Produced By - Pixels & Purpose: The Line Producer Championing Change in VFX | #46: Alisha Huxtable

Episode Date: March 18, 2024

Part 1: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/produced-by/episodes/Numbers-to-Lightsabers-How-a-Career-in-VFX-Began-with-Passion-for-Maths--45-Alisha-Huxtable-e2f0tdg Numbers to Lightsabers: How a Career in VFX Began with Passion for Maths | #45: Alisha Huxtable Beyond the title of VFX Line Producer lies a diverse skillset forged from experience in film, animation and digital marketing. Alisha Huxtable seamlessly blends technical expertise in studio software with strong leadership, communication and scheduling abilities. Her data-driven approach incorporates valuable analytics insights to create visually stunning and effective content. But Alisha's passion extends beyond technical mastery. She's a pragmatic strategist and a creative thinker who thrives in collaborative environments, constantly seeking innovative solutions while fostering inclusivity as she dedicates efforts to integrating individuals into the VFX community and aiding them along their creative path. Her adaptability and eagerness to learn to fuel her continuous growth, ensuring she stays ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving world of visual effects while using her VFX skills to empower others. In part two, we explore the captivating daily realities of her VFX production roles, where pixels transform into cinematic brilliance. She'll also share invaluable advice for fellow creatives, empowering them to navigate their own journeys. Additionally, Alisha tackles a crucial topic: fostering inclusivity and diversity within the VFX industry. Get ready for insights, inspiration and a call to action that will resonate with all. Elevate your online presence with the help of Trailblazed, your (and our) favourite digital marketing agency. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://trailblazed.digital/⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you enjoy the show, please, consider supporting it on Patreon or by buying a virtual coffee (or chocolate). ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ProducedByPodcast⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/producedby⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ Boost your creative career by joining our new Skillshare course and feel free to let us know how you liked it. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://skl.sh/3Rh7ZtY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date, get the latest news and much more. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7092551882589528065⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Alisha: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisha-huxtable/⁠   ⁠https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12290483/⁠ Connect with the host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow the podcast: Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/produced_by⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ Web: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://produced-by-podcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/produced_by_podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT5LHnM6YCaeVzIr0WatOsw⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/41BiG5YvGIgITz1N14hF2E ⁠⁠⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/produced-by/id1684669642⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you enjoy listening to the podcast, please, leave a review on your podcast app, subscribe and share it with your friends. You can also send us a message and share any feedback, advice and tips for guests. About Produced By: Produced By unveils captivating stories of courageous people who set out to pursue careers in highly competitive fields, despite often challenging circumstances. Enter the spotlight with our guests and get inspired, whether your interests are in the creative industries, personal growth or you simply want to have fun. Listen to individuals who represent a wide range of professional backgrounds, geographic locations and career stages. So come along to follow their adventures and learn from life's experiences as we kick off on this epic journey. Thanks for listening and see you soon! Connect with Tomas:X: https://x.com/TomasLoucky⁠⁠⁠Stan: https://stan.store/TommenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/⁠⁠Unproduced:Newsletter: https://unproduced.substack.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unproducednotesSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033Ddo8ibDlLYoaP7FFLIWMore:Links: https://linktr.ee/produced_by⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://producednewsletter.substack.com/⁠The Podcast Club: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25420030/Tools & gear that support the show:Metricool: https://f.mtr.cool/HRJBZKRiverside: https://riverside.sjv.io/vDnDodFavikon: https://www.favikon.com?fpr=tommenRa Optics: https://ra-optics.myshopify.com/discount/TOMMEN?rfsn=8803777.591d19JamX: https://jamx.ai/podcasters-offer?ref_id=e02d48af-ef66-4e76-b804-c2e8d282a8bfSome links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you find them useful, using these links helps keep the podcast running. Thank you!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello and welcome to Produced Buy. Just quickly before we begin, if we enjoy the show, please consider supporting it by joining our Patreon. You can choose from a list of memberships and we'll receive some exciting rewards. Thank you and back to the episode. And when you worked at MPC, you said you worked as a coordinator, right? Yes. So you didn't want to work as artist because you studied compositing.

So how come you ended up? Yes, actually. Yeah, I missed the gap. So when I was head hunted, I was head hunted for production. I don't know. I guess the people around me could see. You didn't mind switching to production side from artistic one? So working on that final project, I had my producer hat on as well as my compositing hat. And I guess I found a newfound love for project management. I was always hyper fixated on naming conventions. this needs to be in this specific folder, this needs to be done on this specific due date. And as you know, that is just production to a T. That is pretty much it. So when I believe I was asked a question, which was, did you enjoy producing, etc?

