We’ve all been there. Last-minute travel, cramped flights, Uber rides stuck in traffic — you name it. In the professional world, this is just a small nuisance for some. You can still check your email, undergo simple tasks, and generally keep connected to most fields of work. 

For VFX artists, however, whose lifeblood is the system on which they work, travel can be a hard roadblock for progress. With a nice portable monitor, shoving your desktop in a suitcase or a pelican can be a viable option, but it’s simply not practical for most. Whether you’re surfing on couches or with family over Holiday, these three tips can help you stay at least a little bit productive while on the go as a VFX artist.

Laptops have become more and more powerful every year, and for many in less tech-demanding fields, a trusty Macbook is all it takes to do a rockstar job. For compositors, animators, modelers, and more, however, it’s essential to know the boundaries of your machine and prepare to work lightweight. 

Some programs make this simple. In After Effects, which can be perfectly viable on a laptop, it’s clear what is going to leave you waiting on your cache while your laptop sounds like it’s going to blast off. This is where the planning comes in: it can be crucial to reconsider the priority of your shots based on your constraints. If you know you’ll be away for the weekend, it might be best to save some roto for the road. 

For Nuke users, The Foundry has a great solution: Nuke Assist. Nuke Assist is a great option for lightweight work on a laptop. It’s a slimmed-down version of Nuke with all the limited features you’ll need for busy work on the go, from roto to paint, among other basic compositing tools.

Remote desktop is pretty much never a perfect solution, but in a pinch can be the biggest lifesaver of all time. Though I’ve done it before myself, making meaningful progress on a project is not usually possible and never efficient through remote desktop. What remote desktop can do, however, is completely save you through any last-minute tasks and fixes. 

If you need to do a quick re-render, left a file on your hard drive, or even need to make small changes to things such as a comp or model, a remote desktop can save the day in an otherwise nightmarish situation. One of the best options is to sleep your computer and allow remote wakeup access for a just-in-case (as long as you have good security, I should add).

One of the best parts of being an artist of any kind is you’ll rarely find yourself in a spot where you can’t make “progress” through planning. Oftentimes, this is the force that can get you out of a rut and freshen your eyes. When you’re away from home or the office, maybe even on a quick trip to the coffee shop, consider creative ways you can outline and reconsider your work.

In my experience with compositing, this comes through at two levels: technical and artistic. On the artistic level, I find it crucial to see with my own eyes to replicate it on the screen, especially when going for photorealism.

For example: while working on a film with a liftoff sequence, one of the most valuable periods of post-production was during a sudden stint of travel. It allowed me to look out of plane windows and even capture some reference footage on my phone.

On the technical level, there are always ways to consider your approach to certain effects. You can watch tutorials, read books and blogs, or start collecting assets for your next shot. I’m often shocked by how much time away from working on a shot helps my process in the end. There’s always more to plan and refine. 

For modeling and CG work, this process is similar. Take photos of interesting materials you see while traveling, sketch plans for your next model, and take in the world around you and apply it to your work. 

Though many consider having an eye a talent, it’s something you have to develop as well. This is how you can stay productive all the time as a creative.

For many of us who are natural procrastinators, “worst thing, first thing” is a terrible motto to even consider. However, you will do yourself a world of favors by facing your least favorite task first and getting it out of the way to speed you closer to the things you like doing. Need I mention having to do the thing you like least while away from the comfort of your full setup?

If roto-scoping is something you just absolutely hate, then perfect! Give that a tackle first, and everything else will be downhill and enjoyable. That way, when your work or personal life takes you away from the desk, you won’t dread having to hop in to make a quick adjustment.

Staring at a computer screen for hours on end is both unhealthy and unproductive. Take the time to stand up, walk around, take a jog, or read a book. It is important, no matter what area of the industry you are in, to take breaks that allow your mind to rest. 

You will receive a renewed vision and sense of creativity by pulling away from your art and revisiting it with a clear head. You may see where this is going, but it also helps to minimize the need to work on the go and promotes a healthy work-life balance.

Setting deadlines for yourself will help you stay focused on a single project or concept and help you to call it quits when your deadline approaches.

If you work in a studio this may seem like a skippable step because you already have deadlines in place for you, but consider setting personal deadlines a bit sooner than required.

This will give you time to make final adjustments and modifications before sending it off to be critiqued and may cut down on the need to work on the go.

We can’t talk about productivity on the go while ignoring our home base. When you finally have time to stay in your own creative workspace at home or work, you want it to be clutter-free with all the gear you may have. Science says so, not ActionVFX!

Having an organized and clutter-free workspace can not only help you be more productive, but it can also help you save time and feel positive about your work. If you're on the production and/or post-production side, chances are you've got a lot of gear and no matter how much space you have, it can often feel like there's never enough!

Batteries are often a necessary evil when it comes to video production. You probably have at least a few batteries for your camera, batteries for lights, power banks that need charging, rechargeable AA batteries, and more. If you don't have a dedicated studio or storage closet, one of the greatest sources of office clutter can be batteries, chargers, and power cables.

This video shows how you can build a hyper-organized station for charging your equipment.

Luckily, almost all the latest video gear supports USB-C, which can make things a lot less complicated. You can eliminate a lot of separate USB charging bricks, and free up outlet space by picking up a compatible USB charging hub.   

In addition, you can research which of your devices support fast charging, and opt for chargers that can fill your batteries much more rapidly.  

If you're running a lot of v-mount or other large battery types, you may need to get a little creative to accommodate the extra size and weight. At the end of the day, the main goal is just to have a designated office area to handle all your charging needs.

Maybe you are severely limited on square footage, and there's just no way you can dedicate a large desk, table, or closet to your gear.  

A three-tiered utility cart is surprisingly perfect for storing most modern camera gear and smaller batteries and provides an excellent mobile solution if you tend to shoot in a room near your home office. When it comes to both affordability and versatility, you really can't find a better option than a utility cart!

The cart in this video makes excellent use of not only the space inside, but also exterior space on the cart with simple but very effective velcro storage.

Another great solution for home office organization is utilizing mobile gear storage. From pouches to cases and large bags, there is a huge range of options for storing your gear.

The nice thing about having mobile storage is, of course, the fact that it's always ready to go whenever it's time for a shoot. Plus, it can help de-clutter gear from your home office.

Using clear make-up pouches from Amazon is a great tip shared in the video, because it's cheap, and makes it incredibly easy to find whatever you're looking for.

If you shoot with a cinema camera rig, you know how easy it is to find yourself surrounded by gear when it's all disassembled. Tenba's Cineluxe doctor-style bags are a great option for larger setups that allow you to keep your camera rig assembly intact, while also keeping your gear out of the way when you're not on set.

There are a million ways to stay organized, from carts, shelves, and bags, to 3D-printed items for cable management and SD cardholders. We'd love to hear your tips for staying organized in the comments below!

There are a TON of ideas that can inspire creative organization, here's one last video on camera gear storage hacks!

There are a million ways to stay organized, from carts, shelves, and bags, to 3D-printed items for cable management and SD cardholders. We'd love to hear your tips for staying organized in the comments below!

All that to say: Stay productive on the go, and stay organized in your workspace!

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