We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris Holmes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Chris, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Growing up in an entertainment industry family my Father taught me early on that I should learn as much as I could, never say no and don’t be surprised or upset when someone else gets picked over you. That when you’re young you’ll be hired more often and when you get older you fight for the work with younger talent that were exactly like you when you started. That is the cycle, and you have to always keep changing to be relevant.
I realized early things are constantly changing and that every 3-5 years the industry would change. New executives would run different studios or it would be a new technology or wave of interest that I would have to learn and adjust my perspective. So I learned to attempt to predict the changes before they happened. Sometimes I would be correct, but other times my timing was off. Being that the entertainment industry is so competitive I had to always make sure others knew I was able to achieve what they were looking for.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I work as a visual effects supervisor, producer and artist.
As a vfx supervisor I am responsible for creating the vision the Director wants. Creatively and technically I have to understand what is possible and what needs to become possible. I manage the artists and help them achieve the finished product. From preproduction, to on set supervision, to post production creation, to QC of the final product I have to make sure all the pieces of the puzzle fit and make the image everyone expects.
The collaboration between the Director and the individual artists is the most exciting. Hearing the idea and then seeing the artists create the images is what makes this job so fun. It’s a giant puzzle with a million pieces and all of them start out blank.
I’ve created a cloud based artist collective that can work on multiple projects remotely. I have artists from around the world that can collaborate and work together to create visual effect
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My ability to say yes and deliver. Even if it’s outside my comfort zone and it means I have to learn something new and adjust, I’ll do it.
My ability to say no when a client is just trying to use me and not respect my experience. When they say they don’t have a lot of money, but have more projects coming up and they will use me for those, they won’t.
I think my best skill is to create a team of artists, producers and coordinators together and work within all their personalities and get their best from them.
For people just starting just keep learning. Technology is not always the answer, think outside the box and use your experiences for solutions. The newest and latest tools usually don’t make your life easier. Learn the limitations of the tool and find a solution not dependent on that tool.
Watch others and see how their actions cause them to succeed or fail.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The ever changing entertainment industry that is trying to replace creative thought with AI technology and tax incentives from other countries.
Presently learning more and more about AI and it’s present place in the industry. Seeing how I can use it to my advantage.
I can’t compete with tax incentives and other countries trying to undercut my costs, but I can offer experience, professionalism and the ability to deliver when they can’t. Being more of a specialist and Swiss army knife who can accomplish a creative solution.
Some people buy fast foods, some people go to expensive restaurants, I offer a nice healthy home cooked meal.
Contact Info:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-holmes-878a295/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0391778/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_1_nm_7_in_0_q_chris%2520holmes
Image Credits
n/a
