The Access:VFX Podcast

Getting the leadership title is one thing. What happens when you actually have to do the job?

When you become responsible for other people’s careers. When you have to deliver feedback you know someone won’t like. When you’re promoted and quietly wonder whether somebody has made a terrible mistake. Or when you discover that the behaviours that made you successful are precisely the ones you now need to unlearn.

In Part 2 of 'How Do You Actually Become a Leader in VFX and Animation?' hosts Simon Devereux and Nene Parsotam reunite with Emma Kolasinska, Executive VFX Producer at Lux Aeterna; Lucy Cooper, Managing Director at Union Visual Effects; Dan Cripps, Animator, Animation Director and Head of Animation at Blue Zoo Animation; Kate Lander, Director, Career Expert and Workforce Development Specialist; and Jon Mason, Founder of Jollywise.

This time, the conversation gets even more personal.

The panel explores the strange experience of growing into a leadership title, the loneliness that can accompany senior responsibility and why feeling ready often comes long after the promotion itself. They share some of their biggest mistakes, from hiring decisions and financial blind spots to accidentally sending a Disney pitch to Nickelodeon! ...and explain why honesty, accountability and learning from failure are essential to building trust.

They also challenge some of the industry’s most persistent leadership myths. Confidence is not the same as charisma. Admitting that you don’t know something is not weakness. Hiring people who are better than you is not a threat. And leadership does not mean having all the answers... it means bringing together the right people to find them.

The conversation also looks beyond the workplace. When so much of your identity is tied to your career, what happens when the job changes... or disappears? The guests discuss mentoring, family pressures, burnout, side projects and the importance of building a life that is bigger than your title.

This is an honest conversation about imposter syndrome, confidence, mistakes, identity, resilience and why becoming a leader is rarely the polished success story it appears to be from the outside.

Because leadership isn’t 'golf and lattes.'

As Jon Mason puts it, it’s usually 2am in the morning!

Working hard, becoming brilliant at your craft and earning a promotion should make you a great leader… right?

Not necessarily.

Being an exceptional animator doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be good at managing animators. Being a brilliant producer doesn’t prepare you for every difficult conversation. And being the most technically experienced person in the room doesn’t always make you the person others want to follow.

So, how do you actually become a leader in VFX and animation?

In the first of this two-part conversation, hosts Simon Devereux and Nene Parsotam are joined by six leaders from across VFX, animation, production and workforce development to explore what career progression really looks like, and why getting the title is often only the beginning.

Dasha Sherman, Co-Founder and Director at KoalaFX, Emma Kolasinska, Executive VFX Producer at Lux Aeterna, Lucy Cooper, Managing Director at Union Visual Effects, Dan Cripps, Animator, Animation Director and Head of Animation at Blue Zoo Productions, Kate Lander, Director, Career Expert and Workforce Development Specialist, and Jon Mason, Founder of Jollywise, share the lessons they’ve learned through building studios, leading teams and helping others take their next career step.

Together, they discuss the importance of visibility without self-promotion, building an internal personal brand and demonstrating the 'extra value' you bring beyond your job description. They also explore why progression is rarely linear, how quieter and more introverted people can make themselves seen, and why not everyone needs (or wants) to climb the traditional leadership ladder.

From creating opportunities for visibility and navigating non-linear careers to recognising hidden potential and learning when to step back, this is an honest conversation about what leadership really demands, and why success eventually stops being about what you can do and starts being about what you can help other people do.

Improve your reel. Network more. Attend events. Ask for feedback. Build your online presence. Keep creating. Stay positive.

But what happens when you do all of that… and you still can’t get hired?

This episode of the ACCESS: VFX Podcast began with a message from junior compositor and roto/paint artist Antony Buckman.

Antony had sought mentoring, improved his reel, personalised his applications, listened to the advice and kept putting himself out there. Yet despite doing everything he’d been told to do, the opportunities still weren’t coming.

And eventually the question becomes much more personal:

If I’ve followed all the advice, why am I still not hired?

For this episode, Simon and Nene bring together artists currently navigating that reality alongside recruiters who understand what is happening on the other side of the hiring process.