And I feel like that question just unlocked a new chapter for me, which was, yeah, I actually really did enjoy producing. And just, I think me just, me just answering that question alone enticed people to communicate with that factor with me. And also the fact of I wasn't choosy as a university student that was coming out of university. I don't think I had the luxury potentially of being like, no, I don't want to do production. If the job's being offered to me and it's in a company that's really good, has great credibility, to, I think, take it and then see if you can navigate into another route. I could be wrong, you know.

Other people have probably had different experiences, but I feel like that's a good way to go. But it's something that I've been thinking about since the beginning. I was thinking, where did it come that moment or did I miss something? Yeah, no, you're right. I apologize. It was definitely head hunted by the head of production of MPC, who was able to understand my explanation of the production skills that I used. It was essentially my public speaking of production that essentially brought me into production. And are there any projects exciting that you

worked on in MPC and you can talk about or maybe enjoyed or want to share it? I worked on, I think one of the most interesting ones in my personal opinion that I worked on is Halo, the TV show. And I would say it's interesting because it was extremely CG heavy, which was fun to work with. As it's a slightly different pipeline, like working in visual effects, your pipeline needs to adapt to the necessity of the movie that you're making.

So meaning that if it's CG heavy, it needs to adapt. If it's 2D heavy, meaning that it's mostly film photography and cinematically filmed images then you'd be focused on that so that was fun especially I think it's one of the

one project that people actually recognize my name in credits which I think is interesting yeah which is very surprising I do get random I think my friends I say mostly guys who play Halo watch the TV show

randomly message me like is this your your last name? Did you work on this? Like, yeah, I actually did. That's quite cool. So what did it feel like when you saw your name in the credits? It must have been exciting. I didn't. So funny story of that, the first time I ever got a credit, I'm not too sure if it was Halo. I honestly, sadly, can't remember which scenario was. But I do remember I never saw it for a while. I just remember I got a message from my friend, the same friend that works at EA Sports, coincidentally, and he just said, oh, your credits are here. And I was like, what are you

talking about? I have no idea what you're talking about. And he's screenshot it. Yeah, literally, he's screenshot it. And I was like, oh, wow, I have a credit. And the first thing I did was send it to my family. I thought it was quite cool, such an achievement. I didn't think to post it on LinkedIn to everyone was like post it on LinkedIn um and then yeah that's what i did so yeah it was just more of um i've took it as more of like a personal achievement more of a family moment or like a celebration of small wins um and nothing more than that i guess i'm not um and i need to work on celebrating my own wins that's something i should need to work don't want to flex yeah just a little bit

So yeah, that's something I definitely have to work on. Yeah. And can you also try to introduce the role that you had of the production coordinator? What is it that you do on a daily basis? So a production coordinator, I would say it can, the role can change dependent on the studio. And also there's varieties of role. So there's a show production coordinator, senior production coordinator, and a coordinator in general. I would say focus in on a production coordinator at MPC, so let's say a junior, I was talking to artists every single day.

So one thing that you do is called rounds, which is talking to every single artist who's in your, either department or on your show, depending on how big the team that you've been assigned to. So it could be your entire show, which was my circumstance, many occasions I have. MPC, so I was a coordinator for an entirety of a show. It sounds like a lot of artists to look after. Oh, yeah. So many artists. Yeah. But to be honest, it was smaller scale shows.

So sometimes the equivalent would be the same amount of people in one department, to be honest. Yeah. So yeah, you could be on a show or a department and you'd have to speak to every single person and essentially just find out what they're doing today. and most importantly, ETAs. I think the biggest thing about production is ETAs, ETAs, ETAs. When's it coming? When's it going to be done?

Why is it going to take this long? Why is there a delay? And then passing that information down to your direct next person in line. So, for example, I say that because in some studios it could be a line producer and in some studios it could be a production manager. So essentially passing that information down, and keeping the databases as to whatever you use up to date with all that necessary information. It then also includes chasing a lot.

So as I explained, there's a pipeline when it comes to visual effects. So meaning that things get passed down step by step and you would need to say, okay, this artist says that they can't do this because they're missing this from step two. So you need to go all the way to step two. the people wears all this and then bring it back to the artist in step five. A lot of that. And I guess the best phrase would be massaging schedules. That's one of the main things that coordinators do.

