Talent in Action

Georgina Cunningham

Show-side Senior VFX Coordinator

VES Member: Since Fall 2024

VES benefit most enjoyed: Q&A sessions with VFX filmmakers

Originally from Adelaide, Australia, Georgina recently relocated to London, ready to bring her expertise to high-profile projects across the globe. Most recently, she wrapped up work on A Minecraft Movie for Warner Bros. Pictures in Wellington, New Zealand.

Georgina’s love for film sparked during her early days working at her local cinema at the height of blockbuster VFX spectacles like Avatar, The Avengers and the Harry Potter franchise. This passion led her to pursue a Bachelor’s degree during which she landed an internship at Rising Sun Pictures (RSP). From there, she started as a receptionist at local post-house KOJO, steadily climbing the ranks in post-production before heading to Sydney to work on Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway with Animal Logic.

One of the standout moments in her career so far has been working on George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. From the vast landscapes of central Australia during production to the intricate world of post-production, she played a key role in streamlining the VFX delivery with the DI team – a two-and-a-half year experience she considers a career highlight.

In the fast-paced world of visual effects, Georgina loves problem solving, ensuring that complex challenges are met with creative and efficient solutions all the way through to delivery. She believes that adaptability and clear communication are just as crucial as technical expertise in keeping productions running smoothly.

For those eager to break into the industry, she offers this advice: “Every colleague is a mentor, from a VFX PA to a VFX Supervisor – everyone has something to teach and equally something to learn. Never be afraid to ask questions and always stay curious.”

Outside the VFX world, Georgina finds joy in cooking, dog-sitting and indulging in her favorite film genre – romantic comedies.

Kate Xagoraris

Houdini Generalist, FX Artist, Professor and VES Board Member

VES Member: One year

VES benefit most enjoyed: The VES Summer Party

Born and raised in Dundas, Ontario, Canada, Kate is now a full-time visual effects artist living in Toronto. Her interest in visual effects stemmed from watching Stargate SG-1 and its sequel series as a kid. This fascination grew, and she started to draw layouts of the sets and worlds the characters would travel to throughout the series. This led to her academic track in animation programs and graduating from Humber College’s 3D animation program in 2019. However, it was entirely by accident that her life turned to visual effects. By chance, in an animation class, a professor showed her a previous student’s reels using SideFX’s Houdini. From there, Kate was hired directly out of college and worked at various animation and visual effects studios over the next few years.

Some highlights of her career have been working on HBO’s Raised by Wolves Season 2, The Boys Season 2, 1923 Season 2 and Nightmare Alley. “The shots that I’m the most proud of were when I worked on Raised by Wolves, and my job was to do all of the main character’s landing effects. We were on a crazy-tight deadline, and I knew the builds were complex. Still, I didn’t realize how complex it was until a few of the shots were reassigned to other artists on the show then quickly reassigned with an apology from the production staff, as I had assumed it was an easy build to pick up or replicate.”

“My advice for artists looking for their big break is that networking will matter more than anything. Find your favorite social space where you can build a following, go to events, look at what’s being created in the visual effects community and what is not being created. Then brainstorm something original you can bring to the table regarding skill, talent and creations.”

Kate’s favorite pastime is cosplaying at festivals and creating graphics for techno artists. She is also working on her book, CGI: Canadian Generated Imagery, on the history of VFX in Canada.