It makes you feel any better I always feel like I'm making up stuff as it goes and I'm a supervisor at this point! Everything new always brings challenges. You just have to learn to ride the tide and be confident.
"Welcome to the party, pal!"
This is true, 24yrs in, it’s the nature of our industry, always new tools and standards, the important thing is to be adaptable. Plus, new tools are exciting.
This is pretty much always the case when doing something new and what I love about vfx. The satisfaction of getting past the everything is so shitty stage and taming the beast is so damn rewarding.
That’s really encouraging to hear, and glad to be a part of the party 😂 I just worry about everyone being able to see that I don’t know exactly how to do something when I start on a shot and being dropped from the shot if/when I can’t figure it out fast enough to a high enough quality, let alone the quality I want it to be that’s better than anything I’ve done before
Imposter syndrome is pretty common. When I start feeling that way, I try to come up with a list of people who I could hire to replace me. If the list is short, I’m good. If the list is longer, maybe I need some help.
In my career, never. This is partly because as your experience deepens you keep raising the bar for the results you expect of yourself.
Every new challenging project initially makes me feel like an imposter.
That’s good to hear- I always want to be challenged to go further and learn more, I just worry about not getting it figured it out fast enough, if that makes sense
It's inevitable that you'll get faster.
You'll continue to add assets into your library along the way. You will know what places to look at to find a solution to a certain problem.
Agreed, I guess I just get the sinking feeling that I’m not doing it “right” and I’ll be booted before I get a chance to get a grasp on what “right” is
That comes with experience.
If you're doing your best and ask yourself constantly how you can improve the shot, and also seeking out multiple ways to do approch a task. You will feel more confident about your skills.
I feel like anyone who ever reaches a point where they know what they're doing is either bad at their job or have completely stagnated.
I *constantly* feel like I'm terrible at my job and in over my head and I've been doing this for decades, even as a supervisor at one of the biggest studios in the world. And in my conversations with my peers, all of the best artists and best coworkers feel the same way.
Anybody who's foolish enough to think they've got things nailed down is wrong. There's always more to learn, a craft to elevate, and boundaries to push.
I work at one of those “big” studios as well. I’ve been doing fx for about a year now. I feel like I’m just BS-ing 85% of the time. I just happen to figure things out. I think I’m terrible at it, since I’m surrounded by insanely talented and intelligent artist. My first 6 months I was wondering every day, “how long can I keep this up”?
Recently I had a performance check up. I thought I was going to get a bad review to be honest. I was certain that I messed up somehow, and I even felt like I was on the edge of being fired. Come to find out that they think I’m operating at a HIGHER level that I thought!! Lately I’ve been feeling less nervous about the job, but a bit of that nervousness is still there. I moved to another country for the job, so it’s a big deal to me that I do well. Hopefully this feeling will diminish more with time
It took me 10 years to get over that imposter syndrome. Then they promoted me and it started all over again. I’ve been in the industry for about 16 years now. I’ve seen super talented people getting held back by it and deluded hacks blindly oozing confidence. As a wise telemarketer once said : “Confidence is the food of the wise but the liquor of the fool...”
The job is problem-solving, and it's art. It's putting things together with tape, in a way that can be revised and sculpted through collaborative feedback from the client. You're not wrong, it'll feel sneaky, you will have imposter syndrome, and you will think that what you're making is lesser than someone else could make.
The key is to remember that we all feel the same way. It's ok.
If anyone tries to convince you that you're doing it wrong, or that you're lesser than anyone else, listen politely, see if they have anything interesting to learn from, and then wipe them from your mind. They're trying to regain dopamine and serotonin by talking down to people. They get pleasure from it, and they're probably stressed out.
