Victor Tolila

A look back at your years at ESMA

WHAT WAS YOUR CURRICULUM BEFORE JOINING ESMA? AND YOUR COURSE AT ESMA?

I have always loved art, drawing, etc. Unlike many people, I did an applied arts baccalaureate. So I was very interested in this field before ESMA. I told myself that this was what I wanted to do. Clearly ESMA was the continuity, the logical path. I am from Nice. I considered several schools but I really liked what ESMA offered in terms of end-of-year short films. It was my first choice!

HOW DID YOU FEEL DURING YOUR STUDIES IN 3D ANIMATION?

I didn’t do a MANAA, my course lasted three years*. Globally, I keep a very good memory of the school even if they were years that required a lot of work. I am also very satisfied with the training. Today, I’ve shifted a little towards graphic design but I still apply the notions I learned during my 3D course, which shows that ESMA shows us many facets of the profession. As I said, the school is demanding, and I thought that was justified. You can’t go to ESMA by halves (sic). It’s really a daily commitment. I lived it well, which is not necessarily the case for everyone.

At the end of my studies, I participated in the short film L’aviatrice, which was inspired by Jaqueline Auriol, the first woman to break the sound barrier in 1953.

HOW DID YOUR PROFESSIONAL IMMERSION GO AFTER YOU GRADUATED FROM ESMA?

Starting in October 2016, I went to Copenhagen for a month through a contact on LinkedIn as a Lighting Artist for Ghost VFX. I worked on the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. That was cool! Once there, another contact offered me to join MPC in Canada in Montreal as a Lighting Artist.

The first three months, we had to go through a training in the MPC Academy. Then I was hired. I convinced other friends to join the academy (Vincent Barré, Lucas Germain). We did well! I stayed two years and a half collaborating on a dozen films including Dumbo for Disney and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms for Disney.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE THE WORK OF A LIGHTNING ARTIST ?

It’s a very specific job. We light 3D scenes to give an atmosphere. We don’t touch the rendering, the modeling, etc. I have deepened my knowledge in a very specific field!

WAS IT A CHOICE TO GO TO SEVERAL COUNTRIES OR DID YOU RESPOND TO OPPORTUNITIES?

That’s it! What’s great about our job is that we can work internationally. I told myself, I’m young so I might as well take advantage of the opportunities. Montreal is a really nice city. That’s why I stayed there for a long time.

Your career path

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CURRENT ACTIVITY ? WHAT DOES IT CONSIST OF?

Many of my friends stayed in 3D. Me, from one day to the next, I stopped everything. Since June 2019, I haven’t touched a single 3D software. I started my own company. I had loved my early career but I told myself, at a certain point, that the 3D industry was not necessarily for me. I had more ambition than to stay in a company where there are two thousand people and spend fifteen years working my way up.

I asked myself! What do I like? I like images, I like sports and especially soccer. So I might as well start my own business! I had contacts, there was an opportunity in soccer with people willing to pay for content. I first settled in Nice and now I live in Paris. I created Coloniale Design Club. Quickly, I had contacts like Adidas, to create visuals, animations and motion design for social networks. I touch everything. I use Photoshop at 90%. I learned to use it perfectly at ESMA.

SPECIFICALLY, DO YOU HAVE SPORTSMEN, CLUBS AS CLIENTS?

I worked for a year with Raphaël Varane when he was at Real Madrid for visuals. I also have a player named Julian Weigl who plays for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga (editor’s note: German championship). Every week, I make visuals to announce matches for example. I can make videos for him, etc. I also did things for Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund). One of my biggest clients is Adidas. For Benzema’s Ballon d’Or, I did visuals for Adidas’ social networks. I also work for the Ligue 1 on visuals.

I also worked for Roland-Garros, the Tennis Federation. At 90 %, I do in the soccer. It works well! I now have a student employee working alongside me. I’ve learned how to manage a company, it’s very stimulating. I work for myself, I am autonomous, financially it’s going well!

Clearly, I am very satisfied with my career path which is, it is true, a bit atypical. Graphic design for sports is my identity.

WHY DID YOU NAME YOUR COMPANY COLONIAL DESIGN CLUB?

The street where I lived in Montreal was called Colonial Street. And so I took this name! Design, you can see why! And the word club to make the link with sports.

YOU ARE FAR FROM CG animation…

Yes, but my CG course opened my mind. I don’t regret anything. There are concepts that I use every day but that I didn’t learn at ESMA. ESMA gave me the basics, the foundations. I’m adapting!

To conclude

AND IN 5 YEARS, WHERE WILL YOU BE ? AN ULTIMATE AMBITION IN THE MEDIUM OR LONG TERM?

I want to develop my company. With three or four more people, expand my palette and my collaborations. An ultimate ambition? To be really recognized in the soccer world. Why not!

ANY ADVICE FOR FUTURE STUDENTS?

If you have an artistic streak in you, go for it! ESMA gives you a solid know-how. With this knowledge, you have to keep working. Motivation makes you go forward!

Image credits: Victor Tolila – Coloniale Design Club

Website: coloniale-dc.com

*Today, the CG Animation & FX Master Degree is a 5-year program, the first year of which is dedicated to a leveling up in drawing (optional depending on the applicant’s profile)