We caught up with Sam White, School of Engineering and Digital Arts alumnus, to find out more about his career since leaving Kent.
In addition to an undergraduate degree in Digital Arts, Sam also studied MSc Digital Visual Effects at Kent and graduated in December 2020.
In Feb 2021, Sam started working at Random42 as a 3D Generalist. Random42 are the global leader in providing 3D medical animation and scientific storytelling solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industry.
What does a typical day in your current role look like?
As a 3D Generalist, I have had the opportunity to be hands on through the entire 3D pipeline; from modelling, lighting, texturing and composting, to animation and simulations. In between meetings and production work, I will squeeze in some Research and Development time in areas I feel I need to improve on.
How do you feel your time at Kent prepared you for working in the industry?
The course taught me how to use current, industry standard software, such as, Maya, Nuke and the Adobe Suite.
I was given the opportunity to be involved in a collaborative project with an overseas university in projection-mapping (full video here and Sam’s trailer here). It was a great experience working with friends and other students abroad.
In the four years I was at Kent, the feedback I got from my lecturers and friends helped train my eye on how things should look and behave, and this has helped me with what I am doing now, being able to listen to advice and keep on improving until I get to the best result.
What was your favourite memory from your time at Kent?
In my Masters degree, on an FX assignment, I was making a short clip of a DNA strand, inspired by one of the scenes from the movie “Prometheus”. During the look development stages, it was the first time where I felt genuine excitement in my work. I remember showing everyone just an early still image render. I submitted the work to the Lumen Arts Student Award, and it managed to get all the way to the finals!
Are you working on any exciting projects that you can share?
I have been working on some very cool projects, some of which I’m not allowed to share! Here’s a preview video showcasing a bite-sized project that was designed to teach me all the fundamentals and workflows of Random42’s production:
And here are a few shots of some early practice work:
What are your plans for the future?
I plan to continue as a 3D Generalist at Random42. In the future, I aspire to go on to be an FX artist / FX Technical Director. There’s immense satisfaction watching a simulation manifest into something truly amazing.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow the same career path?
Build friendships. Share and learn from others. Learn to work in a team. Be humble. Get used to critical feedback and iterating on your projects.
Thank you Sam! You can keep up-to-date with Sam’s work on his Vimeo, LinkedIn, or Facebook. You can also view Sam’s show reel, here:
https://vimeo.com/487995848