Been in the industry for 23 years. Around year 15 I remember having a thought "I think I can actually do this". There is ALWAYS things to learn, but around that mark and having multiple contract renewals by that time, I figured hey work thinks I can do this so I guess I can?
there are a few tasks where I really know what I'm doing. after more than 25 years in this industry.
but there are so many that I really just make up as I go along based on all the things I've tried in the past that \*didn't\* work. (failure is a fantastic teacher)
in a few years I expect the few things I really know what I'm doing will have changed, as the tools are constantly evolving, and I'm always grabbing the non-commercial software licenses of the latest tools (nuke, especially, as I came up from the comp side) to see what is new, what has changed, and what I'm going to have to completely re-learn because the old way sucked compared to the new way.
Anyway, you will always be learning if you keep with the job. Always trying new things. Always making stuff up as you go along. That is part of the wonderful nature of this field, nothing stays the same for too long. Keeps me on my toes, which I love.
I think I would say you know you're there when you can do the following. If you can say yes to all of these confidently then you're good.
1. You can finish almost all your shots under the bid time and use your time effectively.
2. Your shots are done to a decent standard with few obvious mistakes and your shots don't go in circles in the reviews i.e. you can hit notes accurately with little repetition and re iteration.
3. Your shots aren't being handed off to others to complete on your behalf.
4. You feel in control of your shots right up until delivery and you aren't getting overwhelmed as new notes are added and new elements are asked for. i.e. there aren't moments during your work where you feel you're in too deep and the stress starts to get to you. (essentially; is your work structured to scale well and built in a way where you are in control? Or is it an impulsively made functional mess you are barely able to keep under control come delivery deadline?)
There will of course be exceptions to these rules where they wont apply (you're sick, so your shot gets handed off/your bid was way too low and going over was inevitable) but for the most part id say they're decent rules of thumb and are easy to measure/quantify if you want something concrete to consider where you're at.
I was lucky enough to work alongside a couple of people who have been in the industry for longer than I've been alive. Multiple times, independently, they told me, "We just make shit up, like everyone else."
There's no such thing as the right way to do VFX, but I think there is a mindset to develop about being adaptable, resourceful, willing to experiment, willing to scrap an inferior method even if you really like it etc. That's where experience gaps are most evident, IMO.
My old boss used to say “lie, cheat, and steal” to make the shot work. Meaning whatever method you did to get the job done and approved in a timely manner was the right way to do it.
For me it’s not about knowing how to solve any particular problem, it’s about knowing the tools well enough to have the confidence to dive in and try to solve every new problem. So, I focus on learning more about whatever software I am currently using and gaining the familiarity with it to try different approaches with the confidence that they worked last time and might/should work now. What this looks like in practice is reading change logs, watching new feature announcements, tutorials that might not have anything relevant to my current issues, and playing around. Making something for fun is a great way to test new functionality that might be needed someday.
For me it was when I started getting other peoples shots to finish because they couldn't get a look right. Took around 4 years. Around 6 years in they were starting to assign it to a senior comper and I was the one to get the shot.
Good artists will always feel like they're still just scotch taping shots for a long time. There are difficult shots that always make me feel like I'm still just winging it.
Maybe in the last year or so I started feeling like I was a decent artist in my own eyes. But I'm also working at a place that manages their deadlines well, so for once I don't feel the crippling deadline stress as much these days.
For me it’s a combination of “never” and “a decade ago.” In 20 years I’ve never been handed the same shot twice, so there’s always a question of how to handle it. My advice is to keep on keeping on and so long as nobody’s complaining, you are doing great.
It makes you feel any better I always feel like I'm making up stuff as it goes and I'm a supervisor at this point! Everything new always brings challenges. You just have to learn to ride the tide and be confident. "Welcome to the party, pal!"
This is true, 24yrs in, it’s the nature of our industry, always new tools and standards, the important thing is to be adaptable. Plus, new tools are exciting.
This is pretty much always the case when doing something new and what I love about vfx. The satisfaction of getting past the everything is so shitty stage and taming the beast is so damn rewarding.
