The VFX Artists Podcast, hosted by Kofi Opoku-Ansah and Daniel Mark Miller is the spot for artists to share, learn and discover other artists in the VFX industry. We aim to bring artists from different levels and departments to discuss industry practice, software, processes, journey and more. We are a podcast made by artists for artists.

From Matchmove Lead to Lighting TD - How I did it - Maik Pham Quang | TVAP EP21

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Becoming the Best Compositor You Can With Shonda Hunt | TVAP EP31

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 the challenges of parenting while working compositing. We also discuss Shonda's career and inspirations. This interview gives valuable insights for working more efficiently in Foundry Nuke, building trust and credibility with producers and supervisors and tips for continual learning and improvement.

If you are interested in upping your compositing career you will not want to miss this one!

00:54 : How I got started
04:52 : Tutorials and Books
06:07 : Depper understanding
09:19 : Freelancing vs staff
28:33 : Advice to up your game
30:33 : Don't be afraid to test things out
31:32 : Read read read
33:50 : Custom tools and gizmos
37:35 : Being a parent in the VFX industry
40:44 : WFH and childcare
44:09 : Growing as an artist while working from home
45:24 : The value of blogging
49:37 : Hard greenscreens please!
56:30 : The value of feedback
58:45 : Becoming the go-to person for hard shots

Perspective of a Senior Houdini FX TD, with Baptiste Jaquemet | TVAP EP30

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 experiences in the VFX industry, and his dreams for the future.

We hope you enjoy! You can find our audio podcast on your favourite podcast player.




00:00:00 Episode Overview
00:01:24 Intro
00:01:47 Introducing Baptiste
00:03:44 Weta
00:05:10 Who/What inspired your VFX journey
00:08:08 Realisation of creative interest
00:09:28 Journey into the industry
00:13:08 Dark aspects of the industry - Part 1
00:16:20 VFX industry in France
00:17:39 Working as a Freelancer vs Contract
00:20:48 Let's talk Houdini
00:31:20 Watch Baptiste's short film
00:36:50 Best methods for learning Houdini
00:39:24 Pro's & Cons of working at different studios, as an FX TD
00:41:34 creative freeedom when it comes to simulating real world physics
00:43:49 Importance of understanding real world physics
00:45:31 Shading and lighting as an FX TD
00:47:58 FX showreel advice
00:49:51 Dark aspects of the industry - Part 2
00:52:05 OOO and dreams
00:55:37 Conclusion
As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!



Sean Cunningham Part 2, From Digital Domain to Indie Film and Rooster Teeth | TVAP EP29

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 about his role supervising on Strange Days and working on Oh Brother Where Art Thou with the first use of full DI on feature film. We discuss how he raised funds, produced and distributed two indie feature films and his return to VFX.

It's a great tour for VFX artists interested in some of the early history of digital FX and the tools we use everyday as well as a case study in indie filmmaking.




00:00:05 : The Team on True Lies
00:00:05 : Marker 1
00:03:34 : The origin of the name "Nuke"
00:04:42 : Nuke always planned as a commercial project
00:06:43 : Th Pixel was sacred
00:07:56 : Talking through the workflow on a missile shot
00:09:09 : The use of Amigas at DD for playback
00:10:45 : Everybody would have to queue up their tests
00:21:39 : How FVX work teaches you to think about things
00:32:46 : Running out to film
00:33:30 : First time as Supervisor and the fear
00:35:00 : O Brother Where Art Thou - first film with end to end DI
00:35:31 : Working with Roger Deakins
00:41:13 : Presentation to PETA
00:42:28 : From Hollywood to indie filmmaking
00:45:50 : Fundraising first indie feature film
00:49:47 : Shooting in a small town
00:56:02 : Distribution
01:00:09 : After release - back to VFX
01:02:03 : A kidnapping
01:03:18 : Sick Boy - finally making a horror movie
01:08:06 : The response to Sick Boy
01:24:37 : Working at Rooster Teeth
01:28:12 : How to get out of a creative rut
01:29:44 : Remote work opportunities
01:32:31 : Final words and advice

As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!

From the Amiga to Houdini, Nuke and Digital Domain with Sean Cunningham Part 1  | TVAP EP28

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 the excitement of the Commodore Amiga, missed proms, the inspiration of T2 and the founding days of James Cameron's Digital Domain studios.

We learn about the origins of industry standard tools SideFX Houdini and Foundry Nuke from someone who was using both in their earliest incarnations as SideFX Prisms and Digital Domain's in house compositing tool - Nuke.

We go deep and geeky so be warned.



