Understanding The Art and Business: What Life Is Like As The VFX producer, A Founder’s Story with Marina Burova

Marina Burova is a VFX Producer and Co-pilot of InSoul Effects. With a technical background and analytical mind, Marina has always wanted to organize events in the art industry. At the same time, she did not want to choose unambiguously and engage only in the organization of creative events or technical tasks. She found a combination of these areas in VFX production, and her entire career has been a path to this area and her own VFX boutique InSoul Effects.

Tell us about your childhood and where you grew up

My childhood was marked by diversity, having been born in Germany and raised in a small village near Moscow. Despite the frequent movements from one city to another, this small village holds a special place in my heart as it was where I spent my childhood, attended primary and art schools, and took dance and art lessons. I recall an authentic House of Culture with squeaky parquet floors still lingering in my memory. It was my favorite place and offered ballet, acting, and music classes, the latter closest to my heart. The town was typical, with old houses near a dark forest that holds all my happy memories. At 11, my family relocated to Moscow, the district was near a massive enchanted forest. Sadly, there was no the same House of Culture in the area. Yet, I made a few close friends who remain dear to me. Even though different parts of the world separate us, we still make an effort to call each other every two weeks, despite a 13-hour difference. During summer holidays, I often visited my grandparents’ village, which had only one old movie theater serving the entire community. I vividly remember seeing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with my brother, and I still have the ticket saved somewhere. I was captivated by the intersection of art and technology, leading me to pursue further education. This fascination continues to drive me in my career and personal interests. At graduation, I struggled with conflicting career interests. On the one hand, I had a passion for complex technical subjects and the potential to contribute to creating robots like Asimo. On the other hand, I was drawn to the art-related industry, including stage work, concert shows, and behind-the-scenes work. As I couldn’t find a university specializing in the latter, I chose to study robotics at Bauman Moscow State Technical University. I enrolled in a program without exams, but it was not my ideal choice. I longed for a more creative education. I was captivated by concerts and shows, which led me to change my major. I switched to the Economics and Organization of Knowledge-Intensive Production Department, which didn’t require daily programming, but suited my interests. And during my senior year, I joined a New York Film Academy weekend workshop, which turned my world upside down. I remember going to the first class early in the morning on Monday. By some unbelievable coincidence, none of my classmates came to that class, so I and my professor, who was also teaching at VGIK (Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography), talked for two hours about cinema. Most of all, I was fascinated by the fact that there are also complex technical and technological processes in movie-making, like animatronics, gimbals, and decorations. All this brings forth a picture of beauty and gives an unforgettable emotional impact on the viewer. After graduating from Baumanka, I applied to VGIK to study Film Production and learned more about visual effects – a mastery that allows you to break borders and create alternate realities.

How did you get started as an entrepreneur?

After graduating from university, I was eager to test all the methods and schemes I had learned on the ground. I had fun with advanced Excel formulas on my first project, trying to build an automatic cost accounting system. Then it gradually turned into an interest to build the same system for the studio level, which would cover all the projects based on the data from all the departments, various economic indicators, and graphs. This system would help in making more accurate and well-thought-out management decisions. It ended up being a multi-table system that stumbled on the limits of Excel. At the beginning of 2021, when I was finishing my first warmly loved AmalgamaVFX studio Kseniia (at that time, we had been working together for 2.5 years) came with a burning heart and the idea to gather her small but mighty team. We were fortunate that many excellent and experienced colleagues supported our view, so their support was the starting point for me to try myself here. The first vision, the basic principles of work, and how we desired everything to be organized were born in Crete during our vacation. It was a very ensouling process, and that was the very beginning of our InSoul Effects.

What is one business lesson you would tell a startup founder?

I learned various things in my experience, yet I want to highlight three main ones. First, the 2021–2022 years taught me that you should always have a backup plan for yourself and your team and take no more than you can handle Second, the key to success in a team lies in strong bonding and mutual understanding. Effective teamwork requires individuals to have a strong connection and shared spirit. Only with this understanding can goals be achieved. Last but not least, talk to your team and clients when you feel like giving up. It is spectacular how opportunities appear when you say problems out loud. And thank people more often.