Brian Thompson: Great VFX is a Magic Act

Brian has worked as a CG generalist and VFX artist for the better part of a decade in Minneapolis, but his VFX career started nearly 15 years ago. "Like a lot of people in this industry, I went through a phase in high school where I gathered a bunch of my friends together and we started making movies. And then I realized that I hated directing, I was terrible at acting and my scripts made absolutely no sense. But I really enjoyed making things explode on the computer. So, why not make a career out of that?"

He’s always gravitated to the magic space where creativity meets technology. "In my mind, being a VFX artist is like being a digital magician. 90 percent of the magic trick is invisible. There's a lot of time spent researching and practicing and perfecting our techniques, so the audience doesn't notice the digital sleight-of-hand and they accept what they see as reality. The last ten percent is flashy and showy, hopefully eliciting a 'wow' reaction. I love it."