00:00 : What to Expect
01:53 : Meet Sean Cunningham
03:01 : How I got started in the industry
05:29 : The importance of the Amiga for creative computing
07:00 : Sculpt 3D on the Amiga
07:52 : Lightwave
14:10 : The inspirational effect of T2
14:33 : First VFX online bulletin board
16:15 : T2 Comes out, a turning point
17:47 : Calarts
23:36 : : Metrolight Studios and Sexy Robot
28:07 : The Role of TD in the 1990's
31:05 : You had to build up an intuition - working without UI feedback
36:22 : Elastic Reality, morphs and splines
39:28 : James Cameron founds Digital Domain
42:05 : Digital Domain in Stan Winston's Creature Shop
42:53 : Stealing Artists and the pirate mentality
45:18 : True Lies
49:51 : Side FX Prisms (which became Houdini)
51:51 : Learning VFX software in the 1990's
58:06 : My Approach to learning at Digital Domain and since

As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!

An Unreal Engine Discussion, with Filipe Magalhães, Realtime Supervisor at NVIZ | TVAP EP27

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 representation in the VFX industry, neurodiversity and more.

A very well packed episode, not to be missed!

As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!

Listen to all episodes on our 


00:00:00 Episode Overview
00:02:05 intro
00:02:32 Introductions and a bit about Filipe
00:09:52 When did you realise you had a creative interest?
00:13:10 Differences between unreal and unity and why the previs/postvis, VFX and virtual production industries have adopted unreal over Unity
00:18:06 What do you generally use unreal for and how does the workflow differ between previs/postvis, VFX and or virtual production
00:32:33 What are the common requests/demands from directors and what does it take to provide the right tools and results in a fast environment
00:40:48 Non handheld virtual camera challenges in Unreal
00:42:44 What does Unreal lack or can be improved
00:48:23 How technical does one need to be when using unreal
00:55:44 Is non-realtime rendering a thing of the past
00:58:45 Favourite non-real time renderers and why
01:00:27 Achieving diversification and representation in the VFX industry
01:05:44 Assets and Unreal showreel advice
01:08:10 Career path advice
01:14:29 The importance of parental support in finding self
01:18:31 Conclusion

What is Previs, and why it's important - with Jamie Bakewell, founder of Bigtooth Studios | TVAP EP26

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 led him to work on The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!, spiralling a great friendship with Pawl Fulker, co-owner of Proof Inc, (before it was called Proof!), who then ended up inspiring Jamie to set up his previs studio.

We dive into what it takes Jamie to wear two hats on a daily basis, as an artist and entrepreneur, as well as what it took for him to transition into that role.

Of course, focusing the topic around previs, we couldn’t leave out what previs and postvis is all about and the use of Blender vs Maya for previs.

Strap in, and we hope you enjoy this episode.

As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!




00:00:00 Coming up..
00:03:05 Episode overview
00:03:30 Jamie intro
00:04:43 Story behind the name
00:06:00 Industry journey before Bigtooth Studios
00:19:30 Shows worked on
00:22:39 Epiphany moment, leading to the creation of Bigtooth Studios
00:58:00 Runing and managing Bigtooth Studios during the pandemic
01:03:22 Advantages and disadvantages of running your business in the midlands
01:06:00 Tools and software
01:14:16 Why should anyone decide to work in the visualisation industry
01:15:55 Would you recommend working in previs and postvis before working in VFX studios to deliver finals?
01:17:52 Balancing being an artist and an entrepreneur on a daily basis
01:21:06 Best and worst decisions made as an artist and a business owner
01:24:21 What should be the key differences for anyone making a previs/postvis reel and a VFX finals reel
01:27:31 Unreal engine and Virtual Production
01:30:43 Conclusion

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A Love of Film with Carolina Jiménez García, Lead Layout Artist, Scanline | TVAP EP25

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 recently on projects like Free Guy, Moonfall and Eternals. Her career spans the Globe and major studios such as Dneg in London, Scanline in Canada, and Weta in New Zealand where she fulfilled her dream by working with the Lord of Rings crew on the Hobbit trilogy.

In this episode we roll back the curtain on the Layout Department, a little understood and vitally important part of VFX and animation pipelines. We find out what it takes to become a Layout Artist and Layout Lead, hear Carolina’s advice for artists, learn a little about working in Canada and find out about her favourite projects.

How Animation Changed My Life - Michael Morgan - Part 2 | TVAP EP24

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 movies and characters on the big screen, ranging from Marvel's Black Panther, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol 2, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Venom, Pacific Rim: Uprising and more!

In this episode, we discus his journey into the industry, his experiences leading and supervising teams. We also go on to discuss what qualities he looks for in animators, as well as the common practices and mistakes animators do, showreel advice, motion capture, and more

As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!