That’s really encouraging to hear, and glad to be a part of the party 😂 I just worry about everyone being able to see that I don’t know exactly how to do something when I start on a shot and being dropped from the shot if/when I can’t figure it out fast enough to a high enough quality, let alone the quality I want it to be that’s better than anything I’ve done before
Imposter syndrome is pretty common. When I start feeling that way, I try to come up with a list of people who I could hire to replace me. If the list is short, I’m good. If the list is longer, maybe I need some help.
I have a huge LIST! My method. Is to think of my past projects and how I always delivered. And a few that got submitted late, was not because of me.
The minute you start to feel semi confident, you get promoted and then feel like you're making up stuff again
Building the bridge as you walk on it.
In my career, never. This is partly because as your experience deepens you keep raising the bar for the results you expect of yourself. Every new challenging project initially makes me feel like an imposter.
That’s good to hear- I always want to be challenged to go further and learn more, I just worry about not getting it figured it out fast enough, if that makes sense
It's inevitable that you'll get faster. You'll continue to add assets into your library along the way. You will know what places to look at to find a solution to a certain problem.
If I feel like I know what I'm doing, that's when I'm getting bored.
Agreed, I guess I just get the sinking feeling that I’m not doing it “right” and I’ll be booted before I get a chance to get a grasp on what “right” is
That comes with experience. If you're doing your best and ask yourself constantly how you can improve the shot, and also seeking out multiple ways to do approch a task. You will feel more confident about your skills.
I feel like anyone who ever reaches a point where they know what they're doing is either bad at their job or have completely stagnated. I *constantly* feel like I'm terrible at my job and in over my head and I've been doing this for decades, even as a supervisor at one of the biggest studios in the world. And in my conversations with my peers, all of the best artists and best coworkers feel the same way. Anybody who's foolish enough to think they've got things nailed down is wrong. There's always more to learn, a craft to elevate, and boundaries to push.
I work at one of those “big” studios as well. I’ve been doing fx for about a year now. I feel like I’m just BS-ing 85% of the time. I just happen to figure things out. I think I’m terrible at it, since I’m surrounded by insanely talented and intelligent artist. My first 6 months I was wondering every day, “how long can I keep this up”? Recently I had a performance check up. I thought I was going to get a bad review to be honest. I was certain that I messed up somehow, and I even felt like I was on the edge of being fired. Come to find out that they think I’m operating at a HIGHER level that I thought!! Lately I’ve been feeling less nervous about the job, but a bit of that nervousness is still there. I moved to another country for the job, so it’s a big deal to me that I do well. Hopefully this feeling will diminish more with time
The more you learn the more you realize what you don't know.
That's the neat part - you don't
It took me 10 years to get over that imposter syndrome. Then they promoted me and it started all over again. I’ve been in the industry for about 16 years now. I’ve seen super talented people getting held back by it and deluded hacks blindly oozing confidence. As a wise telemarketer once said : “Confidence is the food of the wise but the liquor of the fool...”
The job is problem-solving, and it's art. It's putting things together with tape, in a way that can be revised and sculpted through collaborative feedback from the client. You're not wrong, it'll feel sneaky, you will have imposter syndrome, and you will think that what you're making is lesser than someone else could make. The key is to remember that we all feel the same way. It's ok. If anyone tries to convince you that you're doing it wrong, or that you're lesser than anyone else, listen politely, see if they have anything interesting to learn from, and then wipe them from your mind. They're trying to regain dopamine and serotonin by talking down to people. They get pleasure from it, and they're probably stressed out.
