Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1516015
SPRING 2024 15 O N T H E J O B Erin V. Ramos started at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2014 to do development work on the water animation pipeline on Moana, for which she and her team won an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in an Animated Production. From there she went on to serve as an Effects Supervisor on Frozen 2, and she was Head of Effects Animation on Encanto and Wish. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR JOB? My team is in charge of the effects work, which can range from large-scale destruction to creating magical sparkles. What I love about effects work is that it's a mixture of art and science. It's a lot of physics-based work, but we use that foundation to create effects that are beautiful and believable. We strive for believability, not necessarily realism. As Head of Effects, I oversee all the effects work on a show and make sure everything stays consistent with the shape language of our film. I also work with the Production Designer to make sure our effects match the given artwork. Every day I review my team's work and decide whether it's ready to be shown to the directors or whether it needs more tweaking. It's a lot of strategizing and planning but is also very creative. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF YOUR JOB? As an effects artist, you only have to worry about the shot you're working on; but as Head of Effects, you have to worry about the entire movie and make sure we're keeping continuity. Having to keep that bigger picture in your head— juggling multiple sequences and a wide variety of effects—is quite challenging, and I rely heavily on my production team to make sure everything is scheduled correctly and that everybody has something to work on. I don't know what I would do without my production team—they're top-notch! WHAT ARE THE BEST PARTS ABOUT BEING HEAD OF EFFECTS? Some of the best parts of my job are when I'm in director review, and my artist is presenting their work. By this point, I've seen their work multiple times and given all the notes I need to, and I feel like it's ready to be shown to the directors. I leave it up to my artist to present their work and feel incredibly happy for them when they get their shot approved. It's a great feeling knowing how much work my artist has put into a shot and watching them put their best foot forward and succeed. I'll never get tired of that. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRING HEAD OF EFFECTS? Communicate well! I think the great part of working at this level is that we get to be in the story rooms early and pitch our own ideas for how the effects can work with the story. It's a skill to be able to speak up in a room full of other department heads and share your ideas with confidence. It's also important to be able to communicate notes effectively to your team. The clearer you can be with your art direction, the better time the artist will have, and the more efficient things will be. ERIN V. RAMOS HEAD OF EFFECTS ANIMATION Wish, Walt Disney Animation Studios