Today we’d like to introduce you to Jorge Zavala.
Hi Jorge, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Well, I’ll start off by where I was born, Tijuana Mexico. My parents came to this country when I was a few months old. I grew up in Hollywood, California. After high school, I went into the Marine Corps from 1996 to 2000. I was a diesel mechanic. Once my active service contract was over, I chose to leave the military. I became a mechanic in the San Fernando Valley and eventually moved to work for Metrolink. After a couple of years as a mechanic, I became an engineer to be able to drive trains in the yard for maintenance. Later becoming a supervisor. Needing more of a challenge, I started looking at different careers in motion graphics. By this time in 2008, I had two sons, Joshua 7 and David 5. Late 2008, I enrolled in a college in Santa Monica. For approximately a year, I worked and went to school full-time. With the help of family and other means, I was able to quit my job and concentrate on my bachelor’s degree. My original enrollment was for motion graphics but quickly turned to the more exciting Visual Effects program.
2012 I graduated with a Bachelor in Computer Science for Visual Effects. I was hired at the school’s portfolio show and had a job before graduation. One thing I didn’t realize was the amount of different studios I would be bouncing around to. Being a newbie, I was only able to get small-time jobs that didn’t last too long. Eventually, I landed a job at an animation studio where my work kept me there for about five years doing various animation shows and even a live-action movie. In 2016 that studio, unfortunately for them, went under and out of business. For me, it was the push I needed to move forward in my vfx career. I took to youtube and various learning websites and learned the basics in Nuke. That’s the industries go to compositing workhorse. I kind of faked it till I made it because that program is not a learn overnight kinda program. With time I got better and landed some bigger jobs. I began getting work by word of mouth. Every job after was bigger and bigger.
Mid 2017, the president of a former vfx studio I worked at opened up his own studio. It was a small start-up but that small crew was like my second family. Everything was going as best as it could, then the Covid pandemic hit. All our work came to a screeching halt. We were now all unemployed. Nobody in the industry was working. I managed to get a few small jobs working from home to keep me afloat for about six months until a blessing from one of my favorite producers gave me an opportunity of a lifetime. Marvel had started an animation studio and it was getting off the ground. After a few interviews, I was offered a job on its first animated show, “What If?” I am now currently on season 2 and a few other secret shows.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The major struggles were being so green and jumping into an industry that takes years to even begin to master. This vfx industry is forever evolving and you are basically always learning new things and methods. Being a single father was probably right up there too. Some jobs require long hours and when my boys were young, it made it hard to take those better-paying jobs because I could not fulfill the hours required to work at certain studios. So balancing those two things and mixing in life obstacles was very challenging.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a CGI 3D Compositor. I sometimes get elements created in a 3d program and put them together with some magic to look amazing. Other times I’m needed to do beauty work. I’ve mainly worked on live-action shows and feature films. If I can make a change, add an effect, fix something and the viewer doesn’t notice, that’s when I did my job right!
Shows and films I’ve been proud to have worked on are Euphoria, Westworld, Anabelle Creation, John Wick 2 and now Marvel’s What If?
I believe what sets me apart from others is I’m always trying to learn new ways to do my work. Everyone approaches this job differently so I try to mix it up and use various ways to accomplish my work. Also, one thing is I try to help everyone. Whether it’s a new employee or a veteran, I help and teach them all.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Oh boy, that’s a tough one to answer. I feel like my department, meaning compositing is constantly changing and it’s just a small wheel to the big machine that is movie making. Tools we use are changing and being updated almost every few months. One trend I have noticed and is very interesting to me is the use of Unreal Engine for virtual sets for films and series.
