Meet the Artist - Simon Jones, Head of CG, MPC London.

What is your name, job title and how long have you been at MPC?

My name is Simon Jones, I’m the Head of CG for MPC London. I’ve been with MPC since 2009.

What and where did you study?

I graduated high school in Texas and instead of heading to University like I should have, I hid behind a computer and made lots of terrible demo reels until someone hired me!

How did you get started in VFX?

My sister always wanted to be an actress, but my parents really didn’t want that so they bought her a video camera in lieu of acting lessons. Sadly for her I absconded with it and started shooting and editing videos of everything I could find. I did some wedding video work for a while but my passion was in star wars fan films (of course!). I remember painting frame by frame light sabre effects on 29.97 FPS NTSC (Would have killed to be living in a PAL country at the time for 25 FPS).

Eventually I wanted to take my video editing to the next level. A friend mentioned a new software called blender3D. I can still remember the first time I created a grey sphere in front of a brick wall. One of the proudest moments of my career! From that point on I was hooked. I locked myself in the computer bedroom of my parent’s house for a few years working on personal projects, product visualization and any other little odd jobs I could find. Eventually I worked up enough content to send out my demo reel on VHS to all the major studios at the time. No one got back to me…. Rinse and repeated that a few times and eventually got offered a job at a small studio. The rest is history!

The other thing that excites me is the people I work with. There are hundreds of people that I get to work with here. They are all super talented and each one brings something different to the table.

What excites you most about your job at MPC?

For me it’s two things. Firstly it’s the challenge of the unknown. Every day I come into work and I have no idea what might come my way, what situation or challenge I might have to deal with that day. It can be scary but after a while you realise that every problem can be solved, every situation can be handled. Sometimes you do better than others but you learn from the mistakes and try to replicate the successes. The other thing that excites me is the people I work with. There are hundreds of people that I get to work with here. They are all super talented and each one brings something different to the table. That’s hugely exciting and inspiring!

we learn and grow from each other

What does it feel like to work as part of a Global team at MPC?

Working in a company that has as many locations as we do is great! Having access to a global market place puts us in a strong competitive position and this allows us to do some of the best work in VFX today. It also helps us to get a broader picture of what works and what doesn’t work as an industry, we learn and grow from each other.

What’s your favourite shot that you’ve worked on in your career?

I don’t get to work on individual shots as much as I’d like to any more but I’m especially proud of the work I did on Life of Pi for the water sequences. Was a big challenge blending plate water to CG water but I think we pulled it off. There was some real synergy on that show between the team members that made it really special.

a good story that’s supported by the right visuals can touch people

What’s your favourite VFX movie?

My favourite VFX films are the one’s where you don’t see the VFX or it interweaves with the story in such a way that you forget that you’re seeing digital pixels up on the screen and you just experience the story. Life of Pi, The Jungle Book, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, etc. I rarely walk out of a cinema feeling moved by a visual effect but a good story that’s supported by the right visuals can touch people.

Which 3 words best describe your job?

Challenging, Unpredictable, Educational

What major developments in technology do you see in VFX over the next 5 /10 years?

It’s tough to predict the future but cloud based work-flows will become an even bigger thing than it is now. Hopefully there will be a wider acceptance of industry standards like ACES, USD etc. I think that really successful companies will be focusing both on emerging technologies and also in how we marry technologies to our desired work-flows. It’s sometimes easier to allow technology to drive how we work rather than asking “How do we really want to work?”. To build truly efficient systems marrying technology to our targeted work-flows is the way forward.

Striking that right balance and helping build systems that allow our teams to create beautiful work quickly and efficiently is a real challenge in my role

What do you think the biggest challenges are in your role?

Most of us get into this industry because we want to create beautiful images. In the competitive market place of VFX we also have to be business focused to continue making those beautiful images. Striking that right balance and helping build systems that allow our teams to create beautiful work quickly and efficiently is a real challenge in my role.

What inspires you?

So many things. Films (especially the old black and whites), photography, music, the people I work with, nature, my family….. not necessarily in that order ;).

How would you describe your approach to work?

My approach to work tends to be fairly methodical. I like to establish as many variables as possible before diving into finding a solution so that I can provide the best possible outcome. Since it can be easy to focus on all the variables and not take action I’ve been incorporating another aspect to my approach which is the idea that motion is better than stagnation. Even if it’s motion in the wrong direction it’s worth moving forward and correcting course as needed.

What single piece of advice would you give someone looking to get into the industry?

Be on time, be honest, be nice and work hard. Also everyone in the world is better than you at something.

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Want to work with talented artists like Simon? We're now hiring for our London studio across a range of different disciplines. Apply online at www.mpc.jobs or email [email protected]