Kristiania University College - Westerdals Department of Film and Media graduate, Ingvild Rein shares her journey into her first role as a compositor in a Visual Effects studio.
Recent Kristiania University College - Westerdals Department of Film and Media graduate, Ingvild Rein, is a Junior Compositor at Storm Studios in Oslo, Norway. She is also a hobby photographer & artist.
Ingvild has done VFX work for Marvel, HBO, Netflix and Amazon Prime. In this article, she sits down with us to share her journey and advice to aspiring artists looking for an exciting and challenging career like her own.
I have a bachelor's degree in Visual Effects, and my current role is as a Compositor where I do everything from clean-up / prep work to green-screen removal and CGI integration.
I work at a Visual Effects company in Oslo, Norway called Storm Studios, where I just finished working on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, as my first feature film project. Currently I'm working on the tv adaptation of the popular video game The Last of Us.
I’ve always enjoyed art and storytelling, but I first realised I wanted work in the film industry when I started high school. However, after working in the film industry for a while as an assistant to both Producers and Directors, I realised that I found more joy and comfort being creative in front of the computer screen and using my visual skills as an artist to make movies come to life.
My first big break was when one of my teachers at school told us about a Netflix production he was working on, and encouraged us to apply. Me and three other classmates got hired as part time junior compositors for Nexus Studios in London, and that was my first meeting with the professional VFX industry.
I applied for an internship at Storm Studios as a part of my bachelor's degree, and after working hard to create a showreel I could be proud of, I got accepted as a compositor intern. After my internship ended, Storm was very happy with my work and I was immediately hired.
I chose to study at Kristiania University College - Westerdals Department of Film and Media because I had been working in the film business for about three years on set and in production of films and tv-shows, but only as an assistant to other artists, and I felt that I really wanted to do something more creative and challenge myself to learn a new art medium.
I actually learned everything technical I know about compositing from the talented teachers at Kristiania. I really did know nothing about 3D or CGI before I started, and had never touched any 3D program or compositing software. Kristiania also helped me connect with other artists and professionals in the industry.
I usually start work between 8-9 in the morning, and at around 10 we have dailies with the different supervisors on the project we are currently working on, where we get feedback on our work and catch up on client notes etc.
The rest of the day is spent working on shots, learning from other compositors and 3D artist, and we also have the occasional educational seminar about new tools and techniques as well.
As a compositor I mainly work with Nuke as my daily software for all compositing work, and we also use Shotgrid for dailies and scheduling and such.
My workflow consists of getting a brief from my supervisor or client, maybe looking up references or looking at other shots, and if there are 3D elements I talk with the CG department, and then just working on it until I have something to show my supervisor for feedback.
I work closely with the CG department and the other Compositors at the studio, as well as the Supervisors.
Since I only just started working in the VFX industry, I can’t say I’ve noticed any trends yet that have changed how I approach my role as a compositor, but I’m sure it will come as I gain more experience.
I really enjoy collaborating with other artists, and something I really appreciate at Storm is that we have dailies with other compositors and supervisors almost every day where we get to talk about the work.
I really enjoy this because I think some of the fun working as an artist is sharing opinions and experiences with other talented people.
I mean I wouldn’t mind if AI took over rotoscoping and tracking so I could focus more on the creative side of compositing, haha!
I wouldn’t say formal education is necessary to work as a compositor, but for me, as someone who knew next to nothing about the work beforehand, it really helped. And my school also has a lot of industry contacts, which helped me get in touch with the right people more easily.
As a junior artist you will often be asked to do cleanup work or prep work, which involves rotoscoping, rotopainting and tracking and such.
If I were to hire an artist I would look for someone who is good at communication and enjoys working with other people, and someone who is passionate and eager to learn more.
I’m really motivated to learn as much as I can about compositing and to grow as an artist. We are working on a lot of exciting projects and I’m really happy about how far I’ve gotten already. And it’s only getting more exciting!
I am inspired by other artists and artworks, and a lot of my inspiration comes from photography, cinematography and painting. I try to implement my skills as a traditional artist and photographer into my visual effects work as well.
I think what’s most important to show in your portfolio is of course your best work, but also that you can finish a project.
Knowing the basics of colour theory and the optics of cameras is essential for being a great compositor. I think the skills you learn as a traditional painting artist or photographer are really handy when you do compositing, because photorealism requires you to know how to manipulate light and colour correctly, and also how a camera reads this information and translates it to film.
I think I would tell myself to embrace curiosity and passion, to find what makes me different and unique from other artists and to embrace it. And also to not be afraid to fail a lot, because you learn so much from just trying things, even when they don’t work.
