The Future is Visual Effects. Sounds like the title of a sci-fi movie, right? But honestly, after spending years knee-deep in pixels, polygons, and virtual explosions, I can tell you it’s not just a catchy phrase – it’s the reality unfolding all around us. I remember way back when I first dipped my toes into this crazy world. It felt like magic, this ability to create things that weren’t there, to bend reality with just a computer. Back then, VFX felt like this exclusive club, mostly just for the massive Hollywood blockbusters that cost more than a small country’s GDP. You’d see spaceships battling, dinosaurs roaring, or entire cities getting trashed, and you knew *someone* had to build all that. That “someone” often involved teams of dedicated artists and tech wizards making the impossible look real. It was awe-inspiring, sure, but it also felt distant, something only the big studios did. Fast forward to today, and wow, have things changed. Visual effects are absolutely everywhere, woven into the fabric of our daily lives in ways most people don’t even think about. From the latest bingeworthy streaming series to the commercials that pop up on your phone, from video games that look almost indistinguishable from live-action to augmented reality filters that put funny hats on your cat – it’s all VFX. And this explosion isn’t slowing down. If anything, it’s accelerating. That’s why I feel so strongly that The Future is Visual Effects, and understanding even a little bit about how this magic happens and where it’s headed is pretty darn cool and increasingly relevant.
What is Visual Effects Anyway?
Okay, let’s break it down super simply. Visual Effects, or VFX, is basically anything you see on screen that wasn’t actually there when the camera rolled. Think about a scene where a character is flying. Unless that character is a superhero with actual superpowers (spoiler: they probably aren’t), the flying part is VFX. Traditionally, there was a big line between practical effects (like makeup, miniature models, or physical explosions) and visual effects (done digitally in post-production). Nowadays, that line is blurrier than ever. Often, the best results come from mixing the two. You might have a physical set piece that’s then extended digitally, or an actor in a creature suit whose face is replaced with a digital one. It’s all about telling a story or showing something that would be impossible, too dangerous, too expensive, or just plain not real to capture directly with a camera in the real world.
So, if you see a giant monster stomping through a city, that’s VFX. If you see a historical drama set in a time period that doesn’t exist anymore, the buildings, the crowds, the general environment? Often heavily reliant on VFX to recreate the past. Even something as simple as changing the color of the sky, removing an unwanted object from a shot (like a rogue microphone boom!), or making it look like someone is in a different location than they actually filmed in – that’s VFX too. It’s the art and science of creating or manipulating imagery to add to what was originally filmed, making the impossible possible on screen. And trust me, getting good at making the impossible look real takes a mix of artistic skill, technical know-how, and a whole lot of patience. The Future is Visual Effects because our appetite for seeing incredible, imaginative things on screen just keeps growing, and VFX is the key ingredient.
My Journey into the World of VFX
Getting into visual effects wasn’t exactly a straight path for me. Like a lot of folks in this field, I was always drawn to movies and video games that had that extra layer of visual punch. Seeing behind-the-scenes features about how they made creatures or explosions just blew my mind. I started messing around with early, super basic 3D software on my clunky old computer, just trying to make simple shapes and light them up. It was slow, confusing, and definitely didn’t look like Hollywood. But that feeling of creating something from scratch, something purely from my imagination, was addictive. I spent hours watching tutorials online, reading forums, and just trying things out. There was no clear roadmap back then like there might be now; it felt more like exploring a wild jungle with a flashlight.
I remember my first “real” project. It was a super low-budget short film a friend was making. My job was to add some simple muzzle flashes to a prop gun and maybe a quick digital matte painting of a different sky. I had no idea what I was doing! I spent days just trying to get the timing right, figuring out how to make the muzzle flash look bright but not totally fake, and trying to composite it onto the shaky footage. It was frustrating, messy, and I probably made every mistake in the book. But when the final shot rendered out and it actually looked… well, *plausible*… that feeling was incredible. It solidified for me that this wasn’t just a hobby; it was something I wanted to learn everything about.
From there, I took any small gig I could get. Music videos that needed weird abstract effects, corporate videos that needed graphics flying around, even helping out on student films. Each project was a new lesson. I learned about different parts of the pipeline – how to model something in 3D, how to animate it, how to add textures, how to light a scene realistically (which is way harder than it looks, by the way), and how to composite all the different layers together seamlessly. Compositing, the process of taking all the separate elements – the live footage, the 3D models, the digital paintings, the particle effects – and blending them together into one final image, became one of my favorite parts. It’s like being a digital conductor, making sure all the different instruments play together harmoniously.
