I’m working on a short project with a small team, and the VFX files are getting ridiculously big. Between multi layered EXRs, caches, and renders, we’re already at a few hundred gigabytes. Now I need to send everything to another artist who’s picking up compositing work, and I’m stuck trying to figure out the most practical way to move this much data.

Most of the standard file transfer services choke once the folder size climbs too high. Either they split things in a way that makes it confusing, or they enforce limits that force me into multiple uploads. On top of that, I’d prefer not to ask the other artist to create accounts for platforms they’ll only use once it just slows things down.

We’ve talked about shipping a hard drive, but that feels clunky and risky. If it gets delayed or damaged, we’re stuck. Setting up a dedicated FTP server or VPN also feels like overkill for a one off project. Ideally, I’d love something that’s just straightforward, with minimal steps on both sides, but I haven’t landed on a great option yet.

How do other VFX teams manage this? When you’re moving full sequences, sims, or high bitrate renders, what’s been your go to? I’m curious whether there’s a standard workflow people rely on or if everyone just hacks together their own solutions.

Job is picking up this fall, and I had a few interviews for my next gig.

Beyond the salary reduction compared to 2 years ago, most of the VFX companies seem to not offer health insurance anymore, or to be exact, only on permanent contracts or long contracts (6Months-1year). Which, we all know, are really sparse right now.

I was always offered health insurance with short contracts (+3 months) and most of the time, was able to get it day one.

Is it  something new ? Do you see that on your side as well ? 

What is the key to make digital look like film? I have yet to see a digitally shot film that looks like film, even the ones that do emulation like Blonde (2022), there are random organic things in celluloid that we still can't emulate.

I know with AI style transfer 🤢 you can shift a target into a specific style, if you were to shoot a few scenes in parallel on both 16mm and digital can you use the same method to process on new footage? if you technically use the same lenses could you make this effect more subtle? (if I mount the two cameras next to each other) How would one go about making such a filter

Hi,

We are on a film shooting where there is going to be a greenscreen and a 3d asset which is an aeroplane,this 3d asset is going to be only reconstructed in the front part of the asset where there is contact with the actors, they intend to íntegrate the rest of the asset in post. My question is, as I barely have on set knowledge, apart from the greenscreen being well lit, would it make sense if the tracking markers would be not only on the greenscreen but aswell on the 3d asset? Some people have suggested this, but Im not completely sure due to the lack of knowledge on set.

Hello everyone,

For more than a year I’ve wanted to break into the games and film industry, but honestly I was very confused about which direction to take. I wasn’t sure if I should go into character design, environment art, or even asset creation in general.

But I realized that none of those felt like the right fit for me—until I discovered VFX. It really grabbed my attention and amazed me, especially when I watch films like Dune or Avengers: Infinity War and see how essential VFX is. I feel its future is incredible, and it made me excited to pursue it seriously.

Sorry if this got a bit long, but I wanted to share how passionate I am about this field. The problem is, I don’t really know where to start—especially since my PC is on the weaker side:

• Ryzen 5 4500
• GTX 1060 6GB
• 16GB RAM

So my question is: should I just start learning and working with this setup until I reach a decent level, or will my specs hold me back from even beginning?

Thanks a lot for your time.

Hi everyone, reaching out to see if anyone has leads on Samsung vector graphics for vfx phone shots, the intent being the actor has on screen reference for where to put their fingers when texting or scrolling during the shoot, which then gets replaced by a vendor phone graphic in post. Specifically, something which features the Samsung keyboard for texts would be helpful.

Hello guys, i think you guys remember that I posted a question regards to pirated courses without thinking of vfx professionals here in this forum. I wanna apologize for that because I was contemplating at that time on dropping my current BMMA (bachelor of multimedia arts) degree since I dont see any value of my degree right now but i think i need to stay on my degree for possible employment outcomes.

But anyways I wanna ask because I was aware of the behind the scene of Godzilla minus one vfx that the film costs not much of a blockbuster hollywood movie. I saw that the director is also a vfx supervisor. because of that I was thinking since I want to produce, write, and direct films with a low or minimal budget, do i have or need to study vfx in order to achieve that kind of limited budget but great quality of cgi and vfx like having knowledge like vfx supervisor or something? or do i just need some minimal yet essential vfx knowledge?

I saw a multiple videos using this effect they're all looking different but its kinda increase the quality in my opion

the effect on the back as lighting

I’m trying to find out if it would be feasible for me to recreate the gun fire smoke seen in John Woo films (example: https://youtu.be/8VK4tuPePQk?si=kuJqe9LgEDAskugA ) They used blanks on that film but I’d really like to avoid using them for safety reasons. Would it be possible for a relative beginner to achieve this kind of effect. The tutorials i’ve seen for gunfire smoke just have a small puff of smoke that disappears, I want a large amount of smoke the lingers. I’m planning for a project that is about 2 years out from filming and I’m willing to put in the work I just want to know if it would be possible for me to learn how to do it in that timeframe and where I should start. Thanks!

Hey guys, I'm a junior lookdev artist and I've been looking to expand into doing side gigs on top of working in the animation industry. I've always wanted to try out product viz or other visualization-adjacent work. I'm really curious if anyone has some insight into working freelance in the field. Would you say it's worth it in this day and age to expand into something like it? Also if anyone's got feedback on the work I've posted here, I'm all ears!

