Transcript
Speaker: Welcome everyone to Contents May Vary.
Speaker: I'm Angie Fiedler-Sutton, talking to geeky people about geeky things.
Speaker: I'm a proud fangirl geek with pieces published in Stage Directions, Den of Geek, The Mary Sue, and more.
Speaker: This episode's guest is Michaelia Weisberg, otherwise known as Mickey, an LA native.
Speaker: Mickey and I worked briefly together at a media organization in the YouTube space.
Speaker: After working in the field for six years, Mickey's experience in VFX production management has given her depth as well as breadth of knowledge.
Speaker: From zombies to vampires to aliens to dragons, there has been no shortage of cool stuff for her to work on.
Speaker: And while not all of this is exciting, she takes pride in her small efforts to create a product that ends up being greater than the sum of its parts.
Speaker: All starts with a story, a lot of teamwork, and a little bit of magic.
Speaker: Welcome to Contents May Very, Mickey!
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: Excited to be here.
Speaker: First of all, my big question, what exactly is a VFX producer?
Speaker: What does that do?
Speaker: Kind of give me a summary of what that does.
Speaker: I mean, I've seen it.
Speaker: I kind of know what it is.
Speaker: So just like every kind of aspect of filmmaking, there need to be
Speaker: you know, people who run the organization and make sure everything is on track, get, you know, all of the feedback, get what the directors and the producers want from their heads to the screen.
Speaker: Now, when, before I even started in this field, you know, I knew it existed, but I always kind of considered it as like, well, it's artists.
Speaker: Like, there are people who do it.
Speaker: I'm not that person.
Speaker: Like, I can't get onto my computer and
Speaker: use math to make lighting and aliens do things.
Speaker: But there are people who need to be involved that keep track of them, make sure they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.
Speaker: And that's where we come in.
Speaker: So that leads into the very next question of just kind of how you got into it.
Speaker: You're an LA native.
Speaker: So obviously, you're used to seeing a lot of the industry people around you, but kind of
Speaker: Your first job, how you found it, what made you decide to go into that versus the plethora of other jobs that are available in the industry.
Speaker: I always knew I wanted to go entertainment.
Speaker: Originally I thought I wanted to do film law and then once I got to school I realized that that would be really hard with a certain GPA.
Speaker: I was like, yeah, maybe not.
Speaker: So then I decided I wanted to go more towards film production and once I left Network of One I started working towards that goal.
Speaker: I ended up before that working in locations on the show Silicon Valley.
Speaker: And then there was another strike.
Speaker: So I was kind of out of work for that.
Speaker: So I started temping at a visual effects house and just I was the receptionist.
Speaker: I didn't have a lot to do because people weren't really coming in.
Speaker: So I just started bugging people to teach me what they were doing.
Speaker: And another coordinator kind of said, you know, hey, she has this like, you know, this spark about her, we should use her.
Speaker: And then I just kind of started from there.
Speaker: How long does an average project work?
Speaker: I know it varies, but kind of on average.
Speaker: So for the most part, it's about eight to nine months, maybe a little bit longer.
Speaker: I think part of what has changed is the way we watch TV shows.
Speaker: It used to be like when you were on a network show like CSI or, I don't know, Blue Bloods or one of those shows, you know, you'd work 10 months out of the year, you'd take two months off, you work 10 months out of the year, you take two months off.
Speaker: Now with the shorter seasons, it's more like six to eight months and you might go between multiple shows.
Speaker: There's also the vendor route, which I have done before, which is they're the actual artists doing the work.
Speaker: And if you get at a busy vendor, you could be there for, you know, years, just jumping from show to show.
Speaker: So how do you find out about your next jobs?
Speaker: I mean, is that...
Speaker: Just word of mouth?
Speaker: Do you use a system?
Speaker: It's a lot of networking.
Speaker: Most of my jobs, I've been recommended by other people.
Speaker: You know, hey, I know somebody looking for a coordinator.
Speaker: Are you available?
Speaker: There's also a couple of networking groups I'm part of.
Speaker: Like we have a Slack and there's a job board and it's...
Speaker: been really helpful just as a part of like meeting other people.
Speaker: This job board is also really supportive because we don't have a union.
Speaker: So there will be like an annual survey of how much we're all making so that we can support each other and lift each other up and make sure we're all making fair wages.
Speaker: That was going to be my next question.
Speaker: Is it a job that usually can, you know, I know in the industry, I don't want to talk about exact numbers, but it is enough to live off of?
Speaker: It can be tough.
Speaker: It's been tough the last year for sure with the lack of work and now the studios are hurting.
