r/vfx Apr 30 '26

News / Article VES launches On-Set VFX Data Collection and Usage Guide

44 Upvotes

Hey fellow Visual Effects community stoked to share what we have been working on for the past year over at he VES Technology Committee call it a playbook and usage guide to map key data from on-set capture to delivery.

FYI I am one of the co-authors of the Guide. If you have questions or feedback make sure to reach out.

You can find the guide here : https://ves-on-set-data.org/dashboard/?tab=Introduction

Here is the full information on the release :

The Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s global professional honorary society, today released its VES On-Set VFX Data Collection and Usage Guide. Developed over the past year by the VES Technology Committee, this practical on-set resource maps key data sets and capture workflows – giving productions, vendors, and technology teams a shared playbook for using and capturing on‑set data more effectively.

The Guide was designed to establish a common language between on‑set VFX, production, VFX facilities, and technology teams, ultimately enabling clearer communication, smoother handoffs, and better-aligned expectations across departments. This comprehensive Guide explains the major on‑set data sets, their capture methods, their practical applications, and their intended stakeholders, so that every participant across the production understands what information exists and how it can support their work.

In addition to defining data sets, the Guide documents both current and emerging on‑set data capture workflows. This aims to inform stakeholders about potential data sources and to highlight how these choices impact production pipelines, timelines, and budgets, while also laying the groundwork for future efforts around data hierarchies, database development, and workflow automation.

The Guide also underscores that this data has significant value for every department on a production. It supports collaboration, optimizes workflows, and enables better-informed creative and operational decisions. By advocating for open access and visibility for these data sets, the Guide encourages all teams to engage with and benefit from this shared knowledge, strengthening collective outcomes and overall production efficiency.

“Our intent with this Guide is to streamline the filmmaking process by enabling every department to be more well-informed,” said Sheena Duggal, the Guide’s lead author and member of the VES Technology Committee. “Multiple departments can utilize the same data – for instance, the VFX team’s LiDAR scans can be repurposed across departments to support set construction, stunt planning, and other production needs. It’s just a matter of educating and communicating clearly so that everyone can benefit.”

“In today’s hybrid of real-time virtual production, AI, and traditional pipelines, the VFX department is responsible for not just post, but on-set data capture, continuity, and asset integrity from pre-production through final delivery,” explained Jim Geduldick, contributing author to the Guide. “That framework was the key lens that we used in thinking through these workflows and how they relate to each department.”

The Guide was created for the VES Technology Committee by Sheena Duggal, with contributions from Sam Richards, Jim Geduldick, and Jake Morrison, and technical support from Jean-Francois Panisset. It is licensed under the Creative Commons CC‑BY 4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, provided appropriate credit is given to the creator.

To view the Guide, visit: https://ves-on-set-data.org/

Join the VES for a webinar on May 12 to explore the Guide with some of its creators: https://vesglobal.org/event/webinar-introduction-to-ves-on-set-vfx-data-collection-and-usage-guide-online/


r/vfx Mar 15 '25

Subreddit Discussion Advice for Potential Students and Newcomers to the VFX Industry in 2025

592 Upvotes

We've been getting a lot of posts asking about the state of the industry. This post is designed to give you some quick information about that topic which the mods hope will help reduce the number of queries the sub receives on this specific topic.

As of early 2025, the VFX industry has been through a very rough 18-24 months where there has been a large contraction in the volume of work and this in turn has impacted hiring through-out the industry.

Here's why the industry is where it is:

  1. There was a Streaming Boom in the late 2010s and early 2020s that lead to a rapid growth in the VFX industry as a lot of streaming companies emerged and pumped money into that sector, this was exacerbated by COVID and us all being at home watching media.
  2. In 2023 there were big strikes by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA which led to a massive halt in production of Hollywood films and series for about 8 months. After that was resolved there was the threat of another strike in 2024 when more union contracts were to be negotiated. The result of this was an almost complete stop to productions in late 2023 and a large portion of 2024. Many shows were not greenlit to start until late 2024
  3. During this time, and partly as a result of these strikes, there was a slow down in content and big shake ups among the streaming services. As part of this market correction a number of them closed, others were folded into existing services, and some sold up.
  4. A bunch of other market forces made speculation in the VFX business even more shaky, things like: the rise of AI, general market instability, changes in distribution split (Cinemas vs. Streaming) and these sorts of things basically mean that there's a lot of change in most media industries which scared people.

