of engineering, whereas most engineering courses are focused into electri-
cal." He also sites a background in "still photography and color dark-
room" as being assets. "There are a lot of things that make an effects
person: they're on, they're alert, they're awake. If you're in a key position
where you're trying to sell the job--trying to schmooze people--you
have to be a little more of a salesperson and, obviously, have the skills
and talents to do the job quickly."
Advice for Someone Seeking This Job
As the industry shifts more and more toward computer generated
effects, the demand for physical effects will also change. "We don't have
to take a lot of pain to fly somebody with thin wires. We can slap a
couple of big cables on them and fly across the room and let the wires be
removed in post." In some
ways the computer has made
Gill's job easier, but he foresees
a time down the road where
jobs are few and far between
because of it. He suggests
learning a variety of effects
skills.
Professional Profile:
Jim Gill,
Physical Effects and
Co-Owner of Reel EFX, Inc.
Although Jim Gill took a
few film classes in high school
and even made a 45-minute
movie, he did not consider
filmmaking as a career option
until a few years after college.
Majoring in physics at Marietta
College in Ohio, he later
switched to petroleum engi-
neering, but eventually earned
a bachelor's degree in philoso-
phy: "I could get out a semes-
ter early and didn't have to take all the math." After graduation he
settled into a job trading commodities: "I started out as a runner on the
[exchange] floor taking orders, and eventually moved up to where I had
a seat . . . and traded."
What do you like
least about your job?
"The best and worst is
that it's quick and differ-
ent. What comes in the
door isn't the same boring
thing again and again. It
usually requires some thought and effort.
Vice versa, you're always having to think
and come up with new stuff, so you can't
relax . . . "--Jim Gill
What do you love most
about your job?
"It is probably the best hands-on engineering
job I could find. I start [by] meeting with
someone who has an idea or concept they
want to transmit via film, and I help with
the development of that idea. I will then come
back and figure out how to make it happen in
the physical world--build or fabricate some-
thing. Then I get to take it to the set and
perform whatever it needs to do."--Jim Gill
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
User Comments Add a comment…