Speaker: So they're trying to recoup some of the losses they've made and will continue to make since they're now having to pay writers and actors more, which I'm totally for.
Speaker: I think that's a bit of a cop-out.
Speaker: It is getting a lot harder and I'm seeing a lot of people talk about leaving, but I think it'll right itself.
Speaker: It's just, it's been a bumpy road the last year and a half.
Speaker: In terms of if someone wanted to get into this position, you said you kind of found it by accident, but like what kind of background, what kind of job skills would you say would be recommended?
Speaker: So if you wanted to get into like the actual production management part, which is what I do, the best background you can have is some sort of like artist background or business background so that you understand how like budgets work and finance works.
Speaker: Cause at the end of the day, that's really what we're doing.
Speaker: If you're going more the artist route, you know, there are schools that teach you how to do visual effects.
Speaker: But, you know, I was just joking about it with somebody today.
Speaker: Like my business background is like 5% of what I've learned is helpful.
Speaker: And then most of it ends up just being like learning on the job because nowhere in school did I learn what, you know, tracking and roto and
Speaker: match move is it's all been like, wait, what does that word mean?
Speaker: How do we do that?
Speaker: Oh, okay.
Speaker: What's a comp?
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: I get what that means now.
Speaker: So I was going to say, it sounds like a lot of on the job training.
Speaker: I remember when this is a redo for anybody who's listening because Mickey had joined me for my Alzheimer's day long thing, but that recording went kababble.
Speaker: But one of the things I remember we talked about is it's kind of like stage management.
Speaker: What you do is that, would you agree with that?
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, we're, there is a level of like management onset as well, because I'm not sure if you've ever heard the phrase fix it in post.
Speaker: We hate that phrase.
Speaker: Because while we do understand a lot of our job is like fixing oopsie daisies, there is something to be said for if you do things with the right setup, it's going to be more successful in the long run.
Speaker: So there is a lot of like onset management as well, if you are part of the right team.
Speaker: And then, you know, we are just managing a bunch of creative people and helping they do, you know, what we need them to in the time we get.
Speaker: Now I'm looking over your IMDB page and you've got a lot of genre on there.
Speaker: Is that intentional or is that just happenstance?
Speaker: It's pretty happenstance.
Speaker: I'm not mad about it, though.
Speaker: Well, I will say that you did the interview with the vampire and that was the first show that I knew that you were on.
Speaker: So I paused it so I could see your name in the credits.
Speaker: Oh, thank you.
Speaker: It's always cool.
Speaker: I mean, it makes everything worth it for sure.
Speaker: I do tend to gravitate towards stuff that I find exciting.
Speaker: I do get really lucky that I've had these opportunities.
Speaker: And anytime something else pops up like that, I'm like, I'd rather go for that than, you know, just a boring, you know, hospital show.
Speaker: Are you able to watch the thing afterwards?
Speaker: Or is it one of those things where it's like you've seen it five billion times, so you're tired of it?
Speaker: Yeah, it's a little bit of that.
Speaker: There are some things like with Interview, we had a party for the first episode with some family friends.
Speaker: And then I kind of fade off because I've seen it a million times.
Speaker: But if it's a movie, I'll go see it just because it's really cool to see my name on the screen.
Speaker: I bet that's got to be quite the thing.
Speaker: I mean, I know you're kind of on a break now, thanks to the writer's strike.
Speaker: Do you have any future plans currently or is it all just kind of up in the air?
Speaker: So I'm working for a company that makes commercials right now.
Speaker: So thankfully, I have a little bit of income coming in, which has been rough.
Speaker: Yeah, things are starting back up again.
Speaker: So unfortunately, it wasn't quite as quick to the jump as we everyone was hoping it'd be what the strikes over.
Speaker: But I've been talking to people and I'm, you know, there's a lot more opportunities happening.
Speaker: So I'm hoping something within the next few months because I miss my TV shows.
Speaker: Now, I know there's probably no such thing as an average day, but kind of give me a walkthrough of what an average day would be like in terms of what you do.
Speaker: So there's usually some sort of meeting in the beginning of like, what's on the agenda?
Speaker: What are we doing?
Speaker: Like if there's any meetings we have for that day, we'll usually do at least one day dailies session.
Speaker: So that means watching anything that has come in from our vendors, giving notes, and then after that, sending the notes to the vendors, we might have some calls with the vendors if there are some notes with that
Speaker: they might need a little more clarification on or it's just more complicated.
Speaker: So it's just easy to run through them.
Speaker: Maybe a call with the creative team to see a review to make sure we're
Speaker: going down the right track.
Speaker: And then, you know, probably another review session in the evening to see what we've gotten over the day and send that stuff out and on our way.