So a schedule would usually be put into place by, again, the next person up in your team, i.e. a line producer or a production manager, which we also call a PM. they will create a schedule, which is essentially a timeline of events of when things need to specifically happen in order to get that film on cinema screens by the designated date that the clients have already put on the bus. So in order to do that, a schedule is put in place and the coordinators will then look at the schedule and say, okay, Alicia needs to be doing this project, this task for three days and then move on to this task. So just making sure that that is kept to place. And if anything needs to be changing, massaging that and adjusting it as necessary, ensuring that artists aren't overloaded. I think this is the most important thing that can often be dismissed, making sure artists that aren't overloaded with work, meaning that they have up to five days worth of work every week, nothing more than that, making sure they actually do feel comfortable and not overwork. making sure they have the team around them, the support as necessary and the

comfortability to talk to you. So yeah, there's a lot of people management as well which is a small factor that can be overlooked sometimes but I think it's one of the most important things especially when working with people. I think that gives an overall gist of a production coordinator. And is there something you enjoyed in particular and maybe didn't enjoy? Oh yeah so I would say I I definitely enjoyed the people management of it all. In the current role that I have, I don't necessarily get to talk to artists as much. So I do miss that aspect of it all.

Something I didn't enjoy, I would say this is quite generic. I wouldn't necessarily say I didn't enjoy it, but I would say working in production can be very stressful. And I feel like that's not something that should be ignored, shouldn't be taught. and should be very clear about you're coming into an industry where you are expected to work well under pressure so you need to understand that you're going to be under pressure

there's going to be deadlines there's going to be people nagging you you are going to be the nagger you have to nag you have to bother people you have to I think I say all the time as a production person you need to be prepared to be as annoying as physically possible

I was going to say that You're the annoying one. You're the annoying person. You're that person where someone's just trying to draw quietly in their room. You're knocking every three seconds. Is it done yet? Is it done yet? You have to be prepared to be able to do that.

And it can be quite stressful for you if people aren't able to communicate essentially the ETAs or maybe when something's done. And you just have to keep your call a lot of times. So yeah, I wouldn't say it was, it's, something I don't like, but I'd say something that can make the job difficult and you need to be prepared for. Yes, yes. Yep, and after this introduction, I think was a great introduction, can you introduce a role of the line producer, which is the role that you do in Deneck? Okay, so I will say, like a small disclaimer, this one is a little bit difficult only because it ventures into realms of two different roles.

And in some studios they have a line producer, some studios don't, some projects need it, and some projects feel as they don't. There is a new wave of a lot of people saying line producers are an essential part of projects. But I guess everyone can have their opinion on that based on the project that they're working on. A line producer essentially is one of the core fundamentals of the team who essentially understands the overall gist of, of the project. They're not client side, they're still show side. So they don't necessarily do a lot of the client setting up or client communications per se. Not to say they don't communicate with the client, but essentially we have a thing called a client report. So as you can imagine, if you have a client, you report to them. You send a report on a scheduled basis. A line producer more deals with

the internal factors of the show. So making sure the internal reports are up to date so everyone in the team internally knows what's going on as opposed to the externally. There are a lot of line producers that do work with it externally, of course, but I feel like on a traditional sense, line producers will work internally so that production managers can focus on the external attributes, meaning that we create schedules. We would be the ones to create the internal schedules to make sure that the pipeline is working. we would be the ones liaising with supervisors to ensure that the project is scheduled properly, meaning, as I previously mentioned, if it's CG heavy, 3D heavy, effects heavy, maybe environment heavy,

the project schedule is catered towards that. Sometimes we need to go step one, step two, step three, step one, step two, step one, and go back and forth. and ensuring that the schedule is reflecting that accurately, so everyone has an understanding of that. It also dictates talking and communicating with coordinators, delegating tasks so they can fetch out information so you can make sure the schedule is staying correct over time. Reporting artists' skill levels. I'm trying to think what else. It's a lot of project management, resource management.

