Sr. Executive Producer
Wondros Collective
How will the events of 2020–from the pandemic to the call for social and racial justice–impact the content you create and/or the way you work?
The events of 2020 have changed the way we conduct our business forever; and frankly, in very important and good ways. Safety, respect and inclusion are the key words that come to mind. We have been very cautious about what jobs to engage on, all based on the approach and how safe the production can be. Given that no one knows when production processes will be what they once were, I think we are developing some protocols that will stay with us indefinitely. Being respectful of personal space, how clean we consistently keep our hands and equipment, are a few protocols that I believe (and hope) will become the new normal. Regarding racial injustice, prioritizing the diversity of our roster, employees and production crews has always been at the top on my agenda as well as since joining Wondros in the Fall of 2019. Going beyond gender diversification to ensure that humans of color and all backgrounds are hired to give every qualified person the opportunity to excel in this business is essential.
What’s your New Year’s resolution, creatively speaking or from a business standpoint, for your agency, department or company?
Each New Year, I come up with a word or phrase that ends up being a kind of mantra. For 2021, it’s “Trust the process.” It resonates for me since I cannot control a whole lot of what is happening in our world and in our industry today, but I can choose grace in moving through it. That feels better to me than the other options.
Latest Crop of VES Fellows Unveiled
The Visual Effects Society (VES) has announced the Society’s newest VES Fellows, who will be celebrated with the other honorees at a special VES Honors event later this month. This year’s venerated VES Fellows who will be bestowed with the post-nominal letters “VES” are: Matt Aitken, Girish Balakrishnan, Randall Balsmeyer, Michael Conte, Lisa Cooke, Bryan Grill, Thomas Knop, Arnon Manor and Susan Rowe.
VES 2024 Fellows
VES Fellow Matt Aitken, VES. Aitken has been an integral part of Weta FX since it first opened its doors. With two Oscar nominations and five VES Award wins, including the top award of Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature for Avengers: Infinity War, Aitken’s versatility and creative talent are foundational to the studio’s success. As head of visual effects, Aitken leads Weta FX’s artists across three countries, and is responsible for filmmaker and studio relationships. Prior to assuming this executive role, Aitken was one of Weta FX’s most experienced visual effects supervisors on projects including Avengers: Endgame, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Marvel’s Eternals. Aitken has been an active VES member for 20 years. He was instrumental in establishing the New Zealand VES Section in 2011, the 5th VES Section to be created, and was New Zealand Section chair for its first five years of operation.
VES Fellow Girish Balakrishnan, VES. Balakrishnan has more than a decade of experience driving business studio strategies, business development and production innovation across live action, animation and games. As director of creative innovation at Netflix, Balakrishnan leads the content & production studio investment strategy on the application of... Read More