Joining Antony are Ashley Obote, CG Generalist; Marie Boisnard, CG Generalist / Environment Artist; and Ilmi Perez Stubbs, 3D Character Animator.

Offering the recruitment perspective are Jonny Adamson, Senior Talent Manager at BRAHMA AI (DNEG Group), and Tiffany Feeney, Founder of Talent Outpost and recruiter across feature film, television, commercials, animation, VFX, media and entertainment.

Together, they unpack the emotional reality of repeated rejection, burnout while unemployed, recruitment 'ghosting', the overwhelming amount of conflicting career advice and the dangerous moment when 'my work isn't good enough' starts becoming 'maybe I'm not good enough.'

The conversation also challenges some familiar industry wisdom. Is endlessly improving your reel actually helping? Is applying for hundreds of jobs really a strategy? How much of getting hired comes down to talent, and how much comes down to timing, project needs, positioning and plain old luck?

Tiffany explains why a great portfolio can still be the wrong portfolio for a particular studio or sector, and why understanding exactly where your skills fit may be more valuable than simply sending more applications.

Jonny takes us behind the scenes of recruitment: shifting projects, internal resourcing, hundreds of candidate conversations and the uncomfortable reality of the 'no-update update'.

And our artists share what it actually feels like to live through the process, including something we don't talk about enough: you can burn out looking for work before you've even got the job.

But ultimately, this is an episode about more than getting hired.

It's about strategy. Community. Timing. Knowing when to step away. Finding your people. Separating your value from your work. And recognising that your career is unlikely to follow the neat, linear path you may have imagined when you started.

Perhaps most importantly, it's about retiring one particularly unhelpful piece of advice:

'Just keep going.'

Because persistence matters, but persistence without direction isn't a strategy.

How do you actually get noticed as a young animator?

In this special episode of the ACCESS:VFX Podcast, Simon and Nene explore Young Animator of the Year UK, the free national animation competition that has helped launch the careers of some of the UK's most exciting emerging talent.

Joining them are Tom Box (Co-Founder of Blue Zoo Animation and Young Animator of the Year UK Lead), Tanya Scott (BAA-winning Director and Young Animator of the Year UK Judge), alongside former winners Josh Palfrey, Amelie Colvin and two-time winner Nishaan Singh.

Together they discuss what judges are really looking for, the biggest myths about breaking into animation, why storytelling matters more than perfection, and how competitions like Young Animator of the Year UK can open doors into the industry.

If you're thinking of entering, entries are free and open to anyone aged 11–22 living or studying in the UK. You can submit 2D, 3D or Stop Motion animation, with finalists showcased at the Manchester Animation Festival. Entries close on 1st September. Find out more and enter at younganimator.uk

This week on The ACCESS:VFX Podcast, we're asking a simple question: Why does nobody talk about advertising VFX?

When people think about careers in VFX and animation, they usually picture blockbuster films, episodic television or games. But some of the most innovative visual effects, animation and creative technology work is happening in advertising, and it's a career path that rarely gets the attention it deserves.

Joining Simon Devereux and co-host Nene Parsotam is a panel of experts spanning animation production, creative technology, CG, robotics and commercial creativity. Together, they unpack the biggest misconceptions about advertising, explore how storytelling changes when you only have seconds to capture an audience's attention, and discuss why commercial work demands just as much creativity, technical excellence and collaboration as film and episodic production.

The conversation also dives into the rapid pace of advertising, the growing role of AI, the crossover of skills between industries, and why careers in branded content and commercial production offer exciting opportunities for artists, producers and technologists alike.

Whether you're already working in VFX and animation, considering a move into advertising, or simply curious about how brands create the campaigns we see every day, this episode offers an honest, behind-the-scenes look at a creative industry that's often overlooked, but full of opportunity.

Featuring Amy Ashton (Freelance Animation Producer and Co-founder of BlackFrame), Tristan Ramsay (Founder and Creative Director of Frantic), Ethan Francis (CG Artist at Black Kite and Co-founder of CG101), Razik Darji (Creative Technologist at VML and Adobe Creative Ambassador), and Eunah Lee (Robotics, Cinematography and Creative Technologist at WPP), bringing perspectives from across commercial production, creative technology, animation and visual effects.