So making sure that you have the correct resources over time. So if you initially we will create a schedule and then that schedule would dictate potentially how many people need to work on this in order to achieve the designated deadline. So then we would report that amount of artists needed, report the designated skill set based on communicating with supervisors and collect that resource from the necessary departments. I think that's a lot of what line. producers do. So essentially the main difference is not communicating with each artist on a regular basis, but instead getting that information from coordinators. And what does it take to progress from being a coordinator to become line producer? Oh, good question. I would say it takes a lot of asking. I think that's one thing that people take for granted, which is generally just asking,

hey, how do I progress? As I said, every company is different, every show is different and every department is different. So you need to figure out what is the best way within your jurisdiction for you to progress. And a lot of times in that situation, it comes down to directly asking. And also talking to, if there's a job role that you want, talk to the person in that job role, maybe ask them, is there anything that you do that I can take off your hands to make your life easier? So for one, now you're picking up job roles and specifications from that job role already, meaning that slowly you can build your portfolio and tasks that you can do from that job role. Two, asking them what they do and if they could show you something so you can learn from them,

that's a good one. But I would say it takes a lot of asking. It's not just you wake up one day and it's like, oh, I'm going to do this and then nothing happens. So you just kind of just sit there and wait for it to come to you. You have to definitely ask and then action those points. Yeah. Yeah, because I was wondering if it's like that you need to be proactive and ask that you want to be promoted or if there are any options. Or if it works more like that someone comes to you and they tell you, oh, no, it's perfect timing for you to progress or now we need you on this project. Yeah, I would say the first one is the best way to go forward.

If you want something, never wait for it to come to you. Always go and get it, no matter the circumstance. Even if you hear from a grapevine that, hey, they're looking to promote you. It doesn't matter because things change, people change, projects change. And you can easily be forgotten. We work in very big studios, what I do. And this is a very big weld regardless. so you don't want to be left behind simply because you wasn't proactive enough.

There are scenarios where people do get promoted without their, I guess, being proactive. But I believe in my experience, you have to be aware in that scenario that you are probably receiving a lot of good feedback from everyone in your team. Not to say that's not achievable, but it's, you'll put into, a better situation and it'll be work more into your favor if you actually push the agenda yourself, I would say. One thing I do say is when you constantly, constantly ask for a promotion or how do I get a promotion or how do I move into the next level, yeah, you may sound annoying, but one thing you do is subconsciously keep that idea in your line manager's head. So for example, when they're in their

next meeting and they hear, oh, we're going to be needing a line. line producer for this job for this new project and we don't have one. Subconsciously, they're going to be thinking, okay, Alicia keeps asking me that she wants to be a line producer. I think it's more about implementing your agendas as opposed to just waiting for anything. If you want to boost your own way presents, check out our digital marketing agency called Trailblazed. You can also enroll in a Skillshare course called the 10 Tips on How to Success in Your Creative Career, which was inspired by the podcast.

make sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter called Creative Spotlight to stay up to date with the show and more. Links are in the show notes. Thanks. Yeah, and definitely shows that you want to progress, that you are proactive, so make sense and good advice. And talking of positions, what will be next career step from line producer? Good question. I'm actually very much enjoying being a line producer right now. It's, I don't know, it's definitely something I really enjoy. I enjoy creating schedules. I enjoy resource management. That is something I love to do. So for now, I think I'm going to stick with being a line producer. And I just want to refine my skills. I think that's the next step for me. I'm currently, not in the position where I'm currently looking at five-year plans for my career, but currently this year, which is I generally want to refine my skills as a line producer and become the best line producer that I can possibly be,

and then potentially see where I can go from there. Yeah. And if you are looking more into the future, have you got position in mind, let's say not five years, but maybe 10, 20, if you want to be a producer or something like that? Do you know? Honestly, no. I used to, my aim used to be a producer. And I'm not necessarily saying I'm against or not for it.

But I would definitely say I'm also open to other roles. For example, a project manager. Maybe I will just enjoy the job role better. For me, it's all about enjoyment and what job role you enjoy the most. There's a lot of people that are coordinators because they love being a coordinator. And I completely understand it. Talking to artists on a more daily basis can be a lot more enjoyable. So I don't want to aim for something that I potentially may not enjoy per se,

but I'm not closing the doors to opportunities. So that's why I'd say, I'm not really sure. I'm still here. Is there somewhere in the back of your mind that, like a chance that you would go to the artistic route or you are happy in a production site? I get that question all the time. Yes, I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I do consider essentially going back to being an artist.

I feel like we only live one life and you shouldn't stifle yourself into just pursuing one thing because that is what you feel like you should be doing. So when I'm open to all doors, I'm genuinely open to all doors. But again, if I was to do that, it would take a lot of sacrifices, dedication, and putting a lot of other things aside to actually up-skill myself based on the level.

