watch the movie


We've listened carefully to suggestions from our fxphd postgrads and have a great lineup of new courses for the April08 Term. Registration is now open and we're in the first week of classes. You can join at any time in the term and have full access to past classes. Check out the information center links on the right side of the home page for a listing of our courses, our fxphd FAQ, as well as a short introductory QuickTime tour describing what fxphd is all about.

For compositors, we have some great new courses lined up. One highlight is sure to be our guerilla After Effects course, taught by Gareth Edwards. You may recognize the name from our fxguide story about his work on Atilla the Hun. He is going to take course members through actual shots from the show, showing how he completed over 250 effects shots in four months. We also have new fxphd footage for the course -- so Edwards will be able to recreate shots from the show and members can build them for their own reel.

Even our required Background Fundamentals course will be focusing on compositing -- providing members with a lot of great footage they can use to build their reel. Our advanced Nuke course will focus on completing projects spanning several classes and will be using the latest version 5 release from The Foundry.

Due to the large number of RED cameras now out in the field, we have a new introductory RED workflow course. The course will build from the basics of RED to advanced scripting to post. All modules such as RedCine and Red Alert will be completely revised from previous courses, to accommodate the latest releases of that software. We also have a new Assimilate Scratch course, taught by digital colourist Jeff Olm, covering grading in Scratch -- including direct grading of .r3d files.

One of the most popular courses in our January08 term was our After Effects design course taught by Tim Clapham. fxphd members pretty much demanded that we bring him back to teach a design-based Cinema 4D course -- and we're happy that we are able to do so.

View the fxphd tour
This is a short QuickTime movie which explains how fxphd works. It goes over how you register for courses, how they are distributed, and what the curriculum is all about. It's a must watch!

Check out the fxphd overview
Next, check out the fxphd overview -- our FAQ about the site. Members have helped us develop this page in order to better answer your questions.

When you're ready to join -- create an account and pay for the term.



about fxphd


fxphd is an online vfx training program led by visual effects professionals. We offer both application and craft-based courses, online forums for feedback, and vpn software. For an introdction to the site, check out our QuickTime tour of fxphd..

Members of fxphd -- called postgrads -- will have access to the high quality footage from this and other shoots as well as other effects material, such as traditional 2D animation and advanced multi-pass 3D render. This allows them to create their own composites and build shots for their reels under the instruction of fxphd Professors. Footage ranges from NTSC and PAL all the way up to 4:4:4 1920x1080 imagery.

Our postgrads range in jobs from managing directors and CEOs of VFX companies to 3D artists and flame artists. But it doesn't stop there -- we were pleased to count as members freelance editors, PXC producers, web designers, traditional animators, and telecine assistants. fxphd even made inroads on-set with photographers, DOPs, and the odd live action Director who just wanted to be more informed and technically savvy.

Over the short one-year history of fxphd, we've grown to become the leading online subscription site for high-end post-production training. Over 90% of our members rate fxphd a "brilliant" or "great" value for their money -- with the same percentage rating their course professors "great" or "exceptional". Our goal is to provide structured training which builds term upon term and our postgrad members have loved the approach.

Feel free to drop by the forums and post questions in our Help Desk. We'll answer your questions as soon as we are able and if we don't get to it, it's likely one of our members will. You'll find our forums to be incredibly high level - with very little noise. And don't forget to listen to our weekly fxphDOD podcast -- you can listen to this week's episode and all past ones by visiting our fxphd podcast page.

img_8000_s.jpgWe had a great time last week preparing for the dv Rebel lighting class.
When we did the first course, Stu wanted more backyard built professional rigs.. so we have been trying to follow up on that this week. One of the fun ones was a desk light using a circular fluorescent light fitting. It is designed with a magnifying glass so you can look through the magnifying glass at something lit by this round light. We found one of these as damaged floor stock at a local lighting shop for under a hundred dollars got them to swap the light for a 5000K colour temp globe and then back at the office we popped out the middle magnifying glass… bingo - circular “kino flo style ring light” !

Now I am sure the kino Flo one is better - but ours comes with a handy stand to hold it and theirs costs around US$1250.

Anyway with just one desk lamp light - no flash - no photoshop… we have a cool portrait light.

It works best with wide angle lenses - but I got to say - dv Rebel or as I called it OSIPSFM “old school innovative problem solving film” is fun!

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"A-class Professors and A-class film footage - makes fxphd different."

Kenneth is a Visual Effect Artist in Denmark.






Other student quotes

"I have learned a tremendous amount from each of my classes and I'm SO inspired every time I finish a class.  My department has been floored by my increase in quality and production since the beginning of Term 1.  Not only in the applications for the classes I'm taking, but somehow they give me insight and a 'big picture' perspective for the projects as a whole.  I'm not as intimidated by programs or requests that we get."

David Womack, work in Grapevine TX (Dallas, Ft Worth Area) as a Post Production Manager, specializing in Motion GFX.


"Being self-taught, I am always on the lookout for training that will take me to the next level. fxPHD is the exact training community that I have been searching for. I say community because fxPHD is much more than just online training. With fxPHD, I get the specialized knowledge I need, feedback from industry pros, interaction with other students, content for my reel and all this from the comfort of my home. What more could you ask for? fxPHD rocks! "

Wes McDermott is based in Louisville, Kentucky, doing multimedia


"I can definitely say that it has exceeded my expectations. Didn't doubt the expertise of the professors, just based on the fact that usually most initiatives of this kind have a (very) slow start. fxphd has had a flying start. Being able to learn about advanced topics like optical flow, having access to production quality footage and great lectures that are delivered always on time - definitely worth every cent. From the last podcasts, it appears that there some great courses that will be offered next term".

Mihail Temelkov,a particle animator based in Vancouver Canada.