Speaker: So in terms of how many people do you usually interact with on, I mean, is it, are you pretty solitary or are you working with a lot of people or is it a little depending on the day?
Speaker: It depends on the day, the job, like I can do my job from home for sure.
Speaker: But there is a level of we are constantly talking to each other about, you know, what's coming in, what are we expecting, notes, you know, talking to people about their notes.
Speaker: And that's what I really liked about this job.
Speaker: Like, I don't necessarily think of myself as an extrovert.
Speaker: I'm not going out to parties and meeting a bunch of people.
Speaker: But it's always been a nice part of my job is, like, I always have a core group of people, you know, maybe anywhere between three to seven people.
Speaker: that I'm constantly in communication with that we're just kind of, you know, we're always in contact.
Speaker: And so there is some sort of like hybridiness.
Speaker: That's always helpful to be like, Hey, you know, I have a quick question.
Speaker: What's going on now with Hollywood being Hollywood, it seems like every job is a stepping stone.
Speaker: Do you see yourself doing this for the rest of your career?
Speaker: Do you see yourself going into something else?
Speaker: Yeah, I'm really happy with it.
Speaker: I'm kind of in the mid-level of I'm a coordinator.
Speaker: I'm trying to move up to the next position, which would be a production manager.
Speaker: But I'm also kind of, you know, as long as I can keep affording to live, I'm taking my time because I know what the end goal is as a VFX producer.
Speaker: And I have plenty of time to get there.
Speaker: Do you want to be like a director or some autographer or anything like that?
Speaker: No, no, no.
Speaker: I'm good with VFX.
Speaker: Like, we're all like really, like we have dark senses of humor and we've all been doing it for so long that I just, I don't know if I'd ever want to like leave this group of like normal.
Speaker: We're all weirdly normal too because we don't get a lot of the spotlight.
Speaker: So for an industry that I think gets a lot of flack for egos and stuff, we, I haven't dealt with too many and I'm really happy about that.
Speaker: Now, with with quote unquote normal jobs, office jobs, you tend to make friends and all that.
Speaker: Since you know going in that it's only going to be like eight to ten months, I'm sure you make friends.
Speaker: But at the same time, how much do you still keep in contact with the people that you have met on other productions?
Speaker: Well, my first job was at a vendor and I was there for a couple of years, so I definitely came in contact with them.
Speaker: I think if you are lucky enough to get on a team where you really like the people you work with,
Speaker: the goal is that you continue on with that team on the next show.
Speaker: So I have had, I've worked with multiple people throughout multiple shows because then, you know, they get a job and they're like, hey, I have another show and I really want to bring you on.
Speaker: So that's always like the dream is that you just end up work, you just continuously end up working with the people that you like.
Speaker: Do you have a favorite that you've worked on or is that like asking for a favorite child?
Speaker: No.
Speaker: I yearn for my Walking Dead days.
Speaker: It just, it was a goofy show.
Speaker: It was a great team of people.
Speaker: We kind of knew what we, there wasn't a level of like, it has to be this.
Speaker: Like we knew what it was.
Speaker: It was really fun.
Speaker: And we never really took ourselves too seriously.
Speaker: And I just, I love it.
Speaker: I miss it.
Speaker: And I want to go back.
Speaker: It was one of those, I wish we knew we were in the good old days when we were doing it.
Speaker: When you were still in the good old days.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: I don't want any, like, stories of celebrity interactions, but how often do you run into people where you're, like, impressed that it's somebody you know?
Speaker: Yeah, it doesn't happen too much to us, because we're usually working on the show once it's, like, long and done.
Speaker: Maybe, like, a premiere party here and there.
Speaker: I mean, I...
Speaker: When I was at Marvel, we were working with industry people that I thought were celebrities.
Speaker: So that was really cool.
Speaker: But I wasn't talking to the actors.
Speaker: I know if you were on set, you were working with them.
Speaker: And I know a bunch of people had really cool stories about Olivia Colman and Samuel L. Jackson.
Speaker: And then we would hear of these stories as lowly coordinator people.
Speaker: But because we work with directors and stuff,
Speaker: Well, directors are also celebrities.
Speaker: They are!
Speaker: Not to everyone, but the last film I worked on, which hasn't come out yet, I was able to work with a director that has done really cool stuff.
Speaker: And I didn't get to talk to him much, but it was like, wow, I'm in the same room as this person.
Speaker: That's cool.
Speaker: So what do you do when you're not doing VFX stuff?
Speaker: Oh man, not looking at my computer, that's for sure.
Speaker: I try to balance my life with not being stuck in a desk as much.