There was this one freelance project where I had to create a CG creature that interacted with a real actor. The shoot was tricky, and the footage wasn’t perfect. I spent weeks tweaking animation, matching the lighting, and roto-ing (cutting out the actor frame by frame, which is tedious work but often necessary!) to make the creature look like it was truly in the same space. There were countless hours rendering, troubleshooting technical glitches, and getting feedback that meant going back and redoing things. It required a lot of patience and attention to detail. It wasn’t always glamorous; often it was just me in front of a computer screen late at night, fueled by questionable snacks and determination. But seeing that final shot, the creature feeling alive and interacting with the actor, made all the effort worth it. Those early experiences, the struggles and the small victories, were absolutely crucial in shaping my understanding of this field. They taught me that while the tech is amazing, The Future is Visual Effects because of the artists behind the keyboards and the creativity they bring to solve complex problems and tell compelling visual stories.
Getting good at VFX isn’t just about knowing software buttons. It’s about developing an eye for detail, understanding physics (how does fire *really* look? How does water splash?), knowing about lighting and color, and being a good problem-solver. Every shot is a puzzle, and you have to figure out the best way to put it together to look real (or intentionally unreal, depending on the project!). I learned the hard way that communication is key, both with clients and with other artists. It’s a collaborative field, and you’re constantly learning from others. My journey has been a continuous learning process, and that’s one of the coolest things about it – there’s always new software, new techniques, and new challenges to tackle. It’s a field that demands you stay curious and keep pushing your skills. And looking at how fast things are evolving, I know that won’t change anytime soon. The Future is Visual Effects, and that future is built on constant innovation and learning.
Why The Future is Visual Effects
So, why am I so confident about this? Why do I believe The Future is Visual Effects isn’t just hyperbole? Look around! As I mentioned earlier, VFX has broken out of the big-budget movie box. Streaming services need an endless supply of content, and to make that content visually exciting and transportive, they rely heavily on effects. Think about shows with historical settings, fantasy worlds, or sci-fi elements – they wouldn’t be possible without a huge amount of VFX work. This demand means more opportunities and more innovation. It’s not just about spectacle anymore; it’s about creating believable environments, seamless transitions, and subtle enhancements that you might not even notice at first glance.
Beyond entertainment, VFX is becoming a critical tool in so many other areas. 
Advertising uses it to create polished, eye-catching commercials that show products in impossible ways or create memorable mascots. Architectural firms use stunning visualizations, often created with VFX techniques, to show clients what a building will look like before construction even starts. Product companies use it to create digital twins of their items for online viewing or marketing. Training simulations, especially in industries like aerospace, medicine, or manufacturing, use realistic 3D environments and scenarios built using core VFX principles. Virtual and Augmented Reality? They are absolutely foundational on visual effects work – you’re building and displaying digital environments and objects that look real or interact with the real world.
The technology is also becoming more accessible. While high-end VFX still requires serious hardware and software, tools are getting easier to learn and more powerful at lower price points. This means smaller studios, independent filmmakers, and even individual creators can produce work that rivals what only big houses could do a decade ago. This democratization of the tools further fuels the spread of VFX into new areas. Think about how prevalent filters are on social media – those are simple forms of augmented reality VFX happening in real-time on your phone! This level of integration into everyday tech shows just how mainstream and expected visual effects are becoming.
Another huge factor is the increasing realism and sophistication of the effects themselves. With advancements in areas like rendering technology, simulation, and AI-assisted tools, artists can create incredibly convincing digital humans, realistic hair and cloth, and natural-looking environmental effects like fire, water, and explosions. The line between what’s real and what’s digital is getting blurrier all the time, which opens up incredible possibilities for storytelling and communication. Because the demand is high, the technology is improving rapidly, and the applications are expanding way beyond movies, it’s clear that The Future is Visual Effects across the board. It’s not just a niche industry anymore; it’s a fundamental part of digital communication and creation.