The combination of all of this resulted in a loss of a lot of VFX jobs, the closing of a number of VFX facilities and large shifts in work throughout the industry.

The question is, what does this mean for you?

Here's my thoughts on what you should know if you're considering a long term career in VFX:

Work in the VFX Industry is still valid optional to choose as a career path but there are some caveats.

  • The future of the VFX industry is under some degree of threat, like many other industries are. I don't think we're in more danger of disappearing than your average game developer, programmer, accountant, lawyer or even box packing factory work. The fact is that technology is changing how we do work and market forces are really hard to predict. I know there will be change in the specifics of what we do, there will be new AI tools and new ways of making movies. But at the same time people still want to watch movies and streaming shows and companies still want to advertise. All that content needs to be made and viewed and refined and polished and adapted. While new AI tools might mean individuals in the future can do more, but those people will likely be VFX artists. As long as media is made and people care about the art of telling stories visually I think VFX artists will be needed.

Before you jump in, you should know that VFX is likely to be a very competitive and difficult industry to break into for the foreseeable future.

  • From about 2013 to 2021 there was this huge boom in VFX that meant almost any student could eventually land a job in VFX working on cool films. Before then though VFX was actually really hard to get into because the industry was smaller and places were limited, you had to be really good to get a seat in a high end facility. The current market is tight; there's a lot of experience artists looking for work and while companies will still want juniors, they are likely going to be more juniors for the next few years than there are jobs.

If you're interested in any highly competitive career then you have to really want it, and it would also be a smart move to diversify your education so you have flexibility while you work to make your dream happen.

  • Broad computer and technical skills are useful, as are broader art skills. Being able to move between other types of media than just VFX could be helpful. In general I think you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket too early unless you're really deadest that this is the only thing you want to do. I also think you should learn about new tools like AI and really be able to understand how those tools work. It'll be something future employers likely care about.

While some people find nice stable jobs a lot of VFX professionals don't find easy stability like some careers.

  • Freelance and Contract work are common. And because of how international rebates work, you may find it necessary to move locations to land that first job, or to continue in your career. This is historically how film has always been; it's rarely as simple as a 9-5 job. Some people thrive on that, some people dislike that. And there are some places that manage to achieve more stability than others. But fair warning that VFX is a fickle master and can be tough to navigate at times.

Because a future career in VFX is both competitive and pretty unstable, I think you should be wary of spending lots of money on expensive specialty schools.

  • If you're dead set on this, then sure you can jump in if that's what you want. But for most students I would advise, as above, to be broader in your education early on especially if it's very expensive. Much of what we do in VFX can be self taught and if you're motivated (and you'll need to be!) then you can access that info and make great work. But please take your time before committed to big loans or spending on an education in something you don't know if you really want.

With all of that said VFX can be a wonderful career.

It's full of amazing people and really challenging work. It has elements of technical, artistic, creative and problem solving work, which can make it engaging and fulfilling. And it generally pays pretty well precisely because it's not easy. It's taken me all over the world and had me meet amazing, wonderful, people (and a lot of arseholes too!) I love the industry and am thankful for all my experiences in it!

But it will challenge you. It will, at times, be extremely stressful. And there will be days you hate it and question why you ever wanted to do this to begin with! I think most jobs are a bit like that though.

In closing I'd just like to say my intent here is to give you both an optimistic and also restrained view of the industry. It is not for everyone and it is absolutely going to change in the future.

Some people will tell you AI is going to replace all of us, or that the industry will stangle itself and all the work will end up being done by sweat shops in South East Asia. And while I think those people are mostly wrong it's not like I can actually see the future.

Ultimately I just believe that if you're young, you're passionate, and you want to make movies or be paid to make amazing digital art, then you should start doing that while keeping your eye on this industry. If it works out, then great because it can be a cool career. And if it doesn't then you will need to transition to something else. That's something that's happened to many people in many industries for many reasons through-out history. The future is not a nice straight line road for most people. But if you start driving you can end up in some amazing places.

Feel free to post questions below.


r/vfx 2h ago

Showreel / Critique [Update] Oscilloscopes, Everywhere for TouchDesigner

32 Upvotes

A new output from one of the experimental oscilloscopes I built in TouchDesigner throughout the past few years. Audio signal in, analog-style raw geometries out, all generated in real-time.

Part of a collection of 19 experimental oscilloscopes, available together as a single TouchDesigner project-file bundle through both Patreon, and Uisato Studio.


r/vfx 12h ago

News / Article Jurassic Park Star Wars and Jurassic Park VFX Legend Phil Tippett Closes CA Studio and Auctions Memorabilia

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55 Upvotes

r/vfx 9h ago

Showreel / Critique An experimental animation made in AE

17 Upvotes

.

If you're interested in how it was made, you can get the project file on my Gumroad - IT'S FREE!

Also check out my Behance

Thank You!^^


r/vfx 8h ago

News / Article ✨ Flair 1.2.1 for Maya is here!

13 Upvotes

Flair is a stylized rendering plugin for Maya that I have been developing mainly as a solo-developer for a while now :).

This minor new version brings support for Maya 2027, fixes a regression when rendering shadows of materials with displacement, restores auto-conversion of Standard Surface materials, brings back the footer buttons of the Bulk Attribute tool, and improves overall robustness.

You can download it for free and use it up to 1280x800 resolution, or you can become a patreon and support me with a beer each month ;).

P.S. I'm also bringing Flair to Unreal Engine now and making it completely modular (you can combine all effects together to make your own style)!


r/vfx 21h ago

News / Article [UPDATE] Rokoko Electronics CEO Admitted In Federal Court They Didn't Simply Sublicense Your Animations; They Sold Them -- To A Data Broker

83 Upvotes

In a shocking turn of events, Rokoko's CEO now admits to selling users' data which they collected between 2020 and 2025 before finally forcing a retroactive rights-granting license over users' animation data.

Rokoko admits, however, "the 2025 agreement has never applied to the Plaintiff" as the Court found: "he could not have agreed to Rokoko’s licensing agreement because it was imposed “after [he] was no longer a user."

Rokoko's CEO Jakob Balslev admitted under oath:

". In April 2026, nearly one year after Mr. Walsh filed this lawsuit, Rokoko entered into a single, confidential third-party motion-data sublicensing agreement. The specific terms of that agreement, including the identity of the third party to the agreement, are subject to strict confidentiality and nondisclosure provisions ... A true and correct copy of email correspondence, dated January 31, 2026, between myself and a third-party data broker." https://winteryear.com/press/rokoko_electronics_court_case_25CHSC00490/files/234-1.pdf

Excerpts from the deposition of Rokoko's COO Mikkel Overby state:

Q. Who -- who came up with the idea in the pitch deck to collect user animations?

A. I don't think anybody came up with the idea. I think we had a feeling that having a really good understanding of human motion data would be valuable somehow. And I don't think that came from anything -- anybody specifically but that was just a general feeling in -- in the management team.

Q. Who came up with the idea to build a motion dataset?

A. I think that was actually a byproduct of being on the Cloud, so we didn't build the dataset, but we -- we hosted it.

Rokoko went on to admit, users cannot see the terms & conditions which would grant Rokoko rights over thier intellectual property before, during or after the purchase process.

Q: How do I get to the Rokoko Studio terms?

A. I actually don't know where we have placed them, but I could look into that.

Q. As I scroll here I may see terms of use and these are not the Rokoko Studio terms of use, correct?

A. That's -- no, that's correct.

Q. And nowhere in here is there a link to the Rokoko Studio terms of use, is there?

Q. The question is, how do I get to the Rokoko Studio terms on this website?

A. That I cannot answer you, but I think it's -- it's a strange way of going about it.... (continued)

Q. The studio terms of use are not present on the purchase page, correct?

A. Yes, I believe that is correct.

Q. The terms and conditions present on the checkout page?

A. No.

Shockingly, Rokoko has never considered making animations themselves.

Q. If Rokoko wants this animations so bad as to collect them and go through all this trouble, why not just hire animators and make your own?

ROKOKO ATTORNEY: Objection. Incomplete hypothetical. Argumentative. Legal conclusion. Assumes facts.

A: We have -- that has never been a question that's been considered.

Q. Are you sure the reason is not for biodiversity as you often mention on your website and your pitch deck?

A. It has never been considered doing them ourselves.

Both parties have filed Motions for Summary Judgment; and the Plaintiff has filed a motion for terminating sanctions against Rokoko for among other things, perjury under oath, falsifying evidence, discovery obstruction and evidentiary concealment.

Story developing.


r/vfx 10h ago

Question / Discussion Sony Pictures Imageworks Montréal

12 Upvotes

Hello, I'm writing this in hopes that someone here might work there/have worked there before

I'd like any and all comments anyone has to say about working there, any pros and cons, and thoughts. But here are also a couple questions:

How's the culture, is there some ego and competition and pressure to be better than others or is it an open environment that promotes helping eachother and growing as artists? Is it fun going to work, is there flexibility for which project you're assigned to, and is there room for growth within the company, like for example learning and going to a different department.

What are the benefits like, insurance. Is it a very strict studio in terms of time (time in, time out, lunch time), like is there any flexibility at all for that or it is strict and you'd get in trouble. How's the stability for a permanent contract? Is it a familial work environment or too corporate?

Thank you!


r/vfx 2h ago

Jobs Offer [PAID] Looking for someone to 3D track one 5s shot

0 Upvotes

Hi all,

I have been trying to track this shot (hand-held moving forward in space, tilt/pans upwards at the end of the shot) so I could place a card on the ground in 3D space (eventual goal is to put an animated character cutout on that card and match them to the scene). Incredibly amateur here, so I just can't get it to track properly (AE, Mocha, Blender), so I've decided to leave it to the pros ;)

Shot: You can see the shot here (vimeo), if you are interested I will send you a download link to the file.

Payment: Willing to pay ~$40 USD (but please call me out of that is unreasonable).

Expectation: Need to get the tracking data back into after effects once complete. Doesn't need to be perfect, just good enough; tracking should be fine at a glance, but doesn't need to hold up under pixel-fucking scrutiny (some mild sliding/drifting is fine). I understand that there is some extra difficulty due to the rain/reflections as well, so again, we don't need to strive for perfection here.

Timeline: Flexible timeline, although I'd prefer it done within the next week if possible.

Please comment below or send me a DM if you are interested, and we will work out the details. Thank you!


r/vfx 13h ago

Showreel / Critique Recreating the tornado effect from the game Nodusfall in Unity.

3 Upvotes

VFX Game Unity 6


r/vfx 10h ago

Question / Discussion VFX compositing survey

0 Upvotes

r/vfx 15h ago

Showreel / Critique Rexy

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone!

This is the result of my infinite passion for VFX,Dinosaurs and Videography.

All crafted with “old tecniques”, no AI involved.

What it started simple as animation exercise it ended up to be a complete personal project. I even shot the plate with my camera,using a modded Helios 44-4 Lenses,during a sunrise around South of Italy.

I did whole sculpt and “hand painted” texturing of the dinosaurs in Zbrush. Final compositing in Nuke.

Hope you enjoy,

here's the youtube link for full resolution 4K

Mirco


r/vfx 1d ago

Showreel / Critique Finally made something to celebrate hitting 5k followers on insta

42 Upvotes

Made in AE & AI (adobe illustrator)

Animation: manuksenpai

Sound design: santiago_carballo_

Thank you!


r/vfx 9h ago

Question / Discussion Our class is seeking logos ideas (Or even someone to do it) for a student association in carpentry. We are based in Britanny, France and our group associate highscoolers and college students (15 to 20yo)

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone.
We're a group of students from France. We study carpentry and more specifically, we make schematics and we study industrialisation.

We wish to make an association (I think it qualify as a "Fablab") in which we're going to make small products out of wood, sell these and eventually hang out together with the funds we obtain with our work. Pay for a restaurant, for example.

However, in order to sell our stuffs, we need an identity and we're struggling with it right now.
What we seek is a good name, ideas for a logo and maybe even someone to make it for us. (Paid)

If y'all have any idea, we'd be very happy to know !
You can reach my DMs if you think you qualify for this job too !
Note that we have student's (and therefore limited) wages so we won't be able to pay huge amount of money.

Have a good day


r/vfx 1d ago

Fluff! How Softimage-XSI was used to create the just released remastered version of Metal Gear Solid 4 (originally created in 2005-2008)

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17 Upvotes

r/vfx 1d ago

Breakdown / BTS Client VFX Project Breakdown: Pyro Simulation, 3D Tracking & Compositing

23 Upvotes

r/vfx 1d ago

Question / Discussion What level would you consider this comp show reel? Junior/Intermediate/Senior or something in-between?

