In this conversation, Kofi interviews Richard Clark, the head of visualisation and VFX supervisor at Cinesite, to discuss the role of visualisation in the industry. We explore the origins and evolution of visualisation, the use of real-time tools like Unreal Engine, and the impact of virtual production. Richard emphasizes the importance of quick wo…

In this episode, I chat to VFX Comp Supervisor Ruth Meridjen about the state of the VFX industry in 2024 and the impact of the pandemic on production. The slow ramp-up of production and the greenlighting of projects are discussed. The future of the industry and the role of AI in filmmaking are examined, with a focus on the limitations and regulatio…

Exploitation of VFX Artists - With Senior CG Generalist Mark Woodcock | TVAP EP58 In this episode, I chat to senior CG Generalist Mark Woodcock about the exploitation of Artists in the VFX industry, following his recent and ongoing dispute with IXOR Visual FX. Mark joins the podcast to enlighten us, for the purpose of informing and educating other …

The health of the VFX industry in 2024, with foudner of MOTUS Kurt Maclachlan | TVAP EP57 In this episode, I chat to Kurt Maclachlan about the status of the VFX in 2024. We discuss where things are at currently, what needs to be done for a better future of the VFX industry and more! 00:00 Introduction and Background 02:48 Causes of the Strikes 04:2…

The Man Who Wrote The Book on Compositing with Ron Brinkman | TVAP EP56 When I embarked on my compositing journey, Ron Brinkmann's book, "The Art and Science of Digital Compositing," proved to be an invaluable resource. It provided a wealth of visual information and included a DVD with footage for hands-on practice. Even today, this book remains a …

This week's guest is co-founder of FXGuide, arguably the first and foremost podcast and blog in our field. He also co-founded FXPhd which was my route into the industry so this was a massive honor for me. We dive deep into Neural Rendering (which Mike has been involved with since 1999) machine learning and practical applications within visual effec…

In this episode with Matt Merkovich of The Matchmoving Company, we talk about the importance of 3D tracking/matchmove in the VFX industry and what it means to be a matchmove artist. Matt is an expert user of Syntheyes and has been a great influencer in getting it where it is today. He also uses it for almost all of his work, spiralling almost three…

Inside VFX Recruitment with Melissa Blakey, Global Head of Talent at Crafty Apes | TVAP EP53 (P-1) For many VFX Recruitment is a bit of a black box - we send off our reels and CV and then hope for the best. This week we go behind the curtain with Crafty Apes, Global Head of talent, Melissa Blakey. We cover Melissa's own fascinating career - she sta…

This is a hot topic with "No AI" trending on Artstation and pending court cases we spoke to Director, Filmmaker and Game Designer Alvaro García Martínezwho has been heavily engaged with this topic. Alvaro worked as VFX Artist for 10 years at London's top studios before founding Mayhem Mirror, his own Game Design studio. So he has experience as an e…

In the first episode of 2023, we felt it quite important to start the year right, by bringing you some much necessary tips from a VFX recruiter, should you be looking to take on a new role. We are therefore pleased to have Sophie Maydon, former VFX Global Head of HR, Recruitment and PR at DNEG (Double Negative), and Director, VFX Talent & Recruitme…

This week we catch up with a rising star in the industry, Rishabh Laheja, a Junior Digital Compositor at MPC. Realizing that a career in IT was not for him. Rishabh began studying nights and eventually putting together a compositing showreel with the help of working industry teachers and mentors he reached out to via Linkedin. Launching his new car…

What does it take to be a lighting artist? with Jasmine Katatikarn | TVAP EP49 This week we catch up with Jasmine Katatikarn, lighting artist and co-founder of the Academy of Animated Art. We discuss finding your career path at any stage in life, what it takes to be a lighting artist, what makes a successful lighting application to top VFX, and ani…

This week we caught up with Courtney Pryce. The industry veterans know him from his years as a Creative Specialist at Foundry. We cover a lot of ground, beginning in the "Rock&Roll" years of London VFX in the early 2000s. Also covering the role of the Creative Specialist and the secrets of financial stability as a Compositor. Courtney worked with U…

Behind The Desk with Hugo Guerra | TVAP EP47 Hugo Guerra, Director, VFX supervisor, and creator of Hugo's Desk. In this episode, Kofi chats to Hugo about his career in the VFX industry. Uncovering decisions and steps that have made Hugo the Director and Supervisor he is today. With an incredible industry footprint, Hugo has a huge voice across the …

I Sold Gum. Now I Blow Things Up! With Action VFX Founder and CEO Rodolphe Pierre-Louis | TVAP EP46 I am pretty sure you've heard of Action VFX, I've used them in my own shots! So we managed to get the Founder and CEO on the show to talk about his career. It's a success story that very nearly wasn't! This is a great one for any artists or filmmaker…

AI in the VFX & Creative Industry: Impact, Issues & Solutions | TVAP EP45 Join us, as we discuss the impact of AI in the VFX & Creative industry. With the rise of platforms such as Midjourney, Dalle-2, and Stable Diffusion influencing artists, we bring forth this open discussion about what the impact could be for our industries if certain laws and …

