For visual effects artist and aspiring filmmaker, Borja Massa, the world of work has been undergoing a series of intersecting, seismic upheavals for many years now.

“Traditionally, in the VFX medium, the films and TV series I worked on would hire you as a contractor for six months or even a year,“ he tells Camdenist, while showing us around his brand new studio unit.

“However, since Covid - and especially after the Hollywood actors and writers strikes - the industry has been a little down, so those movie jobs tend to last only three to six months.”

Things have changed, and that’s before we come to any mention of the march of Artificial Intelligence. So how has Borja adapted?

“I’ve been broadening my skill set to not only focusing on post production, but also on the production aspect too,” he tells us.

That means setting up his own production company, Vivarium Films, that not only showcases his work on those Hollywood studio blockbusters (things like Disney’s Lion King) and major Netflix movies, but also now produces collaborative short films and bespoke showreels for actors wishing to recreate a big screen feel at affordable rates.

It means that, despite the shifting landscape, far from the industry offering less opportunity, Massa feels it’s still expanding.

“Nowadays the medium is so wide in terms of you can do with YouTube content, but it has to be high quality to cut through, and the same goes for social media, too. It's a constant evolution.”

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He’s bullish towards AI, stating that even the VFX houses that have invested a lot of R&D into the technology are still not yet seeing reliable results demanded by high end films and TV series.

“Obviously, it has its its own place, particular where speed is required like for social media, however I’m actually more worried about the environmental aspect of the huge electricity and water resource impacts.”

He’s invested a lot of his own resources into setting up alone, with Islington’s new Tradestars providing what seems like the ideal base for a future that will require further pivots and adaptations as media and technology continue to develop.

“I used to work in Soho and hop around companies depending on the contract,” he remembers. “But after Covid, there was always more of a hybrid aspect to this work. My partner and I have a small apartment, so I didn’t really have the space to do more working from home, so once I started getting into my own production too, I decided to expand here.

Other workspaces I saw felt a lot more corporate, boring and grey, which is not for me. I wanted a more creative space where I can decorate it how I want, have a true sense of community and to build a network. And it's been really nice to be getting away from home again rather than, you know, the habit of working in PJs throughout the whole day.

Find our more about Borja’s services and showreels at vivariumfilms.co.uk