Conversations with Veronica Ramirez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Veronica Ramirez.

Hi Veronica, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Veronica Ramirez, and I am a VFX artist focused on compositing. In this industry, people always ask you about your journey and how you got into Visual Effects. Here is my story.

My first professional experience inside this world was an internship inside a post-production company in the Visual Effects department. I started working with Clean-Ups and prep work for compositors. Although most artists spend significant time in the Clean-Up or Prep department, my leads recognized my potential and dedication, which enabled me to move into a Compositor role sooner than expected. This was one of the most critical moments of my career because it made me realize I had a good eye and talent for the VFX world.

During my time at this company, I worked as a VFX compositor on multiple series , including Mariachis for HBO, The Marked Heart for Netflix, El Rey: Vicente Fernández for Netflix, Entre Sombras for VIX, and Democracia para Dummies for Telecafé, among others. Working alongside amazing compositors I was able to up my skills and jump from brand clean ups on building to comping explosions into scenes.

After about a year and a half of working, I decided to take my career to the next level and pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Effects at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Where I made my MFA thesis, reaseatrching how Visual Effects can be use as a tool to create Magical Realism in film. In this project I was able to direct and VFX supervise a short movie that supported my thesis statement and reasearch theory. This short film was one of my proudest moments as an artist because I was able to lead a fantastic team from the creative vision through technical execution to finalization.

After graduating, I was fortunate to join Caravan, a company were I work with a talented tem. Here, I have been contributing to major advertising projects such as W Hotels, including Hotel Tales featuring international artist Orville Peck. Additional projects include campaigns for Bonafide and Target, the music video “Momma Loves Me” for NeedToBreathe and Red Clay Strays, a short film for Heal The Bay, a suicide prevention campaign, among other projects.

Lately, I have also worked on new shows as a compositor that will be released soon, and I am excited to share them with the world. My career has been built step by step. I love my craft and making Visual Effects because it is terrific to transport people to new realities and support narratives that evoke so much emotion. I am excited to see what comes next in this beautiful journey.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When you begging in the VFX world you think that perfection is everything. As an artist I spent hours refining everything and make it as close to perfect as I could. But I learned that my art was never going to be excatly as I pictured it in my mind, because there are limitations in real life such as time crunches, changes on ideas or direction, among other things, but this is what makes art valuable.

As a VFX artist I have learned to work with a team, and how teamwork makes all of the projects better. One of my biggest mistakes when I started as an artist was not asking for help, because I felt it made me look weak, but after I grew professionally I learned that asking made me a better artist, because it meant I wanted to grow professionally, elarn new techiniques and improve my craft. And also all of my supervisors and the other artists appreciate it, they feel valued and I was able to learn and expand my tool kit. This two challenges have allowed me to grow and appreciate the effort that every artist makes in order to make a movie, ad or TV show.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a VFX artist with a compositing focus, I would say what sets me appart from others is that I am a problem solver. I love figuring out puzzles, especially on shots. I enjoy analyzing working out what the best solution would be for whatever the director needs. This ability keeps me on my toes because I am always studying and learning new tecnhiques so I could be better at my craft and faster when thinking about this solutions.

Talking about projects I am really proud to have worked on projects for big streaming services such as Netflix, HBO, VIX and incredible brands like W-hotels, NEO Home Robot, Find your Anchor among others. I am also a Television Academy member in the peer group Special Visual Effects, being part of this group of amazing artists has been an honor.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I genuinely believe that every role I’ve undertaken and every story I’ve been a part of has contributed to my journey. But if I had to choose one experience that stands out, it would be landing my first job as a VFX artist.

Securing that initial position was crucial. It opened up a gateway to professional growth that I had only dreamt of. Suddenly, I was in an environment full of creativity and innovation, where I could experience the extraordinary impact that visual effects can have on storytelling.

Each project we worked on was an adventure that allowed me to collaborate with talented artists, brainstorm solutions and create amazing visuals. It was in those moments where I understood how VFX are magic. We make new worlds and new places belivable for everyone that watches or sees what we make.

My first job provided me a strong foundation for the rest of my career. It allowed me to show my hard working skills, it thought me the importance of team work and gave me the strenght to follow this wonderful path that mixes art and technology into somenthing visually stunning.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://veronicaramirezb.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ver%C3%B3nica-ram%C3%ADrez-6b678024a/

Image Credits
Image 1:

Project Mariposas de la eternidad

Image 2:

El rey Vicente fernandez Netflix

Image 3:

El rey Vicente fernandez Netflix