You can find Michael on 


00:00 - Pre roll and what to expect in this episode
00:38 - Imposters syndrome
10:02 - Common mistakes animators make
16:16 - What transferable skills or knowledge can be passed on to a 2D animator or a stop motion animator?
19:32 - What advice would you give to anyone putting together an animation showreel
24:34 - Recommending good universities and courses
31:46 - What’s been a memorable highlight of your career so far
36:46 - As a family man, how do you organise things with loved ones, when you have to leave for work
44:04 - What are you aspiring for in the next few years?
48:57 - Working with Daniel Miller on Broken Toy short film
50:58 - How to engage with Michael online
52:02 - Conclusion

Listen to all episodes on our 

How Animation Changed My Life - Michael Morgan - Part 1 | TVAP EP23

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 the big screen, ranging from Marvel's Black Panther, Guarians Of The Galaxy: Vol 2, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Venom, Pacific Rim: Uprising and more!

In this episode, we discus his journey into the industry, his experiences leading and supervising teams. We also go on to discuss what qualities he looks for in animators, as well as the common practices and mistakes animators do, showreel advice, motion capture, and more

As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!

You can find Michael on 


00:00 - Pre roll and what to expect in this episode
03:24 - Welcoming Michael on the show
05:28 - Did you always want to be an animator?
07:10 - Journey into the industry
14:20 - Doing 3D animation at home in the late 99's and 2000's
15:43 - Getting into the industry
17:07 - Preference between being a senior animator and supervisor
23:20 - Best way for animators to get in the industry or transition into, from different departments
27:05 - Traits you see in those who go on to be successful
28:31 - Qualities you look for in animators on your team?
29:52 - Why has 2D animmation mostly become redundant
37:31 - Will Maya remain the industry standard for animators?
39:05 - Would you hire an animator, if you liked their work but had never used Maya?
40:10 - Parents thoughts about your career choice
44:25 - Preference between animation for VFX and full animated feature
49:27 - Achieving realism in animation with/without motion capture
53:34 - Approaching a new sequence or shot
57:08 - Confidence with filming your own references
59:45 - Managing stressful days
End of Part 1

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How VFX Changes your view of the World, with Arpita Venugopal Head of FX at One of Us | TVAP EP22

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 artists, her favourite projects, her plant-based Instagram @platefulofbliss and what makes SideFX Houdini so powerful in the field of FX in particular.

You will not want to miss this one and if you are an FXTD or aspiring FX-TD you may want to take notes!



https://www.instagram.com/platefulofbliss/



As always, if you liked this episode, please like, comment, subscribe and share!

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#vfxpodcast #compositing #motioncapture

We are listed in the Top 10 Best VFX Podcasts on the planet!

How VFX changes your view of the World, with Arpita Venugopal Head of FX at One of Us | TVAP EP22

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 managing teams, managing pressure and expectations, fitting into a new department, and more.
We hope you enjoy the show!



 - Getting into the matchmove department


 - Seniority progression through the matchmove department


 - Watch Maik's 2021 Lead Matchmove reel


 - What artists think about you as a lead


 - What are the common mistakes matchmove artists make


 - What do matchmove leads and supervisors expect to see in showreels?


 - Which matchmove tasks are requested more lately on shows?


 - Switching from matchmove to the lighting department


 - Do you see yourself transitioning to another department in the future?


 - What advice would you give to the aspiring artists?


 - Should artists work at different studios to validate their skills?


 - Extras

#vfxpodcast #matchmove #lighting

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 cinematics and more!



 Previs and PostViz( EP10 with Paris Marin: https://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/what-is-previs-and-postvis-vs-finals-animation-with-paris-marin)


 Growing up with VFX, Blender, After Effects, Social Media (EP11 with Ty Robillard: https://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/growing-up-with-vfx-with-3d-generalist-ty-robillard)


 Costume and Set-Design (EP12 with Rianna Charles and Jodie-Simone-Howe https://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/costume-set-and-designing-for-film-and-tv-with-rianna-charles-and-jodie-simone-howe)


 Working at top studios and the Realtime pipeline (EP13 with Simon Legrand https://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/being-a-vfx-artist-at-some-of-the-top-vfx-studios-in-the-world-with-simon-legrand)


 Realtime, V-Ray and Vantage, Unreal, CG Garage and Chris Nichols (https://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/becoming-a-vfx-supervisor-realtime-virtual-production-with-chaos-group-labs-director-chris-nichols)


 More Unreal and VFX Supervisor talk, racism and representation in the industy, Floyd Billingy (https://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/being-a-black-artist-in-the-games-and-vfx-industry-pre-rendered-cinematics-vs-unreal-engine-floyd-billingy)


 Foundry, software development, Nuke and USD clip from Christy Anzelmo(https://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/christy-anzelmo-usd-machine-learning-surprising-uses-for-nuke-and-foundry-software-and-a-career-vfx-software)


 Indie Filmmaking and the mainstream VFX industry with Marcus Flemmings (https://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/marcus-flemmings-life-as-an-award-winning-indie-film-maker)


 The role of the VFX Editor - Beaumony Loewenthal (https://www.thevfxartistspodcast.com/beaumont-loewenthal-how-i-became-a-vfx-editor-at-lucasfilm)


The VFX Artists Podcast 2021 Rundown pt2 | TVAP EP20

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, Character Modellers to VFX Supervisors, On-Set Data collectors, a Black Widow and more.

