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Watch: Visual effects (VFX)

4 items
See all: Watch: Visual effects (VFX)

Career ladder

From first job to head of department

Common practice. A junior VFX artist / assistant technical director apprenticeship standard exists in England.

Artists

  1. Entry grade VFX runner Running, systems, data, helping wherever needed.
  2. Step 2 Junior artistAlso: roto, prep, matchmove Roto, paint, clean-up and camera tracking.Read the role
  3. Step 3 ArtistAlso: compositor, lighter, FX Owning shots in your discipline.Watch and read
  4. Step 4 Senior artist The hardest shots; helping juniors.
  5. Step 5 Lead Leading a team in one discipline on a show.
  6. Step 6 Discipline supervisorAlso: CG or compositing supervisor A whole discipline or a facility's work on a show.
  7. Top of the ladder VFX supervisor The creative and technical lead for the effects.Watch and read

VFX production

Parallel ladder
  1. Entry grade VFX coordinator Shot tracking, bids and schedules.
  2. Step 2 VFX production manager Runs the schedule and the budget.
  3. Top of the ladder VFX producer Owns the VFX budget and vendors.

On set

Parallel ladder
  1. Entry grade VFX data wrangler Measurements, HDRIs and camera data on set.
  2. Top of the ladder On-set VFX supervisor Makes sure the plates work for the shots.
Grade by grade: what you need before moving up
Artists
GradeWhat you doBefore moving up
VFX runnerRunning, systems, data, helping wherever needed.Knowing the facility, the pipeline and the people.
Junior artistAlso: roto, prep, matchmoveRoto, paint, clean-up and camera tracking.Clean, fast, accurate work on real shots.
ArtistAlso: compositor, lighter, FXOwning shots in your discipline.Final-quality shots, delivered to notes.
Senior artistThe hardest shots; helping juniors.Consistent quality on complex work.
LeadLeading a team in one discipline on a show.Running a team and its schedule.
Discipline supervisorAlso: CG or compositing supervisorA whole discipline or a facility's work on a show.Leading several teams.
VFX supervisorThe creative and technical lead for the effects.A body of work and client trust.
VFX production
GradeWhat you do
VFX coordinatorShot tracking, bids and schedules.
VFX production managerRuns the schedule and the budget.
VFX producerOwns the VFX budget and vendors.
On set
GradeWhat you do
VFX data wranglerMeasurements, HDRIs and camera data on set.
On-set VFX supervisorMakes sure the plates work for the shots.

UK Screen Alliance (trade body) · Every department's ladder: Careers A–Z · Getting work · Working freelance

Learn it, step by step

4 paths
See all: Learn it, step by step

Safety first

On-set data, scanning people, screens and crunch

VFX works in two places: on set, gathering data around moving kit, and in the studio, at a screen for very long hours. Both have hazards, and both handle images of real people that need consent and care.

Start the safety module Take the safety check

Watch first

Module 1 of VFX basics. Mark them done there to track your progress.

The hazards

6

What hurts people in this department on UK sets, and what keeps them safe.

  1. On set: data around moving kitMeasuring, HDRI and witness cameras happen between set-ups, near cranes, track and lamps. Work where the 1st AD and grips allow, and never climb to place tracking markers: ask for proper access.
  2. Scanning peoplePhotogrammetry and body or face scans are a performer's likeness. They need informed, written consent for the use agreed in their contract (Equity's guidance), and scan data that can identify someone is personal data under UK GDPR.
  3. Lasers and LiDARSet and object scanners can use lasers. Follow the scanner's class rules, keep people's eyes out of the beam, and clear the area while scanning.
  4. Your workstationChair, desk and screens set up for you, with short breaks away from them. The DSE Regulations apply if you're employed.
  5. CrunchVFX deadlines bunch up. Most workers can't be made to average more than 48 hours a week unless they've opted out in writing. Talk to your lead early, and know Bectu has a VFX branch.
  6. Client securityUnreleased shots stay on the studio's systems. Many clients audit vendors against the Trusted Partner Network standard: no personal devices, no sharing, no screenshots.