Breaking Down the Magic (Simple Terms)
Alright, how do they actually *do* this stuff? Let’s touch on some of the key pieces that make up the VFX puzzle. It’s like building something complex; you have different specialists doing different jobs, and then someone puts it all together.
3D Modeling and Animation: This is where you build the digital objects and characters. Think of it like digital sculpting. You start with basic shapes and mold them into whatever you need – a creature, a car, a piece of furniture, a whole building. Once you have the model, animation is bringing it to life. This can be done by hand (keyframe animation), using motion capture (recording an actor’s movements and applying them to a digital character), or even using physics simulations to make things bounce or fall realistically. It’s about giving digital things weight, personality, and movement. Making a convincing walk cycle for a digital character or making a spaceship fly in a way that feels powerful takes a real understanding of movement and physics.
Texturing and Shading: A 3D model on its own is just a gray shape. Texturing is like painting onto that shape – adding color, detail, patterns, and wear and tear. Shading is telling the computer how light should interact with the surface – should it be shiny like metal, rough like concrete, transparent like glass? Getting these right is crucial for making a digital object look like it belongs in the real world (or the specific world you’re creating). A perfectly modeled object will still look fake if the textures and shading aren’t right.
Lighting and Rendering: Just like in real-world photography or filmmaking, lighting is everything. In VFX, you set up digital lights in your 3D scene to illuminate your models. You match the lighting from the live-action footage or create entirely new lighting setups for purely digital scenes. Rendering is the process where the computer crunches all the information – the models, textures, lights, animation, simulations – and generates the final image. This can be a super computationally intensive task, taking minutes, hours, or even days per frame depending on the complexity. It’s where the magic finally starts to become visible.
Matchmoving/Tracking: This is a less flashy but absolutely essential part of the process. When you’re adding a digital object to live-action footage, you need that object to move exactly with the camera. Matchmoving analyzes the live footage and figures out the camera’s path and lens distortion in 3D space. This data is then used to create a virtual camera in the 3D software that precisely matches the real one. Without accurate tracking, your digital object will just slide around unnaturally on screen, totally breaking the illusion. It’s the invisible glue that makes digital elements stick to the real world footage.
Compositing: I touched on this earlier, but it’s the final step where everything comes together. You take the live-action footage, the rendered 3D elements, digital matte paintings (which are often hyper-realistic digital backdrops used to extend sets or create new environments), particle effects (like smoke, dust, rain), and any other elements, and you layer them up. You use techniques to blend them seamlessly, adjusting colors, lighting, shadows, and focus. You add final touches like lens flares or atmospheric effects. Compositing is where the final image is polished and made to look like a single, cohesive shot. It requires a great eye for detail and color, and it’s where a lot of the final “realism” is achieved. It’s a bit like being a master digital collagist.
Simulation: Want fire, smoke, water, or explosions? That’s simulation. Instead of animating every single puff of smoke, artists set up parameters based on real-world physics, and the computer simulates how those elements would behave. This gives incredibly realistic and complex results that would be impossible to create manually. Simulating something like a building collapsing or a massive wave crashing requires serious computing power and skill to set up correctly.
There are other parts too, like rotoscoping (tracing around objects or characters in live footage frame by frame), paint and cleanup (removing wires, rigs, or unwanted objects), and color correction. Each part is a specialty, but everyone works together to build the final shot. It’s a complex dance, but when it works, it’s truly amazing. And as technology improves, the tools and techniques for each of these steps get more powerful and efficient, reinforcing why The Future is Visual Effects is a safe bet.
The Tech Behind the Scenes
So, what are the artists using to make all this happen? Well, there’s a whole suite of software out there, and different studios and artists have their favorites. For 3D work, big names include Maya, 3ds Max, and Blender. Blender is particularly interesting because it’s free and open-source, and it’s become incredibly powerful over the years, used by everyone from hobbyists to major studios. For compositing, Nuke is the industry standard in many film pipelines, while After Effects is very popular for motion graphics and broadcast work.
Then there are specialized tools for things like sculpting (like ZBrush), texturing (Substance Painter, Mari), and simulation (Houdini is a powerhouse for effects like fire, water, and destruction). The list goes on! Learning these tools takes time and practice. It’s not just about knowing where the buttons are; it’s about understanding the underlying principles of 3D, animation, lighting, and composition so you can use the tools effectively to achieve your artistic vision.
