Spotlight | Jaspreet Kaur Dua, Lead Asset Artist shares her insights from the VFX industry

Can you tell us about your journey into the VFX industry? 

I initially began my career in animation and games. While working in 3D modelling, I realized I was more interested in combining CG with VFX. So, I decided to make a move and get into VFX. I have been with the company for up to eight years, and in December, I was delighted to be given the position of Lead Asset Artist at The Mill. It’s been exciting and challenging to take up this new role, and I’ve enjoyed learning a lot in the last few months.

Out of all the projects you’ve worked on at The Mill, which ones stand out?

I’ve recently worked on many projects, probably close to 100 in my time here, and even more as a lead. A couple of the ones I worked on in the last few years that were something special were the Burberry ‘Festive’ campaign and Balenciaga ‘Dream Factory’, a project where we created a dystopian video game-style world to showcase their Fall 2021 collection.

What aspect of the projects did you work on, and what were the challenges in the production?

I was an artist on the Burberry ‘Festive’ campaign and modelled the whole set. That was quite a challenge with all the different elements in the street, from the flowers to buildings and cars. We had to ensure the modelling was laid out perfectly so none of these elements would interact with the ice falling from the sky.

The fully CG short film for Balenciaga meant we had to adapt to a new pipeline. That had a huge learning curve, but I was excited to work on it. I also worked on the main characters and some of the background scenery.

How did the team overcome these challenges?

To ensure the look of the ice and scenery was realistic for the Burberry campaign, we created a pixel-by-pixel breakdown of how the ice would fall from the sky. We overcame a challenge with a lot of attention to detail! Seeing the response to the final campaign was a proud moment. And the campaign’s awards showed how much the entire VFX team’s efforts paid off.

The Balenciaga campaign was more about R&D and developing a new way of working on the whole set of tasks we had.

What was innovative about these projects? 

The Burberry project was a chance to create something epic, where we recreated an entire street on which the dancers were playing out their scene. It was amazing to see the final version and watch the ice fall from the sky. It was also a very technically sophisticated project, with so many elements, and the colour-grading was also special to see in the finished campaign.

Were any pioneering techniques, software or technology used?
When we were working on the Balenciaga campaign, the modelling and texturing were created on Unreal Engine, which was a new experience for all of us. I worked on developing the look for the main characters and then worked with the rest of the team to help bring everyone up to speed. It’s a tool more common in gaming, and since we were creating the feeling of a video game, it became a part of our pipeline.

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