CAREER STORIES
INTERVIEWS Oliver Webb A trio of the world’s top VFX artists share their career stories so far
The second-ever female VFX Oscar winner , Sara is co-founder of Milk , a London-based VFX studio S ara Bennett originally studied to become a makeup artist in the West Midlands. “It was my dream back then to specialise in horror makeup and prosthetics. Later, I moved to London to try and find an internship or entry-level role within the film industry, which proved very difficult,” she explains. “I secured a role working on reception at an SFX company, and it turned out the company held weekend courses in makeup and prosthetics. In the hopes of landing a job within this area, I spotted an opportunity and helped the team organise the courses, which enabled me to get noticed and network with very senior professionals in the industry. Working there exposed me to the craft of digital effects and I was so intrigued that I started applying for runner positions within a VFX facility. Soon enough, I was hired and found my place – I knew it was where I wanted to be and gradually honed my skills. One thing I love now is mentoring as much as possible since it was never available to me, nor were training courses when I started out.” “It’s a brilliant way to see all disciplines within VFX and it helped me decide my career path: compositing was where I wanted to be,” Bennett continues. “I was working as a VT operator and doing very junior comp work for a company called Tele-Cine Cell, and many senior artists I had worked with moved on to help start up The Mill. They were looking for roto/ prep artists for Babe: Pig in the City , which really kick-started my career.”
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