Long time no post.
Since January 2014 I have been adjusting to my new position as the VFX lecturer at CG Protege animation school. That is my (lame) excuse for no post all these months. I found my work perspective changing from a VFX artist into a lecturer/trainer/facilitator.
I started with the frame of mind that teaching is a temporary position, so all I needed to do was to deliver materials. As long as I taught well enough such that my students learn the materials, I did my job well. I was willing to help with paperwork for lecturers, such as documenting syllabus and writing course notes, but I did not fully understand how to connect the big one-year long syllabus to 4-hour daily classes.
Then I attended a course on adult training called ACTA. It stands for Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment. (Sound rather fancy for what it really was, I thought.) Gradually, as the course progresses over the months, I saw a new world: the world of trainers (or, to use ACTA terminology, facilitator). I started to see myself as a trainer who happened to specialize in VFX rather than a VFX artist who happened to train. I realized that it was my job to connect one-year long syllabus to daily class delivery. The reason was not paperwork but material cohesion. If I understood how each day built up into a year-long program, I could deliver materials in a cohesive way.
I have to admit that there were times I found myself struggling with training ideas that were new to me. With reflection, though, I realized these ideas would make me a better person.
