Create a Profile
All major VFX Studios keep track of the work being done through individual user profiles. Your user profile is what gives you access to a particular show’s assets. Any time logged, work submitted, notes taken are all associated with an individual Artist's profiles. This is the same in the VFX Horde Review Room. Read through the instructions below to learn how to create a Review Room profile.
To start off you need to create a Review Room Profile. After logging in, click on “Dashboard”. From there you will be prompted to create a profile. Click on “Add Item” and then “+ Artist Profile”.
You will need to submit a photo of yourself for your profile so your Lead can connect your face with your work. Also, make sure that you use your real name and not nick name when creating your profile.
Once submitted, you will see that your profile has been created. There are three tabs “Assigned Tasks”, “Shot Submissions” and “Dailies”. As you can see, all three of these tabs are blank. Once your Lead has added you to the Review Room Session and assigned your shots, these tabs will be populated. Next you will need to request the shots you will be working on in this Review Room Session.
Make Shot Request
VFX Studios divide shot work up between artists based on the skill, experience and availability of the artist. It would be rare if an artist was allowed to request shots they want to work on—at a VFX Studio, shots are simply assigned to you. But at the VFX Horde, we want to make sure you have the opportunity to select shots that you want on your demo reel.
Note: As there are other Artists in this Review Session and the same shot cannot be assigned to more then one artist within this Session, shots will be assigned on a first come first serve basis. Your Lead will do their best to assign the shots you have requested. If you have any questions, please contact your Lead via the Community Group.
In the “Submissions” menu select the “Create Shot Request”. There you will need to make a selection of shots that is larger than the amount of shots you will be working on for your Session. That way Lead can assign you the shots you want even if some of those shots have already been assigned.
After your submission you will see all your requests listed on your shot request page. If another artist has been assigned to a shot you will see them listed under the shot. If you do not see anyone listed under the shot, that does not necessarily mean the shot has not already been assigned. You can edit your selection by clicking on the "Edit Item".
Time Entry
All major VFX Studios track how long Artists have spent on their assigned tasks. Not only is this how you get paid but this information is used to bid future shows for the studio. In this VFX Studio simulated experience it is important that you track the time you spend on your shots. This will give you a baseline of your current productivity and give you insights on how to speed up your work. It will also give you the ability to be more accurate estimating your time on tasks when you are working at a VFX studio.
In the “Submissions” menu select the “Create Time Entry”. There you will need to select the shot you wish to create a time entry for. If you have completed the submission with the wrong shot selected, you can edit your submission on the “Edit Time Entry” page under the “Submissions” menu.
You can view the time spent on each shot by clicking on the time icon on the shot. When you do so your time entries will expand. If you need to edit these entries, you can do so by clicking on “Edit Item”.
Shot Submission
Every major VFX Studio has a shot review system where Artists can submit their work for feedback. In this simulated VFX Studio experience you will need to submit your work as well. The VFX Horde has clearly defined steps in the review process. Make sure you are aware if you are submitting work for Dailies or Rounds.
Dailies: Dailies in a VFX studio are held in one of the VFX Studios review theaters. The Lead will drive the review session while their team of artists receive feedback. In some cases your Lead might be in a different location and your review will be held via video conferencing. At the VFX Horde these live review sessions will be held over video conferencing.
Rounds: The term “Rounds” comes from the act of your Lead or VFX supervisor walking “round” to Artist’s desks to give feedback on their work. When the Lead or Supervisor is not at the studio he/she would comment on your shot submissions remotely. This “remote” flavor of Rounds is how Rounds will be conducted in your VFX Horde Review Session.
Rounds: The term “Rounds” comes from the act of your Lead or VFX supervisor walking “round” to Artist’s desks to give feedback on their work. When the Lead or Supervisor is not at the studio he/she would comment on your shot submissions remotely. This “remote” flavor of Rounds is how Rounds will be conducted in your VFX Horde Review Session.
To create a shot submission (aka Shotsub) you need to go to the “Create Shot Submission” under the “Submission” menu. You will need to select the appropriate status of your submission according to the dailies schedule. Depending on the nature of your submission you will either submit a (1) still image, (2)still image + image sequence (3) a video or (4) a video + image sequence. Please note that you cannot submit an image sequence by itself. You need to submit either a video or an image so your Lead knows what the download is supposed to be.
To submit larger video files and images sequences you will need to take 2 steps. (1) upload the file, then (2) select the file that you just uploaded. If your image sequences are too large for your internet connection you can submit multiple files.
After you submit, your shot submission will show up in your “Shot Submission” tab. If you happen to be working in more than one discipline you can filter your submissions based on discipline. If you need to edit your submission you can click on “Edit Item” next to the submission name or go to the “Edit Submissions” page.
Next click on your submission and type in the notes on your shot in the comments box. You will need to include information like what notes you hit from the last review, what you are working on now, what not to look at and what areas you would like some feedback on. Writing your notes is essential. Submissions that have not been commented on will not be reviewed.
Shot Review
Typically VFX Studios will create a playlist in their review tool so they can have all the shot submissions cued and ready for dailies. The VFX Review Room your Lead will make dailies playlists available to you so that you can submit your shot for a shot review.
Once your Lead has added you to the Review Room Session you will see listed all the dailies for that Session. From this page you can click on any of the Dailies playlists. There is also a link to the private community group for your Review Room Session.
To submit to a dailies playlist you need to go to “Add to Playlist” in the “Submissions” menu. Here you will need to add a short description in the name of your submission then a more detailed description in the notes. You will need to include information like what notes you hit from the last review, what you are working on now, what not to look at and what areas you would like some feedback on.
Playlists will list all the shot submissions being reviewed in that Dailies. You need to make these submissions in advance of the Dailies otherwise your shot will not be reviewed. After the Dailies has concluded, your Lead will post a video recording of the Dailies on this page.
