How to create Oscar-nominated visual effects

CHRIS HATZIS
Eavesdrop on Experts - stories of inspiration and insights. It’s where expert types obsess, confess and profess. I’m Chris Hatzis, let’s eavesdrop on experts changing the world - one lecture, one experiment, one interview at a time.

Genevieve Camilleri was headed for a career in biotechnology when she veered towards a Postgrad Diploma in Visual Effects at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Leaving her Science degree to follow her love of film has literally put her name in lights. Gen Camilleri was a nominee in this year’s Academy Awards for her work on the film 'Love and Monsters' in the category of Best Visual Effects – a significant nod given the competitive nature of film and special effects.

Gen Camilleri sat down for a Zoom chat with Dr Andi Horvath.

ANDI HORVATH
Gen, you worked on a number of films. Give us a list of some of the films you’ve worked on. We might have seen them on Netflix.

GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Yeah, so I’ve worked on a lot of films, I’ve been in the industry for maybe about 11 years now. I’ve worked from films from Ted to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Captain America: Civil War, SpongeBob Movie. Most recently was Love and Monsters, which is a film on Netflix currently, that I was nominated for the Oscar for. I’ve worked on a huge variety of films, Australian films like Mad Max: Fury Road as well.

ANDI HORVATH
Wow, these are really big ones. Now we can’t ignore the elephant in the room, you were a nominee for the Academy Awards in the Visual Effects category. That must have been so exciting. Okay, give us your side of what happened.

GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
It just took me such a long time to comprehend it, because the film we were working on, it wasn’t a huge blockbuster film, it was more of your low budget film. Working on it, it was fun, it was quirky and different, but it never crossed our mind that it would be entered into the Academy Awards and of course be nominated for an Oscar. So, when I found out that they had entered the film into the Academy Awards, I was like oh it’s never going to get nominated. It’s up against these big, massive blockbuster films and huge budgets. So, I was just like okay, well we’ll see what happens. Then it made it into the long list stage, I’m like oh wow it’s made it into the long list. Then it made it into the shortlist. By that point I was like no, this is not real, what’s going on here?

Then they made it into the final nominations which was just, yeah, it’s been an absolutely crazy time since I found out about the nomination.

ANDI HORVATH
There’d be lots of Australians, lots of women who are congratulating you for even making it to the nominations, that is absolute accolades and kudos in itself, so formally congratulations to you, Gen for making it to the Oscar nominations. What’s involved in making visual effects? You’ve worked on some really big productions, but what do you actually do?

GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
It's actually quite complicated and it does take a long time to do the work that we created. I don’t think many people watching these films don’t really understand how much work and how many people actually go into creating these effects. But basically there’s multiple departments, starting from somebody who ingests the film footage that they shot on set, and then the next person will create a camera that replicates, like a CG camera that replicates the one that was on set. That’s passed to the next department that will create a, say in Love and Monsters one of the big creatures, they would model that CG creature. Then that passed to the next person who animates it and moves him the way that he needs to into the footage, and that passes on to the next person who textures him and gives him his colour and his look.

Then that passes onto the next person who then renders out those computer graphic images and it’s passed onto another department and puts that all together with the live action footage. So, it’s quite a complicated process and there’s a lot of people involved in just creating like even just two seconds of a film could involve up to 10 people and a couple of months of work just to get it done.

ANDI HORVATH
Wow, that must be one of the misconceptions, you don’t just knock it up in an afternoon, it’s a team effort. There must be amazing layers of creativity as each person brings to the monster.

GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Yeah, exactly, because when it comes to creativity there’s no right or wrong answer. Everybody has a slightly different view or imagines it to look slightly different to the next person. So, that’s the really fun process of VFX, is how to be creative and throw out different ideas and try different things and see what’s going to look cool and what’s going to work the most for the film.

ANDI HORVATH
Since you’ve been involved in VFX, how has your industry changed? What changes have you seen?



GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
It’s still a fairly new industry but it’s a really fast evolving industry in terms of the technology and the programs that we use. They’re always updating with new tools and new techniques that we can try and work with. So, that side of things has really grown really quickly over the years. Just in the course of a matter of months you might have this new tool that’s then implemented in the show that you’re working on, people have to learn how to use that new tool as well.

ANDI HORVATH
How important is the immersion into storytelling?

GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
That’s really our job in terms of what we create is to help build the environments that these films are shot in. So, for us it’s the most important thing really is trying to get the story point across. So, for example in Love and Monsters, it was set in a post-apocalyptic or monster apocalypse. So these monsters, there was these mutations, and these monsters grew into these giant grotesque creatures, and our job was to help sell that environment that they were part of and that there was this monster apocalypse and these creatures had now taken over the world. It’s like everything’s overgrown and it’s been destroyed and lots of destruction. So, without the VFX, to kind of for that film to get that across, it would have been a very hard idea or very complex on-set builds.

So, obviously it would have taken a lot of work to build that real environment, is when VFX is employed to create those environments digitally instead.

ANDI HORVATH
So, it’s a post-apocalyptic film and the humans are forced underground, and without giving anything away it's kind of a bit of a love story or a search for love. What do the monsters metaphor?

GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
I guess the monsters are kind of - the guy that is the main character, he’s seen as a little bit of a wimp, I guess. The monsters along the way are building his courage up and getting him to learn and discover and develop himself along the way. These creatures, they come across as these big scary creatures, but they also have this soft side to them and this innocence to them as well. I think it’s a mixture of that and the guy’s, the main character’s, Joel’s experience of coming across these creatures and facing his own fears and things like that.

ANDI HORVATH
It's obviously a fantasy movie, and I hope to never encounter huge monsters as you’ve described them, but it does have its serious moments too. So, there’s this lovely mixture of comic moments but also serious moments. That must be incredibly difficult to conjure.

GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Yeah, especially you’re creating these digital characters, there was a scene at the end with the giant crab, and we had to get this sense of sadness in its eyes and just also relief once the main character, Joel, had sort of released him from his captivity and chain that was holding him trapped. So, to create that digitally was a lot of research into actually what is it in a human’s eye in a way that creates this emotion? It’s a combination of adding these little teardrops to the watery eyes, from the way the muscles contracted around the eyes, and even just the colours and textures that were built into the character’s eyes, just to help give it this innocence and sincere look.

ANDI HORVATH
Wow, that’s amazing detail for - well I mean after all they’re big budget or semi-big budget films. I dream of a semi-big budget contrast. Moving on, now you started life in a different sort of way, you studied at the University of Melbourne in science, in I believe biotechnology.

GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Yes, straight out of high school, that was kind of like what I was good at, I was kind of good at biology and math and that sort of stuff. So, I just naturally went into a degree that catered that. But I also picked a double degree in media and communications, just because I always had this personal interest in film making or films and that sort of stuff. So, I wanted to keep that in the mix as well. Then I completed the first year of that course and then I went to the second year, the first day of that and it was a five-hour chemistry lab, and I walked out of that chemistry lab and I was like I’m good at this, but I just don’t enjoy it. I just don’t see myself sitting in a chemistry lab for the rest of my life doing this. So, I then took a little bit of time off, six months, to just figure out what exactly is it I want to do.

At the time my dad was working for a TAFE in Victoria and they had this multimedia course. It’s like why don’t you just give this course a go? It’s a mix of different things, it’s kind of the stuff you enjoy like being on the computer and also being creative. So, I did a few subjects in that TAFE course and I absolutely loved it, I was like this is great, you get to be technical and creative at the same time. So, I then went on to enrol in a degree in multimedia and digital arts at Monash University. I completed that degree and I really enjoyed it, but it was just really broad. So, it was everything from film editing, web design to animation, to 3D modelling, and that was all great, but I really wanted to focus in on one particular area and skill. Then I heard about the postgraduate diploma at Melbourne University, specialising in film visual effects.

So, I looked into that and I was like this actually sounds perfect, it’s exactly what I want to do. It’s mixing live action footage with computer generated graphics and you’re making a film at the same time. So, I enrolled into that course and it was spot on, it was exactly what I wanted to specialise in.

ANDI HORVATH
These turning points were kind of serendipitous in a way, would you agree that most careers are that way?



GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Yeah, I think so, yeah. I mean for me it was more of just finding something that I was passionate and really enjoyed.

ANDI HORVATH
I think I resonate with that. Now what piece of advice about careers would you share with others? Because you’ve inspired many, but if people are interested in this area, what advice do you have?



GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
To be honest for me it’s following what you enjoy. I think if you do something that you really enjoy and you’re passionate about, you’re going to succeed at it because you’re putting your heart into it. Then to get paid for it as well at the same time is just a double reward there. But in terms of getting into VFX itself, it’s quite a technical and creative industry, so finding a balance between learning between both of those things I think is really important.

ANDI HORVATH
There are not many women in this industry, I wonder why.



GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Yeah, I mean since I started to what it is now, it definitely has improved. But in terms of the supervisor positions, there still isn’t that many females at all. I’ve never worked with one myself that was in my position before, so I feel honoured to be in this position as well at the same time. But I think it might just be more of a knowledge thing, when I started out, I didn’t know this was a career, I didn’t even know it was - this job existed. So, it was a bit more of an education thing and knowing that there are these kinds of courses and jobs out there. I think now since when I started to what it is now, there’s a lot more courses available in this industry, so I think it is just people are becoming a little bit more aware of it now and getting into that field. I think as well it’s inviting the females into the more - it might be seen like quite technical sitting behind the computer but it’s also really creative at the same time. So, it’s just sharing that knowledge.

ANDI HORVATH
You’ve really demystified it for me, because I hadn’t of thought that a two second scene might take months and a whole team of people, that is amazing. How did COVID disrupt your life as a VFX specialist?



GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Well normally we always had to work inside a studio environment, they’re really quite strict on security and the risk of the film being leaked onto the internet before its release date. So, up until before COVID it was always you had to come into the office under strict security conditions. Then obviously COVID happened and there was still a lot of work that needed to be done but obviously people weren’t able to head into the studios. So, then most studios across the world worked into creating a system where they could work from home but also have the security of the work covered as well. It opened up the door to huge amounts of people being able to work from home in different locations across the globe. It’s quite a niche industry, there isn’t a huge amount of studios available to work in and they’re all spread across the world.

So, a lot of people, like myself as well, I travelled to Canada and I spent a lot of time in Canada and I’ve moved to different cities to expand my skills in VFX, but since COVID now it’s kind of opened the door to remote working and working from home. So, it allows people to live in one city but work on a film that’s being produced in a completely different city or country.

ANDI HORVATH
The Academy Awards for 2020 were online or via satellite, how did that work? What a shame, you weren’t able to actually attend and absorb the vibe of being one of the nominees. I really feel for you.



GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Yeah, I got to miss out, I missed out on going to LA. I did look into going there and it was going to be able to be a possibility, but the issue was that I would have to quarantine for 24 days to be able to attend the night, so it was like 10 days quarantine in LA and then the 14 days quarantine back in Australia, and I just had to weigh it up and it was just going to be a bit too much for a one night event, locked up for a month in a hotel. So, there was obviously a lot of other nominees in the same position across the globe, so the Academy then decided to set up a few satellite locations across the globe where the nominees could attend those and still be part of the ceremony live, but obviously in their chosen location. So, for me I’m currently located in Sydney, so they set up a satellite studio here, there was also another nominee, Sacha Baron Cohen, who is currently in Sydney, so he also attended that satellite location as well.

ANDI HORVATH
So, you still had to gown up?



GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Yeah, so we still had to - it was pretty much all the exact same process, just in a different location. It still felt like we were part of the Academy, especially being live, a live broadcast.

ANDI HORVATH
Once again, congratulations, we’re so proud of you.



GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Thank you.

ANDI HORVATH
Next time we see some visual effects that make us go wow, on the screen, what would you like us to think about?



GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
To be honest it’s just all the hard work that went into it. Sometimes it’s like I mean even myself, you watch films that aren’t as successful as others and you’re like that was not such a great film, but even those films have so much work put into them, and artists working on them that you still have to appreciate all the work that did go into it, even though maybe it’s not the most successful film. So, probably just that side of things, recognising all the work that does go into these things.

ANDI HORVATH
Gen, on behalf of everyone, thanks for allowing our demons to become tangible manifestations, as well as angels that take the form of fantasy and immerse us in the storytelling. Congratulations and thank you.



GENEVIEVE CAMILLERI
Thank you, it was my pleasure to share my experiences, and nice to meet you.

CHRIS HATZIS
Thank you to Genevieve Camilleri, visual effects supervisor, Oscar nominee, and alumna of the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. And thanks to Dr Andi Horvath.

Eavesdrop on Experts - stories of inspiration and insights - was made possible by the University of Melbourne. This episode was recorded on May 17, 2021. You’ll find a full transcript on the Pursuit website. Production, audio engineering and editing by me, Chris Hatzis. Co-production - Silvi Vann-Wall and Dr Andi Horvath. Eavesdrop on Experts is licensed under Creative Commons, Copyright 2021, The University of Melbourne. If you enjoyed this episode, review us on Apple Podcasts and check out the rest of the Eavesdrop episodes in our archive. I’m Chris Hatzis. Join us again next time for another Eavesdrop on Experts.