A core problem most of us face when advancing in our field is not to know what exactly is expected to create great work and to become better; especially when you're not coming from an educational software development background. Most clients that I coached over the years faced the insecurity of not having enough knowledge and not being prepared enough to work on higher scripting levels and in more complex productions. This extremely hindered their professional progress and career path. They literally became too afraid to approach new opportunities because they were unsure about the level of their skills and how it will translate in a new environment and in a new job with a new team. This can lead to frustration while waiting for the right moment and advancing to new horizons at a much slower pace.
Let's first address the elephant in the room: Education!
Though it is undeniable that an educational background in programming and technology can give you a heads up and help you to achieve more complex results and a clearer understanding; it is not particularly the key to success. The film and games industry is growing mostly out of necessity. Only recently we are starting to establish standards which are outgrown quickly by the changing landscape and technology. Most people who are scripting in this environment mostly learn it from necessity while the people coming from a computer science background often have only an abstract idea of how to write practical tools and lack massively in the field of experiences. The result is: The more you are educated the more you overthink the task while the more you come from the practice background the more you can only think about the current task ahead.
Python Advanced is bridging this exact gap.
The core idea of the Python Advanced is to provide a strong foundation of knowledge and understanding to build a coding base that can grow into different directions while understanding why, when and how. The artistic and practical world doesn’t shy away from a variety of different approaches while throwing unknown challenges at you. So it is vital to have a brought understanding of what is usually needed and how you can tackle it using Python. Though a function can probably solve all of your problems, are you sure you’re using it to its fullest potential at the right moment? Could there be a class or a decorator that would make the process significantly faster and simpler? Do you know? After this masterclass you will!
On an advanced scripting level the focus shifts from writing functional scripts to writing apps that are sustainable for a period of time, portable between projects, flexible within different situations, collaborative within the team and well structured for future modifications. This includes an effective coding style while using a more team based toolset and practice. As a result, you become familiar with the daily high level development process of tools and how to manage them successfully.
If we look at the graphic above you can see that with the work becoming more technical the time investment into technical solutions, scripting applications and support grows compared to actual production work that results in the movie, series or game. While the beginner Python course covers most needs for an artist to be able to write simple but practical tools, Python advanced becomes essential when moving to the higher levels. An advanced technical artist starts to get the need to reuse code while a Technical Director or Developer often relies on systematic, maintainable and collaborative code base.
Python is an integral part, an impactful skillset and a huge asset in any Visual Effects, Animation and Games production. Suddenly you are able to create helpful and complex tools on big budget movies and games that make your and your team's workflow faster and easier.
The biggest challenge is to advance from where you are now to where you want to be. How do you get to the highest production level worthy of the best studios? How do you work on the most desirable projects in the world? Without guidance this is a hard path with a lot of twists and turns. It is easy to get lost and lose motivation in the coding jungle. What do you need to know to become a (better) Technical Artist or Technical Director?
My name is Alexander Richter, I am a Technical Director and I am the creator of the Python Advanced masterclass. This masterclass teaches you Python on a professional level to work on small indie films to massive multi-million productions. Being here means you want to become a kick-ass Technical Artist, Technical Director or Developer working in Visual Effects, Animation and Games. The content of this class is a collection of all my years of education and years in the field as a pipeline Technical Director. I was literally taking notes for the last 2 years when working on high budget productions like “Monsters at Work” and “Avatar 2” especially while coding at Weta Digital as an Assets R&D Technical Director. So everything I teach in the masterclass is expected from you on the higher levels.
In eight weeks Python Advanced sets the stage to use Python professionally in Visual Effects, Animation and Games. Advance to the next level of scripting and become a Technical Artist or Technical Director building valuable tools and applications that help you, your career and your team into the future.
You will hear "Thank you! 💚" a lot!
“What you need to know as a Python developer when upgrading to a professional level!” could be the subtitle of this masterclass wouldn’t it be too long and impractical. This masterclass exists to get away from feeling inadequate and get left behind in the future. It is there to fill up the gaps of your knowledge, provide you with confidence to understand the critical elements of the trade and to make you ready to challenge yourself with every future task that could arise. It doesn't exist to be a magical bullet that will provide you with all that is missing but to show you what it is that you could be missing to successfully get hired for the positions you are striving for and to solve your tasks in a more sophisticated way. It is a practical collection of all the topics I've learned when upgrading from an okayish beginner, to work in a 50 people company, to finding myself surrounded by the challenges of a 2000 people company at Weta Digital.
Additionally every chapter provides a selection of references which give you a more in-depth view and explanation to specific areas. Include them in your studies to get a better sense for the new topics, a different perspective and more details.
To finally put this masterclass into perspective: If you know all the topics of this masterclass, can recognize and even master some of them: You will excide as a Technical Artist, be well on your way as a Pipeline Technical Director and in good hands as a Software Developer in Python. Which means it is important to put the topics presented here into the perspective of your job and where you want to go in the future.
Finally make sure to put your new skills on display through cool projects and apps. Share them with other professionals through actions, tools and videos since the best way to show progress is to apply it like in my Open Source Pipeline PLEX.
This masterclass is for (future) professional Technical Director in Visual Effects, Animation and Games. If your goal is to bring Python to the next level to get paid for scripting this masterclass is for you!
You can choose from two different plans:
Python Advanced to pay instantly
Python Advanced+ to pay in monthly installments over a period of 6 months
I'm looking forward to help you grow in your career using Python! 😊 If you have question don't hesitate to contact me.
I am happy you are joining on the journey to the next level. Let's take the first step!
- Alex
Watch the introduction video of the Python Advanced masterclass: