Anne Trotman - VFX Artist
Job title - Senior Flame Artist and VFX Supervisor
Experience - 10+ years
“Ask questions, reach out to other women who are in the industry, I promise you we want to help you gain all the knowledge you need to have a successful career. ”
Tell us about your job role and the kinds of projects you work on;
I am a senior Flame artist and VFX supervisor at The Mill in New York. I specialize in beauty and fashion work but as I’m at the mill I get to work on a variety of other projects as well. One day I can be leading a team of artists on a large Target campaign and another I can be collaborating with the emerging technology department on jobs such as the on-stage visuals for Lady Gaga’s “Enimga” concert in Las Vegas.
What does an average day look like in your post-production working world?
Every day is different. I am involved with projects from the bidding process, through the shoot to finishing and delivering to the client. This means as soon as an agency or client reaches out to The Mill with a project, I work with the executive producer to bid out the cost involved in the specific post work required, and specifically how long the work will take. When we bid, we also send a calendar to the client so they can start planning backward from the air date. Then I have a conversation with the Director (or directors) that are pitching to work on the project, helping them with any VFX questions they may have to help sell their vision to the client. Then I will attend the shoot as the VFX supervisor, these days virtually from my kitchen using apps such as Qtake or CORETV so I can monitor the camera feeds. My job is to spot any issues that can be solved quickly on set or answer questions from the director and client. We have usually had a lot of conversations before the day of the shoot, so the days are planned out. I will discuss any specific VFX needs, greenscreen, tracking markers, etc. with the first AD on set so they can add that into the shooting schedule. Once the shoot is complete and the project is in the edit stage I need to be available to answer any questions that may come up, sometimes I need to do previz tests of the VFX shots for the editor to add into the offlines for presentations to help sell the idea through to the clients. If the project is being colour graded at the Mill I will attend the colour session at some point to chat to the colourist about any specific plates that I need for the 2D compositing. When the finishing starts my first job is to confirm the edits, check everything matches the approved offlines. We will share these with the director and agency clients to get any comments and then the work begins! I usually work on larger projects so I will assign the shots to the team with all the notes. I could be working with design and CG as well as other 2D artists. It’s important everyone knows the story of the project, not just their part, that way the team can get the project completed on time and to a high standard, even during COVID times it’s so important to feel like it’s a team effort even if we are all working remotely. I will have client review sessions at the start and during the project, these days they are over zoom using software such a Frame IO for everyone to easily give feedback. Once the project is approved I deliver the masters, lots of different formats for TV and social, and then it’s on to the next one.
How did your career in post-production begin?
After graduating from university in London in engineering I knew I didn’t want to be an engineer. One of my good friends was working at an international film school. He got me a job working on some student films, I did continuity one day and was a boom operator the next but as I hadn’t studied film, I felt lost on set, I didn’t know how all the parts came together to get the film finished. On set I learned about editing and post-production. I saw a job advert in a trade magazine and applied and got a job as a runner at a small company called Blue Post Production. In those days a runner did a lot of ‘actual’ running around SoHo, dropping off tapes of transferred camera rushes and picking up lunches for clients. After being promoted to the machine room, I spent time assisting all the areas of the company, including color grading, editing, and audio. This gave me a strong understanding of the post-production process as a whole.
Tell us about a career highlight;
There are two, Getting to work and live in Shanghai on and collaborate on projects with clients from a different culture to mine. I learned so much about myself during my time there and also a little bit of mandarin too.
Getting a job at the mill NY. The first flame artist to train me as a junior was a female artist called Louise who had joined my company from the Mill London after working on the feature “Gladiator” The was the film the Mill won an Oscar for and I had always wanted to work for them. It is amazing to get a chance to collaborate with so many talented artists from around the world that work at the Mill.
Which women in post do you admire?
Can I say ALL OF THEM! If I have to pick one it would be Thelma Schoonmaker! I admire her work immensely. To all the women who have supported me throughout my career, thank you. All the women who have stayed gracious when male clients walk into the room and say out loud “oh, you’re a woman”. We sometimes have to work harder to prove we can do the job but the satisfaction when the client leaves happy, or even better, requests you on the next project can’t be beaten.
Favourite piece of work?
This is a tricky one, I feel lucky to have collaborated with so many creative directors and artists throughout my career. A beauty job that stands out to me is Covergirl’s brand relaunch in 2018. I worked with the director Matt Lambert at Prettybird, whose work I really admire, and the agency Droga5. As an artist working on high-profile beauty brands, what they stand for is very important to me. They had a diverse group of strong female brand ambassadors for this campaign. I know every young person will want to use makeup to make themselves feel great, but it’s so important to make sure they are using it for the right reason.
What advice do you have for other women wanting to start a career in post?
Ask questions, reach out to other women who are in the industry, I promise you we want to help you gain all the knowledge you need to have a successful career. Also, don’t feel like you need to know what role you want to be in the industry. I love being a Flame Artist because I tried other things when I was a junior. That’s the reason I admire editors and colourists so much, I tried training to be one so understanding how hard their roles are and how hard they have worked to become successful.