Made an analog horror VHS style video. Would love feedback on how to improve
https://youtu.be/yOuHK-6gbf0

https://redd.it/1qqiml0
@vfxbackup

Who's still using Xgen for hair and fur in the industry?

And why not Houdini? How present Houdini is? Or is it still better to dabble into Maya and and yeti or perhaps something else?

https://redd.it/1qrc4t5
@vfxbackup

How do I move from a small VFX studio in India to big studios like DNEG / ILM / Weta?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working as a Compositor at a small VFX company in India for the past 2 years. I’ve learned a lot here, but now I really want to push myself and aim for bigger studios like DNEG, ILM, Weta, etc.

I’m a bit confused about the right path forward and would love some guidance from people who’ve been there.

* How should I approach applying to these studios?
* What does a good CV/resume for big VFX studios actually look like?
* What should I focus on in my showreel, and how long should it be?

Any advice, personal experiences, or resources would mean a lot.
Thanks in advance

https://redd.it/1qqwz2y
@vfxbackup

Unable to Stop AI, SAG-AFTRA Mulls a Studio Tax on Digital Performers
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/sag-aftra-ai-tilly-norwood-tax-digital-performers-1236644931/#recipient_hashed=1ea89b92457d3a864e9dc3fe265fb7be4db02d5dcfe506953bc5b7ef1750226f&recipient_salt=36f608bdf8336acbb974140070511de45d9b79cb7a3f7a10e518c926ab51b33a&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=661219_01-29-2026&utm_term=10161238?utm_medium=&utm_source=&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_id=

https://redd.it/1qrlbt8
@vfxbackup

Why Didn’t They “Just” Film on Location?
http://fxrant.blogspot.com/2026/01/why-didnt-they-just-film-on-location.html

https://redd.it/1qrmq9w
@vfxbackup

Monthly Jobs post! How’s the industry going into 2026?

Hi everyone,

I’m a junior layout artist based in Australia with about two months of studio experience, and I’m trying to get a sense of how people are feeling about hiring as we head into 2026.

I graduated in 2023 right after the strikes, only managed to get onto one show in 2024, and since then things have been pretty quiet. Lately it’s starting to feel like I might’ve missed the timing for breaking into the industry altogether.

Just curious how others — especially juniors — are seeing the job market right now. If things don’t pick up, I may start looking into teaching or alternative paths, but I’d love to hear how people are navigating this period.

https://redd.it/1qrrbfd
@vfxbackup

Working as freelancer in europe for other european countries?

I am wondering what its like in europe at the moment for freelancing?


Are people easily able to remotely freelance as a lighting TD from Italy for companies like Rise in Germany or ILP in Sweden or Dneg in London from another country like Italy?


Or is it all about tax incentives and without being considered a tax resident (usually living in that country half a year per tax year) you have no chance?

https://redd.it/1qsj40k
@vfxbackup

Am I being stupid for trying to learn both compositing and 3D?

A question for the more experienced people.

Am I being stupid?

I’ve been studying VFX with real focus for about a year now. During this time, I’ve been committed to learning compositing and 3D (modeling, texturing, rigging, and animation).

I honestly don’t know which one to choose. Is it stupid to want to learn all of this?

I can handle some simple comp shots on my own, like roto, cleanup, tracking, and keying. I can also model a simple environment prop, do the UVs, and create a basic texture with a simple shader.

So I consider myself a junior.

Am I being stupid?

Is it really possible to learn all of these things, or should I focus on just one and forget about the others?

https://redd.it/1qryhu9
@vfxbackup

We got tired of Frame.io's pricing and clunky alternatives. So we built our own review platform.

# Let me guess: You're either paying $$$+/month for Frame-io, or you've tried the "cheaper alternatives" that promise the same features but fall apart when you actually need them for client reviews.

We're a 20+ year old production company, and we felt the same pain. After a year of dogfooding our own solution with real clients and real projects, we knew exactly what was broken with existing platforms – and what actually matters in production workflows.

So we rebuilt everything from scratch.