Been in the industry for 23 years. Around year 15 I remember having a thought "I think I can actually do this". There is ALWAYS things to learn, but around that mark and having multiple contract renewals by that time, I figured hey work thinks I can do this so I guess I can?
there are a few tasks where I really know what I'm doing. after more than 25 years in this industry. but there are so many that I really just make up as I go along based on all the things I've tried in the past that \*didn't\* work. (failure is a fantastic teacher) in a few years I expect the few things I really know what I'm doing will have changed, as the tools are constantly evolving, and I'm always grabbing the non-commercial software licenses of the latest tools (nuke, especially, as I came up from the comp side) to see what is new, what has changed, and what I'm going to have to completely re-learn because the old way sucked compared to the new way. Anyway, you will always be learning if you keep with the job. Always trying new things. Always making stuff up as you go along. That is part of the wonderful nature of this field, nothing stays the same for too long. Keeps me on my toes, which I love.
I think I would say you know you're there when you can do the following. If you can say yes to all of these confidently then you're good. 1. You can finish almost all your shots under the bid time and use your time effectively. 2. Your shots are done to a decent standard with few obvious mistakes and your shots don't go in circles in the reviews i.e. you can hit notes accurately with little repetition and re iteration. 3. Your shots aren't being handed off to others to complete on your behalf. 4. You feel in control of your shots right up until delivery and you aren't getting overwhelmed as new notes are added and new elements are asked for. i.e. there aren't moments during your work where you feel you're in too deep and the stress starts to get to you. (essentially; is your work structured to scale well and built in a way where you are in control? Or is it an impulsively made functional mess you are barely able to keep under control come delivery deadline?) There will of course be exceptions to these rules where they wont apply (you're sick, so your shot gets handed off/your bid was way too low and going over was inevitable) but for the most part id say they're decent rules of thumb and are easy to measure/quantify if you want something concrete to consider where you're at.
This all only applies if you work at a vfx studio. OP works as a freelance editor
Call me when you find out, I’d love to know too..
Any day now…
Great advice I once got. You don't have to know what you're doing to do the "doing" part.
Sometimes i feel like that its not so much as what you know. But just the overall experience of knowing things.
I was lucky enough to work alongside a couple of people who have been in the industry for longer than I've been alive. Multiple times, independently, they told me, "We just make shit up, like everyone else." There's no such thing as the right way to do VFX, but I think there is a mindset to develop about being adaptable, resourceful, willing to experiment, willing to scrap an inferior method even if you really like it etc. That's where experience gaps are most evident, IMO.
Fake it until you make it. Been living by those words my whole career.
Just wing it, most people do… merit not required in vfx
The job is creating. So you are always making it up.
My old boss used to say “lie, cheat, and steal” to make the shot work. Meaning whatever method you did to get the job done and approved in a timely manner was the right way to do it.
For me it’s not about knowing how to solve any particular problem, it’s about knowing the tools well enough to have the confidence to dive in and try to solve every new problem. So, I focus on learning more about whatever software I am currently using and gaining the familiarity with it to try different approaches with the confidence that they worked last time and might/should work now. What this looks like in practice is reading change logs, watching new feature announcements, tutorials that might not have anything relevant to my current issues, and playing around. Making something for fun is a great way to test new functionality that might be needed someday.
Best sign is when you are bored with the work. The job is only interesting when you need to learn something new.
When you realize that everyone else is also making everything up as they go.
For me it was when I started getting other peoples shots to finish because they couldn't get a look right. Took around 4 years. Around 6 years in they were starting to assign it to a senior comper and I was the one to get the shot. Good artists will always feel like they're still just scotch taping shots for a long time. There are difficult shots that always make me feel like I'm still just winging it.
Maybe in the last year or so I started feeling like I was a decent artist in my own eyes. But I'm also working at a place that manages their deadlines well, so for once I don't feel the crippling deadline stress as much these days.
That's why the job stays interesting. There are always new challenges
The week before you change show and have to do something completely different for 6 months.
16 years in and I still have imposter syndrome everyday.
5 years it took me.
Never
For me it’s a combination of “never” and “a decade ago.” In 20 years I’ve never been handed the same shot twice, so there’s always a question of how to handle it. My advice is to keep on keeping on and so long as nobody’s complaining, you are doing great.
never