Because with visual effects, systems, softwares are constantly evolving. So my knowledge of artistry is probably evidently outdated. So I would need to upskill myself. Which, yeah, I'm not a person. to doing. So yeah, maybe one day you'll see compositing artists. Can you imagine if you become, if you became an artist, how easier you'll make life of production coordinator because you know all the stuff from that side. So it will be so much

easier to work with you. No, of course. And especially like vice versa. I have a lot of, I do meet a lot of production people that have come from my artist's background as well and you're able to just understand the artist a little bit better, give them grace, and be reasonable of them. But yeah, it's good to have that understanding between teams, I think, generically, no matter what position you're in, it's great to work as a team. And from your experience of working in DEC, are there, again, some projects that for some reason you can or you want to mention? I can't say any upcoming projects or any.

projects that I'm currently working on or have worked on in the last year also, unfortunately. But I can say, I guess the last project that I worked on just for any that I care, it would be Fast and Furious 10, which was a great experience. Yeah, working alongside supervisors such as Pete Chang and, yeah, it was great. It was really fun. Again, quite CG heavy. And it was just a fun experience. You can imagine this fast and furious, you know? Yeah, I agree. Yeah, it was very fast and very furious.

And as someone who's working in this industry, have you got maybe a dream project because of its, whether VFX or specific director or some side attitude, want to be part of? Okay, so I guess this kind of kind of does branch into where do I see myself in the future. I have been potentially contemplating animation, maybe not permanent, but I would love to work on an animated series or film, simply because I love animation. I think animated content is the content I consume the absolute

most of. I've probably watched every adult animation possible. So yeah, I think it would be quite cool. Do you want to share some specific favourite films or series?

Oh gosh. I guess top recommendations would be South Park. Again, I'm completely and yeah. So that's the, so I like South Park. I think the Simpsons are great, of course. You're a family guy.

American dad. I recently completely watched Gravity Falls which to me does not feel like a children's show which I thought

was really great. F is for family has some crude content in there so pre-warning that's really good as well Bojack Horseman quite dark

humor, quite very dark, can be a bit triggering for people I would say but definitely a very, very good watch, especially if you enjoy, I guess, reminiscent content. So yeah, that's like a lot of animated series. And I think everyone loves Rick and Morty lately. I think that's a proud favorite. So yeah, that's...

I was expecting more like, I don't know, Pixar movies or something like that. Oh, no. Yeah, I like Pixar movies. But I prefer adult animated entertainment. I don't know. Pigsaw movies are cool. Just not necessarily my cup of tea. Yeah.

And before we move on, because I want to ask about your experience with excess VFX as well. But is there something from your car in either MPC or DENAC that you want to share and I didn't ask? No, I feel like we covered most of it, honestly. Like we've read the journey, how I got there, and what each role I was specifically doing and how I got the promotion per se. Yeah, I feel like we covered most of it. Yeah.

So as we will find out, Alicia has been on some podcasts already, which I will link in the show notes. So can you tell us more about your experience, where are you on a podcast? How did you get there and access VFX into you? Yeah, of course. So I have found a newfound passion

for public speaking, which I do very much enjoy. And I guess the main people that have definitely pushed me towards this is Simon, which is the CEO or co-founder of Access VFX, an amazing person who has reached out to me on a couple of occasions in order to support AccessVFX. So as I mentioned, access to the effects is a platform that promotes inclusivity and diversity within visual effects and offers mentorships. And they have a Q&A platform as well, which is like really amazing, especially if you just have like a generic question. It would have been great for me when I was getting into the industry to have access to VFX. Of course, if I was aware of the platform at the time.

and how did I happen to do podcasts, I guess? It's just networking, really. I think when people say networking is your net worth, I guess is somewhat true. I guess I wasn't necessarily like a big advocate of that phrase, but I guess I've eaten my own words on several occasions. So yeah, it's definitely just networking, keeping close eye on the people that you admire. That sounds very stalkerish, but I recommend it. If there's anyone out there that you think is a great person

or you'd love to work with in the future, keep an eye on them, follow them on LinkedIn. Maybe not in real life. Don't do that. Don't stalk them. Follow them on LinkedIn. Keep an eye on the projects they're working on and put yourself in positions where your paths could cross

and reach out to them. Definitely. I've had so many people reach out to me on LinkedIn, LinkedIn just to have a catch up. I'm more than happy to have a catch up with anyone that wants to ask any amount of questions. I've talked to so many people and I've reached out to so many people as well and it's great to just advance your network and that's essentially how I ended up in great conversations with Simon. He saw a lot of the stuff I was doing that was posting on LinkedIn and just reached out to me and said, hey, I think this would be a great idea.