**FrameReview does what Frame-io does (and more), but:**

* Actually affordable pricing
* Handles video, images, audio, AND 3D models in one place
* Time-synced comments that work intuitively
* Version control that doesn't require a PhD to understand
* Built by people who actually use these tools daily, not just developers who think they know what we need

We're not trying to reinvent the wheel – we're just building the platform we wish existed. No VC bullshit, no feature bloat, just a solid tool that works the way production professionals actually work.

Check it out at [framereview.com](http://framereview.com/)

Happy to answer questions about features, pricing, or the tech stack if anyone's curious.

https://redd.it/1qs1xax
@vfxbackup

Insta 360 X5 vs GoPro Max 2 for HDRI

Hi!

I saw that the GP Max 2 can make HDRI with a software update and I am curious if anyone have worked with it or had the opportunity to compare them to ones made with an insta 360 .

What caught my attention is that the Max 2 seems to make HDRI from pictures taken in JPEG and not in raw as the 360.

As I am planning to buy a 360 cam for the specific purpose of making quick HDRI what is your recommendation? (I know the Ricoh is better than those two but it’s out of my budget)

Thanks!

https://redd.it/1qszbym
@vfxbackup

Alternatives to vimeo for demoreel hosting?

I've been using vimeo for a while to host my demoreel - useful since it's allowing me to keep a permanent link when updating it.



However, recently it won't let me log into my account without age verification, which I'd rather avoid to do. The platform has also gotten progressively worse with upload limits etc over the past years, so I'd like to move on.


What platforms are you using? Gdrive? Youtube? Any good alternatives?




https://redd.it/1qt0kts
@vfxbackup

I'm beyond depressed.

I'm absolutely lost.

I have no idea what to pursue. I'm stuck in a fuckass country that doesn't even pay shit no matter how big the outsourced "Hollywood project" is. And where the work isn't worth the showreel because it's some Dumbass work.

I really wanna go out of the country, study, work, etc but I'm terrified because I know the industry I really like is is fucking dying and/or is broken at the moment. I don't know what to pursue anymore. I literally do not enjoy anything other than post production and VFX. Game Dev is sad, VFX is sad, editing is getting sad. I'm really stumped and overwhelmed. I don't wanna keep being dependent on my family or their money all my life.

https://redd.it/1qvk7dc
@vfxbackup

VFX/Environment Replacement Help/Guidance

I'm a videographer trying to dive into greenscreening myself and other people into digital 3d environments. Mostly for fun, but also eventually as a nice backpocket tool if ever needed. I've dived into blender a handful of times before (did the donut tut like 6 times over 6 years), but never got too far and I'm pretty rusty still. A lot of tuts I've watched currently and in the past seem to skip over a bunch of important info imo, but maybe that's just cause it would bog down the total tut time.

For now to get started, I'm trying to use free models from all the typical sites to create simple rooms, but I'd love to try and replicate some sort of dive bar type vibe at some point.

Where's a good place to start with this? Any recommendations for youtube or other sources to check out? Obviously I know its a learning curve, but I feel like even getting started feels like I have so many questions as I try and build something simple with pre-made assets.

https://preview.redd.it/nlc0cg4skkhg1.png?width=2838&format=png&auto=webp&s=8242eda281a93fc121a317691b0457a7ee631ed5



https://redd.it/1qw5zcm
@vfxbackup

Is V-Ray still a sane choice for VFX work in 2026?

I have been seeing a lot of juniors asking what renderer to invest their time in, and honestly the answers feel all over the place. Some studios swear by V-Ray for specific pipelines, others act like it’s legacy tech compared to newer real-time or USD-heavy workflows.