Speaker: So we got the pup, you know, keeping me busy.
Speaker: My favorite hobby is I have a horse and I spend my weekends with her.
Speaker: And that just gets me outside and like not sitting on the couch all day.
Speaker: For somebody who doesn't like watching what I work on, I do like watching a lot of TV because I do like to watch what's out there.
Speaker: And it's always nice to be like, okay, that's the kind of show I want to work on, you know.
Speaker: What kind of shows are you normally watching?
Speaker: Oh, I watch everything.
Speaker: I mean, we watch like, we just watched The Creator, which is a movie that has been getting a lot of visual effects buzz, and it was beautiful.
Speaker: I watch a lot of 90 Day Fiance, which I know is like the trashiest thing out there, but I love it.
Speaker: And, you know, we're just, we're watching Percy Jackson, which is super cute.
Speaker: Great British bake-off.
Speaker: I mean, all of it, all of the above.
Speaker: I'm here for it.
Speaker: So in terms of the VFX producer, you said that you are now coordinator.
Speaker: What's kind of the various levels that you can...
Speaker: So if you're starting, you can either start at a company like I did, where you're more of like a receptionist type person.
Speaker: The other way is like get on set as a VFX PA.
Speaker: Then you'd probably work up to like an assistant coordinator role to a coordinator.
Speaker: I'm kind of more on the senior side of a coordinator.
Speaker: Well, if I can sneak senior into my title, because titles are everything in this business.
Speaker: Next would be some sort of production manager.
Speaker: And then like there are various terms of that as well, like associate production manager, you know, depending on how big the project is.
Speaker: And then you go up to producer.
Speaker: There is also something called a VFX supervisor, which is in tandem with VFX producer.
Speaker: The producer is more the money person, the organization person making sure it's happening when it's supposed to happen.
Speaker: And then the visual effects soup, they're the one with the technical knowledge on set and the notes that actually make what happened happen.
Speaker: I've always been curious.
Speaker: I've always been curious in terms of producer, in terms of how much of it is that they have the money and how much of it is that they have the wherewithal to
Speaker: get everybody together it's a little bit of both thankfully as a visual effects producer you're not like asking people for money like you're just given a certain amount so there's not a lot of like like i know if you're a film producer like you might be responsible for actually financing the movie we're just told you have this much money make it work
Speaker: So it's a little bit more of a problem solving aspect, which I really like.
Speaker: It's really fun to kind of be like, hey, you know,
Speaker: we have a $3 million budget, but we're going over what can we do to get the same story across, but maybe be a little more cost effective about it.
Speaker: Or, you know, or, Hey, we have some extra money.
Speaker: What, what really cool stuff do we want to make happen?
Speaker: Was there something that you wanted to talk about that I haven't yet, or that you thought I was going to ask about?
Speaker: No, no, I'm not very exciting.
Speaker: I just don't watch a movie with me.
Speaker: I'm awful.
Speaker: Cause I'll talk about how bad stuff looks.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I was going to say, are you able to kind of separate yourself from the art?
Speaker: I try.
Speaker: If something's really good, I think being honest about it is more fun.
Speaker: Because then I'm like, wow, that looks so good.
Speaker: Then other people are like, holy crap.
Speaker: I try not to be as obvious about it.
Speaker: But when I'm just home with me and Mike, I will say stuff.
Speaker: And I remember one time he started commenting.
Speaker: I'm like, you're getting it now.
Speaker: I'm rubbing off on you.
Speaker: I think we were watching...
Speaker: Brooklyn Nine-Nine and they always like in one episode they like use fire and it's always terrible and he's like I don't understand why they insist on using like fake fire it just never works I'm like I'm so glad you are catching that because
Speaker: Every time I see it, I'm like, oh man, just don't.
Speaker: I admit I'm kind of the same way since I review a lot of stuff that it's sometimes hard to shut down reviewer mode and be able to just watch something or shut down critic mode.
Speaker: But it's interesting to kind of see how something lands in the cultural zeitgeist.
Speaker: I mean, I'm one of those people that there is a difference between a reviewer and a critic.
Speaker: And I try to stay in the critic side of things more, which is, you know, they
Speaker: Not whether or not you're going to like it, but this is why it worked or this is why it didn't work.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I am like the most layman's man.
Speaker: Like I watched the lamest stuff.
Speaker: I have no standard for what it should or shouldn't be.
Speaker: I just can tell you if it looks good or not.
Speaker: You're geeking out with cinematographer Jimmy Matlow's.
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Speaker: So let's talk a little bit about your horse.
Speaker: You said you have a horse.
Speaker: I do.
Speaker: How in the heck are you able to afford a horse?
