Michael Armacost

Artist Spotlight

Michael Armacost

Compositor | Lost Boys Alumni 2019

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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.

Thank you, Michael! Check out his demo reel.

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Le Yang

Artist Spotlight

Le Yang

Compositor | Lost Boys Alumni 2017

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I like to think of visual effects as a tool to enhance storytelling and immerse audiences more completely. From the building of an alien world, to something simple like scars on a wounded warriors face, visual effects is the embodiment of fulfilling a creative vision.

- Le Yang

What inspired you to pursue VFX/Compositing?

To be honest, I wasn’t really into VFX-heavy movies until I went to film school. As much as I enjoyed the visuals, it always felt like it was a joust between either a great story or great visuals, but rarely both. But then, Ex Machina came out. And it was incredible. The visual effects were sleek, and somehow subtle yet obvious at the same time. It never distracted from the cinematography, but rather it was vital to how the movie looked and felt. I loved it. At this point, I was studying film production at school and ended up dabbling here and there for a couple of years on set. I never quite found a role I truly enjoyed, and then a friend of mine (who had just started his VFX career) recommended looking into Compositing. I did some research, and was hooked. There’s a sense of instant gratification working in VFX — especially Compositing — that I think I was missing from being on set. Being able to physically see the end result render right in front of your eyes is so satisfying. I felt like I was finally contributing to the final result of the movie. I decided to go with compositing as it felt the most familiar to me coming from a camera-centred background, and it’s been a wild ride ever since.

What was the scariest or most challenging part of learning Compositing?

Imagine this scenario: you’re working on a shot of a girl looking at herself in the mirror and you’ve just painted the most exquisite, realistic looking teardrop on her face to make it look like she’s crying. It’s taken you almost half a day to paint that teardrop and make her eyes look like they’re watering. But then you realize… that thing’s got to be animated over the next 50 frames because movies. That for me, was the biggest challenge while learning compositing. Coming from prior background in Photoshop, it was too easy to fall into the trap of making a single frame look amazing, and forgetting about the rest of the shot.

Visual effects is about telling stories we wouldn’t otherwise have any way to tell. It’s our way of building worlds and characters that can’t be created properly physically; a way for everybody to envision a movie (or show) the way the director sees it in their mind.

What was unique about your experience with Lost Boys in comparison to your previous education?

My experience at Lost Boys felt much less like school and more like an intensive 1 year internship at a VFX studio. The transition from learning at Lost Boys to working in a studio was absolutely seamless and that made it such a unique experience. Starting my first job outside of school didn’t feel nearly as intimidating as I would’ve expected because it felt eerily similar to being in school. Lost Boys prepared us incredibly well for working in the VFX industry.

What is something you wish people knew more about VFX/VFX Artists or Compositors/Compositing?

I wish more people knew how long it takes to get shots done! Sometimes artists are working on the same shot for months at a time for something that’s only a couple seconds in the final movie/show. Some shots that look like there’s nothing done to it at all can actually be a super complex invisible effects shot. VFX isn’t always about the crazy spaceship fights or the giant monsters smashing up the cities. I think 80% of the time it’s stuff you wouldn’t think twice about, like creating natural landscapes such as forests or mountains, or extending the interiors of buildings to complete a movie set. Sometimes you spend days fine tuning a smoke wisp that probably goes undetected to most audiences. There’s so much work that goes into every facet of VFX, and I wish that the artists and everyone involved in the process would get more recognition.

What do you enjoy most about working in visual effects?

Working in visual effects is basically just visual problem solving. Every shot has a solution — be it creative or technical — and the satisfaction you get upon completion (or approval from the supervisor) of a shot is quite a great feeling. Especially if it’s something you’ve been working on for days, or even weeks! I also love working with like-minded people and collaborating on big projects together. It’s a great feeling to be working in a team that you get along with. Some of my teammates I’ve worked with in various studios around the world are now my closest friends. This industry is wonderfully international: both in the sense that you can work in many places around the world, and meet lots of people from around the world in pretty much any studio.

Thank you, Le! Check out her demo reel.

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Rodrigo Sapag Novoa

Artist Spotlight

Rodrigo Sapag Novoa

Compositor | Lost Boys Alumni 2019

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I was never afraid or scared to learn Compositing because it is something that I really love to do. Lost Boys is the school where I felt I was getting closer to my dreams. And it is where I met people that had similar goals to mine. So everything was very special there.

- Rodrigo

What inspired you to pursue VFX/Compositing?

Watching a movie like Star Wars as a kid growing up really pushed me towards visual effects. In movies where you see things that are computer-generated like a spaceship looking so photo-real fascinated me. At some point I started to ask myself: “How can I use visual effects to create my own storyline?” And that’s what really inspired me to learn VFX so that I can fulfil my dreams of creating my own unique story.

What is something you wish people knew more about VFX/VFX Artists or Compositors/Compositing?

Not all artists have the same passion and not everyone lives with VFX in the same way. For some people it is just work and nothing more which is perfectly fine. You will come across people who are not driven to accomplish a certain dream which makes it a bit disappointing at times. However, you’ll always find someone that feels the same as you who are passionate about visual effects beyond the work itself. You may even work on small projects together if you have the time! I recommend to always stick with those people and that’s going to lead to a better way of life. 

For me, visual effects goes hand in hand with cinema and it's a way to tell a story in a more magical way, giving people a good time and experience that disconnects from reality.

What do you enjoy most about working in visual effects?

