鈥淭he last year of study has been busy and a bit stressful, but securing the job with MPC has made it all worthwhile. Moving straight into industry means that I can maintain the momentum of the last three years, use the skills and knowledge I have gained along the way and basically keep doing the stuff I really enjoy."
BU 鈥榗lass of 鈥�17鈥� graduate, Matt Traynar, is launching his career in film animation as a technical director with one of the world鈥檚 leading VFX companies.
Having completed his this summer, Matt has secured a position with MPC; the Oscar-winning company behind the effects for movies including The Jungle Book, Ghostbusters and The Martian.
Matt鈥檚 first project with MPC will be the remake of Disney鈥檚 The Lion King, due for release in summer 2019.
He said: 鈥淭he last year of study has been busy and a bit stressful, but securing the job with MPC has made it all worthwhile. Moving straight into industry means that I can maintain the momentum of the last three years, use the skills and knowledge I have gained along the way and basically keep doing the stuff I really enjoy. I am excited to start working on such a high profile project with a talented bunch of people.鈥�
Matt decided to pursue a career in film animation and visual effects to combine his interests in art and science. When it came to choosing universities, it quickly became apparent that Bournemouth was the place to go. He said: 鈥淏efore deciding on my university choices, I called a few of the leading companies and relevant recruiters. Bournemouth kept being mentioned, in fact in some cases companies told me that they had departments where half of the team had graduated from BU.
鈥淒uring my three years on the course I learnt so much. There are things I do without having to think much about now, like programming or creating a quick 3D character, which I just couldn鈥檛 have done three years ago. That is down to the facilities at Bournemouth and being given the space to practice and experiment; we were allowed the 鈥榬ight to fail鈥� which is hugely important.鈥�
In May, Matt attended a major VFX festival in Stuttgart, which was subsidised by the university and which gave him access to a host of potential employers. He said: 鈥淲hile the industry is huge, it is surprising how quickly you start to build links. The festival was great for networking and I started to make job enquiries on the back of that. I had some interviews and a couple of job offers and MPC felt like the right fit.鈥�
When asked for tips on securing that all-important first job, Matt says: 鈥淵ou have got to put the effort in to make contacts and do your research. After all, it鈥檚 your career so it鈥檚 worth taking seriously. Others might offer help and advice, but it鈥檚 down to you in the end.鈥