation (United States) – Internships, Scholarships, Careers
Mentorships
Ancestral Futures (Bay Area) – Mentorship for BIPOC+ Writers
ACCESS:VFX (Global) – Education, Mentoring and Recruitment
BRIC Foundation (Los Angeles) – Mentorship and Education
Colour Entertainment (Los Angeles) – Mentorship and Education Events
Marcus Graham Project (United States) – Training and Mentorship
The Animation Project (TAP) (New York) – Training + Education 12–24
The Strategy Room (New York) – Mentorship BIPOC, LGBTQ, Women
SUPPORT.HER (The Chimaera Project) (Los Angeles) – Mentorship for Women and Non-Binary Filmmakers
Venice Arts (Los Angeles) – Creative Education + Mentoring 18–24
Women in Animation (Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Vancouver) – Mentorship
Women in Film & TV (Toronto) – Mentorship
Women Who Create (United States) – Mentorship
Facilities with Internships & Mentorships
Academy Gold Program (Los Angeles) – Contact in spring for summer paid internships. It is a 10-week paid professional internship that leads into their mentoring program. Studios pay to participate in this program.
Blizzard Entertainment (U.S.) – Blizztern Program gives students the opportunity to work directly with development teams and business operations departments to gain hands-on experience. For 12 paid weeks every summer, interns embed themselves with our teams to learn, collaborate, and contribute to the intensity and fun of creating epic entertainment. US internship application season runs from September to December every year.
Company 3 (New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Toronto, Vancouver) – A 10-week summer internship program, where those who intern will learn about Company 3’s creative process, gain postproduction and VFX experience, meet and connect with diverse art, production, technology, and administrative teams, and join the NExT generation of entertainment industry talent.
Digital Domain (Vancouver, Montreal) – Those who intern will receive hands-on experience on groundbreaking projects, close mentorship with award-winning leaders in their field, and will walk away with refined skills needed to break into the industry. This is a paid internship and they offer three separate cohorts beginning on July 12th, August 16th and September 20th.
DreamWorks Feature & TV Animation (Los Angeles) – DreamWorks internships for Summer, Spring and Fall. Trainee program in Spring and Early Career Opportunities.
Framestore (Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York) – Framestore offers students the opportunity to work alongside their talented teams as part of their paid summer Internship. However, you will need the right to work for the location you are interested in.
Insomniac Games (U.S.) – Insomniac’s recruitment team visits colleges and conferences throughout the year so they can meet talented students who are interested in joining as interns or as employees after graduation. Follow Insomniac on social media to see where they’re heading next. Want Insomniac to visit your school? Send them a request at hrinfo@insomniacgames.com.
Lucasfilm/ILM (International) – Immerse yourself in Lucasfilm’s dynamic and creative production environment by participating in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in one of our student or graduate experiences! Check out our current Jedi Academy openings!
Netflix (U.S., India, Japan) – Netflix typically posts roles on a rolling basis at the end of August.
Pixar (International) – Pixar Undergraduation Program. They have summer intern programs and one year residencies.
Riot (International) – Remote summer intern program offered in the US. Internships offered throughout the year everywhere else on a rolling basis.
Sesame Street (Global and New York) – Spring, Summer, and Fall internship programs.
Sony Imageworks iCAD (formerly iPAX) (Vancouver, Los Angeles) – Educational program for students and faculty.
Sony Pictures (Los Angeles) – Intern and Training Programs.
Titmouse (Los Angeles, New York) – Titmouse’s internship program runs in the spring and summer.
Walt Disney Animation Studios (Los Angeles) – Offers internships/employment and summer internships. They have a formal internship program.
Walt Disney Company (International) – Disney Internships are offered across segments, including Corporate, Disney Entertainment, Disney Experiences and ESPN.
WarnerBros Discovery (U.S., U.K., Canada, France, India, Spain, Germany) – Internships are offered across all businesses under the Warner Bros. Discovery company. Internships offered in many places all over the world.
WarnerMedia (International) – Through best-in-class talent development programs, mentorship, placement opportunities and industry exposure, WarnerMedia Access serves as a powerful conduit connecting underrepresented Talent to our content and brands.
Tutorials
Autodesk University
Free access to a selection of live-streamed and on-demand resources from past and present Autodesk University Design & Make Conferences.
Foundry Learn
Tutorials straight from the source on Foundry’s industry leading software such as Nuke, Hiero, Katana, Mari, Flix, Ocula, Modo, and more.
Pixar in a Box
Khan Academy
A behind-the-scenes look at how Pixar artists do their jobs. You will be able to animate bouncing balls, build a swarm of robots, and make virtual fireworks explode.
Storytelling
Khan Academy
Explore the imagineering and storytelling process at Pixar.
So You Wanna Make Video Games??
Riot Games
Are you interested in working in video game art? Looking to improve? This video series is an attempt at demystifying game development’s art pipeline.
SideFX Learning Paths
Learn Houdini with SideFX.
Unreal Online Learning
From your first steps to complete mastery of Unreal Engine, we’ve got you covered.