Artist Spotlight
Michael Armacost
Compositor | Lost Boys Alumni 2019
Demo Reel
Credited on:
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The idea of feeling like a magician, to create images that millions of people will believe for a moment are real.
- Michael Armacost
What inspired you to pursue VFX/Compositing?
My Dad raised me on Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Lord of the Rings. This started my early love of film and VFX. I went to college thinking I wanted to be a filmmaker, but then I began studying compositing in After Effects and I realized that this was what I wanted to do. That this path could help me work on the kind of amazing films I loved as a kid. I then applied to Lost Boys and made my way up to Vancouver to study Nuke.
What was unique about your experience with Lost Boys in comparison to your previous education?
I loved how focused it was compared to my Bachelor’s Degree in Film. During my time in college I had to take a lot classes that made me adequate in many areas of film, but a master of none. At Lost Boys all of my time was spent making me a master compositor and ready for work right out of school.
If there is one piece of advice you can give to people who want to pursue a career in visual effects, what would it be?
Learn and Work. The study of visual effects is a lifelong pursuit where you’ll always find new things to learn. Continually strive for more knowledge to you make yourself valuable to others and able to create amazing images that will captivate audiences.
What is visual effects to you?
To me Visual Effects is a new set of tools that can help filmmakers better tell the story of a film. I feel many auteur filmmakers see visual effects as a taboo except perhaps the greatest director of the past 50 years: Martin Scorsese. He’s fully embraced Visual Effects and sees it as the best way to create the moving images he sees in his head before making them, whether that’s creating a life story about a hitman using de-aging so the same actors can be used in The Irishman, or making a magical-looking 1930’s Paris in Hugo.
