[FRAMED] VFX Editor, Richard Lukacs, Vancouver

If you could travel back in time, which film, TV series, advert, or immersive project would you love to have worked on?

Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula. It’s not one of my favourite films, but it has some of my favourite visual effects and I would have really enjoyed seeing that crazy world coming alive.

Which Framestore character do you feel you’re most like?

I’d like to think it’s some badass superhero, but in reality, it might be one of the CG crowd guys, enjoying the show in that recent Elvis movie… I go to a lot of concerts haha.

What fictional world or place would you like to visit?

Summerisle from the original Wicker Man.

Your career highlight to date:

My current show - Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Tim Burton is a childhood hero of mine, and the team is a dream!

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in VFX?

It was a happy accident. I couldn’t find any narrative editorial gigs, then I got this job and quickly realised that I’m working with the nicest and most supportive people in the industry. I have never looked elsewhere since!

The DREAM project would entail:

A great director with an original vision, preferably in a stylized historical setting. Something like The Northman, The Tragedy of Macbeth or Poor Things.

How do you explain what you do to someone who doesn’t work in VFX?

You can’t explain magic!

What does the day in the life of a VFX Editor look like?

Looking at the work of world-class artists all day long. Best job ever!

Framestore is, to you, in three words:

Friendly, innovative people.

Best thing about your work environment?

When working from home, it’s my cat and record player. When working in the office, it’s the team of good friends!

Framestore is great at:

Delivering outstanding work while maintaining a positive environment.

Favourite artform?

Music, with music/concert photography being the aspect I enjoy practising the most.

Favourite image?

I like Deryk Thomas, an illustrator whose images are usually very bright and playful, but with a disturbing twist. My favourite is the artwork he painted for the Swans album “White Light from the Mouth of Infinity”. A little rabbit dressed up as a schoolboy, standing in a red puddle, holding a carrot like a knife. It’s wonderfully confusing; I could look at it for hours.

What’s your favourite movie/ series/ advert/ immersive experience and why?

A Japanese movie from 1962 called Harakiri. It has an incredibly unique script and structure, brilliant direction and cinematography, stunning costumes, a fantastic score… Feels like every single person working on that film was at the height of their powers and went the extra mile. I find it very inspiring.

What is the last piece of art (e.g. music, film, TV, writing etc.) that inspired you?

I appreciate originality more than technical perfection and recently found a noisy Swedish jazz-punk band called Slutavverkning. Extremely rough around the edges, but they sound like nothing else I have ever heard. I was so impressed by their demos that I got in touch and asked them to let me know if they needed help with anything. It turned out that they already recorded their debut album, but it proved to be too wild and far-out for most record labels. So I set up my own bedroom label and ended up releasing the album. Pressing vinyl, designing t-shirts and tour posters, making music videos, doing PR and promotional work… Most of this was completely new for me, but the adventurous approach of the music inspired me to welcome new challenges.

How do you unlock your creativity?

The only thing that can block my creativity is knowing at the start of a creative task, that I won’t have enough time to make the most out of it. So I’d say time is the key!

From where do you seek inspiration?

For music, I seek inspiration from movies. For visual projects, it’s the other way around.

What tech/innovation could you not live without?

Vinyl records.

What tech/innovation deserves the hype?

Vinyl records.

What tech do you need that hasn’t been invented yet?

Small and affordable vinyl record pressing machines.

Richard Lukacs you’ve been [FRAMED].