hello everyone!

i've done work before in maya and am at a pretty decent level for the local crop of maya users in my school. i've added some visual effects so real-life pictures using compositing in applications like photoshop, and have now decided to try and take it to the next level... video compositing with 3d special effects.

what i mean by 3d special effects can be anything from simply adding a few objects into a video scene that weren't there before to a full-on Lord of the Rings or Matrix-esque battle sequence. something i have in mind at the moment is to create a robot that walks around a hallway. of course i'll be digitally adding in the robot later on, to a video i've taken of a school corridor. next i might try to add protruding mechanical parts to real moving human arm.

the question is, where do i start to learn this stuff? what tools do i need? are there any primers out there for people like me? can't really go to a school for that right now since (a) i'm still finishing up my Computer Science degree, and (b) there are little to no schools for that here in the Philippines.

thanks for reading this, everyone. i'd appreciate any help you could give me.