Puja Parikh

Following the inspirational success of Wonder Woman, we thought we would spotlight some of the women at DNEG that continue to inspire us daily.

This week we are talking to Wonder Woman, Puja Parikh, DNEG’s Global Head of RPM.

1. What drew you to a career in VFX?

I have always been inclined towards art. There used to be a magazine called Computer Graphics in the nineties, which had topics about Photoshop, CorelDraw etc. I was an avid follower of the magazine! The idea that this designing software allowed you to create an environment and give life to your fantasies fascinated me. To get hands on experience, I started using Photoshop. Movies like The Matrix and old superhero films intrigued me to choose this career path.

2. How did you get into the Business?

I come from a family background having deep roots in professions which follow fact-finding and logic. Being surrounded by Lawyers and Engineers, I was inspired to become an electronic engineer. Right from my childhood I found Art fascinating and that drew me into the animation field. I went to Academy of Arts, San Francisco and pursued my masters in 2d and 3d animation. I was one of the lucky ones to get a job with a motion graphic company and after few months of experience got to enter the VFX industry as a pipeline and systems TD at Rhythm and Hues and from there on got into Matchmove, Body Tracking and Technical animation. After over a decade of working in various VFX studios, here I am with DNEG, as the Global HOD of RPM.

3. What are your thoughts about the success of Wonder Woman and what do you think it means to the industry?

Wonder Woman’s success in the VFX world is going to help the female superhero genre come to the fore alongside the existing male-centric superhero flicks. Women oriented movies are drawing a lot of attention of late – awareness about the women technicians / VFX artists involved in making such films will go a long way inspiring the women in our industry

4. What would be your advice to the next generation of women coming into the industry?

It is the only field that is purely talent driven with instant appreciation, certainly for a job well done. Every new task is a challenging one and the work you do never gets boring at all. This is an industry where one gets to meet and work with many creative and fun people, and if you love what you do, you never work, you just enjoy each bit of your day!