Sessions focused on the people of visual effects, their experience and how they continue to promote and support a happy, healthy and thriving industry.
As audience demand for more content increases, the VFX business is bigger and busier than ever before. There’s a lot to be excited about in 2022. The industry is bursting with new work and new opportunities. Studios large and small are actively hiring and growing their teams with the abundance of work rolling in. With virtual production and new technologies taking a big leap forward, so does the learning curve. Bringing new creative and technical challenges; there’s no better time than now for a VFX artist to thrive! An exciting time for many, but for some, potentially quite daunting. We discuss the positive and negative effects this boom has had on studios, talent and education & training.
SPEAKERS
Hugo Guerra
Director & VFX Supervisor // Hugo's Desk
(Sniper Elite 5, Vermintide 2, Homefront the Revolution, Just Cause 3)
Hugo Guerra is an award-winning Director and VFX Supervisor. After finishing his Fine Arts degree, he worked in Portugal and Sweden before moving to the UK where he was a freelancer for several years.
In 2010 he joined The Mill London as a VFX Supervisor and as Head of the Nuke Department where he worked with clients like Audi, Adidas, Nike, IKEA, Panasonic, Discovery Channel, Sony, Activision, Ubisoft, to name a few. In 2014 Hugo joined Fire Without Smoke as a Director and Visual Effects Supervisor, working on trailers for games studios like CCP, Ubisoft, Deep Silver, Square Enix, Sony, Warhammer, etc.
Most recently Hugo worked as a VFX Supervisor for Sony Playstation and worked as a Film Director for Rebellion Studios directing the cinematic trailer for Sniper Elite 5. He is also very active as a teacher and lecturer of Visual Effects, making keynotes in festivals all over the world in partnership with BenQ, Foundry, ActionVFX and Ftrack. Hugo is also a content creator on YouTube and Twitch with his channel Hugo's Desk and he is the co-host of the VFX Notes Podcast with Ian Failes from Befores & Afters.
Website // IMDb // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn
Jahirul Amin
Computer Animation and Visual Effects Trainer and Consultant // CAVE Academy
(Avengers: Endgame, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Bohemian Rhopsody)
Jahirul Amin is a Computer Animation and Visual Effects Trainer and Consultant specialising in designing and delivering courses to create solid and diverse production-ready skills.
His background in working with and for world-renowned studios such as DNEG, Framestore, Clear Angle Studios, ILM, BBC Tunisia, and academic institutes such as NCCA Bournemouth, Arts University Bournemouth, Filmakademie and The Animation Workshop, feeds into his ongoing connections with industry bodies which provide Computer Animation and Visual Effects training and courses.
Website // Instagram // LinkedIn
Laurie Blavin
Global Head of Talent Acquisition // Scanline VFX
(Mr. Peabody & Sherman, How To Train Your Dragon, Super 8, Iron Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End)
Laurie Blavin recently returned to Scanline VFX as Global Head of Talent Acquisition. With over 15 years' experience in recruiting and talent acquisition roles within the industry, Laurie's expertise lies in building and managing creative and technical teams. Based in Los Angeles, Laurie has spent the past decade building and running her own recruitment consultancy business, VFX Scout, delivering full-cycle recruitment across global clients in VFX, games and interaction design. Notable clients included Dreamworks Animation, MPC, and Blue Sky.
Laurie is no stranger to the digital production process having previously worked in production and managerial roles at companies such as Phillips Interactive Media, Lucasarts Entertainment and AOL.
Laurie has been an active member of the Visual Effects Society for over 9 years, serving on the Executive Committee and the Bay Area Board of Managers.
Roula Lainas
Marketing and Business Development Executive // Versatile Media Ltd.
Roula has spent over 25 years in the post-production and visual effects industry in areas that include producing, sales, marketing and business development for film, television, commercials and gaming cinematic projects for several markets including Latin America.
More recently, she has joined the virtual production realm as Marketing & Business Development Executive for Versatile Media. She has been part of the Women in Animation board for Programs for 3 years where she has had the honour of working alongside talented and strong individuals making a real difference for our entertainment sector.
Website // Twitter // LinkedIn
Tracy Vezina
Human Resources Manager // Image Engine Design, Inc.