Beyond the software, there’s the hardware. VFX artists need powerful computers with fast processors, tons of RAM, and high-end graphics cards, especially for 3D work and rendering. And when you’re working on a big project, you’re not just rendering on one machine. Studios use “render farms” – huge clusters of computers networked together that work simultaneously to render out frames much faster. This is essential for meeting tight deadlines, as even a few seconds of complex animation can take hours or days to render on a single machine. The development of faster hardware and more efficient rendering algorithms is a key driver in making more and more VFX possible and affordable, further cementing that The Future is Visual Effects relies on this tech evolution.
But here’s the thing, and it’s a really important point: the tech is just a tool. A super fancy, powerful tool, but a tool nonetheless. You could give someone the most expensive paintbrushes and paints in the world, but it doesn’t automatically make them a great painter. The real magic comes from the artist using the tool. Their understanding of light, form, color, movement, and storytelling is what makes the difference between a mediocre effect and a truly stunning one that makes you believe what you’re seeing. Software updates, hardware gets faster, but the core artistic skills and problem-solving abilities remain crucial. As The Future is Visual Effects unfolds, the tools will change, but the need for skilled, creative artists will only grow.
VFX Beyond the Big Screen
Let’s dig a bit deeper into how VFX has spread its wings. Like I said, it’s not just for cinema anymore. The streaming wars have been a massive boon for the VFX industry. Companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and others are producing vast amounts of original content, much of it high-concept fantasy, sci-fi, or historical dramas that rely heavily on creating worlds or creatures that don’t exist. This steady stream of work provides consistent opportunities for VFX artists and studios. Unlike the feast-or-famine cycle that could sometimes happen when you were solely reliant on movie blockbusters, streaming provides a more constant demand. This ensures that The Future is Visual Effects will continue to be tied closely to how we consume media.
Advertising is another huge area. Think about how commercials used to look versus now. So many use seamless visual effects to showcase products, create stylized environments, or feature animated characters. Whether it’s a car driving through an impossible landscape, a food item looking impossibly perfect, or a talking animal promoting something, VFX is the key. It allows advertisers to create visually compelling spots that grab attention in a crowded marketplace. I’ve worked on commercials that required everything from simple product cleanup to creating complex liquid simulations or fully digital environments. It’s fast-paced work, but it shows how versatile VFX is.
And video games! The graphical fidelity in modern video games is astonishing, often reaching levels of realism that rival feature films. Game cinematics, the non-interactive story sequences, are often produced using techniques identical to film VFX. Even the in-game graphics rely on incredibly sophisticated real-time rendering and asset creation (3D models, textures) that come directly from the VFX world. The tools and talent crossover is significant, meaning skills learned in one area are highly transferable to the other. The demand for visually stunning games means that The Future is Visual Effects is also deeply intertwined with the gaming industry.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are perhaps the most exciting frontiers right now for VFX artists. Building immersive virtual worlds in VR requires creating entire 3D environments, characters, and interactive elements. AR, which overlays digital content onto the real world (think Pokemon Go, or trying out furniture virtually in your living room, or those social media filters), requires creating digital objects that can interact convincingly with the real environment, matching lighting, perspective, and scale. These technologies are still relatively young compared to film, but they are growing rapidly and are fundamentally built on VFX pipelines and skills. Creating believable, interactive digital experiences for AR/VR is a huge part of why I say The Future is Visual Effects is tied to these emerging platforms.
Think about other areas: Medical visualization, using 3D models and animation to explain complex procedures or show how a drug works. Forensic visualization, recreating crime scenes or accidents. Even personalized digital avatars and experiences online are using VFX techniques. The ability to create realistic or stylized digital imagery is a skill set that is becoming valuable in an incredibly wide range of industries. It’s no longer just about making cool explosions for movies (though we still do plenty of that, and it’s still fun!). It’s about visual communication, simulation, interaction, and creating experiences that weren’t possible before. This broad applicability is a huge reason why The Future is Visual Effects seems so bright and expansive.
The Human Side: The Artists and the Hustle
It’s easy to talk about the tech and the tools, but visual effects are ultimately made by people. Talented, creative, dedicated people. Working in VFX is demanding. There are tight deadlines, long hours, and often complex technical challenges to overcome. You need to be able to work collaboratively as part of a team, taking direction and integrating your work with others’. You also need to be a self-starter and a problem-solver, able to figure out how to make a shot work even when things aren’t going perfectly.
