CAREER DAY AT PS11 : JACOB SLUTSKY

 

What Is My JOB?

Visual Effects Artist and Developer

I will tell you what this is after I tell you what visual effects are.

How Long Have I been DOing This?

25 Years! A quarter of a century!

 

What ARE Visual Effects

Creating or changing “live-action” footage, generally using “digital” tools like computers.

  • Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI)

    • CGI Characters - Monsters, Dinosaurs, Giant Mechs

    • Forests, Buildings, Impossible/Imaginary Landscapes

    • Fire, Explosions

    • Spaceships, planets, galaxies far, far, away

  • Green-Screen Replacement

  • Motion Capture (Copying a real humans movements to a CGI character )

  • Historical Recreations

IS this the sAME AS SPECIAL EFFECTS

No. Special effects are physical or practical effects used while actually shooting footage.

  • Live Explosions!

  • Controlled Car Crashes!

  • Fake or Breakaway Glass!

  • Wire Work - Flying Kungfu style!

  • Miniature Sets

 
 

My Duties as a Visual Effects Artist AND DEVELOPER

  • Work with a team of people to plan, execute and deliver a visual effect

    • This team includes artists, producers (managers), programmers, and others

    • Work closely with the live action team to properly “shoot” footage that will be changed by our visual effects.

      • Directors, Actors, Cinematographers, Grips(workers on set), etc

    • Communicate with our team and client as we work

      • Show Work in Progress

      • Get feedback, and comments from our clients

      • Make necessary changes and improvments

  • Experiment with interesting visual styles

    • Much like a painter might do quick sketches or drafts, we would do the same with our computer generated imagery.

  • Keep up to date with current tools, technology, styles and trends

    • Important to understand what is out there in the world, what other people are doing, and how we might benefit from those things or improve upon them.

  • Work with a team of developers(programmers) to write software and tools that help us with our daily tasks.

Projects that I Have Worked on

Movies

  • Harry Potter and the DeathLY Hallows Pt.2

  • Inception

  • Captain America

MUSEUMS AND EDUCATION

  • DARK UNIVERSE: AMNH/PLANETARIUM SHOW

COMMERCIALS, MUSIC VIDEOS, SHORT FILMS,Public Service announcements

  • Adidas, Facebook/Meta, Apple, World Cup, NBA Playoffs, Superbowl Commercials, Ford, Airbnb, etc

  • VOTING IN NYC, FIRE SAFETY, ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGNS

Example Breakdown from commercial

What DO I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY JOB

  • It’s a very creative profession where I get to experiment with different ideas and try new things.

  • Constantly learning new techniques.

  • Meeting and working with many different people from all over the world.

  • I get to use both the artistic and technical parts of my brain.

The Difficult Parts of my Job

  • The hours can be very long, especially during “deadlines” (Sometimes 12hour+ days and weekends).

  • Although I like learining new things, it can be difficult to keep up with it all sometimes.

  • Letting go of the “perfect” image.

  • Switching between the artistsic and technical roles can be difficult because the priorities are sometimes different

    • The artistic side often needs to be more flexible

    • The technical side needs to be much more thorough and often slow paced

IMPORTANT SCHOOL SUBJECTS

  • All of them ;)

  • Many of my co-workers have strong backgrounds in Art, Math and Science

  • Some went to College for Fine Arts, some Film Studies, some Computer Science, and some studied Both!

IMPORTANT QUALITIES FOR SOMEONE IN THIS ROLE

  • Work well with others.

  • Be curious! Don’t be afraid to try new or difficult things.

  • Work hard, but also have some fun doing it. It will show in the final product.