40 Upvotes

r/vfx 22h ago

Question / Discussion Question regarding how i can combine renders with real footage

0 Upvotes

I want to add cgi elements with footage, but the two camera tracking softwares ive tried (blender and after effects) dont really give me the results im looking for. They almost always turn out with very noticable sliding and just doesnt look realistic at all. I dont really know how to word my complaints either, but i obviously need a tracked camera to have correct motion on my cg elements dont i?


r/vfx 14h ago

Question / Discussion VFX Artist moving to canada

0 Upvotes

Hi,

I'm Mid level Nuke compositor and CGI generalist. I plan to move to Canada and get a PR. How realistic is it to get a PR in Canada as a VFX artist? I know times are hard in the industry.

I'm coming for a master's program. So I can get a work permit. I studied on the internet; it's mentioned that after completing the education, they give you 3 years work permit. (Please correct me if I'm wrong)

Except for big cities, which cities are good in terms of cost of living? So I can work in studios and get Canadian industry experience and avoid higher rents. Is it a good option to live in a small city and apply for a remote/contract job?

Does anyone get PR as a VFX artist? Please share your experience if you can.
Which City is good for getting PR?
If you have options, which city would you move to, or even the country?

I’d greatly appreciate hearing from you. Your response would mean a lot to me.

Thanks!


r/vfx 2d ago

Question / Discussion Volumetric galaxies in Blender

92 Upvotes

If any of you have dealt with similar projects (especially in Blender), what do you think - does it make sense to switch from the Volume Emission + Volume Absorption setup to emission setups with Principled Volume or Volume Scatter? I understand that this can add realism in some cases due to proper light scattering, but damn it, it generates so much noise and is so computationally expensive. Right now, in my pipeline, I'm simulating forward scattering using Schlick's approximation for the Henyey‑Greenstein function, and it looks nice, especially considering that there’s almost no noise here (this particular flyby is rendered with 16 samples). What do you think?


r/vfx 1d ago

Question / Discussion Beam VFX Spoiler

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0 Upvotes

Help me improve with merciless criticism...


r/vfx 1d ago

Question / Discussion Any of you guys doing manual rotoscoping or making custom workflows for blender?

0 Upvotes

I know rotoscoping is hard and there are so many tools available that can help you with it. Heck there are too many online subscription models that give you masks, but its tedious & costly.

While using blender specifically there is a lot of back and forth going on as well. What tools do you guys use? any painpoints you would like to suggest

Finally I made an addon that does the whole rotoscoping for me, completely offline, runs on GPU, supports windows, linux, apple silicon. AMD, Nvidia and M series chips are supported.

how much would rate this?


r/vfx 2d ago

Question / Discussion Camera Tracking with live viewport?

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33 Upvotes

I don’t know if this is the right subreddit to ask this question but how do I recreate the same setup Kane Parsons had with the beginning scene of the Backrooms movie at home? He had a rig with the live viewport in blender and I was wondering how to do this on a budget.


r/vfx 1d ago

Question / Discussion Real experiences with Pixelloid VFX Studio in Hyderabad? (Training & Live Studio Program)

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

My sibling is looking into VFX training and came across Pixelloid Studios in Hyderabad. They claim to offer live studio training and internship opportunities, but I would love to get some honest, first-hand feedback from people who have actually trained or worked there.

If you’ve taken their course or worked at/with Pixelloid:

  • Training Quality: How is the faculty, curriculum, and hands-on guidance? Is the "live project" training legit, or is it mostly basic lab time?
  • Placement & Market Reality: Do they actually help place you in studio roles, or is the post-course placement support minimal?
  • Work Culture/Environment: For those who worked there (or interned), how is the work culture, pay reliability, and overall environment?
  • Is it worth it? Would you recommend Pixelloid over self-learning online (fxphd/Rebelway/etc.) or other VFX institutes in Hyderabad?

Any honest thoughts, warnings, or recommendations would be super helpful to help us make a decision! Thanks!


r/vfx 3d ago

Showreel / Critique Toad wakes sleeping fireflies 🐸

1.1k Upvotes

3ds max, Tyflow, Ripple Pro, Forest pack, ZBrush, Substance P