There’s a unique blend of left-brain and right-brain thinking required. You need artistic sensibility, an eye for composition, color, and detail. But you also need to be technically minded, understanding file formats, software workflows, rendering settings, and troubleshooting computer issues. One minute you might be creatively designing a creature’s movement, the next you’re debugging a tricky render error. It keeps you on your toes, that’s for sure.
The VFX industry can be quite dynamic. Projects ramp up, teams grow, and then when the project is done, things can quiet down. Many artists work freelance, moving from studio to studio or project to project. This requires flexibility and the ability to constantly network and look for the next opportunity. It’s part of the hustle! But there’s also a strong sense of community. You often work closely with teams for months, and you build strong bonds. Sharing knowledge and helping each other solve problems is common, because everyone is striving for the same goal: making something amazing.
Despite the challenges, there’s a huge sense of reward when you see your work on screen, whether it’s in a packed cinema, on a streaming service, or even just knowing you helped a small company create a great ad. Seeing a shot you poured hours into seamlessly integrated and contributing to the overall story is incredibly satisfying. It’s the feeling of being part of creating something bigger than yourself, something that can transport audiences to different worlds or show them things they’ve never seen before. That creative payoff is a big part of what keeps artists going. Knowing that the demand for these unique skills is only increasing reinforces the idea that The Future is Visual Effects is a future with plenty of opportunities for those willing to put in the work.
Learning VFX Today
If reading about this sparks something in you and you think, “Hey, maybe I could do that!”, the good news is there are more resources available now than ever before. You don’t necessarily need to go to an expensive four-year university program (though those can be great for networking and structured learning). There are fantastic online courses, tutorials on platforms like YouTube and specialized VFX training sites, and often local community college programs or workshops.
My advice to anyone starting out? Just start creating. Download a free software like Blender and mess around. Don’t worry about making things look perfect at first. Learn the basics: modeling, moving things around in 3D space, understanding cameras, setting up simple lights. Follow tutorials step-by-step to learn specific techniques. Don’t get discouraged when things don’t look right; that’s part of the learning process! Everyone starts somewhere, and everyone makes ugly renders at the beginning. The key is to keep practicing and keep learning.
Find a specialty that excites you. Are you drawn to building characters? Maybe modeling and sculpting are for you. Do you love making things blow up or catch fire realistically? Simulation might be your thing. Are you fascinated by how everything is put together? Compositing could be your calling. Focusing on one or two areas initially can help you build strong foundational skills before branching out.
Build a portfolio, or “reel” as it’s called in the industry. This is a short video showcasing your best work. It’s your calling card to potential employers or clients. Quality is much more important than quantity. One amazing shot is better than ten mediocre ones. As you learn new techniques, replace older, weaker pieces in your reel. Get feedback from others – online communities are great for this. Be open to constructive criticism; it’s how you improve.
Networking is also important. Attend industry events (even virtual ones), connect with other artists online, and follow studios and artists you admire. The VFX community is generally very supportive. And finally, be passionate. This field requires dedication and long hours. If you genuinely love creating visual magic, that passion will fuel you through the tough times and keep you motivated to keep learning and improving. Because the world needs more skilled artists, and The Future is Visual Effects depends on the next generation bringing their creativity to the table.
Challenges and Opportunities
Like any industry, VFX has its challenges. It moves incredibly fast; software and techniques are constantly evolving, so you have to commit to being a lifelong learner. What was cutting-edge five years ago might be standard or even outdated now. This requires constantly updating your skills. Deadlines can be brutal, and iterating on shots based on feedback is a constant part of the process. Sometimes, what the client or director wants isn’t technically feasible or requires solving problems in totally new ways. Plus, the industry can sometimes have periods of high demand followed by lulls, especially for freelance artists.
However, the opportunities are vast and growing. As I’ve stressed, The Future is Visual Effects is expanding into so many different sectors. This means more job opportunities in diverse areas, not just film production hubs like Los Angeles, London, or Vancouver. Studios are located all over the world, and remote work has become much more common, opening up global possibilities for artists. There’s also huge opportunity in specializing in niche areas, like digital doubles, creature rigging, or specific types of simulations.