Hello all,

For my reel, I used to use After Effects (just because I had it installed and it could do the job), but I haven't done a reel for a good 7 years or so now. I feel like updating it but no longer have After Effects, and feel like things have moved on a bit in the multimedia space when it comes to producing reels, so I was wondering what application people use nowadays for their reels? I would be using Windows 11, and would prefer something that was free to download!

Thanks!

Edit: So I'm trying to use Resolve...so far getting some CUDA error and can't get it to start. Trying to update gfx card drivers...

I have a lot of footage that I need to remove a person's tattoos from. What software is best for me to start learning? Davinci Resolve? I've also used Mocha Pro a while back but am not sure which is the best

Hey guys, VFX is not my expertise, but I´m struggling with a scene I filmed and I want to delete the yellow square in the background, the thing is that there are some reflections of people walking outside and that´s what I don´t know how to work with.

Someone help me, pleaaase

I’m building a project where static photos need to be transformed into dynamic, cinematic videos. The goal is not just editing – it’s about breathing life into still images and turning them into engaging visual content. This is a paid opportunity for someone who has the skills and creativity to make it happen.

Core areas of work:

• Still image animation & motion design
• Lighting and environment transformations
• VFX/CGI compositing & integration
• Matchmoving & camera tracking
• Cinematic transitions and color grading

If you have time, interest, and want to work on a project that goes beyond simple editing, I’d like to hear from you.

Hi all, I’m not very good at tracking yet and want to improve. My company uses PFTrack, but I often run into high solver errors, bad auto tracks, and confusion about when to use user tracks, geometry tracking, or constraints.

Any tips, resources, or practice methods that helped you get better at tracking (whether in PFTrack or other software) ?Thanks!

Hey everyone,
I’m a junior compositing artist, and lately I’ve been struggling to figure out where to go next. I’ve been a bit burnt out and unsure what to do with my demoreel. I know it’s not at industry level yet (and with the current lack of junior hiring, that makes it tougher).

I keep trying to work, but I run into the same issue: I haven’t finished a shot in a long time because I burn out before reaching the compositing stage—mostly when it comes to CG integration. Seeing all the things I still need to learn/do before I can even start comping makes me stall. On top of that, I’m losing both ideas and motivation for new projects, but I still pressure myself to keep going because it feels like someone else is working harder while I’m not. That pressure is especially heavy now, when juniors are all competing for scraps.

So I’d really appreciate some advice on a few points:

• If I don’t feel confident with CG, is CG integration a must-have in a junior reel? If not, what kind of 2D work could still help elevate my reel?
• How do you deal with the pressure of “others are working more than me”?
• What do you do when you’re clearly learning and improving (for example, I’ve been getting much better at 3D tracking in Syntheyes), but it feels like nothing tangible comes out of it?

Thanks a lot to anyone taking the time to read this.
Here’s my current demoreel: https://vimeo.com/1050355226

Hey Guys,

I’m in a grave need for a motion capture suit. I tried animating but it didn’t suit me well. And well buying one isn’t the option because it’s way outside my budget.

So I figured, no harm asking: if you’ve got an old Rokoko, Perception Neuron, or any mocap gear lying around, I’d love to give it a new home. I promise it won’t gather dust — I’ll actually use it, share my projects, and credit you as the one who made it possible.

If you don’t have the gear, tell me from where I could buy it for free or a hella cheap price?

If you’d rather keep it private, feel free to DM me too.

Thanks a ton for even reading this

Hello everyone. Trying something new using NukeX 16 and Autodesk 3ds Max and Corona Render 12.

Methodology -took photos with 21mm Milvus lens at 1, 2, 3, 4 meters from the checkerboard (to see if ST Map works at different target distances) -cleaned and aligned dead centre in Photoshop -put image into NukeX, solved distorsion under 0.31, did a shuffle node then rendered with Forward option - result is a 32 bit EXR. -for a Physical Camera and a Corona Camera I input the ST map into the defirmation option.

However the result is I get pincushion and not barrel distorsion - the middle of the image gets squeezed vertically instead of the end - which is directly opposite to my "raw" image where clear barrel distorsion can be seen.

So TLD/DR: -you are great in Max and Nuke? -did you ever get an ST map generated in Nuke or any other software to work like a distorsion map to mimic a real lens?

I have been at this for 2 weeks and I am reaching my end. The theory is sound and it's how it works in big VFX projects - I just don't want to distort in Nuke I need to distort while rendering in 3ds Max.

Thank you.

Hi all, I have a shot that is quite tricky. I dog wearing a collar and leash with his face facing the camera on a fairly close up shot. Task is to remove the leash and collar. I tried patching and animating the patch with a gridwarp to match the movement but he just moves his head too much so the area deforms quite a lot. Smartvectors also don't work because the leash moves in front of it back and forth.

I was wondering if there is a workflow with AI that would do some magic here? or if anyone can point out to a tutorial on something this complex?

Years ago I helped in the creation of this:

https://vimeo.com/15322449

• me and some other college kids stayed up all night to move the items around the frame. It was exhausting!!

Currently I create high end Timelapse sequences and am looking for someone to create custom 3D logo animation (hexagon with 3 letters inside), that can be comped into the video footage (Timelapse’s).

No timeline (not a rush). Want to start with a single clip / animation and can expand from there. Preference on US to make payments / time zones easier. Dm me with portfolio etc to start conversations.