What To Expect When You're Expecting (To Become A Supe)

This originally started as somewhat of a survival guide for people I knew who were becoming CG Supes for the first time. It was born out of a mental list of things I wish I knew before my first show as a CG Supe ten years ago, and grew and evolved into some general guidance for fellow supervisors. Over the years, multiple studios I've worked at have asked me for a copy of these thoughts and observations, and this is more or less a loose compilation of that, generally aimed at people who are moving from a lead position to a supervisory one. Whilst it was initially based upon my experiences as a CG Supervisor, there are still elements relevant to my current role as a VFX Supervisor, and relevant to people management in general. I certainly don't claim to be the best supervisor who ever lived, and I'm sure people will have differing views on how to approach management in VFX, but this reflects my lived experience over the last ten years of supervision. Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, I hope you find something useful in this collection that helps you along your way in these difficult times in VFX.

• DELEGATE. You will have many meetings, rounds, multiple dailies, client calls etc each and every day. You can't do it all, but you do have 10 departments full of people who can help. You are not expected to do everything yourself.

• Build good relationships with your leads. They are your greatest resource and key to getting the work done. Do everything you can to keep them happy, feeling supported, and trusted. A strong relationship with your leads will make your and their lives easier.

• Don’t take the whole world upon your shoulders. You will need to learn how to prioritize what to worry about and when (and when you can push something out of your mind for another day).

• Don’t undertake dev projects/science projects yourself, they will become a time suck and get scope creep, eventually preventing you from doing the things you are accountable for. Crew the right person for the task and entrust them with it. See the previous 3 points ;)

• ALWAYS have a backup plan. Things don't always work out. Tools break. Workflows fail. If you're going to put all your eggs into one basket, make sure you have a bucket at the ready.

• You don't need to have all the answers, but you do need to know how to find the answers. Which is usually by finding the person who does have the answers. Put in tickets, talk to pipeline, ask other supes for advice. You will be learning a ton and the best way to work out how to solve anything is by finding the relevant subject matter expert.

• Accept that you eventually will need to (at least in part) let go of being an artist. You’re a people manager now Harry! Part of this career growth is learning the satisfaction of helping other people achieve great work, and bringing the best out in them. You will obviously rely on your creative instincts when reviewing work, but you typically will not be the one holding the paint brush (mouse/wacom pen).

• Have a clear plan to push ‘element-complete’ shots through the pipeline well before the due date. Do not be trying to render for final if you’ve never seen the CFX/Layout/whatever in the shot before. Get out some basic renders with a dome light. Simple A over B comp. Have all the things the shot requires at a basic level before trying to finesse. "First make it exist, then make it good".

• Least resistance is the means for artists to make great work. Remove roadblocks for artists, whether they be workflow, pipeline, or communication. When they spend less time trying to debug, find information, or questioning whether they're headed in the right direction, they have more time to make great looking work. More time making art, means better looking art.

• Be honest with yourself and others about what you don't know.  It is perfectly acceptable to say "I'm not very familiar with that workflow/tool/whatever, but let me find out what I can". No one will know everything about every department - you may come from lookdev, and rigging could be like a foreign language. You may be from lighting, and FX just seems weird and unnecessarily technical. It doesn't matter - familiarize yourself as best you can, and try to understand it when you have time. Until then defer to the experts in those fields (usually the lead of that department on your show).

• Impostor Syndrome is real. Sometimes you will feel like a fraud, or that you don't know enough, or that people on your show think you're stupid, or that someone made a mistake putting you in this role. Don't listen to those doubts - like anything, confidence is key, and putting you in this role was not a decision that was made lightly. Other supes who chose you have faith in you to do the job - you wouldn't have the role if they didn't believe you could do it.

• Try not to micro manage your department of expertise. Take the role as an opportunity to expand your knowledge of other departments.

• Although you may 'know better' because you are the supe, remember that there's a very good chance the lead of a department has spent their entire career perfecting their knowledge of that discipline. Know when to defer to them.

• Endeavour to make sure no one is idle. Time is money, and good talent will get bored. You can't be behind schedule yet have prod tell you they have artists with nothing to do, so make sure tasks and assignments are balanced to keep artists happy and output consistent.

• Always take into account the outcome of a decision on the show as a whole. What might make lighting's life easier could create a ton of extra work for lookdev. Waiting for a pipeline fix may leave artists with nothing to do for a week. It will be up to you to work out how much effort should be placed on fixing the workflow vs telling people to grit their teeth and bear through it for five shots.

• Don’t bet your life savings on 'simple fixes' - what may seem a simple fix usually is dependent on 1000 other things (that you've never heard of) falling perfectly into place. Updating a piece of software may seem simple, but it may rely on certain versions of other software, which rely on other versions of other tools etc. See earlier point on backup plans.

• You are a facilitator. Make things happen. Your artists need you to make things happen so that they can remain productive. Chase up those tickets, get those farm resources, dive in and debug problems. Get the wheels moving and keep them moving.

• You are the bridge between production/your supervisors and the artists. Shield them when necessary, stick up for them, and don't pass the blame down to them. You will take bullets for your artists, sometimes when you shouldn't have to - but they need you to. And you need them to be free from fear, and confident in themselves in order for you to be able to deliver on time and to the quality expected of you.

• Know when to withhold information and requests until the time is right. You may have a lot of meetings and people asking you things - but you are not an artist or lead. Leads have almost as many meetings as you, and they have a team to closely manage, as well as do shots/build assets/develop tools. If withholding one or two things for a day gives them time to breathe and clear some of their plate (and isn't a 911 emergency), then do so.

• Information overload is real. As the bridge between prod and artists, you must learn when too much info or too many requests are being thrown at them. When a lead or artist's priorities change repeatedly, they will resent it, and likely you as well. Make sure you're aware of how often you are asking things of your teams, and especially how often you're asking them to change tack.

• Remove confusion and clarify simply. This goes for artists and prod - always ensure everyone understands and is on the same page. Really, really make sure.

• Don't leave a meeting without giving everyone clarity on what they need to do next. Meetings suck, but always summarize each meeting to ensure everyone is on the same page, and every artist is clear on exactly they need to do next. Otherwise you run the risk of people doing the wrong thing, passing on incorrect information, or needing a meeting to clarify the previous meeting...

• People look up to you. Be a calm and reassuring presence. VFX is stressful - try to be the sort of person they feel comfortable going to about issues, not someone they are afraid of approaching.

• You will likely become embittered at some stage. Politics, meetings, clients can get the best of you - make sure you don’t show this frustration to leads, artists, and coords, but instead have a person or people high up who you can vent to in private.

• Don't be afraid to ask for help!

• Eat breakfast. Meetings will be impromptu and run over time. Don't let yourself get hangry. Seriously.

• Get outside. Take a walk to the coffee shop, exercise on your balcony at lunch, take a stroll before work. Whatever you choose, don’t let a day go by without getting outside and away from your desk - it will be reflected in your stress levels, trust me.

• Caffeine promotes the production of cortisol (the stress hormone). Go easy on the coffee/red bull, especially during crunch!

Final thoughts......

People assume supervisors are the ones who were the best or most senior artists/leads and got promoted because of it.

To be a supervisor you don't need to be best artist, but you do need to be organized, a good communicator, and a problem solver. You need to be the best at bringing departments together and pushing the team towards the common goal.

Your job is to herd all the talented people you work with and guide and empower them to make the highest quality work within the time and resource allocation. Help them achieve great things, and you will achieve great things.