Meet Azra Alkan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Azra Alkan.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Turkey and in the 90’s we as a country had no idea what visual effects were. The only kinds of movies we produced were drama or comedy. I just knew whatever I ended up doing it had to include imagination and storytelling.

Somehow I found myself going to school in Texas A&M for computer programming, then studying cinematography and finally getting an animation & visual effects degree in SF. It felt natural to be in this field, not that I knew what it even was, but somehow I found something that combined both my passions; programming and art/filmmaking. From there on, I just took a lot of risks and moved where the jobs were. Working with a lot of different studios and compositing for different movies/ commercials/ TV shows gave me something I couldn’t achieve if I was a staff artist; variety in my skills and seniority a relatively early age.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Once I got into the job market it was relatively easier but definitely not without its bumps. I hear a lot of talented artists struggling to land gigs. How I did it was by following where the experiences were. “ here is a studio that works with Emmy winning shows, I need to go there.” “ Here is my opportunity to work for Marvel” Sometimes these jobs paid very little, so much so that I stayed at my best friends couch for three years trying to gain experience while struggling to eat. But once I gained the confidence that I worth a lot, I made my move and started jumping around with better titles, more responsibility, and more skill set. I think it’s all about balancing your self worth with being open to learn more every day. If a job didn’t challenge me, I moved on, no matter how good the pay was.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
As a freelance artist what I focus on is compositing for movies, commercials and TV shows. Compositing artists are the last in post-production pipeline, combining CGI ( computer generated imagery) and live action footage. I make everything realistic, beautiful and I make sure all the elements belong together in a scene. I would think what sets me apart is my attention to detail and “obsession” with adding that extra five percent to make the shots in the movies/ shows more esthetic.

What were you like growing up?
I was a total nerd! But a social nerd. I would try all the bad things kids would try but then go home and put my experiences into writing, painting; expressing. Like most artists, I specialize in one way of storytelling but I feed from a lot of other disciplines like painting, music, writing, shooting movies.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.azralkan.com
• Phone: 4243022114
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @azralkan

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.