Insider's Guide - Westerdals, Kristiania University College
We speak to Kaja Kowalczyk, in her third year of a bachelor’s degree in Visual Effects, about the ins and outs of studying at Westerdals, Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway.
Whether you’re already at school, looking to find a new school or even considering moving overseas to study, nothing beats hearing from the students themselves! We speak to Kaja Kowalczyk, a third-year student of a bachelor’s degree in Visual Effects, about the ins and outs of studying at Westerdals, Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway.
Kristiania University College
The Visual Effects (VFX) Bachelor program at Westerdals, Kristiania University College, is Norway’s biggest VFX education. Focus is on compositing, VFX supervision and general VFX engineering built on a solid foundation of drawing, photography and colour.
Andrew McDonald
The Specifics
What’s the name of your school?
Westerdals, Kristiania University College.
What’s the name of the neighbourhood?
Brenneriveien, Oslo.
Closest train station or public transport option?
Oslo Central Station – Oslo S.
How long have you been there?
Almost two years and three months.
Why did you choose to study here?
Some of my friends highly recommended the school for me. I heard that Westerdals had a great program with many talented and experienced teachers.
There are a lot of different creative studies at Westerdals like: 3D, Game Design, SFX, Acting etc. At first I wanted to apply for Game Design because I wanted to work with CG and Storytelling, but after discovering VFX, I found it was the right direction for me.
The VFX-program has so much to it! You will learn about storyboarding, colour design, 3D-modelling, compositing, filmmaking, onset supervision etc. Everything I wanted to learn and work with I could, thanks to this amazing program.
The Scene
The first thing you see when you walk outside your school?
The first thing I see when I walk outside the school is a graffiti-wall. There is some cool street art in Brenneriveien where the VFX-department is.
The closest shop to outside your school is:
Kiwi and Rema 1000 (grocery stores), Oslo City (shopping centre).
Your school is great, but you wouldn't mind a bit less:
Can't think of anything!
The unofficial uniform of your school is:
Anything goes!
A mandatory stop for anyone new to your city:
-Opera House, Holmenkollen, Vigeland Sculpture Park and The Palace Park.
A massive night out for students at your school is likely to be:
Probably “Lawo”, “Heidis” or “John’s Bar”.
The Superlatives
You won’t find a better place to eat than at:
One thing you’d never change about your school is:
Relationship between students and teachers. All the teachers are super motivated to help you, they are very experienced and will guide you and give you all the tools you need to succeed in the work-life.
Also, the opportunity to work with other departments. It is so cool to work on a project with the 3D-department, Script, SFX, Film etc. You will make something creative, learn from each other, and get experience working with other departments – as you will do when working in a big studio.
But one thing you wouldn’t mind seeing changed is:
More space/ larger room for the VFX department.
Someone gives you $1M to pimp out your school. You use it to:
It would be nice to have a bigger Campus, so that the VFX-department has more space to work and relax in during the breaks. Maybe also better computers... otherwise I am quite satisfied with my school.
You can find Kaja's work on The Rookies, Facebook and LinkedIn.