This week it's been a real pleasure to meet Paul Miller and Marco Paolini - Software Developer and Product Manager behind the Oscar winning software, Boris Silhouette. Despite advances in AI, manual rotoscoping and invisible paintouts are still an essential bullwark of the VFX industry and not going away anytime soon. We begin our discussion with t…

In this episode, we chat to María Carriedo, CG Lead at Freefolk and former colleague of Daniel's at The Mill. Born in Mexico, María studied VFX at the prestigious Gnomon School in LA before working at Psyops on commercials. Since then she moved to London to work at The Mill before her current role. In this interview we learn about María's journey i…

Jörundur Rafn Arnarson returns after exchanging the frozen mountains of Iceland for the Deserts for his recent VFX Supervisor role on "Rise of The Witches". We talk about how extreme environments influence filmmakers, the route from Compositing to VFX Supervision, "bad CGI", helicopters and much much more. With a Supervisor whose body of work range…

In this episode, we chat to Rebecca Holdstock, senior matchmove and rotomation artist at Cinesite London about her VFX career, spiralling over a decade in some of London's well known and biggest studios, through to becoming a mother of two and the change that comes with being a working mother. I had the privilege of working with Rebecca at Cinesite…

In this episode, I had the biggest opportunity to chat to Rolf Schneider, owner of Science-D-Visions, about how he Created 3DEqualizer For The VFX Industry. Looking back at the evolving digital scene in the 80's and 90's, we discuss working on the Commodore 64 and Amiga, to creating the first version of 3DEqualizer in 1996, to MPC and ILM purchasin…

In this episode, I chat to Yin Wu, a Junior CG Artist at The Mill, Shanghai, about his experience and journey into the Chinese VFX industry. My curiosity of the Chinese industry, leads me to chase for comparisons between the U.K. VFX industry - Finding similarities and differences on topics like work-life-balance and how the industry differentiates…

In this episode, we chat to Atem Kuol about how he became a VFX coordinator. Starting up as a witness camera operator and venturing into VFX production before embarking on 'Death on the Nile' as assistant coordinator, Atem gives us the low down on his experiences and how he made it into the VFX industry from his early beginnings in the live TV indu…

This week we catch up with Senior Compositor and trainer, Josh Parks for a lively discussion of all things tech, industry and career related. Starting out as "The wildcard choice" for MPC's training program, he has built an impressive career with credits including: Jungle Book, Transformers: The Last Knight, Ready Player One, Wonder Woman, Guardian…

Part 2 of our discussion with Christina Mandia continues, with this last part focusing on Christina's VFX industry journey, going all the way back to her first interests and influence, education, as well as showreel and general advice for current and aspiring mothers and animators. Christina’s journey as a VFX animator, begun with an entry into the…

This week, we have the amazing Christina Mandia, animator at Cinesite London, giving us an insight into how she tackles her maternal role, whilst being a better, more efficient animator. Christina goes on to share some very important information on maternity leave pay for employees and freelancers through the government schemes, as well as employee…

In this episode, we chat to Jeremy Lasky & Danny Gonzalez, founders of Perception to learn more about the creation of what's become one of the most influential and important VFX & creative studios globally. Perception has brought us title sequences and HUD's (heads up displays) for films such as Iron Man, Black Panther, Loki, Wandavision, Spiderman…

Have you got an idea for a game you would love to bring to life? This week we catch up with VFX Supervisor, Mohsen Mousavi and Look Dev Artist, Hugh Behroozy who are doing exactly that with their new venture, Blinkmoon. We discuss their impressive VFX careers and their time at Scanline, where they met and worked on projects such as Game of Thrones,…

In this episode, we chat to VFX generalist and author, Vicki Lau, about her take on being a female multi-disciplinary artist in the VFX industry. We also find out why she chose to write two books about her experience in the VFX industry, titled 'Why I Do VFX' (The untold truths about working in visual effects) and 'Not your starving artist' (Making…

With credits including The Batman, Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond Thor, Love and Thunder its's no wonder we've been wanting to catch up with Freelance Compositor, Shonda Hunt. But in the end she got in touch with us after we asked about the issues facing mothers working in the VFX industry. So in this two pronged interview Daniel and Shonda discuss th…

In this episode, we chat to Baptiste Jaquemet, a senior Houdini FX TD and generalist, about his journey into the VFX industry and how his journey has led him to work at the studio that inspired his interest in VFX - Weta. Baptiste's journey is an interesting one, and we talk about his early beginnings, his love for Blender, and Houdini, negative ex…

In the second installment of our interview with veteran VFX Artist and filmmaker, Sean Cunningham we go into detail about the process used on the 1990's action movie True Lies for the missile sequence - featuring some of the earliest uses of Nuke digital compositing at Digital Domain as well as an early version of SideFX Houdini (Prisms). We talk a…

We go all the way back the 1990's in this 2 part interview with Sean Cunningham, a veteran of the VFX industry whose credits as an FX Artists include films such as True Lies, Strange Days, The Fifth Element, Godzilla, Oh Brother Where Art Thou and who has directed and produced independent feature films in his own right. This journey takes us from t…