Speaker: Well, we got my first horse when I was really little, and I kept that as she lived to about a couple years ago.
Speaker: And then when she passed away, it was right post-COVID, but still kind of through it all.
Speaker: It was a big help for me and my mental health to get out there.
Speaker: I'm also the kind of person where if it's just me, I won't take care of myself.
Speaker: But if I have to take care of another animal, I will get up and walk it.
Speaker: I have to go ride my horse.
Speaker: It's not what I want.
Speaker: She needs me to do it.
Speaker: So I ended up getting my second horse about two years ago, I think coming up on three this February.
Speaker: She's not in L.A.,
Speaker: Tell me some stories about working on your various projects.
Speaker: Some of the things that worked well, some things when it worked didn't go well and that you had to go back.
Speaker: Oh, okay.
Speaker: Let me see.
Speaker: What's your favorite story of something that worked really, really well where you're like still to this day, really proud that your name's attached to it.
Speaker: I mean, I am really proud of what we were able to do on interview with the vampire.
Speaker: I think it was a fabulous art house show.
Speaker: Like it's weird and it works and the actors are phenomenal.
Speaker: And just to be,
Speaker: a part of that show was really exciting.
Speaker: I was a little bummed we didn't get back to go to season two, but they're filming in Europe.
Speaker: If you follow like the movie, they're following the second part where he goes to Europe in the movie.
Speaker: So the entire post team was moved there, which is a bit of a bummer.
Speaker: So that was really cool.
Speaker: I have worked on some stuff though, where it is really important who you bring on to work.
Speaker: do the work that needs to be done because every vendor who does the VFX, they all have specialties.
Speaker: And if you don't hire the right people to do this specific work, you end up setting yourself up for failure.
Speaker: So it is really important to know who you're hiring.
Speaker: What is your specialty?
Speaker: I think my specialty is I do really well with people.
Speaker: I like to think I email good and I make people feel like they're being heard and they're being, you know, their opinions aren't being thrown on a wall, which I am listening.
Speaker: I'm not like it's an ulterior motive.
Speaker: But when we're on teams and we're constantly being thrown like wrenches and hammers and every kind of problem, a lot of what we do is problem solving and people are much more willing to work with us and together when they feel like they're valued.
Speaker: the give and take, how much is your input asked for?
Speaker: How much is it that you're just told to do something and you do it?
Speaker: You know, kind of that thing.
Speaker: The best teams, my input has been listened to when it comes to like what needs to be done.
Speaker: And that is where I am happiest because I feel like much more ownership of the product that I'm working on.
Speaker: There have definitely been shows where I've been told to put up
Speaker: And shut up.
Speaker: And just, I'm just there to type.
Speaker: I'm just there to do what I'm told.
Speaker: And at the end of the day, I'm like, you know what?
Speaker: I don't care.
Speaker: Like, this isn't my project.
Speaker: I'm not, I don't have my fingerprint on this.
Speaker: Anyone could have done this job.
Speaker: But there is a scene in The Walking Dead that wouldn't have happened because I didn't say, we need to fix this.
Speaker: And it seems really silly.
Speaker: Because it was a really small...
Speaker: part of the storyline but basically what happens is the actress shows up to a town and she rejoins her friends and in this specific shot she's hugging her friend but her boyfriend is in the background and I looked at my boss and I'm like if she saw her boyfriend first you don't think she'd run to him
Speaker: Like, it makes no sense that she's hugging her friend first when her boyfriend's standing right behind him.
Speaker: can we just, you know, there's a term to paint somebody out.
Speaker: It's just a very, it's very simple work.
Speaker: Can we just, can we just paint them out of the shot?
Speaker: It'll make the story seem so much, it'll just make everything so much smoother.
Speaker: But I was the only like young girl on the team.
Speaker: So none of them thought, you know, that this needed to be done because it would have never occurred to them.
Speaker: And we ran it up the chain.
Speaker: We're like, Hey, it's nothing big.
Speaker: Like we don't think it's a huge deal, but we really think we should paint them out.
Speaker: And the showrunner was like, absolutely.
Speaker: That's a big story point.
Speaker: And it's really simple and silly, but I'm like, but that was me.
Speaker: That was my idea.
Speaker: And no one would ever know, but that makes me like, like I saved the show.
Speaker: Give me my Emmy.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: are VFX coordinators eligible for Emmys?
Speaker: No, no, no, you might.
Speaker: I didn't think so.
Speaker: You can't, there is like visual effects awards, but it usually is like the VFX soup and producer.
Speaker: We were nominated for some award, not the Emmys on interview.
Speaker: Like we do have our own award show.