(The Book of Boba Fett)
Tracy Vezina is a self-proclaimed HR geek with two decades of experience helping people love their work and excel in their careers. Whether through job placement, leadership development, coaching, or candid conversations, her goal is to figure out what makes individuals shine and help them do it every day.
Her career started in financial management and accounting before transitioning to human resource management in the high-tech industry in the early 2000s which took her through start-ups, mergers and acquisitions, and an IPO. Next, Tracy ventured into the visual effects and animation industry where she found HR happiness working at local Vancouver studios Rhythm & Hues and Image Engine.
For the past few years, Tracy’s been leading employee wellness initiatives as the HR Manager at Image Engine, where she’s navigating the ever-evolving remote/hybrid work model and discovering what company culture and engagement looks like when some staff have long-standing relationships while others have never met colleagues in person.
Tracy thrives in organizations whose leaders rely on the connection between top-notch people practices and competitive success. She believes in a back-to-basics approach to leadership and authentic connections to help organizations succeed.
MODERATOR
Victoria Long
VFX & Animation Talent Consultant // PXL Talent
Victoria began her career as an Actor’s Agent, helping build careers for actors straight out of drama school, as well as finding casting opportunities for established TV and West End actors. Victoria transferred her agenting skills to recruitment moving into specialist media and arts recruiting, sourcing talent for leading UK TV and Film Production companies.
Victoria ventured into the VFX industry in 2013 joining DNEG London as a VFX Recruiter and later transferring to Vancouver as Senior Recruiter, then Talent Acquisition Manager. She helped grow new studios in Vancouver, Los Angeles and Montreal, managing large scale recruiting and company growth. She was instrumental in the restructuring of the global Talent Acquisition team; managed teams of recruiters and TA Managers, and eventually headed up Talent Acquisition across North America.
Having hired a wide range of creative, technical, leadership and executive roles during her time at DNEG she now brings this industry knowledge and experience to her current role as a Talent Consultant at PXL Talent. At PXL Victoria partners with VFX, Animation and Virtual Production studios across the globe finding the best talent for their teams, and supports talent with finding the right role and the right company to enhance their career.
Victoria was an active member of the DNEG Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, leading new initiatives, programs and training to help build a more diverse and inclusive workplace. Victoria continues to be a passionate advocate for EDI.
Sessions focused on the people of visual effects, their experience and how they continue to promote and support a happy, healthy and thriving industry.
As audience demand for more content increases, the VFX business is bigger and busier than ever before. There’s a lot to be excited about in 2022. The industry is bursting with new work and new opportunities. Studios large and small are actively hiring and growing their teams with the abundance of work rolling in. With virtual production and new technologies taking a big leap forward, so does the learning curve. Bringing new creative and technical challenges; there’s no better time than now for a VFX artist to thrive! An exciting time for many, but for some, potentially quite daunting. We discuss the positive and negative effects this boom has had on studios, talent and education & training.
SPEAKERS
Hugo Guerra
Director & VFX Supervisor // Hugo's Desk
(Sniper Elite 5, Vermintide 2, Homefront the Revolution, Just Cause 3)
Hugo Guerra is an award-winning Director and VFX Supervisor. After finishing his Fine Arts degree, he worked in Portugal and Sweden before moving to the UK where he was a freelancer for several years.
In 2010 he joined The Mill London as a VFX Supervisor and as Head of the Nuke Department where he worked with clients like Audi, Adidas, Nike, IKEA, Panasonic, Discovery Channel, Sony, Activision, Ubisoft, to name a few. In 2014 Hugo joined Fire Without Smoke as a Director and Visual Effects Supervisor, working on trailers for games studios like CCP, Ubisoft, Deep Silver, Square Enix, Sony, Warhammer, etc.
Most recently Hugo worked as a VFX Supervisor for Sony Playstation and worked as a Film Director for Rebellion Studios directing the cinematic trailer for Sniper Elite 5. He is also very active as a teacher and lecturer of Visual Effects, making keynotes in festivals all over the world in partnership with BenQ, Foundry, ActionVFX and Ftrack. Hugo is also a content creator on YouTube and Twitch with his channel Hugo's Desk and he is the co-host of the VFX Notes Podcast with Ian Failes from Befores & Afters.
Website // IMDb // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn
Jahirul Amin
Computer Animation and Visual Effects Trainer and Consultant // CAVE Academy
(Avengers: Endgame, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Bohemian Rhopsody)
Jahirul Amin is a Computer Animation and Visual Effects Trainer and Consultant specialising in designing and delivering courses to create solid and diverse production-ready skills.
