As a VFX artist and VFX Supervisor, a big part of the job is taking and receiving notes and comments. Looking over FX shots and keeping animators on track can be dangerous waters. Given some the personalities involved in dealing with people who have made the conscious choice to spend their working lives hunched in front of the eerie glow of a computer monitor, stepping into a review session can sometimes feel like slipping into a sleeping bag filled with angry wolverines. I’ve been part of more reviews than Ebert and Roeper combined at this point and I’d like to share with you a few nuggets of wisdom I’ve picked up along the way.
Talk with a confident voice
There is nothing that will make a crew mutiny quicker than a captain who can’t make up his mind. You need to sound like you know what you are doing without appearing pig-headed. Everyone has an opinion when it comes to VFX and there are always multiple ways to skin a cat but someone has to be the final word. If you can’t articulate what you want, your crew won’t believe that you can sell the shots to the client. If that happens you might as well pack up and go home.
Give an artist credit
Few things are more annoying than the Supe that steals a compliment from an artist. When the client says “Hey that looks great!”, you should say “Yeah, Bill does excellent work.” The catch is, most of these situations occur when the Supe is alone with the client. In this situation the artists would never know if the Supe took credit for all the long hours he (or she) slaved for the sale of art. My suggestion, take the high road. Karma is like Santa Claus, it’s always watching you.
Concentrate on the “what” not the “how”
If you have a good team, you shouldn’t need to hold their mouse for them while they work. Use clear and concise language to tell the artists what the shot needs to be in order to get to final. “This shot just looks like ass” or “Why don’t you give it some special sauce” are not comments people can work off of. Comments like “How ’bout we add a kicker to define this shape” or “The texture in these windows needs more variation in the detail” are things that give someone enough direction to know what to do, without making them feel like they are being babied.
Keep your cool
Nobody likes a screamer. It may frighten people in the short term into listening to you but eventually it just turns into white noise and you get tuned out. There are times when fires must be lit under a team’s collective asses. In these cases, try something with a few less decibels, like guilt or disappointment.
Ask questions and keep an open mind
Nobody ever got in trouble in the VFX business for asking too many questions or being too prepared. If you are a Supe and you are good, you will eventually spend less and less time in front of “the box” yourself. New softwares will come along that you just don’t have time to learn in depth. Use the young whippersnappers on your team to report back to you all the new features and gizmos that inundate our little corner of the universe on a daily basis. From the artist-side, opening a Supes mind to new tech or workflow and showing off your CG skills in front of your co-workers can be a real morale boost.
These are the jokes people
Always maintain a good sense of humor in reviews. If you don’t have fun doing what you do, you probably shouldn’t be in the visual effects business. As a Supe, a tense review session can easily be made more bearable with a few VFX humor standbys. An ironically out of context Star Wars quote or a horrible Christopher Walken impersonation can really break the ice. And please, don’t make fun of your team. It goes without saying that self parody is a better way to go than mocking your apprentices.