Speaker: It's called the VES award and it's actually happening next month.
Speaker: And that would be like the whole team, but it's usually just like you're part of the award winning team, not, you know,
Speaker: I have to be a little more important.
Speaker: You're not the one accepting trophy.
Speaker: I need a couple more titles under my belt before I get there.
Speaker: So some more stories of your work.
Speaker: Just, you know, there's a plethora of items that I can, would it help if I just gave you a title that you worked on?
Speaker: Yeah, go for it.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Looks like you've worked on a couple of episodes of The Boys.
Speaker: Do you have any stories from them?
Speaker: Oh, yeah.
Speaker: So we did... I was at a vendor when I worked there on that.
Speaker: And we did the, like, gills on The Deep.
Speaker: So that was really kind of cool stuff to work on, just...
Speaker: Never done that before.
Speaker: And it's a pretty, I don't know if you've ever watched The Boys, but the scenes we worked on were pretty like sexual assault-y.
Speaker: So those are always really fun calls.
Speaker: Like there is nothing off limits in our field because we do a lot of like sensitive stuff.
Speaker: Something like just at that company, we were working on Django Unchained, like the re-release of it.
Speaker: They had worked on it before I got there.
Speaker: And so we were doing a lot of like extended scenes and stuff and we did all the blood work.
Speaker: But I remember part of my job was like when we would get the files and I'd have to like look at them and make sure like nothing was corrupted or whatever.
Speaker: So it's just like going through the list of files and all of a sudden, if you've seen Django Unchained, there is the scene where Jamie Foxx is hanging upside down naked and it starts at his penis and the camera pulls out.
Speaker: And so I clicked on the file and just got like penis in my face.
Speaker: And I was like, whoa, there's just probably a little warning to kind of give me a heads up.
Speaker: And in the same vein, when I was on The Walking Dead, we were watching an episode of something.
Speaker: And for some reason, one of the actor's pants just looked really tight.
Speaker: And there was, like, full, like, shapes and shadows.
Speaker: And there was no mystery to what I was looking at.
Speaker: And so we're, like, I'm in a room with a bunch of people.
Speaker: And we're all like, this is, like, kind of a family show.
Speaker: We should probably fix that.
Speaker: So I had to...
Speaker: email thankfully we sent it to somebody who we were like friendly with because we were in the same building so we worked with them a lot and they would come up and we talked to them and stuff so I had to send out an email I was like um I don't really know how to say this especially because it is in writing but we need your help making his junk look a little less discreet like
Speaker: descriptive I don't really yeah can you help and like the producer responded to me he's like in like all caps ha ha ha this is the funniest email I've ever like gotten from you so we definitely have some stuff like that where I have had to restructure somebody's bum because they were naked in some sort of contraption and we had to get rid of it and
Speaker: Yeah, there's never a shortage of dull moments where we are saying things that in most places would get you fired.
Speaker: Yeah, I bet.
Speaker: So talk a little bit about your work on devotion.
Speaker: It looks like you're Previs coordinator.
Speaker: Oh, yeah.
Speaker: So Previs is an interesting part of the visual effects world that most people don't know about because it's mainly designed for really big movies.
Speaker: Previs stands for previsualization.
Speaker: And what that is is...
Speaker: when you're making super expensive movies and can't afford to do multiple camera setups because you're just trying to get the look of it, there are companies that are hired to visualize what the director's vision is before it's even filmed.
Speaker: So then...
Speaker: You can use that to create your camera setups, how many extras you need.
Speaker: It's been used in a lot of war movies because you need to know where your extra is going to be, how many people are going to be there.
Speaker: especially when you're filming things to be filmed with visual effects later on, it has to be right from the beginning because if it's not, when you're doing it later on, people are going to know something's off.
Speaker: Like the lighting has to be correct.
Speaker: The setup has to be correct.
Speaker: So this previs just helps the directors and the camera crew and the lighting crew know what it's supposed to look like in the end so that they can set it up properly from the very beginning.
Speaker: So now the big question,
Speaker: Why do you do it?
Speaker: What is so enjoyable about it to you?
Speaker: What draws you to this?
Speaker: For me, part of it is like I'm not necessarily a creative person when it comes to like I can write a script or I can tell you a story from the very beginning.
Speaker: But I've always been creative in problem solving when it comes to like I know what your story is, but we can't tell it that way.
Speaker: Or helping you tell your story.
Speaker: in the way you want to.
Speaker: And from the production standpoint, it is this perfect mix of something that is aesthetically pleasing because I'm trying to make something look good, but it is also a mix of organization and tidiness and presenting things in ways that other people need to know what's going on because you're responsible for money, you're responsible for people.