His background in working with and for world-renowned studios such as DNEG, Framestore, Clear Angle Studios, ILM, BBC Tunisia, and academic institutes such as NCCA Bournemouth, Arts University Bournemouth, Filmakademie and The Animation Workshop, feeds into his ongoing connections with industry bodies which provide Computer Animation and Visual Effects training and courses.
Website // Instagram // LinkedIn
Laurie Blavin
Global Head of Talent Acquisition // Scanline VFX
(Mr. Peabody & Sherman, How To Train Your Dragon, Super 8, Iron Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End)
Laurie Blavin recently returned to Scanline VFX as Global Head of Talent Acquisition. With over 15 years' experience in recruiting and talent acquisition roles within the industry, Laurie's expertise lies in building and managing creative and technical teams. Based in Los Angeles, Laurie has spent the past decade building and running her own recruitment consultancy business, VFX Scout, delivering full-cycle recruitment across global clients in VFX, games and interaction design. Notable clients included Dreamworks Animation, MPC, and Blue Sky.
Laurie is no stranger to the digital production process having previously worked in production and managerial roles at companies such as Phillips Interactive Media, Lucasarts Entertainment and AOL.
Laurie has been an active member of the Visual Effects Society for over 9 years, serving on the Executive Committee and the Bay Area Board of Managers.
Roula Lainas
Marketing and Business Development Executive // Versatile Media Ltd.
Roula has spent over 25 years in the post-production and visual effects industry in areas that include producing, sales, marketing and business development for film, television, commercials and gaming cinematic projects for several markets including Latin America.
More recently, she has joined the virtual production realm as Marketing & Business Development Executive for Versatile Media. She has been part of the Women in Animation board for Programs for 3 years where she has had the honour of working alongside talented and strong individuals making a real difference for our entertainment sector.
Website // Twitter // LinkedIn
Tracy Vezina
Human Resources Manager // Image Engine Design, Inc.
(The Book of Boba Fett)
Tracy Vezina is a self-proclaimed HR geek with two decades of experience helping people love their work and excel in their careers. Whether through job placement, leadership development, coaching, or candid conversations, her goal is to figure out what makes individuals shine and help them do it every day.
Her career started in financial management and accounting before transitioning to human resource management in the high-tech industry in the early 2000s which took her through start-ups, mergers and acquisitions, and an IPO. Next, Tracy ventured into the visual effects and animation industry where she found HR happiness working at local Vancouver studios Rhythm & Hues and Image Engine.
For the past few years, Tracy’s been leading employee wellness initiatives as the HR Manager at Image Engine, where she’s navigating the ever-evolving remote/hybrid work model and discovering what company culture and engagement looks like when some staff have long-standing relationships while others have never met colleagues in person.
Tracy thrives in organizations whose leaders rely on the connection between top-notch people practices and competitive success. She believes in a back-to-basics approach to leadership and authentic connections to help organizations succeed.
MODERATOR
Victoria Long
VFX & Animation Talent Consultant // PXL Talent
Victoria began her career as an Actor’s Agent, helping build careers for actors straight out of drama school, as well as finding casting opportunities for established TV and West End actors. Victoria transferred her agenting skills to recruitment moving into specialist media and arts recruiting, sourcing talent for leading UK TV and Film Production companies.
Victoria ventured into the VFX industry in 2013 joining DNEG London as a VFX Recruiter and later transferring to Vancouver as Senior Recruiter, then Talent Acquisition Manager. She helped grow new studios in Vancouver, Los Angeles and Montreal, managing large scale recruiting and company growth. She was instrumental in the restructuring of the global Talent Acquisition team; managed teams of recruiters and TA Managers, and eventually headed up Talent Acquisition across North America.
Having hired a wide range of creative, technical, leadership and executive roles during her time at DNEG she now brings this industry knowledge and experience to her current role as a Talent Consultant at PXL Talent. At PXL Victoria partners with VFX, Animation and Virtual Production studios across the globe finding the best talent for their teams, and supports talent with finding the right role and the right company to enhance their career.
Victoria was an active member of the DNEG Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, leading new initiatives, programs and training to help build a more diverse and inclusive workplace. Victoria continues to be a passionate advocate for EDI.