Who is responsible

  • The VFX supervisor leads on set; the on-set data wrangler works to the 1st AD's timings.
  • The VFX producer sets schedules and hours; leads look after their teams.
  • Production and the studio agree what scan data is collected, why, and how long it's kept.

As a trainee, never

  • Never scan or photograph a performer for VFX without their consent and production's say-so.
  • Never take client shots off the studio's systems.
  • Never climb a set or a rig to place a marker.

Anyone can say stop. If something feels wrong, say so to your head of department or the 1st AD.

Where this comes from

Checked 13 November 2026. This is awareness, not a safety qualification: follow your production's risk assessment and your head of department.

Check yourself

3 situations. Get them all right.

Pass the safety check before the rest of the path. One wrong safety answer means try again. It's practice, and your answers stay on this device.

Question 1: Between set-ups, the VFX supervisor asks you to grab a quick photogrammetry pass of a supporting artist 'while we have them'. Nothing about scanning is in the call sheet. What do you do?

Question 2: A tracking marker needs to go high on the set wall. There's a wobbly chair nearby. What do you do?

Question 3: A friend asks to see the creature shot you're working on for an unreleased series. What do you say?

AI in film and TV

How AI fits this department

Roto, clean-up, de-ageing and generated environments are where AI is most used today. Credited work wraps AI in traditional VFX, compositing and grade.

Learning path: Prompting and directing AI shots The AI channel Consent and credit

Visual effects (VFX), in detail

What it does on a UK unit

VFX has two sides.

  • Production: a small team with the unit: the VFX supervisor, VFX producer and coordinator, and on-set data wranglers recording what each shot needs.
  • Facility: often in London, much bigger teams of artists build the shots: rig and wire removal, set extensions, crowds, creatures, environments, destruction.

VFX starts in prep with the breakdown and bid, collects data and reference on set, and peaks after lock, when shots are turned over and delivered to schedule. London's facilities work on productions from around the world.

Who it works with

  • Director and DoP: what each effect is for and how to shoot for it.
  • Production designer: how far the real set goes and where the extension starts.
  • SFX and stunts: what is done for real and what is added; rig removal.
  • Camera and grip: lens data, camera heights, motion control.
  • Editor and colourist: turnovers, versions and how comps sit in the grade.

Kit and vocabulary

Term What it means
Roto Drawing shapes by hand around objects, frame by frame, to separate them
Prep / paint Removing rigs, wires, markers or blemishes from plates
Plate The original filmed shot that effects are added to
Matchmove Tracking the real camera's movement so CG can match it
Comp Compositing: combining all the layers into the final image
HDRI A high dynamic range photograph of the lighting, used to light CG
Nuke The standard compositing software in UK facilities

How to get in

Most people start as runners or junior artists. Degrees in VFX, animation, computer science, maths or art are common. The showreel is what gets you hired, so put your best work first. England has a junior VFX artist apprenticeship standard. UK Screen Alliance is the trade body for UK VFX and post, and the Visual Effects Society has a London section.

Pay

Use the Bectu animation and VFX branch rate card, 2025.

Where Futures in Film helps

We don't run a VFX course. These pages are a start:

Who to know: Visual effects (VFX)

Other departments

17 departments
See all: Other departments

Where we come in

Hold a visual effects (vfx) grade on a crewed unit.

ApplyTrain in Visual effects (VFX)

Read for visual effects (vfx)

The magazines and books people in visual effects (vfx) read. Borrow the books free from a library.

All resources and reading: trade press, directories, libraries and more

Events for visual effects (vfx)

6

Shows, festivals and careers days where visual effects (vfx) crew go to learn and meet people. Dates checked on each organiser's site.

All events and expos, with a month-by-month calendar

Next for Visual effects (VFX)

Last reviewed 9 November 2026