CATCHING A RIDE ON THE VFX VENDOR-GO-ROUND

By TREVOR HOGG

Compared to the 1990s when only a few visual effects companies were capable of doing film-quality work, the number of options has exploded around the world. It is fueled by the ability to achieve photorealism and the growing acceptance of CGI as a filmmaking tool. As a consequence, the success or failure of a project is often dependent upon hiring the correct group of supervisors, producers, digital artists and technicians either through a single or several vendors who aim to achieve the same goal. In some ways, the vendor selection process has remained the same, but in other areas it has become sophisticated, reflecting the maturity of the visual effects industry as it travels further down the pathway once traveled by the crafts of cinematography, editing, production design and costume design to become entrenched members of the entertainment establishment.

Vendor connections begin with the production companies, studio visual effects executives or visual effects producers and supervisors. “On the studio side, we break down a script; we are typically the first ones, and we tend to do this before a director is hired,” states Kathy Chasen-Hay, Senior Vice President of Visual Effects at Skydance Productions. “We work closely with a line producer to discuss shoot methodology, then we’ll send the breakdown out to four or five trusted visual effects companies. We pick these vendors based on their specialties, shot count and the size of the budget.” Finding and hiring vendors is a group effort. “The VFX studio executives work closely with the visual effects teams when picking vendors. Since studio visual effects executives work with tons of vendors, we know and trust certain vendors. Did that vendor deliver on time? Was the work stellar? Did we get change-ordered to death? Relationships are key, and several VFX supervisors have built relationships with vendor supervisors, and it’s important to support these relationships; after all, they are the ones in the trenches, day after day.” Agents are typically not involved. “Relationships are built on past projects. Successful vendors have someone at the top who communicates with studios, production companies and the visual effects producers. We trust these folks as we have worked with them on prior projects. It’s all about previous projects.”

Established relationships are favored given the difficult nature of delivering finished shots within budget and on time. “Depending on the type of work required in the visual effects breakdown, the visual effects production team would work together with their production company and/or studio to start understanding how many vendors may be needed and which ones have the capacity and capabilities to handle that type of work in the given timeframe,” explains Jason Sperling, Creative Director/VFX Supervisor at Digikore Studios. “This can help narrow the list of possible vendor candidates significantly, and at that point, visual effects production teams begin the specific task of reviewing vendor demos and sample bidding numbers and expressing the creative and logistical expectations. If individual artists are needed for an in-house visual effects production team, they begin to assemble and reach out to their known available freelance crew or other resource lists.”

“The selection process for visual effects teams can vary significantly depending on the structure and needs of a particular project,” states Neishaw Ali, CEO and Executive Producer at Spin VFX. “While sometimes studio preferences might dictate the choice, more commonly, the decision-making is often led by the VFX supervisor and the VFX producer. These key figures play crucial roles due to their expertise and their understanding of the project’s technical and artistic requirements. The visual effects supervisor is primarily responsible for ensuring that all visual effects are seamlessly integrated into the live-action footage and align with the director’s vision. Meanwhile, the visual effects producer manages the budget, scheduling and logistics of the visual effects work, coordinating between the studio and the creative teams. Their collaboration is essential in choosing the right visual effects team[s] that can deliver high-quality results within the constraints of the project’s timeline and budget.”

Scale and budget have an impact on the audition and hiring process. “For independent films, I found there’s more flexibility, while the big studio productions may have predetermined criteria or preferences,” notes Julian Parry, VFX Supervisor and VFX Producer. “Producers and directors typically seek out talent based on their track record and previous work. Artists or visual effects houses with impressive portfolios are usually approached for potential collaborations. It’s not uncommon when vetting a visual effects vendor that the artists are promoted in the pitching. Breakdown reels, showcasing previous work and expertise play a significant role in the hiring process. Producers and directors look for visual effects houses or artists whose style and capabilities match the project’s needs and offer a detailed insight into their experience in specific disciplines, such as creating monsters, which can be crucial for achieving desired visual results.”

Considering the capacity of the vendor to meet deadlines and handle the complexity of the work is the first crucial step in the selection process. “Can the vendor commit to delivering a specific number of shots by a set date, and do they have the necessary resources to handle the project?” notes Pieter Luypaert, VFX Producer at Dream Machine FX. “Competitive pricing is important, as multiple vendors are bidding for the same work. The vendor’s location also plays a role, as tax incentives can significantly impact cost. Breakdowns are a big part of the bidding process, as they provide the vendors with all the essential information needed to provide a first bid and propose a methodology. Does the vendor believe they can achieve a certain effect with a 2D solution? The chosen methodology can drive the cost and schedule. Lastly, pre-existing work relationships, mutual connections and shared history are important. Due to the interconnected nature of the visual effects industry, personal connections can ultimately be the deciding factor.” Multiple vendors are often used to mitigate risks. “The main vendor typically handles the majority of the work, while the studio’s visual effects production team oversees the coordination among the different vendors. This is becoming more common as the vendor providing virtual production services needs to collaborate closely with other vendors using their assets.”

