From a scratch to leading towards the dream: An Ambitious Journey of a Bangladeshi VFX Artist and his company

Today our team encountered an ambitious young individual and VFX artist. Mr. Tanvir Ahmed Akash, a regular customer of Ryans, but most importantly a VFX artist by profession and co-founder and owner of OPAQUE VFX. That organization is working successfully with clients outside the country. Recently he purchased 3 desktop PCs, Macbook Pro and other components from our IDB Branch. 

Sitting in a district town in Jamalpur, Bangladesh, this is really an overwhelming journey to share with our readers. Hopefully our readers will also be inspired by this rising story. In the interview we wanted to know about his studies, career and his dreams about OPAQUE VFX.   

Question 01: First of all, welcome to the conversation. You have been a regular customer of Ryans for a long time. Specifically, if we want to know from you, how many years have you been there buying products from Ryans?

Tanvir Ahmed: Well, I have been bringing products from Ryans since 2013-14 from my student life.

Question 02: The most interesting thing is your profession. You are working in an industry that is in great demand right now. Hopefully, our readers will also be enlightened by learning about you. But before you go into that, please give us a little knowledge about your studies and especially the story behind coming to this creative media.

Tanvir Ahmed- I started studying Graphics Design from Govt. Graphics Arts Institute in Dhaka. There I enrolled in a diploma course. After completing my course in 2017, I entered another course at Maverick Studio. There were ten of us. From there 7 of us came out with scholarships. Then, in September 2017, I joined as an employee at Maverick Studio. Since then, I have involved myself more to gather knowledge on rotoscoping technology, video mixing, after effects etc.

Question 03: How did OPAQUE VFX get started?

Tanvir Ahmed- When the Corona epidemic starts, I have to come back to my home from Dhaka. The idea for OPAQUE VFX literally started from there. While thinking about what to do, I came up with a thought of OPAQUE VFX. At first, I started training with some boys in the area. Surprisingly, they acquired basic skills in no time. Gradually, getting some work from foreign clients and it eventually increased our self-confidence.

Question 04: Managing clients from all over the world from district town, Jamalpur - how did you get this courage?

Tanvir Ahmed- When I started my journey in 2020, I didn't really think of anything. But in this case, courage and will-power have taken me forward.

Question 05: What are the prospects of the VFX industry in Bangladesh? And what do you say to those who are working as freelancers?

Tanvir Ahmed- This industry has developed a lot from before. And I hope good times are ahead. Those who have worked for Freelancers are also doing quite well. However, I always feel the need for skill development and training.

Question 06: What is the availability of modern editing software and video editing PCs in our market right now? Did you face any problems?

Tanvir Ahmed- There are enough products in the market. But updated products take time to come. In this case, I hope the authorities need to pay attention.

Question 07: What are the things you like about Ryans?

Tanvir Ahmed- First of all, customer care support is very good. I have always received the highest support from them. Regarding this, I need to talk about an incident. ‘Once I built a big PC and took it from Ryans. For whatever reason, I didn’t get the display. The problem was eventually the motherboard. After informing customer care, my problem was solved within two days. It was truly a nice experience from the customer care team. Also, those who are on your sales team are qualified regarding technical knowledge. So, it’s altogether a pleasing experience.

Question 08: Anything that Ryans thinks should change?

Tanvir Ahmed: Well, I think it would be nice if Ryans could come up with updated products very quickly. In addition, your warranty center is more crowded. That needs a little attention.

Question 09: Talented VFX artists from Bangladesh are already making their mark individually on the world stage like at the Oscars. You must have a dream like that. Want to know about the future plans of Opaque VFX.

Tanvir Ahmed: Even though it is not so big, my dream is to get closer to it at anyhow. For now, I want to make my team bigger. And at the same time I want to arrange training with potential performers. Because this industry demands professionals who can do challenging work. So, that is my goal, to involve more potential individuals in my team. At the same time, my another dream is to work in full production. Me and my team are doing a few project-based work here and there as a freelancer company. But to go to the next level, you have to do full production work. To achieve such things as a Bangladeshi VFX studio is what I'm looking for.

Question 10: Lastly, thank you very much for your valuable time. If you want to say something about Ryan's customers and readers of our blog.

Tanvir Ahmed - Many thanks to everyone at Ryans and hope for the best.