For people actually shipping shots right now: where does V-Ray still make sense in VFX, and where does it actively slow you down? Curious to see what’s real production reality vs our take

https://redd.it/1qwfrfj
@vfxbackup

How did they pull that light effect off?

https://preview.redd.it/wnugkkmr4nhg1.png?width=1366&format=png&auto=webp&s=1f49c7440017a544a2fd1656d782e1bcb0421471


I’ve been watching the national news here in the Philippines and I’m interested in trying out a specific light effect I saw. I don't know what it’s called, but I’m eager to learn how they pull it off. Could you tell me what this effect is called and where I can find tutorials for it? I'm using Premiere pro and After effects.

https://redd.it/1qwgalw
@vfxbackup

Sinners Twins vs The Social Network Twins

I’ve been reading breakdowns and interviews about the movie and people seem to genuinely seem blown away by the effect. But it got me thinking, isn’t it basically the same idea as the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network?

https://redd.it/1qvuwoa
@vfxbackup

Master Chief After hearing Fuel Price in Mumbai Local Train

https://redd.it/1qvju6t
@vfxbackup

IA to enhance renders not to generate. Help

Do you have a consistent workflow for using AI to enhance your renders, making them more realistic, giving them style, etc.? I’m looking for something that maybe can be applied after compositing to push the render to the next level while still remaining manageable.

Do you use something like this?

https://redd.it/1qwh5be
@vfxbackup

Getting work in vfx

Hi, this is the first time I have posted on Reddit so please bear with me.

So my partner has been trying to get a job in vfx since he finished his masters in August 2024. He did the masters after not having luck getting a job post BA due to Covid. The masters degree promised him placements and connections with industry (this did not happen). He ranked first in his course for his masters receiving a high distinction.

He got a job in motion graphics after being put in contact with the hiring manager at a company in may 2025. He was doing really well here and they were promising him a permanent contract and a pay rise. However, at the start of November they had a sudden budget cut and they had to let him go.

He was well regarded at his old company and his manager gave him an excellent reference.

Since then he has been trying to get a job in either Vfx or motion graphics however hasn’t had much luck with most companies not even giving him feeding.

He is really talented and this has been his dream industry since he was at school therefore I would love to see him succeed. He has several different show reels depending on the type of job and hands in a CV and cover letter.

I was wondering if anyone has advice on how to get into the industry and what he could do to stand out.

Thanks in advance

https://redd.it/1qvygb3
@vfxbackup

Pikimov 5 - I created this free After Effects and CapCut alternative

https://preview.redd.it/mg6unsenwohg1.png?width=2940&format=png&auto=webp&s=e145a1c32f1dc5d18bb1f00b76d26a01d5c3b7b3

This is a follow up from my popular 2024 post about Pikimov

https://www.reddit.com/r/vfx/comments/1dqf4kd/i\_created\_a\_free\_after\_effects\_alternative/?rdt=54629

Since the original post received a lot of love, it's once again a pleasure to share another update with the vfx community: Pikimov 5.

This release adds many new features:

A new NLE 'classic editor' (same as in Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, Capcut...)
A graph editor to manually edit easing curves
A new vector line item
New FXs: motion blur, extrude, vintage colors
New blend modes: brighten, darken
Add personal notes to projects, like a 'post-it' (don't know why very few app allow taking notes, personally I find it vey usefull)
Text stroke
Support for Arabic text
Export as a .webm video with transparency
Added support for importing .webm video with transparency

Pikimov is a 2D/3D web alternative to After Effects I created, inspired by Photopea.
With the addition of the new NLE classic editor, it can now claim to be an alternative to simple video editors like CapCut.

It’s free, without signup, works directly in Chrome, no app to install, and it's not using your projects to train AI models, and not bloated with AI stuff.

All the editing is processed locally, no files are uploaded to a cloud server.

https://preview.redd.it/6qxdyiirwohg1.png?width=2940&format=png&auto=webp&s=3662ae8f8f306a65827ebc8d9019191df0d52409

https://preview.redd.it/gml5s67uwohg1.png?width=2940&format=png&auto=webp&s=223289c202816fd1325396c4e828eaed85f03682

https://preview.redd.it/r4xy3wgwwohg1.png?width=2940&format=png&auto=webp&s=f7194dbe925b8fd5d8b6e12dd49d639a652e75c3


To support the development of the app, consider subscribing to the Patreon page.

To start using Pikimov, simply visit: https://pikimov.com

At a time like this, when leading creative software companies are getting so much bad press from their customers, I hope Pikimov comes as good news to you.

https://redd.it/1qwnh0c
@vfxbackup

Trailer for my Unreal animated short film

https://redd.it/1qwubul
@vfxbackup