In this episode, Kofi chats to Filipe Magalhães, Realtime supervisor at NVIZ about Unreal engine and all things realtime. We do a deep dive into Unreal engine in the use for previs, VFX, and Virtual production, compare it to Unity, and retrace Filipe's journey into the industry. Following up on that, we discus the education, diversity and represent…

On today’s episode, we have Jamie Bakewell in the hot seat to discuss all things previs and postvis, starting from his journey into the industry , to the decisions which led to the creation of his Previs studio in the midlands - Bigtooth Studios. Jamie’s incredible first job with Aardman, soon after graduating in 2009 from Staffordshire University …

This week Daniel caught up with Layout Artist who has 7 Oscar Nominated films, as well as an Emmy and a Goya under her belt! Many of our Spanish speaking audience may already be familiar with Carolina as she runs an incredibly popular VFX and film Youtube, blog and Twitter account as Okingrafia. Carolina is a Lead Layout Artist at Scanline, most re…

In this episode, we conclude our two-part episode with Michael Morgan, a U.K. based senior character animator and animation mentor about his journey into the industry and working with some of the most highly respected studios in the world. Michael has over two decades of experience in the VFX industry, and has contributed to some of your favourite …

In this episode, we chat to Michael Morgan, a U.K. based senior character animator and animation mentor about his journey into the industry and working with some of the most highly respected studios in the world. Michael has over two decades of experience in the VFX industry, and has contributed to some of your favourite movies and characters on th…

In this episode we meet with Arpita Venugopal, Head of FX at One of Us and a highly accomplished Houdini Artist. We talk about her career in FX and how it has increased her appreciation for the beauty in the World. She gives advice for showreels and applications based on her role as a Head of Department and in recruitment. We discuss managing artis…

In this episode we chat to Maik Pham Quang, a Matchmove lead at Framestore London, about his career progression, as a runner, through to becoming a matchmove lead, with a decade's experience, to transitioning and changing departments to pursue his interest in the lighting department as a lighting TD. Maik tells us about how it is leading and managi…

In this episode we complete our rundown of 2021. Daniel and Kofi discuss some of the themes raised in the episodes, as well as clips. Topics include VFX Editing, Previs, Realtime and Unreal Engine, discrimination and racism in the industry, independent filmmaking, Nuke, Blender, Unreal, VFX software development, Costume Design, VFX Editing, game ci…

This has been a rollercoaster year for many of us and The VFX Artists Podcast is no exception. A toddlers decision to play with toy cars at 3am changed the fate of 2 VFX artists who met up to reflect on how far the podcast has come in less than a year. With guests ranging from Matchmove Artists to Compositors, VR Developers to Stunt Performers, Cha…

This week, on The VFX Artists Podcast, we speak to Beaumont Loewenthal about his journey to the industry and delve into his path to VFX assisting and editing at some great studios, on some very familiar feature films, to becoming a VFX editor on Star Wars Andor at Lucasfilm. In this episode, we discuss routes to entry into the VFX industry, and dis…

This week, on The VFX Artists Podcast, my curiosity with how movies are made and brought to life, brought me to a discussion with London based film director, writer and producer Marcus Flemmings. On this episode, I find out about Marcus’ background and journey to becoming a film director, talk about his new film Blonde Purple, out on November 30th,…

This week we talk with Christy Anzelmo, Chief Product Officer at Foundry and before that Director of Product for the Nuke family of projects. We take a tour of her career, beginning in the fashion industry before moving in to VFX, her role in leading development on one of the most widely used compositing softwares in the industry, and on the uses o…

In this episode, we chat to Floyd Billingy, a U.K. based realtime supervisor and environment artist for the games and VFX industry about his transition into the industry, how he became an environment artist and a realtime supervisor, as well as how black artists perceive and feel about working in the gaming and VFX industry. Floyd's career is colou…

This week we meet Christopher Nichols, veteran VFX Supervisor and Director of the Chaos Group Labs. Chris’s career in computer graphics spans over 20 years, beginning in architecture and quickly moving to major motion pictures and later commercials at: Digital Domain, Sony Pictures, Method, Sway Studios and others. As this is Daniel’s first time ho…

In this episode, I chat to Simon Legrand, realtime Supervisor at Untold Studios in London about his journey into the VFX industry. During this discussion, Simon shares his unsugarcoated journey and story of the realities of the VFX industry, worth listening to. We talk about some of the pros and cons of working in the VFX industry, and touch on top…

In this episode, I have an incredibly detailed chat to the founders of the Black Costume Network, Rianna Charles and Jodie-Simone Howe about how their role as costume designers and makers, work in the film and TV industry. During this discussion, I get to find out about their individual journeys/paths into the industry, discuss the difference betwe…

Welcome back to The VFX Artists Podcast! In this episode, I chat to 18 year old VFX enthusiast, inspired and brilliant 3D Generalist Ty Robillard about how be discovered VFX, and how he picked up his multitude of skills at an early age, with more potential to flourish into a fledgling VFX artist. Ty's inspiration for VFX, derived from the beautiful…