Every year, aspiring VFX artists look for opportunities to put their skills to the test, solve real creative challenges, and showcase their talent. 24FPS, MAAC's flagship student competition, provides exactly that platform.

Bringing together students from across MAAC centres, 24FPS celebrates creativity, technical excellence, and storytelling across multiple creative disciplines, including animation, gaming, filmmaking, VFX, digital design, and more. Over the years, it has become one of India's most anticipated student creative competitions, giving participants the opportunity to work on projects that mirror real industry workflows.

One of the most exciting categories in the competition is the 24FPS VFX Challenge. Participants receive professionally shot footage and are challenged to transform it into something extraordinary through the power of visual effects.

What makes this an even greater learning opportunity at MAAC? Students get an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience of the entire shoot process. From planning VFX shots and setting up cameras to briefing actors and executing the shoot, every stage is demonstrated and witnessed live. This firsthand exposure helps students understand not only the creative possibilities of VFX, but also the planning, coordination, and technical expertise required to bring a vision to life on screen.

This year's VFX Shoot was created specifically for that purpose.

What Is the 24FPS VFX Shoot?

The 24FPS VFX Shoot is the foundation of the VFX Challenge.

MAAC creates a professionally planned and executed live-action shoot. Every shot is captured with post-production in mind, allowing participants to focus on applying their VFX skills while working with production-quality footage.

The footage captured during this shoot becomes the creative canvas for every participant. From adding CGI and creating fantasy environments to enhancing action sequences or building entirely new worlds, students get the freedom to tell their own story using the same source material.

This approach closely reflects the way visual effects are created in the film, television, advertising, and gaming industries.

Planning Every Shot for Post-Production

Creating footage for a VFX challenge requires far more planning than a conventional video shoot.

Long before the cameras start rolling, the production team carefully plans every aspect of the shoot from scripting and shot composition to camera movement, lighting, and continuity. Every creative decision is made with one goal: ensuring the footage can seamlessly support visual effects during post-production.

This planning process gives participants footage that is technically sound and ready for professional VFX workflows.

Lights, Camera, Precision

On shoot day, every department works together to capture footage that meets industry standards.

The crew carefully manages lighting, camera setups, multiple takes, and production continuity to ensure every frame can be effectively enhanced later. Maintaining consistency throughout the shoot is essential, as even small variations can affect compositing and CGI integration during post-production.

Behind every successful VFX sequence is a production team working in perfect coordination.

Turning Raw Footage into Extraordinary Worlds

Once the shoot is complete, the footage is shared with participants across MAAC centres.

Although every participant receives the same clips, the final outcomes are never the same.

Some may create futuristic cities, while others build fantasy landscapes, cinematic action scenes, creature effects, or entirely new realities. Every submission reflects the participant's imagination, storytelling ability, and technical expertise.

Throughout the challenge, students apply industry-relevant techniques such as:

• Matchmoving
• Rotoscoping
• Compositing
• CGI integration
• Lighting and shadow matching
• Colour correction and grading
• Rendering and final output

These are the same workflows followed by professionals working across films, OTT productions, advertising, and gaming.

Learning Beyond the Competition

The 24FPS VFX Challenge is more than a competition; it's an opportunity to experience how professional productions move from planning and filming to post-production.

Working with production-ready footage helps students understand real studio pipelines, strengthen problem-solving skills, and create portfolio-worthy work that demonstrates both creativity and technical ability.

Just as importantly, it highlights that successful visual effects are the result of collaboration between directors, cinematographers, production crews, editors, and VFX artists working together to bring a vision to life.

Build Your VFX Skills with MAAC

Inspired by the 24FPS VFX Challenge? Whether you're just starting your creative journey or looking to sharpen your technical expertise, MAAC's Visual Effects programs are designed to prepare you for the demands of today's media and entertainment industry.

MAAC's VFX courses combine hands-on learning with industry-standard software and production workflows, helping students master skills such as digital compositing, CG integration, rotoscopy, motion tracking, matchmoving, lighting, rendering, and virtual cinematography. Students also work on real-world projects and portfolio-building assignments that reflect professional studio environments.

Depending on your career goals, you can choose from specialized programs such as:

• ADVFX PLUS – An advanced program covering high-end VFX production, procedural effects, simulations, advanced rendering, and studio pipelines for feature films and OTT productions.
• VFX PLUS – A comprehensive Visual Effects program that covers compositing, motion tracking, CGI, motion graphics, editing, and production-ready VFX workflows.
• Compositing & Editing Plus – A specialized course focused on compositing, editing, and the final stages of post-production.

Whether your dream is to work on blockbuster films, streaming content, advertisements, or gaming projects, MAAC's industry-aligned curriculum equips you with the technical expertise, creative confidence, and practical experience needed to build a successful career in Visual Effects.

Every Great Visual Effect Begins with a Single Frame

The cameras may have stopped rolling, but the creative journey is only beginning.

As participants receive the footage from the 24FPS VFX Shoot, they'll have the opportunity to transform every frame into something unique, proving that imagination has no limits when paired with the right skills.

The 24FPS VFX Shoot isn't just about capturing footage it's about giving the next generation of VFX artists the opportunity to think like professionals, create like storytellers, and bring their vision to life, one frame at a time.