Originally planned as a single episode we cover a lot of ground. There are helicopters, career tips, kung fu masters.

So don your headphones, kick back and join Kofi and Daniel as they take you through the highlights.

01:10 - EP01 summary and takeaways with Ace Ruele - Motion capture/performance artist for film and games

06:38 - EP02 summary and takeaways with Jorundur Rafn Arnarson - Game Of Thrones and On-Set VFX Supervisor

11:42 -How Kofi came about starting The VFX Artists Podcast

16:08 - EP03 summary and takeaways with Vladimir Venkov - Character modeler

19:51 - EP04 summary and takeaways with David Cheung - Stunt actor/performer

23:08 - EP05 summary and takeaways with Joseph Steel - Lidars and Photogrammetry for film

25:04 - EP06 summary and takeaways with Sarah Gatefield - Matchmove for film, AR, VR & XR

34:06 - EP07 summary and takeaways with Prince Yiadom - Compositing for film

39:35 - EP08 summary and takeaways with Rory Bryans - VFX On Set Supervising at MPC London

46:06 - What Kofi has learned from the guests on the show so far, and EP09 summary and takeaways with Yolanda Lynes - Black Widow actress

51:22 - EP10 summary and takeaways with Paris Marin - Previs and Postvis (to be continued in pt2)

The VFX Artists Podcast 2021 Rundown pt1 | TVAP EP19

Beaumont Loewenthal: How I became a VFX Editor at Lucasfilm

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 discuss the differences between an editors role compared to a VFX editor, editors assistant and VFX editors assistant's role on both production and VFX side.

Beau has had a great career so far, leading him to working on films such as Fantastic Beasts, Maleficent 2, Venom 2, and is still growing into an ever demanding role.

A lot to be discovered and learned in this episode.




0:00 - Highlights of what to expect in this episode
2:37 - Guest intro
3:43 - Where the love for VFX and editing came from
6:40 - What’s the difference between a VFX editor and a VFX assistant editor
8:51 - Responsibility as a VFX editor
9:23 - How I got my first job in the industry
11:30 - Shows worked on as a VFX editor
12:40 - Day to day life of a VFX editor
16:50 - Importance of starting off as a VFX editor’s assistant
17:35 - Who decides how a film should be cut
19:15 - How early on are you brought on a show?
20:52 - How do you feel about having an integral role in the film industry
22:49 - How close tied is the role of a VFX editor tot the director?
25:19 - VFX finals coming back through editorial
28:41 - Working on retimed shots
29:48 - What do VFX editors transition into
34:37 - Favourite show till date
35:51 - What are the best things about what you do and what advice would you give?
40:00 - Conclusion

#lucasfilm #starwars #starwarsandor

Beaumont Loewenthal: How I became a VFX Editor at Lucasfilm | TVAP EP18

Marcus Flemmings: Life as an award-winning Indie Film Maker

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, and discuss realities of inspiration, competition, originality, ego, mistakes and more, in the life of an indie film maker.

Marcus’s latest film Blonde purple can be watched on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Voodoo and on the Xbox.

You can also find Marcus on 



Apologies for the occasional echoes in this episode.

#indiefilmmaking #marcusflemmings #blondepurple

0:00 - What to expect in this episode 
2:46 - Host intro 
3:23 - Marcus introduction & Filmography
12:01 - Filming during covid
13:11 - Process of bringing a film idea to life
16:14 - How to manage responsibilities leading a crew, as a director, during production 
18:39 - How important is it for film makers to have connections to attain budget for a project, or during distribution
21:42 - Competing with other film makers for exposure on streaming channels like Netflix & Amazon
24:31 - What’s the end goal/desire as a film maker/creative
27:01 - Story vs visuals - which takes priority?
28:48 - Competition with other creatives31:18 - How to produce original content
34:22 - How to catch a break/be recognised for what you do
37:00 - Dealing with the ego from constructive criticism and feedback
39:30 - Challenges of being a black creative
43:26 - Vision for the future
44:37 - Words of advice
46:17 - How to reach out to Marcus
47:12 - Question for the host - My role in the VFX industry
49:29 - Conclusion

Episode 31 Out Now!

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