Speaker: So it is this like kind of perfect mix of
Speaker: All of my skills.
Speaker: And then, like I said in my intro, there's something really cool about like this je ne sais quoi of it, that you always start with something that is on the screen, and you know that's not the final product.
Speaker: And you are...
Speaker: part of what will make it the product that wins the award or just makes people happy.
Speaker: And to just be part of that is really cool.
Speaker: Any trends that you can think of that you've seen in terms of the industry?
Speaker: I know shorter seasons are a big trend right now.
Speaker: One trend that I hope will catch on because it makes our job easier is something called virtual production.
Speaker: I don't know if you know too much about that.
Speaker: It's how The Mandalorian was shot.
Speaker: There's the main one, which is the volume, which is you basically film everything on a big LED screen stage so that the fake background that you're doing is there.
Speaker: And then it helps the visual effects later on because everything looks like the lighting is directional.
Speaker: Like everything looks like it's supposed to, even though you know that's not the final product.
Speaker: I highly recommend if you haven't watched it, it's on Disney Plus of the first season of The Mandalorian.
Speaker: There's like an additional...
Speaker: like how they did it show.
Speaker: And there's one about the technology of the volume.
Speaker: And it is so cool.
Speaker: If you think you want to do VFX or you're just interested in how things are done, because it's not like a big thing that people talk about.
Speaker: It's super freaking cool.
Speaker: And I hope that kind of continues because it will make things better in the long run.
Speaker: It also makes my job a little bit longer.
Speaker: So thank you.
Speaker: And then, yeah, I just, I really hope the trends kind of stick more towards like,
Speaker: better life management, like quality of life.
Speaker: I know that's what a lot of people are fighting for.
Speaker: And it has suffered a bit because so much, especially in visual effects, so much stuff relies on what we do.
Speaker: And we aren't part of a union yet.
Speaker: I know it's happening.
Speaker: It's happening in places.
Speaker: It's happened at Marvel.
Speaker: It's happened at a couple of studios.
Speaker: It's happened at Disney animation or not Disney animation or like Disney studio, something.
Speaker: So I know it's happening and I,
Speaker: I haven't been in the industry long enough, but I know the stories of what people have done.
Speaker: And I've had a little bit of it where you're doing 16-hour days and you're fighting for lunch and you're not being taken care of and you're not making enough.
Speaker: And I really hope that we continue to move towards the... We are people.
Speaker: We are giving it our all.
Speaker: We deserve to be able to live a life.
Speaker: What are your thoughts on AI?
Speaker: Oh, AI.
Speaker: I mean...
Speaker: There are ways we can use it in visual effects, like for, it's not a creative substitute whatsoever.
Speaker: There are ways that we could use it to do the absolutely awful task process.
Speaker: manage like there's like tracking and roto which is usually what a junior artist does and it's just painstaking and there's kind of no way quick to do it right now and I know that would be super helpful and it would put you know the junior people out of jobs but the goal is that they do move up it is not a replacement for senior people when they're doing creative stuff it can be used for like concept work and
Speaker: But once you start getting into like, well, we need to change this, we need to do that, like, it's just better to have a person.
Speaker: And it will always be better to have a person when it comes to making art.
Speaker: I do think there is a lot of hubbub about it from the actor's perspective about like us using it against them, which is absolutely not true.
Speaker: Like, we are hearing that actors don't want visual effects on set because we scan people.
Speaker: Well, we scan you because we need to do CG stuff.
Speaker: with that scan because sometimes we're throwing you in a rocket and shooting you into space and we're not actually doing that but we're not like this notion that vfx is going to replace people or ai is going to replace people it absolutely shouldn't i know there was talk about like extras being scanned and then their likeness being used in perpetuity and that's just awful and wrong and should never happen but the fear of it i think is a little bit misplaced
Speaker: Now, I'm assuming that part of your job is like kind of keeping your ear to ground on terms of industry news.
Speaker: Deadline, I'm assuming, is one of the places you go to.
Speaker: Do you have other places that you kind of go to to kind of keep up with what's happening?
Speaker: I mean, I was checking deadline like every day during the strikes.
Speaker: I don't do it as much anymore.
Speaker: I know Variety is a good place for news.
Speaker: A lot of it is like my groups that I'm in, like my
Speaker: because a lot of what we're telling each other is stuff we're hearing from like people's interviews or what we care about in our is like how it affects our work, like our jobs, our livelihood.
Speaker: And that's kind of what we're talking about.
Speaker: I don't totally care about like shows with like who's being signed to stuff.
