Spotlight | Senior Compositor Manideep Sanishetty shares his VFX journey and the work he is most proud of

How did you get into VFX? Talk us through your journey and what brought you to your current position.

Since I was a kid, I was really into films, and I wanted to know about the visual effects that go into them. That led me to pursue a degree in visual effects. I started my career as a roto intern, and then went on to work in different departments. I’ve explored 3D and 2D, shoot supervision, and gained some experience with all the different aspects of production in VFX so you could say I’m kind of a generalist. I worked at a couple of other studios before I joined The Mill in a compositing role. Now I’m a Senior Compositor and have worked on some of the coolest projects.

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

I think there are two which stand out the most. The first is a fully-CG ad for Xbox’s Series X global launch campaign which was made during the pandemic. In that, actor Daniel Kaluuya is transformed into CGI as he falls through a dream world.

But the project that holds a special place in my heart is Verizon ‘The Reset’, for which I won a VES Award for ‘Outstanding Compositing and Lighting in an Commercial’ earlier this year. Our team’s hard work was recognized, and it gave me global recognition as well.

What challenges did your team encounter on these projects and how did you overcome those?

The main challenge with the Xbox campaign was creating the photorealistic set. On the compositing side, we had to get everything as close to the live version as possible. We reviewed a ton of references for the thrilling adventure dream world and used a lot of game world references. Combined with a lot of discussions with the creatives, we were able to get to the final version.

We had a similar need for extensive game references with the Verizon campaign where we were creating a game-like environment with glitches as a main feature. We had to create these imperfections in a perfect way. We were able to achieve this through a lot of trial and error, constant creative discussions, and inputs from the client.

As a VES Award winner, how does it feel to have your work and the team’s acknowledged with this global recognition?

Winning the award is a huge deal and I feel extremely thankful. When I first heard about it, I was overjoyed. I’m most grateful for the team because these projects are never a one-person job, and the credit goes to all of us. On the other hand, it has come with some expectations for my career too!

What is inspiring you lately?

The advancements in technology encourage me to learn new skills and think more creatively. Every new movie and series I watch provides some critical input for my work. The road to creativity is never ending and the amazing content released urges us to keep hustling in the industry.

Do you have any advice for aspiring VFX artists in India?

My primary advice for artists or people aspiring to build a career as VFX artists is to first learn the concepts before using the tools. It is important to understand why a particular task is created and then explore how to carry it out with the tools that are available.

Are there any projects The Mill was involved in that you wish you’d had the chance to work?

It would have been great to work on the John Lewis ‘The Boy and Piano’ campaign, which had a lot of creative and challenging elements. The scope of work included face replacement, set extensions, crowds, plate stitches, and many more features that made it quite exciting.

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