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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The ups and downs of life as a compositor with Josh Parks | TVAP EP37

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, Guardians of the Galaxy, Lovecraft Country, Stranger Things and much more

We also talk about Josh's training materials and how building this from early in his journey in VFX has not only helped other artists, but also helped himself to grow as a compositor.

We also discuss Unreal, volume, machine learning and the future of the industry so you will want to check this one out!


00:00:05 : Introductions
00:04:33 : Machine learning and the black box
00:09:04 : The Mailing List
00:11:41 : How creating learning materials can help the creator
00:13:04 : Keying and Dan's worst interview ever
00:18:48 : Josh's route into the industry
00:22:15 : The ups and downs of life as a comper
00:37:18 : Ownership of art and Caravaggio getting client notes
00:51:00 : Unreal in Nuke
00:57:34 : 


01:07:12 : Outro and a bit of industry history

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Becoming a mother made me an efficient VFX Animator - Part 2 | TVAP EP36

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 VFX industry as a runner, following the completion of an animator degree at Ravensbourne university, leading on to a progression into the matchmove department, and finally into the much anticipated department she’d always been aspiring for - animation.

We hope you find this episode useful as we did.

Special thanks to Christina for kindly taking time out to share her experiences with us.

Subscribe and turn notifications on to be alerted when part 2 comes out!

Find Christina on




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




00:00:00 Welcome to Part 2
00:00:05 What inspired your interest in Animation and VFX
00:09:26 Thoughts on Runner's positions as part-entry into the VFX industry
00:20:20 Filmography review
00:29:41 Advice for animators, and transitioning artists into maternal roles

#vfxartist #animation #vfxcareer

Becoming a mother made me an efficient VFX Animator - Part 1 | TVAP EP35

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 entitlements. Some really useful info for employees and freelancers in any career.

Christina’s journey as a VFX animator, starts with an entry into the VFX industry as a runner, following the completion of an animator degree at Ravensbourne university, leading on to a progression into the matchmove department, and finally into the much anticipated department she’d always been aspiring for - animation.

In this two-part episode, Christina shares her journey, her expertise advice as an animator & mother, and gives invaluable advice for aspiring animators and aspiring & existing parents in the working industry, more specifically, the VFX industry.

We hope you find this episode useful as we did.

Special thanks to Christina for kindly taking time out to share her experiences with us.

Subscribe and turn notifications on to be alerted when part 2 comes out!

Find Christina on:



00:00:00 Intro
00:00:38 How it all started
00:07:04 Becoming pregnant as an artist
00:09:23 Deciding to speak to HR at 26 weeks of pregnancy
00:16:33 Confronting HR and recruiters about pregnancy
00:17:29 Maternity leave and pay laws in the U.K.
00:20:36 iAnimate during maternity leave
00:28:22 WFH - Mother's opinion
00:35:15 School!
00:39:36 Prove yourself and know your worth!
00:43:56 Hesitancy & Pressure on women choosing between work and starting a family
00:56:24 Getting back into work after Maternity leave

Perception - Behind the HUD & Title sequences of your favourite movies | TVAP EP34

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 Homecoming, Eternals, and many more. In fact, the list is endless!

Title sequences and great HUD's play a great part in the story-telling of movies, as well as real-world applications, and Perception is at the forefront of some of the most cutting-edge and most successful ones.

In this episode, we learn about the reason behind the creation of the studio, the ins and outs, the hustle and the failures turned to wins.

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

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00:00:00 Intro
00:00:16 Why we created Perception
00:08:47 Differentiating Perception from VFX studios
00:14:11 Considering ethical concerns when designing
00:16:18 Can too much creative freedom be negative?
00:17:30 Secret In-house technologies
00:19:14 How to stay original
00:21:25 Expanding offices beyond North America
00:23:06 Learning from mistakes
00:28:46 Aspirations for the next decade

Founding a Games Studio: VFX Entrepreneurs with Mohsen Mousavi and Hugh Behroozy | TVAP EP33

Have you got an idea for 
This week we catch a game you would love to bring to life?
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, The Meg, Guardians of The Galaxy and more...

Despite the wide availability of tools such as Unreal Engine and Unity, game dev is still hard - in this interview we learn why that is a good thing for those with the passion and dedication to follow through!

00:00:04 : Mohsen intro
00:01:40 : Hugh's career and teenage Second LIfe.
00:29:44 : Influences and inspiration
00:32:03 : Attracting the best talent
00:36:09 : Producing a game vs producing VFX: Agile and Waterfall
00:43:47 : Agile Plan vs No Plan
00:50:47 : Leaving VFX ?
00:57:20 : Learning how to learn

Not Your Starving Artist, with VFX Generalist Vicki Lau | TVAP EP32

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 money in the arts).

Vicki also gives us a look into the misconception of the industry by the asian community, based on her own experience and what kept her determined to pursue her goals.

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




00:00:00 Intro
00:00:41 How I got into the VFX industry
00:07:50 Being a compositor for Postvis and finals
00:09:11 Volumetric and Stereoscopic compositing
00:11:19 Pros and cons of being a generalist
00:13:24 Pros and cons of being a postvis Compositor
00:15:57 Favourite shows worked on
00:16:32 Being an oriental woman in the VFX industry
00:19:01 VFX industry in Singapore
00:20:10 What drives you?
00:21:59 Teaching others
00:24:49 Why I wrote these VFX books
00:30:11 Benefits of putting your VFX industry experience into a book
00:31:20 Where to find Vicki's books
00:31:52 Words of advice
00:35:10 Conclusion



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!

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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

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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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