Speaker: I care more about like stuff getting into actual production and
Speaker: A lot of that is just like through the grapevine, unfortunately.
Speaker: But I'm glad to be part of groups that kind of support each other.
Speaker: You mentioned groups.
Speaker: Are we talking Facebook groups?
Speaker: Are we talking email groups?
Speaker: Both?
Speaker: Neither?
Speaker: So I'm part of, it's like LinkedIn groups.
Speaker: And like we have a, like I think the Slack group that I mentioned that does the surveys and stuff.
Speaker: So yeah, it's more like on Facebook.
Speaker: Not Facebook, but we have like professional networking groups that I'm a part of a couple, which are great.
Speaker: They're super fun.
Speaker: Awesome.
Speaker: Well, if someone wants to get ahold of you or wants to learn more about you, how can they find you?
Speaker: I am on LinkedIn, Michaela Weisberg, M-I-C-H-A-E-L-A.
Speaker: And I am on most of the socials.
Speaker: You can find me under at Mickey J W. I'm happy to help anybody who wants to get into this field, even though I will probably tell you to run away.
Speaker: But I have helped people in the past.
Speaker: I will keep doing it because I would not be where I am if people haven't helped me.
Speaker: So I'm happy to pay it forward.
Speaker: For those of you who are new to the podcast, every interview I end with a bunch of series of sillier questions that don't really matter in terms of the grand scheme of things that I think are still fun and kind of get into a personality type.
Speaker: So these are just off the top of your head.
Speaker: Don't worry about thinking too deep on that.
Speaker: I've randomized them.
Speaker: Just whenever I say a question, you answer as quickly as you can.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Love it.
Speaker: Let's go.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Number one, favorite color?
Speaker: Pink.
Speaker: What's your go-to song to sing in the shower?
Speaker: Oh, Call Your Girlfriend by Robin.
Speaker: What's your favorite superstition or conspiracy theory?
Speaker: You don't have to believe in it.
Speaker: Gas isn't real for your cars.
Speaker: Okay, that's a new one.
Speaker: Who's your favorite, James Bond, Doctor, or Batman?
Speaker: Oh, let me go emo Batman with Robert Pattinson.
Speaker: Love him.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: Thoughts on pineapple on pizza?
Speaker: Oh, love it.
Speaker: Here for it.
Speaker: Bring it on.
Speaker: What is your favorite time of day?
Speaker: Sunset.
Speaker: What is your favorite stovetop burner?
Speaker: Upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right?
Speaker: Oh, lower right.
Speaker: What's your comfort movie?
Speaker: Either Princess Bride or Zootopia.
Speaker: Favorite food?
Speaker: Potatoes.
Speaker: Favorite or lucky number?
Speaker: Seven.
Speaker: Isn't that everybody's?
Speaker: No.
Speaker: 13 is Kate's.
Speaker: That's a good one.
Speaker: Favorite drink?
Speaker: Favorite drink.
Speaker: Alcoholic or non-alcoholic?
Speaker: Whatever you want to go.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Um, old fashioned.
Speaker: Favorite smell?
Speaker: Um, like amber.
Speaker: Like that musky, spicy, vanilla-y.
Speaker: When getting dressed, do you button then zip or zip then button?
Speaker: Oh, button then zip.
Speaker: Would you rather see Captain Kirk become a Jedi or see Luke Skywalker become Captain of the Enterprise?
Speaker: I think I'd rather see Captain Kirk become a Jedi.
Speaker: What's your favorite curse word?
Speaker: And you can curse.
Speaker: Oh, fuck.
Speaker: Classic.
Speaker: Who would you want to play you in the movie about your life?
Speaker: Emma Stone.
Speaker: Awesome.
Speaker: And then final question.
Speaker: If you were a superhero or villain, what power would you want?
Speaker: Oh, to talk to animals.
Speaker: Of course.
Speaker: That would like no questions asked.
Speaker: And that's a wrap for this episode.
Speaker: Thanks to Mickey Weisberg for being interviewed.
Speaker: As always, any URLs mentioned or any...
Speaker: lines are in the show notes for the episode on my website.
Speaker: Thanks also to cinema photographer Jimmy Matlows for the mid-show plug.
Speaker: I interviewed him in episode 18.
Speaker: This is Angie Fiedler Sutton from one-on-one interviews to red carpets and conventions to roundtable discussions.
Speaker: I bring you a little bit of everything.
Speaker: After all, contents may vary.
Speaker: Thanks for listening to Contents May Vary.
Speaker: The theme song is Schoolyard Hayes by Yari Pikniken, available via the Free Music Archive.
Speaker: More information about the podcast is available on my website, ngfsutton.com.
