By Andy Brown

I’m creative director and Flame artist at Jogger Studios in Los Angeles. We are a VFX and finishing studio and sister company to  Cut+Run, which has offices in LA, New York, London, San Francisco and Austin. As an experienced visual effects artist, I’ve seen a lot in my time in the industry, and not just what ends up on the screen. I’m also an Englishman living in LA.

I was asked to put together some tips to help make your next project a little bit easier, but in the process, I remembered many things I forgot. I hope these tips these help!

1) Talk to production.

2) Trust your producers.

3) Don’t assume anyone (including you) knows anything.

4) Forget about the money; it’s not your job. Well, it’s kind of your job, but in the context of doing the work, it’s not.

5) Read everything that you’ve been sent, then read it again. Make sure you actually understand what is being asked of you.

6) Make a list of questions that cover any uncertainty you might have about any aspect of the project you’re bidding for. Then ask those questions.

7) Ask production to talk to you if they have any questions. It’s better to get interrupted on your weekend off than for the client to ask her friend Bob, who makes videos for YouTube. To be fair to Bob, he might have a million subscribers, but Bob isn’t doing the job, so please, keep Bob out of it.

8) Remember that what the client thinks is “a small amount of cleanup” isn’t necessarily a small amount of cleanup.

9) Bring your experience to the table. Even if it’s your experience in how not to do things.

10) If you can do some tests, then do some tests. Not only will you learn something about how you’re going to approach the problem, but it will show your client that you’re engaged with the project.

11) Ask about the deliverables. How many aspect ratios? How many versions? Then factor in the slated, the unslated and the generics and take a deep breath.

12) Don’t believe that a lift (a cutdown edit) is a lift is a lift. It won’t be a lift.

13) Make sure you have enough hours in your bid for what you’re being asked to do. The hours are more important than the money.

14) Attend the shoot. If you can’t attend the shoot, then send someone to the shoot … someone who knows about VFX. And don’t be afraid to pipe up on the shoot; that’s what you’re there for. Be prepared to make suggestions on set about little things that will make the VFX go more smoothly.

15) Give yourself time. Don’t get too frustrated that you haven’t got everything perfect in the first day.

16) Tackle things methodically.

17) Get organized.

18) Make a list.

19) Those last three were all the same thing, but that’s because it’s important.

20) Try to remember everyone’s names. Write them down. If you can’t remember, ask.

21) Sit up straight.

23) Be positive. You blew that already by being too English.

24) Remember we all want to get the best result that we can.

25) Forget about the money again. It’s not your job.

26) Work hard and don’t get pissed off if someone doesn’t like what you’ve done so far. You’ll get there. You always do.

27) Always send WIPs to the editor. Not only do they appreciate it, but they can add useful info along the way.

28) Double-check the audio.

29) Double-check for black lines at the edges of frame. There’s no cutoff anymore. Everything lives on the internet.

30) Check your spelling. Even if you spelled it right, it might be wrong. Colour. Realise. Etcetera. Etc.