And then the same of the panels, really. And when it comes to public speaking, it's something that a lot of people are terrified of. So you feel comfortable doing this? Yeah, I've heard that people feel terrified of it. Honestly, it never really crossed my mind that it was a terrifying thing. it generally comes very naturally to me. I love to, it's something I really enjoy doing. I get a sense of fulfillment once completed.

And from this conversation, I would probably say it probably comes from my performing days when I was quite young, doing like dance and acting and all those type of things where I guess I became naturally accustomed to being on a stage and talking. So I remember tons of occasions where I was just like, the only person on the stage and just talking. So I guess I became accustomed to it, so I don't necessarily have that fear of it.

And I enjoy just having conversations with people, unlocking new things and getting new insights and having people see that they're not the only person out there that's just trying. Yeah. It's like you never know when we discussed your kind of career in front of camera before, or that you could have gone that way, that it will be helpful in a future like this?

No, exactly. And I guess sometimes you need to hear that sometimes the things that you do aren't just a waste of time. Nothing's a waste of time. Everything, I guess there's sometimes there's a reason for everything. I know people say that. And sometimes I just feel like it's an excuse just for being able to just dismiss things. But sometimes there is a little bit of a reason for everything. And sometimes you just have to find the reason and utilize it.

it. Yeah. And when there is such a public speaking, what is it that you talk about? Is it your experience, your career, your journey? Yeah, so essentially a lot of what we spoke about today. I would say my experience, for one, my experience being working in project management, my experience working in visual effects, what visual effects is like, what visual effects is, And yeah, just that.

My journey in terms of how I got into visual effects in the first place and how I ended up in this role. And dare I say, in a shorter time span than necessarily anticipated. So I do speak a lot about dedication, motivation, encouragement, and just essentially achieving your goals and your dreams because I'm a big advocate in no dream is too big. as long as you apply yourself, but you need to know how to apply yourself in the right ways.

And I guess my knack of project management has allowed me to figure out how to apply myself and pursue certain things. And I essentially just talk about that. I give a lot of encouragement and just motivation. Yeah. So it's something you are passionate about and you plan to continue with this, right? to other people. Yeah, I think it's quite important.

I think dreams are important to have and sometimes we get quite discouraged and we kind of just let things wander off into the distance and I think it's just important to recognise your own goals and realize that you are the only person that is in charge of your own goals and you are the only person that can achieve them but you just need to know how to apply yourself.

And that's the hard step. So I do one to ones with a lot of people when talking about how to apply yourself. And people do reach out to me talking about they struggle and what their struggles are with. And I generally give that sort of support and encouragement and I'm open ears at all times. And do you speak somewhere regularly or does it depend when there is some kind of event and then you speak there? Yeah, I speak an event at the moment. I'm open to regular occurrences.

I would definitely love to have a regular occurrence to speak with. But it's more so events. Additionally, I do work with another platform called Women in Visual Effects. There's a Discord channel and some LinkedIn groups and social media pages where we essentially have a bunch of conversations about different demographics, of different scenarios of working in visual effects, as well as that I will shortly be organizing and hosting a panel,

such panels per se, for women in visual effects. So definitely look up for that. It should be hopefully soon posting on my LinkedIn pages and social media pages. Yeah, I just need to cross some T's and dots and eyes. So we shall see. So what are the social media channels that people should follow you if they want to reach out or even to attend some of your own? I would say mostly LinkedIn, 100% LinkedIn.

I unfortunately am an avid dislikeer of any other form of social media. I don't use Instagram. I don't use Facebook. I don't use Snapchat. I don't use anything apart from LinkedIn. Why is that? So, oh, I, it is incredibly bad for my mental health. I cannot deal with social media.