In many ways, the career trajectories of individuals determine future studio and vendor collaborations. “I was a compositor by trade and knew a lot of the people at Pixomondo who went on to form their own companies such as Crafty Apes,” states Jason Zimmerman, Supervising Producer and VFX Supervisor at CBS. “Me bouncing around working at Zoic Studios and Eden FX, you meet a lot of people along the way and collect those people with whom you resonate. I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of awesome people along the way who have either started a company or gone to a company. To me, it’s all about the artists, having been one myself. I keep track of all my favorite people, and they have all moved around and done great work at different places.” Not everything is about past relationships. “If someone has great visuals then you’re going to try them out, regardless. Having a reel that has got a good variety is important because you know that they can do more than one type of shot or effect or discipline. And how does it look to your eye? Do you agree with the integration and lighting? All of those shots were driven by a supervisor, studio, timelines and budget. You take it for what it is, and every decision made was not only one person because there are a lot of people who go into making a visual effect shot work.”

Setting up a visual effects company has become more economical. “The technology is at a point where if you’re an independent artist, you can buy the software and render it on the cloud,” notes Jonathan Bronfman, CEO at MARZ. “You don’t need infrastructure. But it has been that way for a while. It’s quite homogenous. Everyone is using the same tech staff. We have artists who have worked at Wētā FX and vice versa. What is that differentiator? Which is why we ended up developing the AI. That’s through differentiation. If you can nail the tech. Outside of the AI that we’re developing, we’re very much a creature/character shop. We still do environments because creatures and characters need to live in environments. There are other companies like Zoic Studios which are television-focused. But if you go to Wētā FX or ILM, they do everything.” Everything stems from reliability. “Word of mouth is the result of doing a good job and executing at a high level. You have to produce good quality on time and budget. If you can do those things then it spreads.” Certain stakeholders have to be impressed. “You have the visual effects supervisor, visual effects producer, production company and studio. If you have all three levels of stakeholders, that is ideal. But ultimately, it is the visual effects supervisor who gets the final say.”

Conversing with potential vendors actually commences before the studio assembles a visual effects team. “I will get a look at the scripts early, know what type of work it is, and I can reach out to my counterparts at some of those vendors,” explains Todd Isroelit, Senior Vice President, Visual Effects Production at 20th Century Studios. “I’d say, ‘We have project ‘X,’ which has a creature/character or water effects simulation. Here is the rough schedule that we’re looking at.’ It’s important to plant a flag in some of these vendors so your project is on their radar as they’re talking to all of the other studios and filmmakers about other things that might be happening in a similar timeframe and looking for similar resources. As we start to identify the team or the candidates for the team, we’ll look at what projects they’ve done and what relationships they have. Sometimes, we’ll look at actually creating a package scenario where we are talking to a vendor and vendor supervisor.” The proliferation of visual effects has led to more agent representation. “In the early days, all of the visual effects supervisors were tied to facilities like ILM, Digital Domain and Sony. There wasn’t this big freelance pool. As the industry grew and people started moving around, it became this emerging piece of the business that gave the supervisor a head of department status that fits into that below-the-line approach to filmmaking where you are looking at DPs and costume designers. Visual effects supervisors started having a bigger stake and voice in how the projects were coming together. That’s when I saw people getting agents started to evolve, even to the point where big below-the-line talent agencies who represent DPs, editors and costume designers started realizing the same thing.” Agent representation is not as significant for the vendors as a point of contact for the studios. “Executive producers or business development executives at the vendors; those are the relationships that we have,” Isroelit says.

Another part of the vendor equation are in-house visual effects teams that can consist of a designated vendor or a group of hand-picked digital artists. “In my experience, an in-house team usually comes in closer to the end of post-production to do easier, mostly non-CG shots,” remarks VFX Producer Tyler Cordova. “Typically, opticals, re-times, split screens and simple paint-outs, things of that nature. It’s important because it’s a cost-effective solution to have a small team do simpler shots after the edit has settled. I’ve hired in-house artists on past shows through contacts I’ve worked with for years and years. In-house artists will suggest other artists they’ve worked with as well. There are some legendary in-house artists that a lot of visual effects producers know about – Johnny Wilson, John Stewart, looking at you! – though some studios and producers prefer going to a vendor instead of using in-house artists to give some accountability to a company performing efficiently, rather than relying on individual artists to manage themselves; it depends. In-house teams are rarer these days since COVID-19 hit, and a lot of productions seem to be hiring smaller in-house-type vendors rather than individual artists so they can do the work securely and efficiently while working remotely.