The present and future of women in the VFX industry

Carolina Novell, digital artist specialized in the field of FX, is the latest addition to the teaching team at L’Idem Barcelona. She is the only woman in Spain certified as a Nuke trainer by The Foundry, creator of the pioneering software for the creative industries, and has shared with us her vision of the present and future of the animation industry, and the role of women in this sector.

When we talk about FX, we refer to the process necessary to mix different digital techniques and everything related to them. According to Carolina, “FX encompasses many techniques and processes such as shooting, 3D and 2D or Matte Painting”. It is a sector in which the work itself and the post-production process is highly valued, and in which knowledge of the most used tools and software is essential. The professional profile is very broad, and continuous training is highly valued to put into practice all the concepts learned to give greater richness to the final works.

As the only female certified Nuke Trainer in the country, Carolina Novell highlights the little or no female representation in leadership positions in the animation sector, as reported by data published by the Association of Women in the Animation Industry (MIA).

«Although there are some sectors within VFX where there is more female presence, it is a sector very much linked to men.»

She explains that her main motivation to become a Nuke trainer was when she saw that there were no women on the company’s website, strongly reinforcing the need to have female referents in the industry and stating that in twenty years of teaching FX she has seen only 20-40% women. Despite this, and as good news, she believes that this trend is changing, and that in a short time there will be greater representation.

The future of the animation and FX sector in Spain looks promising, placing the country as the fifth largest producer in the world and second in Europe in feature films, according to data published by the Diboos federation. It is a field that is beginning to reach many sectors of communication, and that, thanks to technological innovations, has more and more tools that allow to reach better results. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which had both positive and negative effects, Carolina Novell highlights the ease of adaptation to remote work, an increase in the demand for professional projects and the presence of digital content in the industry.