Meet the Yardeners – the passionate team at The Yard, who strive every day to nurture the seeds of creativity, transforming them into striking visual effects, fruitful collaborations, and unforgettable stories.
This week, we’re pleased to introduce Antoine Boyer, one of our bright VFX Production Assistants. Antoine joined The Yard a year ago for his first professional experience and quickly found his place at the core of our production team. In this interview, he shares his journey into VFX, the challenges of getting started, and what he’s learned from working on diverse and dynamic projects.
Hello Antoine ! Could you please explain your role at The Yard ?
Hi everyone ! My role as a Production Assistant at The Yard is truly multifaceted. I support the production team on a daily basis—taking notes during meetings related to the project I am assigned to, preparing the content for reviews or any supporting documents, and helping to communicate information across departments. That’s only part of it ! Everything that comes in or out of a project passes through me, whether it’s from clients or external vendors. This means the role requires strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to react quickly to help keep things on track, especially when timelines get tight.
The Production Assistant also needs to have a solid understanding of the production software used in the studio — in our case, ShotGrid — as they’re often responsible for making a large number of media files and playlists available or passing them along through the tool. So, knowing a few handy tips and tricks to make things easier is definitely recommended!
If I had to sum it up, I’d say the Production Assistant is first and foremost a support role — one that’s essential to keeping a project running smoothly and involves working closely with many different people across the studio, from producers and supervisors to IT. It’s a vital position for ensuring daily production flow.
What do you find great about your department ?
The production department feels like its own world within the studio. While we’re at the heart of the creative process, we’re not directly involved in creating the content. Our main focus is fostering collaboration, whether that’s with the supervision teams or among production members. What I really love is this blend of creative insight and project management. Being part of a project from its earliest days all the way through to final delivery, alongside many departments and artists, is incredibly rewarding.
To make this work, we don’t hesitate to support each other or share solutions to challenges that some of us have faced before. It’s this true team spirit that I really appreciate at The Yard—the sense that we’re all moving forward together toward a successful, finished project.
What were the key challenges you faced on starting your career ?
At the start of my career, I faced several key challenges. The first was landing my first job, which turned out to be particularly difficult — especially during a period marked by the writers’ strike in the U.S., which stalled much of the industry and slowed down hiring.
To stay active during that somewhat discouraging time, I kept a steady work routine, splitting my days between outreach and training on ShotGrid. This helped me strengthen my skills and better position myself. Looking back, that phase was essential in shaping my approach — it taught me the importance of having a clear strategy and direction when entering the professional world.
Once I joined The Yard, coming from a general academic background without formal training in VFX, animation, or 3D, I had to learn a whole new set of terms and workflows very quickly. The first few weeks were intense — getting up to speed with my responsibilities while absorbing a new vocabulary kept my days full. And of course, production doesn’t slow down for newcomers. Fortunately, I was well supported and trained from the start by the studio’s VFX production team and all the department supervisors I interacted with on my initial production. This allowed me to quickly gain confidence and perform my role efficiently and calmly.
Since you’ve joined the Yard, you’ve worked on different projects. Could you tell us a bit more about the experience you’ve gained so far ?
When I joined The Yard, I started on Étoile, a series produced by Amazon Prime. It was a particularly exciting project, as it involved a heavy dose of FX work — especially a sequence set on a boat in the middle of a storm.
We had to recreate the ocean’s complex dynamics, weather effects, and CG ships, all while integrating them seamlessly into a continuous live-action shot. On the production side, that meant meticulous tracking of each artist’s work, since even the smallest miscommunication in scenes like these can cost time and money.
At the same time, I also had the chance to contribute to three other productions — some of which are still in progress and under NDA. Managing that many projects simultaneously required strong organizational and communication skills, as well as a high level of adaptability. It was definitely an intense period, but a rewarding one. I came out of it with much more confidence in my abilities, the quality of my work, and my capacity to manage pressure across multiple productions.
Lastly, my time at The Yard has allowed me to develop my skills through constant discussions with artists, supervisors, producers, developers, and more. Whether technical or casual, these daily interactions really strengthen team cohesion — and make the experience all the more enjoyable and enriching.
How do you see your job evolving in the future ?
Looking ahead, I see myself gaining more experience in production and evolving into a Production Coordinator role, where I can take on more responsibilities and have a broader impact on the production process.
I’d also love to gain international experience to discover new ways of working and grow within a different creative environment, potentially by seizing the chance to evolve within The Yard in London ! At the same time, I’m eager to keep working on ambitious, high-end VFX projects that are both creatively and technically challenging.
Each new step is an opportunity to grow, both personally and professionally, and I’m excited to see where this path takes me.
Any advice you’d give someone interested in VFX production for their career ?
I am still early in my career, so I won’t pretend to have endless advice but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my journey, especially in VFX, it’s the importance of having a goal. Whether it’s a specific type of project you want to work on, a company, a role, or even a country you dream of living in, having a clear direction—or at least thinking seriously about one—makes all the difference. Pair that goal with a plan, or even just an idea of the path to get there. Look to others who’ve taken similar steps, or define your own way forward. Once you have that vision, motivation tends to follow naturally.
Also, don’t hesitate to reach out to people whether you’re looking for a job or just some guidance. Grow your network as much as possible. And broaden your skill set too. Sometimes, abilities that seem unrelated to your core focus can be the very ones that open the right doors.
