Nov 3 / Christian Bull

The Final Rules of VFX Mastery

Rules 9 & 10

Firstly, relax; working in the film industry will put you into an early grave, if you’re stressed out by problems. We face so many of them, and yet the stakes are never that high. It’s just film; no one is going to die if we screw up.

Secondly, identify whether the problem is creative, technical, or interpersonal. If it’s creative, there is always a solution; you just need to get creative! Normally distance from the problem will help. If it’s interpersonal, the problem is almost always communication-based; figure out who you need to contact and contact them.

Technical problems can be more difficult, these need simplification to solve. These need a specific process to solve, so let’s look into that;

Rule 9 - It’s all problem-solving.

A classic Herzog/Kinski problem…


The director Werner Herzog loves to tell the story of the time when his notoriously unhinged lead actor, Klaus Kinski tried to abandon the shooting of Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Herzog got a gun and threatened to shoot him dead.

Kinski leaving the shoot would have been a problem. As he looked down the barrel of Herzog’s gun, he had a change of heart and finished the shoot - problem solved. To me, that’s filmmaking in a nutshell. There’s different unique problems every single day; big ones, small ones, fat ones, thin ones. The filmmaking process starts when you encounter your first problem, and finishes when you solve the last one.

VFX problems are generally less dramatic than on-set ones. I rarely need to pull out my gun on anyone to solve a problem. But still, every day is defined by problems.

Maybe an effect looks really great, but it takes 20 hours to render a frame, and we have 600 frames to render by tomorrow. Or maybe the latest AI rotoscoping can do your rotoscoping in 10 minutes, but the quality would be better if you did it by hand. Do you take the time hit or the quality hit?

I could go on and on AND ON, because VFX is all problems, all the time. I’m probably not selling it very well, am I? But it’s true. And so what if that’s not glamorous; VFX gives you access to limitless storytelling potential. So we can probably forgive it for also being a constant pain in the ass.

What this all means is that in order to excel as VFX artists, we essentially need to excel as problem solvers, in 3 different areas. We need to be creative problem solvers (how do I tell this story with the constraints that I have?), technical problem solvers (how do I use this tool to tell my story?), and inter-personal problem solvers (how do I work with other people to tell this story?

We’ll deep dive into each one of these another time, but for now, let’s keep it simple;

  • Creative problem - These can always be solved. If you’re struggling with them, you’re probably too attached to an idea that’s not working. Give yourself distance and/or consult someone else
  • Interpersonal problem - Communication is king. Who do you need to speak to in order to solve this problem, and why aren’t you speaking to them? Maybe the problem is detached from you, and you need to get two other people to speak to each other. Be kind, clear, firm, and above all, pro-active
  • Technical problem - Google first, it’s likely someone else has solved the problem. If not, be patient and simplify. Don’t expect the computer to follow a human thought process. It’s not being “stupid” or “random”, it’s being logical. Meet it there, and one step at a time remove each thing that isn’t causing the problem, until you’re left with just the problem area to work with. Think of Hercule Poirot slowly, patiently, and calmly removing suspects until only the killer is left

Rule 10 - It’s not about you

A green screen shot from The Room. Would the film have been better with better VFX? Hmm no. But that shouldn’t matter if you’re hired to work on it. It’s not about you…


In some ways, this is the most important of the 10 rules, and maybe it’s the most difficult for people to swallow.

As a junior artist, I really struggled with client feedback, especially when I disagreed with their creative notes. Why should I do work that I thought was substandard?

The simplest answer to that is because that’s what I was getting paid to do!

Look, if I go to the most expensive restaurant in town, I’m not going to be happy if they bring out a Big Mac. But if I go to McDonald’s and order a Big Mac, I’m probably not going to be happy if they decide that actually I should get avant-garde cuisine. It’s my money; I get to choose.

By the same token, it’s my job or my company’s job to deliver the best quality work that we can, with the time and budget allowed, and according to the client specifications. Our attitude needs to be the same whether we’re doing a Martin Scorsese epic or The Room 2 by Tommy Wiseau.

I often tell clients that the goal of the first 5 to 10 days of pre-production with them is to brain merge with the director and other key creatives. That involves me understanding the vision of the project and their approach to problem-solving. Once that’s been achieved, I can mold myself to be an effective tool in their hands, perfectly shaped to allow them to carve out their vision since that’s what they’re paying for.

In some cases, I don’t manage to achieve brain merge. This generally happens if the client is too stressed, doesn’t trust me, or is just not interested. Those are the projects destined to cause great pain, and I will actively pull out of them if that’s an option.

To come back to my previous metaphor - it’s the equivalent of a customer coming into your restaurant and saying, “I don’t know what I want or even if I’m hungry, but whatever you bring me better be right.“

I actually think the process is the same if you’re creating your own work without client restrictions. The rule holds; it’s still not about you.

You know how writers will often talk about when they find a groove with their work, then the characters “write themselves”? Or think about the famous Michelangelo’s quote, “I see the angel in the stone and I work to set it free.”

In both cases what’s being described is a detachment of the ego from the work. Maybe that’s what flow state is. I suspect it’s a very positive thing whether working for a client or for yourself.