Esteban & Abigail - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Creative Medium: 3d Animation, post production VFX. 

What are some of the jobs you had before your career took off?

A: Before officially working in audiovisual production, I was involved in as many projects as I could during high school and college, but before officially working as an editor I worked as a nanny, a designer for a kindergarten and making technical spec documents for a company that rented street banners.

E: I've been lucky enough to do what I do now for most of my career (25+ years now), but before that the only job I had was helping my Mother with her bussiness, a small groceries shop in my hometown. I worked with her 9 to 5 for about 4, 5 years in my early 20's, until small job opportunities started to appear and I was able to transform my hobby (computer graphics) into a way of living. 

What is the best advice you have been given?

A: To treat every work project with respect, both for the client but for oneself. And on a lighter note, as an editor, to never cut the audio and video track on the same frame unless it is intended.

E: More than a piece of advice in particular, I was able to learn a lot about work ethics and how to be respectful of others from my early co-workers/bosses. Also, the most valuable thing I learned by the time I was doing this professionally was to not to take criticism to the heart, and how to open my mind to feedback and improve based on the opinion of others. It gave me a thicker skin and an understanding of other's point of view and how to take things in a lighter, more fun way.

How do you want people to remember your work?

E: I'm not sure. I won't be remembered as a great artist for sure, but I'll be happy if at some point I made people laugh, of be dazzled or intrigued or whatever for a second. If I managed to elicit an emotion or a reaction from the viewer, then my work was done. In a more broad sense, I would like if at some point someone takes the time to look at the whole picture and notices how much effort was put into learning new things and never stay within the boundaries of my comfort zone. I prefer my work to be imperfect but fresh than always doing the same thing over and over just because it's what "people likes”.

What is something that can't be taught and only learned with age?

E: Probably how to pace yourself and learn (or remember) how to enjoy other things besides work. In my case, my work is also my passion so it's been pretty difficult over the years to find a healthy balance between time on and time off. I've suffered from anxiety derived from FOMO for the past 15 years of my careers, since there's always a sneaky voice in my head that says "you don't want to miss this one", which has many times derived in extreme burnout and exhaustion. Only in the past years and probably due to how the pandemic forced us to slow down I've been able to find some balance. 

A: I would add to what Esteban mentions that if it is within the possibilities, it is best to pass on a project that doesn’t seem like the best fit. Using that time and energy to work on a personal project can be more rewarding and eventually bring collaborations that are closer to what we enjoy doing.

How do you know when a piece or a project is finished and needs no additional work?

E: In my case I never know, that's why I'm so grateful for deadlines and delivery dates. There's always, ALWAYS something to improve upon. That's why I've enjoyed posting my work on Instagram or other social sites for the past years; it removed the pressure of making "A PERSONAL PROJECT" something huge and filled with ambition, which is always difficult due to time/budget/other things to do. Toning down the expectations and simplifying the approach allowed me to create small fun experiments that are done once I think "yeah, it kind of works" instead of the pressure of crafting a masterpiece that will always have to be paused due to any number of reasons. These days things are done when it's time to do something else.