After getting on-set experience for a Canadian TV series, Mathew Giampa picked up compositing roles on White Noise 2, Sucker Punch, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Green Lantern, and more. He then moved up to progressively more challenging VFX supervision work on The Joker (yes, there were visual effects in that movie!), Black Widow, The Suicide Squad, and the Cowboy Bebop TV series.

Mathew talks about the joy of invisible VFX, moving between studios and countries to further his career, and some of the incredible projects he’s worked on. He also dispels some of the myths about the importance of color accuracy and security when working on Hollywood productions, and offers a compositor’s perspective on virtual production and real-time.

Thinking about starting your own VFX company? This week’s podcast guest, Marc Morissette, has done just that. After gaining experience and friendships at Digital Domain on projects including Peter Pan and Ghost Racer, Marc returned to his native Canada to form his own studio, Cluster. The company has taken on a variety of CG work, from a VR version of the Universal Studios globe for The Mummy to product shots and digital de-aging.

Marc explains the reasons behind starting Cluster and his vision for the company. He also talks about how the VFX industry changed when multiple vendors started working on the same shows, and the effects of the pandemic on smaller studios. Finally, Marc discusses how real-time technology will transform the future of filmmaking, and its advantages for smaller studios.

This week Scott Kirvan shares his unique and in-depth understanding of the VFX pipeline, from on-set supervision to rendering the final frame. While working as a VFX programmer at Blur Studio, Scott developed Brazil R/S, the early ray-tracing renderer used on Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Sin City. That’s not all — he also VFX supervised movies including Swordfish and Jeepers Creepers. And he’s started Slaughter County Brewing, a successful craft beer producer.

After a hiatus from the entertainment industry, Scott is now back on-set for I’m a Virgo, the upcoming Amazon TV series from Sorry to Bother You director Boots Riley. Scott reveals how he’s embracing a new suite of tools for VFX production, including real-time engines and virtual production technology, to get talent to believe they’re interacting with a 15-foot-tall teenager.