I try for periods of time and I just realized I immediately noticed the negative implications that it has. I constantly find myself comparing myself and where I am in life. And it's especially weird because I come into these scenarios where everyone's like, oh, like, well done. that you've had such small, little achievements, and these are great, and then I go on social media, and these achievements basically feel like nothing. And it's just, yeah, I'm not in a position where I can personally handle the comparison, and it's probably something that I have to grow and learn to eradicate myself from and potentially not allow my ego to see it as a competition.

but for now I'm aware of the implications that it has and I've just decided to take a step back and I just don't use it. And in honesty, another reason is because I find that social media creates your personality for you, meaning that you absorb all this content and you somewhat become a person that Instagram wants you to be, as opposed to the person that you potentially are. And I found myself having certain likes because I saw it and only wanting to wear certain things because I saw it. And it sort of made me question, is this actually me? Do I actually like wearing this? Do I actually like this?

Or am I just seeing it? So it's appealing. So yeah. And now I no longer use it. And I love it. It surely sounds like a good idea to think about. we'll need to reflect on this as well. Yeah, but it has its pros.

I think social media definitely has this pros, especially when networking. I think it's good to have a page at the very least. Maybe if you're not active on it, but somewhere where people can contact you is definitely important. I think, yeah, but I just don't have anything. So maybe do a little bit better than me. And with this, you know, with your work and this. helping stuff like speaking and this. Do you have maybe some hobby that helps you to switch off that or that,

you know, you do on a side that is completely unrelated and helps you to recharge? Yes. So again, I think my brain is purely production-orientated. I'm very like analytical and everything has to be planned out and fought out. So I have this like giant pinboard like right here, funny enough. And I have a small paper and I have. have about 10 activities that I can do if I want to unwind, which includes going to the gym,

taking a walk, stretching, reading, a hands-on activity, journaling, or meditation. Oh, nice, yeah. I have to do at least one of those things every day, at least. Or else I feel like my life is a falling apart for some unknown reason. But that's not true. I just think it's important to do at least one of the things. those things just for a healthy either body, a healthy mind, and just healthy living, really. So, yeah, any of those.

And you mentioned reading. Can you, do you want to give some quick tips, favorite books or what to read? Reading, yes. I've been trying to get back into reading. I used to be such an avid reader. I'd say before, even during university, I'd say before working simply. and I'm trying to get back into it. I can say the latest book that I read was called The Fifth Sally,

which I thought was really, really cool. It's about a young lady who has a multiple personality disorder. So if anyone's seen like the movie split, where they have like multiple personalities living within one body and essentially gives the direct point of view of her life and how it affects her. It is a fiction book, but it's based on real life research. So I found that really interesting

and it's quite enticing, especially the conflict of the different personalities. Yeah. Yeah. I saw the film. It was very interesting. I enjoyed it. Yeah. So maybe a good tip for people who like this one.

Yeah. I think if you liked the book, if you liked that film, I think you definitely enjoyed the book. Again, I felt split personality is quite a, not a simple subject to understand, but it's a one-sided subject. So if you like this, you probably like that. Yeah, yeah, makes it.

Cool. As we are a bit over hour. Is there something that you would like to share, to add, something I forgot to ask you? No, of course. I think you covered everything. I've really enjoyed being here and talking to you today, so I appreciate you having me. and I guess for any listeners that again do you want to contact me

LinkedIn is probably the best place even my friends now have started to text me on LinkedIn as opposed to actually texting me if you want to grab me and if you want to find me it would just be Alicia Huxstable you can give me a Google it should come up and yeah thank you Thomas you have really really really enjoy your content and enjoy what you're doing

Oh, and I think one thing that we should mention is that we did work together previously. Really? And it was on F-10, the film you mentioned. Yes, exactly. So, yeah, I think that should be definitely be mentioned because he was amazing to work with. And we worked on another show briefly together as well. Oh, yeah, yeah. And, yeah, you was a great person to work with. And I miss working with you, but I'm happy to see you onto, like, amazing and better things.

And I wish you absolutely the best for the future as well. Thank you. I really appreciate it. I'm the one who's grateful that you joined me. I thank you for your kind of words for working together. I enjoyed it as well, especially on F10 because it was my first big project, so it will be always in my heart. And yeah, I think you shared some great wisdom. I'm really glad for what you do when it comes to this public speaking stuff,

because that's something I didn't know as much before. I will be happy to provide the links, share it in the future, so that people can attend and support it because it's amazing what you're doing. And the same. Thank you again. And I wish you good luck in your career as well. Thank you so much. Thank you for listening.

If we enjoy the show, please leave us a five-star review on your favorite podcast app, get in touch to provide your feedback or share any ideas for future guests. Thank you and see you soon.