Profile
Amy Smith
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About Me:
I live in London with my partner and two cats. I enjoy craft, reading and all things creative.
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Born and bred in London I really enjoy travelling and have also lived some of my life in both Germany and Canada.
I love to spend my weekends knitting, sewing or otherwise making things with my hands after a long week of being behind the computer and in the digital world.
At school and University I had no idea what I wanted to do for a career or even what I might be good at or interested in. That’s why I am so passionate about speaking with you! I want to try and make sure that you are able to make more informed choices than I was and that you end up with a career you truly love one day!
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
I work in the visual effects industry. We make computer graphics for films, television, theme park rides, adverts and more!
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Framestore is a multi Oscar award winning creative studio that combines talent and technology to reframe the possible in film, content, advertising and immersive experiences. Framestore’s team of over 3,000 storytellers and innovators is united by a mission to bring life to everything they create. Founded in the UK in 1986, Framestore now has homes in New York, LA, Chicago, Montreal, Vancouver, London, Melbourne and Mumbai.
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My Typical Day:
I wake up and feed my cats and get to work for 9am – sometimes I work from home and sometimes I work from the office. I spend a lot of time on emails and in meetings and I usually finish work at about 6pm. I have a global role so I don’t often get a chance to have lunch and I will sometimes answer emails and instant messages outside of my working hours.
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A typical day in the visual effects industry usually follows the same routine. The teams will have what we call ‘dailies’ in the morning which is where everyone working on a particular project will gather in one of our physical or virtual review rooms (like a small cinema) and look at each others’ work. The visual effects supervisor will give each person feedback on their work. When they return to their desk they continue their work based on the feedback they have received.
In the afternoon the supervisor will visit each artist individually to make sure that they understood the feedback, answer their questions and also give them any follow up feedback they might need.
Before they leave for the day they will submit the work that they want to have reviewed in dailies the next day.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
Use it to buy prizes for the STEM workshops that we run at Framestore!
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Education:
The Latymer School, 1992-1999
Durham University, 1999-2002
Westminster University, 2004-2006
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Qualifications:
9 GCSEs: English Literature and Language, Maths, Double Science, Geography, French, Religious Education and Art
3 A-Levels: Geography, English and Religious Education
1 S Level: Religious Education
Bachelor of Arts Degree: English Literature
Master of Arts Degree: Human Resource Management
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Work History:
My first job out of University was as Personnel Assistant for my local Morrisons supermarket.
From there I became Junior Recruitment Consultant for a recruitment company but left after my probation period as I really didn’t enjoy working in sales.
It was after that I was offered the role of HR Assistant at a company called Framestore!
After a few years at Framestore I was offered the role of HR Manager at a smaller visual effects studio based in London and Manchester and I spent a few years travelling up and down between the two cities in that role before I was given the opportunity to move to Vancouver in Canada for a Recruitment Manager position for a different visual effects company.
I stayed in Vancouver for almost three years before returning to Framestore as Recruitment Manager and over the last few years have worked my way up through a number of roles in the recruitment team.
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Current Job:
I am currently the Global Director for Recruitment at Framestore which means that I keep an eye on all recruitment (for every job in the company!) in all of our locations – London, Montreal, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Mumbai and Melbourne.
I have a team of 25 recruiters globally who are my team and I support them to make sure that we are finding the best talent to join the company at all stages of their careers.
I am also in charge of all of our outreach which means working with schools, colleges and Universities to support students to gain the skills they need to make a career in this industry if that’s what they would like to do.
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Employer:
Framestore is a multi Oscar award winning creative studio that combines talent and technology to reframe the possible in film, content, advertising and immersive experiences. Framestore’s team of over 3,000 storytellers and innovators is united by a mission to bring life to everything they create. Founded in the UK in 1986, Framestore now has homes in New York, LA, Chicago, Montreal, Vancouver, London, Melbourne and Mumbai.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Visual effects champion
What did you want to be after you left school?
I had no idea!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No - I was such a teachers pet :-/
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I would have loved to be a volcanologist!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
REM
What's your favourite food?
Pizza
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To be able to eat whatever I want without having to exercise to stay fit! To never have to worry for money - for me or my family - and to therefore be able to use my time to support good causes. To live in Africa.
Tell us a joke.
What kind of math do birds love? Owl-gebra!
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