What keeps me motivated is to see my friends and family watching the movies and shows that I’ve worked on and seeing them enjoying it so much. That makes me want to keep learning and practicing to be able to actually do great work and give them even better experiences. The idea of sharing what I do with my family brings me a lot of joy.

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?

Simply, to go for it. Try to leave fear on the side and keep in mind that you can always learn from someone. It’s going be an endless journey where you won’t stop learning new things and that’s what makes it so awesome. Enter with the mind of being a student who continues to master their craft rather than one that only wants to arrive at the destination. May the Force be with you!

Thank you, Rodrigo! Connect with him now!

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Elmoatasem Ragab

Artist Spotlight

Elmoatasem Ragab

Compositor | Lost Boys Alumni 2020

Demo Reel

Tell us a little bit about your visual effects journey.

The first inspiration I can remember is definitely my brother. I would always see him drawing and making art in so many different ways. This opened me up to the artistic field as a potential career rather than the typical medical or engineering paths in most Egyptian households. Compositing was the most accessible form of art for me during this time. Honestly, I had so much fun doing it that I began to incorporate compositing into many short film projects that I made with my friends. I fondly remember trying to replicate a hologram shot inspired by Iron Man 3 when I was in middle school. With no clue how to pull it off, I hit so many brick walls which fueled my curiosity more and more. The process of problem-solving was so addictive and sent me on a spiral of online resources to learn the craft of visual effects. I have been in this same spiral ever since. However, I quickly realized I wasn’t progressing as far as I wanted. Since I didn’t have anyone around me in the same pursuit, it was so hard to get feedback to push my skills further. To break out of this plateau, I searched for a more specialized education.

Because you came from a generalist program prior to joining Lost Boys, what pushed you to come to a specialized school?

I just needed to find an environment for myself that allowed me to excel and nurture my skill. Because of the imbalance of disciplines and theories outside of the field I’m passionate about, it was very hard to nurture my compositing ability in the generalist program. Most of the time I was powering through and finding my own solutions to the technical roadblocks I faced with no guidance. In a more specialized program, I found myself surrounded by people who have the same discipline in mind. Each individual is problem-solving in completely different ways which exponentially grows the learning experience. Especially at Lost Boys, there was a strong guidance from my mentors that made a huge difference in how I viewed compositing. In my opinion, if you have a specific discipline in mind, it is always better to go to a specialized school.

Why did you choose Lost Boys?

I went through a very selective research phase as my bachelor’s program was wrapping up. I had already tried programs and courses of all kinds, but there was always something missing. Eventually, I found Lost Boys and it simply ticked all the right boxes for me. I first noticed the school was ranked as one of the top schools in the world for visual effects. When I talked to alumni and recruiters about the school, I noticed first-hand how highly regarded the school was in the industry. In those same conversations, I got a sense of a very strong, tight-knit community.

I learnt that the school functions as a studio with hands-on practical projects and feels more like a tailored mentorship-which is exactly what I was looking for. When it came to looking into the instructors, I found nothing but positive regard and an ocean of knowledge. The choice was very clear. I was ready to move to Vancouver for this.

There is an ongoing conversation about learning visual effects online over going to a visual effects school. In your opinion, is attending visual effects school worth it?

So here is my point of view on this subject. I have gone through online learning for so many years at this point that I can completely understand the argument of accessing online resources to learn. However, the main issue with it is not having feedback from more knowledgeable people in the industry or a clear trajectory of where you are heading. I like to say learning online is like progressing with a blindfold. You can feel the room and move forward with a blindfold on, but you can progress much faster and stronger if you have someone who truly understands the room to guide you through it. In addition to this, you move further along with an actual understanding of the industry ahead. 

I also believe that this industry is really about connections which is non-existent in many online educational platforms. You can’t make the same kind of bonds you would at a visual effects school in an online format. Ultimately, the amount of progress you make and the position it puts you in the industry makes up for the cost pretty quickly! You gain the skills to push you through the industry much faster than if you were doing it on your own.

Lost Boys School of VFX compositng ethereal project of genie in cave.

Some people find visual effects to not quite be an art form. Do you believe visual effects, at its core, an art form?

Definitely! I mean, art can be the interpretation of anything by anyone. A lot of things can be categorized as art and it’s very subjective 100% of the time. For me, visual effects is a very versatile artform that requires a lot of creativity, problem-solving, and technical skills to be used effectively as a storytelling tool. What is really awesome about compositing is its supportive and seamless nature. In a way, it helps everyone’s work come together which gives the audience the ability to suspend belief and be immersed in the viewing experience. It’s such a valuable tool, I think many of my favourite movies and tv shows couldn’t have been made without it.

Lastly, what is a common misconception of visual effects?

I think a lot of people see visual effects as something that is a lot simpler than it is. That misconception resonates with a lot of people because they never had the experience of actually working through it. Imagine being the cinematographer and not noticing the boom mic dip into frame. Then suddenly you see all traces of the boom in the shot seamlessly removed. It’s hard to understand what went into that one shot, and for a neutral audience, it’s not even considered if it was executed properly. There are so many hidden challenges you face as a vfx artist and the solution is different every single time. Even though a lot of tasks can feel repetitive or tedious, the best approach could be different each time. In the end, the amount of considerations you need to focus on to get something to look photo-real is unbelievable. It’s meant to produce a seamless result, so all the work that goes into it is very hard to understand. That’s why I love breakdowns because they give a taste of all the work going into every frame.

Thank you, Elmo!

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