IWD: How I got into the VFX Industry

The latest episode of AccessVFX’s podcast series focuses on how several woman landed their roles in VFX.

The most recent UK Screen Alliance survey showed that just 32.3% of the VFX workforce are women. 66% of those in production management roles are women, but just 23% of those in creative artist roles are women.

AccessVFX is a membership organisation comprising of 40 companies, industry bodies and educational establishments in the VFX, animation and games industries. Members of AccessVFX join the organisation to try to address the lack of diversity in the VFX industry.

Below are some quotes from the podcast episode.

Rose Holt Matthews, senior VFX producer, Dupe

I’m an accountant by trade, VFX is actually my second career. I didn’t start working in VFX until I was over 40 and I totally fell into the industry completely by accident. I’d moved to Montreal with by family and the job I was supposed to have fell through, but someone I knew suggested worked for one of the big VFX studios out there and suggested I apply for a runners job. I was desperate to work so I applied and got the job of PA. I worked out there for a few years then came back to the UK just before the pandemic, worked in the games industry for a bit and am now back working in film and episodic.

I’m a mum and a single mum and would never have been able to work in the industry when my children were small. They were 16 when I started so I could make it work when I had to work long hours as we often have to do, especially in junior roles. But since the pandemic one of the things that has really improved is that more mothers are able to work more flexibly and from home and that really is a game changer.

Abi Klimaszewska, senior producer, Black Kite Studios

I guess my route into the industry is a little more traditional. My whole career has been in advertising and VFX and although I did a degree in film I actually left two months early to start working for a motion graphics  company. I then worked my way up as an animation producer but I’ve been working in VFX for the last 15 years and I absolutely love it. It’s creative, inspirational and brings me huge happiness. As I’ve become more senior and especially over the last few years at Black Kite, I have come to love mentoring and helping people progress in their careers, that really does give me the most pleasure in what I do.

Annie Shaw, producer, virtual production, VFX & mocap, Realtime

I started off working in sales and recruitment after university. I liked it but knew that I wouldn’t do it forever. I loved the people, the communication and the problem solving aspect but I knew it wasn’t me at all. I had a friend who worked in the film industry and after quitting my recruitment job one random Tuesday I had to go and do something else so applied for all sorts of film jobs and eventually was picked up my a motion capture studio as their office and recruitment manager and fell love with it all the people and most incredible tech. Then soon after covid happened, virtual production boomed. I felt that in a sense that I had the winning ticket, as by that point I had games experience, virtual production experience and motion capture experience and that’s what I’ve been specialising in for the last few years and I love it.

Monica Garcia, realtime artist, Dimension

My journey into the VFX industry came about in the last two years. It was a dream I had been pursuing for a really long time. I’m from Spain, I studied architecture and was working as an architect when I got an offer of a job in London in the industry. What attracted me to London was my passion for VFX and the environment, the magic that you can create in movies or series that bring new emotions to people, something that isn’t real but makes you believe it could be and I always wanted to be part of that.  With architecture, I had a lot of knowledge that was somehow blocked but here in London and in VFX you can be a lot more open and a lot more creative and for me it’s amazing.

Thank you to Alex Coxon, public relations and marketing consultant for visual effects studios, for putting this feature together.