What is an FX Coordinator & What’s Their Role on the Film Set?
The FX Coordinator, also known as the special effects coordinator or the effects director is responsible for coordinating the information, paperwork and resources needed to produce special effects for the production. This individual works with various other department heads to ensure that effects are coordinated in a way that stays within the budget and schedule appropriate to the film production.
FX coordinators work with producers and artists to ensure that all shots are appropriate tracked and delivered to the team in a manner that will achieve target objectives and milestones. This role is highly cross-functional and requires a self-starter with strong communication skills and the ability to work well under pressure.
The special effects coordinator must be organized and have a positive attitude. They will work throughout the latter half of the production to ensure shots are appropriately aligned for later editing and addition of visual effects. This individual will often work on location or on the set, so the ability to travel is also a must.
FX Coordinator Responsibilities
What is an FX Coordinator’s responsibilities? The overall responsibilities of the FX coordinator will vary with each production. Generally, they are responsible for scheduling and prioritizing the special effects which includes internally tracking the technical requirements and adjustments that must be made in order for all effects to come together in the post-production editing phase.
Special effects coordinators organize project meetings and dailies to ensure the crew is on track and understands what is expected of them. They may setup media for cinesync or client review sessions to ensure the production is meeting the visual standards of the client. They also ensure that project management tools and tasks are kept up to date as the production progresses through various stages and special effects are utilized.
The FX coordinator is responsible for following project scope and ensuring that status and completion information remains up to date. They must document any decisions or requests that are made during production, especially those that are not included in the script or brief.
Requirements
This role requires very close attention to detail. The individual must be able to coordinate multiple projects efficiently without interruption. The FX coordinator packages shots for deliver and submission with documentation therefore he or she must be fluent in the ability to properly record all shot notes from clients, dailies, rounds, cinesyncs, and others involved.
Quality control is a major part of the FX coordinators role. Therefore the individual that takes on this role should be prepared to follow detailed instructions to specification with minimal oversight.
FX Coordinator Skills
FX Coordinators have several skills that help them to perform their duties in a fast paced, production environment. They are highly organized and independent. They are able to schedule several projects and understand task management and time management. Visual effects coordinators often liaise with clients, artists and producers so they must show empathy while being easy to communicate with.
Additional skills include:
- Software knowledge for scheduling.
- Ability to work well with others.
- Demonstrated project management skills.
- Ability to work in fast paced environment.
- Working knowlege of various programs used to coordinate scheduling, budget, tasks and other production procedures.
- Understanding of various visual effects processes.
- Ability to work Shotgun.
- Close attention to detail.
- Ability to conversate with others on visual effects and processes in layman’s terms.
- Proactive ability to recognize problems and take action to correct with little oversight.
The Crew Film Crafts uploaded a video on the entire FX department. This video will give you an idea as to who the FX Coordinator works with and supervises:
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