The increasing sophistication of real-time rendering engines (like Unreal Engine and Unity, which were originally for games but are now used in film and broadcast) is also creating new opportunities. Artists can now create and light scenes and see the final result *instantly*, rather than waiting hours for renders. This speeds up workflows dramatically and changes the way things are produced, requiring artists with different skill sets centered around these real-time pipelines. This technological shift is a big part of why The Future is Visual Effects is so exciting right now.
Another interesting factor is the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is already being used in VFX pipelines for tasks like rotoscoping, cleanup, generating textures, or even assisting with animation. Some people worry AI will replace artists, but I see it more as a tool that will change the nature of the work. AI can handle the more repetitive, tedious tasks, freeing up artists to focus on the creative problem-solving and the truly artistic parts of the job. It’s about leveraging AI to be more efficient and creative, not replacing the fundamental human element. The artistic eye, the storytelling sensibility, the ability to collaborate and innovate – those are things AI can’t replicate. The Future is Visual Effects will likely involve artists working hand-in-hand with intelligent tools, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible even further.
So, yes, there are challenges, but the creative opportunities, the technological advancements, and the sheer breadth of applications make it an incredibly exciting field to be in. If you love blending art and technology and bringing imaginative ideas to life, there’s a place for you as The Future is Visual Effects continues to unfold.
Looking Ahead: The Future is Visual Effects, Really
Where is all this heading? I honestly believe we’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible with visual effects. As computing power continues to increase and algorithms get smarter, the realism will become even more convincing. We’ll see more fully digital characters that are indistinguishable from real actors (a fascinating and slightly creepy prospect!). Real-time rendering will likely become the standard for more types of production, changing workflows dramatically. Immersive experiences in VR and AR will become more common and integrated into our lives, and these are built entirely on the principles of VFX.
Personalized content is another area where VFX will play a huge role. Imagine movies or games where elements are dynamically generated or altered based on the viewer’s preferences or interactions. This requires incredibly flexible and powerful visual pipelines. The ability to create believable digital versions of anything – people, places, objects – is a powerful tool for communication, education, and entertainment. We’re moving towards a world where the line between the physical and the digital is increasingly blurred, and VFX is at the forefront of making that digital side look and feel real or intentionally stylized.
The storytelling potential that this unlocks is immense. Creators are no longer limited by the constraints of the physical world. They can tell any story, show any creature, visit any planet, or recreate any historical event with a level of detail and believability that was previously impossible. This freedom drives creativity and allows for truly innovative visual experiences. And someone has to build all that! That’s where VFX artists come in.
Ultimately, the core of visual effects is about creating illusions, about making audiences believe in something that isn’t there. And our desire to be transported, to see the impossible, to experience new worlds, isn’t going anywhere. If anything, it’s only growing stronger in our increasingly digital age. That’s why, with absolute conviction based on seeing how this field has grown and where the technology is heading, I can confidently say that The Future is Visual Effects. It’s a field of endless creative possibilities, constant technological advancement, and expanding influence across almost every form of visual media and digital experience. It’s a wild ride, and I’m excited to see where it goes next.
Conclusion
Stepping back and looking at the journey – from messing around with clunky software as a kid to working on diverse projects and seeing the industry evolve – it’s clear that visual effects are more than just a niche technical skill. They are a fundamental part of modern visual storytelling and digital creation. We talked about what VFX is, how it’s made, my own winding path through learning it, why it’s popping up everywhere from streaming shows to phone filters, and the exciting future it holds with new tech and AI.
The demand for compelling visual content is only increasing, and visual effects are the engine that powers so much of it. Whether it’s creating fantastical worlds, bringing historical periods to life, making products look irresistible, or building the foundation for immersive AR/VR experiences, the skills of VFX artists are becoming more valuable across more industries. It’s a field that requires a unique mix of artistic talent, technical understanding, problem-solving skills, and a willingness to constantly learn and adapt.
For anyone interested in visual effects, the path is more accessible than ever, though it still requires dedication and hard work. Start creating, learn the fundamentals, find what excites you, build your reel, and connect with the community. It’s a challenging field, but the opportunity to bring imagination to life and shape the visual experiences of the future is incredibly rewarding. As I look ahead, there’s no doubt in my mind. The Future is Visual Effects, and it’s going to be a visually spectacular ride.