Interview – Jiamin Wu

Hello to all readers of Animation Alerts. Today we have one of the amazing and talented artists of animation industry, Jiamin Wu. With a recent big break on a Hollywood blockbuster Fast and Furious 9 Jiamin would love to share her knowledge and experience today on our Animation Alerts interview series.

Interview – Jiamin Wu

Hi Jiamin Wu, Please introduce yourself to our blog readers and share something  about your journey from the Animation industry?

I’m currently a previs / postvis artist based in Los Angeles, and I’ve worked on multiple projects from Fast and the Furious 9 to game cinematics for Apex Legends.

You are from China and why did you move to LA? And, when and why did you decide to choose a career in the animation industry?

Before I was in LA, I attended Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida. Naturally after graduation, I came to LA  because most of the animation and film Industry is based here. There’s also many friends and fellow alum from Ringling all around.

What is your normal day routine as a previs/postvis artist? And Where are you working right now?

I’m currently working for Proof Inc. With the state of the pandemic, I have been working remotely for almost a whole year now. My work day usually starts at 9AM and ends at 7PM with a one hour lunch break around noon. Depending on the projects I’m on, sometimes I’ll have to be in a video meeting with my team for hours at a time, while other days I might have just one shot to hone in on for days.

Who is your inspiration in the animation industry?

 Tim Burton’s animation was my original inspiration. His dark, super fun style really shows the charm of animation as a genre, and can only be achieved with this medium.

 And what is your favourite/ dream project?

I would love to work on any of Denis Villeneuve’s films, or be a part of Roger Dekins’ team. I’d also love to work with female directors.

Could you share your experience while working on Fast & Furious 9? What was the most challenging part while working on such a big project?

 It was my very first blockbuster film where I worked on both the previs and postvis production so it was an amazing experience to finally see the shots I worked on in the trailer. The most challenging part is that we have to work at a pretty fast pace to accommodate the edits. We were also working with the London team remotely, so there were plenty of misunderstandings with the communication, though I think it’s a common thing for complex projects that had so many different parts.

 What are the challenges you faced while learning animation and your most favourite project?

Back in school, I realized that there’s so many talented people around me. I have to find my own balance to focus on my work and in learning at my own pace. My favorite project has to be my thesis short film Suit Up!, because I had learned so many things from it.

In 2020, the whole world was facing issues due to Covid  19. Many people lost their jobs, So where do you think our animation industry is heading in this tough time. What are your views on it?

 I definitely had that same experience last year as my work was, at a time, not as stable. Surprisingly the market is changing really fast and adapting. Most of the films used to be only playing in movie theaters, but right now they are all now straight to streaming. People will always want something to watch so with that said, I think we can conquer these current challenges. Maybe it’s about having the flexibility to work from other places now that we’ve had first-hand experience with that sort of pipeline.

Who is the most influential and talented person you met in this industry and what are the life changing lessons you learned from them?

My coworkers and supervisors have really shown me how amazing good leadership can be. They’ve also taught me ways to organize all sorts of different things together cohesively. One of the Pixar animators, Tarun Lak, is someone whose work I really admire; his animation is just so, so smooth and natural.

Any message for the audience at Animation alerts?

It’s easy to lose sight of things after everything we’ve been through this past year, so I hope you can find a way to stay creative and follow your dreams.

Dear readers, you can also follow Jiamin at her personal website: https://www.kinowu.work/ and also at her Instagram channel https://www.instagram.com/kinoooooowu