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 over 90 killer career questions sent in via our community on social media. Joining Simon and Nene for our second 'ASK US ANYTHING' episode are 5 recruiters and talent managers, namely… Ellie Algar, Recruitment Manager for Framestore, Joe Duffy, Global Talent Acquisition Lead for Jellyfish Pictures, Chloe Hardy, Talent Partner at Foundry, Paul Wilkes, Talent & Recruitment Consultant at PXL Talent, and, Tiffany Feeney, Global Executive Headhunter & Recruiter at Talent Outpost Also, if you're interested in any of the opportunities discussed on this episode check out the links below: Jellyfish Pictures: jellyfishpictures.com/join-us Framestore: framestore.com/careers Foundry: foundry.com/careers PXL Talent: app.loxo.co/pxl-talent Talent Outpost: talent-outpost.com/talent-services

On this weeks episode of The ACCESS:VFX Podcast we’re reflecting on this year's Women's History Month, with a brilliant 'near peer' panel of women who are new to the industry working across a range of roles in visual effects and animation. Joining Nene and Simon on this one are Eilidh Brown, Rigging TD at Axis Studios, Emily Birkett, Junior Compositor at Union VFX, Paula Ezuma, Junior Compositor at Framestore and Daisy Kavanagh, Junior Animator at Blue-Zoo Animation Studio. This is an episode we’ve been planning for a while now, and it does not disappoint, We hope you enjoy this wonderful conversation with some of the newest members of our community in our Womens History Month and 'near peer' special!

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, HaZ Dulull Co-Founder of HaZimation, Karley Bittner from Blue Zoo Animation Studio, Celia Hunt, CGI Production Talent Manager from Aardman, and, Ethan Clark, Talent Acquisition Manager at REALTIME If you enjoyed this episode and would like YOUR burning career questions answered, then please email us at info@accessvfx.org and we'll have you covered on 'part two' of ASK US ANYTHING, coming soon... Also, if you're interested in any of the opportunities discussed on this episode check out the links below: HaZimation: https://hazimation.com/contact Blue Zoo: https://careers.blue-zoo.co.uk/ Union: https://www.unionvfx.com/careers/ (blowing up soon!) Realtime: https://careers.realtimeuk.com/ Aardman: https://jobs.aardman.com/vacancies/ ETC: https://electrictheatre.tv/careers/

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 is a truly inspiring conversation covering career advice, challenges, great mentors and more.

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 creative, production and tech positions. Expertly chaired by ACCESS: VFX board members, Executive Producer Anne Akande and Creative Director Nene Parsotam, all MC’d by VFX Supervisor and Filmmaker, Mark Pinheiro Our brilliant panel provided insight from DNEG Line Producer, Alisha Huxtable, Framestore Labs Support Engineer, Derin Owodunni and Creative Storyteller, Hameed Adigun.

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 Production at Univid, Jide Johnson.

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 Simon Devereux, Produced by Tom Box

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 industry and essential listening!

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 using Unreal Engine 5.

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-alon-stein-21142a1b/

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/