We’ve been proud to see the release of the Reignite Yourself – Instruments to Face Daily Life webinar series from the Visual Effects Society and Quebec Film and Television Council.
It’s a great initiative to support the mental health of the worldwide visual effects industry — and we’re even prouder that our own Philipp Wolf has spearheaded the series as producer, creator, and co-host!
The episodes feature conversations with veteran visual effects professionals who share their real-world and real-life experiences, as well as talking with mental health specialists, psychologists and psychiatrists to provide a clinical viewpoint and expert guidance.
You can find all the episodes on the Visual Effects Society website if you want to take in the webinars. (We’re also proud to have provided the motion graphics and graphic design for the series.)
Reignite Yourself is the first initiative of the Visual Effects Society’s global Health and Wellbeing Committee, where Philipp serves as co-Chair as well as Montreal Chair. We also had the opportunity to put a few questions to Philipp about creating the series, mental health lessons, and more:
What was it like creating the series, and how did it feel as it all came together?
Right at the beginning of the pandemic, when everyone started talking about being lonely, I reflected on how people in our industry tend to move all over the world – which might have you end up in a foreign city, without a social network, and stuck at home. This is a huge endeavour for everyone’s mental health! I started talking with the Visual Effects Society and the Quebec Film and Television Council about doing a webinar series in March 2020, and it ultimately took over a year to produce. When the last episode was released, it certainly lifted some weight off my shoulders – and this series is just the beginning.
What’s the greatest mental health lesson you’ve learned through co-hosting?
The most important lesson I learned is that it is okay to talk about one’s own mental health, and ask professionals for help.
What’s the biggest benefit to destigmatising mental health and these conversations, to you?
Ultimately, we’re all people and we come from different cultures all over the world. In the end, we all need to be mentally healthy to live our life to the fullest. Destigmatising conversations around mental health will help form deeper relationships not only with yourself – but also with the people you interact with in your day-to-day life.
What’s next from the Health and Wellbeing committee, and what other work is going on at the moment?
We’ve just launched our global Member Assistance Program: a confidential support service that can help you solve a wide range of problems and challenges, whether you have questions about handling stress at work and home, parenting and child care, managing money, or health issues. We’ve also created a resource page accessible for everyone pointing to more resources and support across the world. And, last but not least, we are currently developing season two of Reignite Yourself…