About VFX

Visual effects artists have taken illusions to previously unimaginable places over the years and have carried on the legacy of the many illusionists who went before them. One attribute that separates a traditional illusionist from his digital counterpart is secrecy. Whereas traditional magicians kept secrets to preserve the mystery of their tricks, the best visual effects artists I know are quick to break down their digital illusions and share them not only with other VFX artists, but the audiences as well. 

VFX artists over the years, both in productions and in the classroom. To produce digital illusions, VFX artists’ primary skill is problem solving. Visual effects instructors must attain high levels of problem-solving ability, but they must also acquire the ability to pass their knowledge onto others. 

Finding a VFX instructor is easy. Finding a great instructor with the ability to inspire and create production-ready artists with the needed skills often feels like a magic trick of its own Jon Gress is among the rare breed of VFX artists who can move seamlessly between problem solving on a production and imparting his experience in the classroom. I walked into the studio during the last few weeks of production and witnessed what looked to be chaos and a production that was out of control. It turns out, it was orchestrated chaos.

At the time, Jon was filming a few greenscreen pick-up shots of an actor floating off into space, directing artists working on several digital destruction shots, and fine-tuning the edit, among other things. It was fun watching how trivial he made the whole process look and how he effortlessly motivated the team of artists, even at the 11th hour of production, when most teams would be discouraged. 

It’s no real surprise that some of those artists went on to work at studios like Digital Domain, WETA Digital, Zoic, Pixomondo,The Asylum, Cinesite, Prime Focus, and Walt Disney Animation Studios. A couple years later, I recommended that the Digital Animation and Visual Effects School at Universal Studios hire Jon as the VFX instructor. The school was in the process of retooling its curriculum and needed someone with Jon’s experience to come in and help enhance the training the school was providing. Shortly after Jon came on board, the quality of the work being produced by the students increased exponentially. 

More importantly, the students had a newfound love of the art of visual effects Jon brings a contagious energy to anything he is involved with, and he is passionate about the craft of filmmaking. Couple that with his hands-on experience with and knowledge of VFX and his ability to problem-solve and you have the skillset needed to train the next generation of digital artists. Over the years, Jon has helped to keep movie magic alive and thriving by training hundreds of artists who have gone on to work on everything from summer blockbuster feature films to award-winning television series, and more.

When I heard that Jon was going to be writing a book on visual effects, I was excited that his knowledge would finally be bottled and find its way into the hands of more artists. Throughout the pages of this book, Jon introduces you to the magic of visual effects and imparts his knowledge so that you can create your own digital illusions. Your audience will walk away knowing that what they saw couldn’t have been real—but they will still believe.