The Access:VFX Podcast

For this weeks episode of The ACCESS:VFX Podcast we've gathered recruiters and talent managers from the visual effects, animation, and games industries to tackle 15 killer career questions sent in via our community on social media. Joining Simon and Nene for our first 'ASK US ANYTHING' episode are: Harriet Edge-Partington from Union Visual Effects, Ollie Gilmour from Electric Theatre Collective, H...

Welcome back to a brand new season of the ACCESS:VFX Podcast! In this two-part episode, we’re celebrating International Womens Day and Women's History Month by chatting with four excellent guests from four of the newest additions to the ACCESS: VFX membership, including Annie Shaw from Realtime, Monica Garcia at Dimension, Rose Holt Matthews at Dupe VFX and Abi Klimaszewska from Black Kite. This i...

On the evening of Thursday 21st September, XVFX, the ACCESS: VFX community for people of colour, held their ‘End the Summer with XVFX’ event kindly hosted at Framestore's London studio, and sponsored by Foundry. In addition to hosting a wonderful networking opportunity and event, we also had a dynamic panel discussion on the night with 'near peer' industry guests from our members' studios, in crea...

The ACCESS: VFX Podcast is back with another special episode discussing all things artificial intelligence and machine learning! Joining Nene Parsotam for this conversion on the 'darker side' of AI are: creative communicator, artist and a social media producer at Unfold Stories, Savena Surana, Global Head of Creative Strategy at Automated Creative, Amy Wright and Co-Founder & Head of Video Product...

The ACCESS: VFX Podcast is back with this special episode discussing all things artificial intelligence and machine learning! Joining Nene Parsotam for this conversion are Caroline Sheila Rouge, a Junior Compositor at Vine FX, Kalle Everland, freelance creative director in the advertising industry and Malachi James, Blue Zoo storyboard artist.

We meet with Ace Ruele, Actor and Director of Creature Bionics. We have such an interesting conversation covering Ace’s journey from aspiring dancer, escaping a life of crime, his teaching work, all the way through to entering the uber-creative world of creature bionics and of course, visual effects. https://www.creaturebionics.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/aceruele/

We speak to Ere Santos, Animation Supervisor at Walt Disney Animation Studios. A conversation packed with incredible stories, advice and one of our best 'geeky sections' yet for budding animators!

We speak to Alisha Huxtable, Senior Production Coordinator at DNEG. We discuss work/life balance, STEM careers, some excellent industry advice and how there is more to creativity than drawing! This an advice-packed conversation that we hope you enjoy. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisha-huxtable/

We speak to Declan Cassidy, the Chief Executive of Into Games, the UK’s largest non-profit dedicated to providing better career pathways into the games industry. If you have even an inkling of interest in the games industry, please get involved at https://intogames.org

On this episode we announce and celebrate the launch of ACCESS: VFX EUROPE! To tackle the big ‘20 questions’ on this episode we meet AVFX EUROPE co-chairs, Caroline Garret from Netflix, and Chris Kiser from Glassworks! You can sign up to be a mentee or an industry mentor at accessvfx.org/mentors https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-garrett-6b83294/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriskiser/ Hosted by...

We welcome Senior Games Artist at Naughty Dog, Del Walker to take on the A:VFX Vaults 20 questions. A great episode packed with advice and insight. An essential listen. https://www.instagram.com/cartel.del

With the rapid increases in energy costs, fuel, food, and accommodation, it is getting harder to pay rent, and simply exist whilst holding down entry-level roles on entry-level salaries. For episode 22 we meet industry financial experts who offer some guidance on how to navigate this challenging time for the next generation of talent coming through.

It's our Summer Special episode and we review the last 20 episodes of career advice 'golden nuggets' with Harriet Edge Partington Talent & Recruitment Manager, from Union VFX and Engy Jarrouj, Outreach and Inclusion Talent Partner at Framestore. If you're looking to get into VFX, Animation, or Games, this episode will give you the toolkit you need!

We meet Robin Chowdury, Chief Operating Officer at dupe, the world’s first visual effects B Corporation! We discuss growing up in Sweden, a 12-year career in Retail Operations, traveling, barista rejection, a rewarding stint as a painter/decorator, and then helping out at dupe, quickly taking on a role setting them up as a B-Corp to COO of the studio! A wonderfully untraditional route into the ind...

We celebrate our partnership with 3Dami, Screenskills and NextGen Skills Academy for this years Young Animator of the Year competition. Our guest is Josh Palfrey, 2020’s best 3D Animation winner in the 15-18 age group, and now Blue Zoo Animation's youngest ever 3D Artist! A super inspiring conversation with a rising star in our industry!

We speak to the brilliant Director/Producer HaZ Dulull! Fresh from his role as program chair at FMX we hear how he transitioned from a traditional VFX Artist career path to directing and producing movies and a unique insight into his journey so far, from growing up in East London to breaking into Hollywood and of course we discuss RIFT, his dual video game, and companion feature made entirely usin...

We chat with VFX Producer at Milk VFX Noga Alon Stein! With a career that kicked off with a short stint at New Black Films in 2010, closely followed by an 11-year tenure at Union VFX working her way up from Production Coordinator to VFX Producer working on such titles as The French Dispatch, Trainspotting 2, Three Billboards, Stan & Ollie and Operation Mincemeat. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noga-a...

We chat to DNEG Resource Manager Chanel Belliveau and hear about her career journey starting in production, her transition into "people management", and the importance of being assertive, but kind. With a passion for leadership training, people, and an advocate for mental health support this is a great listen! https://www.linkedin.com/in/chanel-belliveau-50768a72/

We meet Luke Grieg, Junior VFX Editor at Freefolk who only got into the industry last Summer! We hear about his career path so far which has included a short stint as a primary school teacher and working for a South London record label. A great 'near-peer' conversation and one for those interested in non-traditional routes into the industry!

It's our 'Mothers Day Special' on episode 14 where we meet with Leanne Loughran, Senior Recruiter at ILM. With a background in interior design, Leanne started out as an art teacher, then worked at a number of studios as a 3D Artist, co-founded an animation studio, then to specialise as a Talent Manager and Recruiter for some big name studios!

In episode 13 we are joined by Mark Pinheiro! From beginning as a runner and in the libraries of TV stations, Mark has worked for 30+ years across TV, film, and stage production. Often named by the people who know, as the world's best VFX coach, Mark takes us through his amazing story so far. ACCESS:VFX BAME Industry Connect podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnnAYo35-fk https://www.youtube...

We chat to Jason Halverson, VFX Supervisor at Goodbye Kansas, who has worked with some of the biggest studios, on the biggest shows. We discuss Star Wars cameos, Matrix sequels, lunch with Ray Harryhausen, and the importance of collaboration and staying curious.

On episode 11 we are joined by a Digital Compositor, Laraib Atta who has worked for most, if not all of of the big names in Visual Effects & Animation! We discuss growing up in Pakistan, how her love for art, drawing, movies and storytelling eventually clicked into a career in visual effects, and how her brother gave her the best advice! Enjoy! Laraib's talk at TEDxSZABIST: https://www.youtube.com...

We chat with BlueBolt VFX Supervisor, Richard Frazer, discussing his life as a VFX Supe and his route into the role. We talk about "colouring in monsters", his aspirations growing up in Leicester, (yes, another guest from Leicester!), a mid-life career change, and being paid to be a nerd!

On episode 9 we invite Head of VFX at Ghost VFX, Annie Gordon to the A:VFX 'vault'. We discuss her production journey to date that includes, among others, credits on The Hobbit trilogy, and that you don't need to be a full 'VFX geek' to carve out an incredible career in the industry.