HOT TAKES
Season 3 Episode 6
Season 3 of our popular video interview series Hot Takes continues, featuring industry leaders’ unfiltered, unrehearsed responses to hot button topics within their field. Our latest episode features Nick Slade, CG Generalist, Lighting/LookDev at The Mill, speaking about the unexpected capabilities of CGI and virtual production.
In recent years, more and more top television programs have come to rely on CGI and virtual production for the majority of special effects– just look at the success of The Mandalorian, Stranger Things, and House of the Dragon. But outside the VFX houses and rendering studios, perspectives on digital special effects are still riddled with misconceptions about cost and capability. The false perception that CGI is only for big-budget productions still pervades the industry– meaning smaller budget productions are not taking advantage of a valuable creative resource.
This month, Nick Slade, CG Generalist, Lighting/LookDev at The Mill gave us his Hot Take: virtual production is being underutilized due to misconceptions about cost, time and capability. In the four years Nick has worked with The Mill, the studio has provided their special effects expertise on projects with a variety of budgets, including AAA video game trailers, Planned Parenthood voter awareness campaigns, and the Apple+ thriller series Severance. The Mill works with each client to deliver VFX solutions tailor made for their creative and budgetary needs, whether that’s adding a small reflection on a product shot in a commercial or animating a fantasy creature for a global blockbuster film.
Click below to hear more about how Nick started his career in the industry, his experience with mocap acting, and all the ways VFX is more than just green screens and LEDs in this episode of Hot Takes!
