I started working on 'Planet 51'
'Happy Feet 2'
And 'World War Z', the one with zombies
I worked on 'The Hobbit' Trilogy
'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'
'Man Of Steel'
'Alice Through the Looking Glass'
And now that I'm working on 'Guardians of the Galaxy'
And 'Justice League'
13... 14 I think it is
My name is Carolina Jiménez García
I live in Vancouver, Canada
And I'm a VFX artist
First question. How would you define Carol, in general?
Carol has always been a very stubborn person
I would define Carol as a fighter
When she wanted something
Even if she had to do many things
She always went for it and got it
So I think she is very persistent
She has a very liberal and rebel character
A person with big greams and that, little by little, she is getting there
That's what defines her personality
It's impossible to talk about Carolina Jiménez without talking about a person who has achieved her dreams
She doesn't consider herself as someone special, just a person that works for what she wants
Always thinking big
Maybe that's why so many people around the world appreciates her
Maybe that's what inspires others
She is Carolina Jiménez
And this is her story
I wake up in the moring. Not too early. I have breakfast at home with my boy
I go to the studio. Right now I am working on one called 'Scanline'
I walk
I make my coffee right after I arrive, I work on my shots, go to the dailies meetings
with my supervisors and mates
At midafternoon I come back home
And I still have time to walk, workout... or other hobbies
A normal day
When I think about her, I think of all the movies she has done
Specially the movies. 'The Hobbit' movies, for instance
Her professional career which is impressive
I have always liked movies
Since I was a kid I've been a fan of films, fantasy and science fiction films
It wasn't what I thought I was going to end up doing because I started studying Architecture
When she decided to give up Architecture because it wasn't what she wanted to do
But she knew she was creative, had good perspective vision and good hand for drawing
She left Architecture and she started searching
She found what she wanted in cinematography
She said: "this is what I want to do". And went for it
And, almost without wanting, my career has taken me to different countries, all of them wonderful
Where I had the opportunity to work with people from all around the globe
She didn't really had to leave because she had a job here
Fortunately, what she studied gave her a lot of opportunities
and not many people was prepared on this field. So she had jobs here
But, of course, when she entered this industry because that's what she wanted
There was no coming back, that's what she wanted to do
It didn't surprise me. Not only I liked the idea but I loved it
There was no other way in my case because the cinema I wanted to do was not being made in Spain
From the beginning I knew this was gonna take me out of Spain
I didn't know how far. It turned out to be really far and to many different places
I think she is very lucky because, thank to her job, she can work on a film here in Spain
or in London where she worked a few years ago
So I think it's a very good opportunity for her
I knew she was going to be jumping from here to there, and that was going to make a fantastic CV
I feel very lucky because there are not many jobs that can take you to see the world
See wonderful things, meet wonderful people and still be working on what you love
And every time she changes jobs, I know that in her profession she has to change
because all the projects you do in this world are specific
So a project starts and finishes, and she knows that when it finishes,
the company may not need her until the next project so everyone has to find their way
How much that enriches her, I think that's really important for her
And I also think: "Another reason to go visit her to the other side of the planet"
And everywhere she goes, if I can, I go
I think that's one of the best things about this job
I started working on 'Planet 51'
The Spanish animation movie
In the Spanish animation studio 'ILION', in Madrid
I started in animation, which I liked a lot because I've always been a fan of Pixar
And that was my first experience on the big screen
After that, I went to Australia to work on 'Happy Feet 2'
The second installment of the penguins
After that, I went to London. I left animation and I started in the VFX world
I worked on 'Prometheus'
And 'World War Z', the one with the zombies
After that, I went to New Zealand to work in 'The Hobbit' trilogy
I worked on all three Hobbit films, 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' and 'Man Of Steel'
After that, I came to Vancouver, in Canada
And here I've worked on 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'
on 'The Huntsman'
on 'Star Trek'
The last that came out, 'Star Trek: Beyond'
And now that I am working on 'Guardians of the Galaxy'
And 'Justice League'
13... 14 I think it is
But even after living this incredible experience
There has also beeing really tough moments in her career
One of them happened right after she started
And it had to with one of the biggest companies on the industry
It's funny you mention Dreamworks because it was a bump in my beginnings
When I finished my studies, the first thing that I did,
so excited thinking I was going to work on movies right after school,
was to send my CV and reel to all the studios in the world
And I was lucky that Dreamworks responded
It was the big, fantastic surprise
after she sent thousands of CV. I say "thousands" but it was literally thousands of them
to all the film companies to find her way
And, for sure, Dreamworks was one of her ideal companies
The thing is that I didn't have enough professional experience
So that the USA, where Dreamworks is based,
could give me a work visa
So after having Dreamworks being interested in me,
after doing the interview, after going beyond that
The interview was tough. Four hours via videoconference
And being almost convinced that I was going to make it, that I was going to cross the ocean easily
It finally didn't work out
And that was a difficult situation
But, as always, Carolina the persistant didn't stop there
And she sent another fifty thousand CV to the rest of the world until she made it
I had it this close, I could almost touch it and then I lost it
And I had to wait a couple more years until the next opportinity to leave Spain came
It did came eventually, but at that moment it was very hard
I thought it was going to be almost impossible
She is very positive.
When a new door opens, she finds ways out and never stops until she gets it
You have to fight for what you want to do
The dreams you have or whatever it is you want to do are not going to knock on your door just because
You have to fight, be helped by others, you have to ask for help, work hard... This things take time
I didn't start working on my actual job right after school
I had to work for other companies, in jobs I didn't like as much
I had to send CV thousands of times to thousands of places until someone listened to me
until someone gave me an opportunity
That's why I say you don't make it really far with shy
You have to get out there, fight, work hard, being constant and pacient
Because this doesn't happen at first try. Many times not even at second or tenth try
Never give up and make sure you enjoy the ride, do not be obsessed with the goal
Every story, in any aspect of life, has an inflection point. Something different and unexpected
that changes everything
Hers has something to do with a movie trilogy
Just look at her face when she remembers it
'The Lord of the Rings' was the beginning of a great journey
Even before she started studying 3D, she was determined to get all the dialogue
in English from 'The Lord of the Rings' books because she adored the way Tolkien wrote
Let's say I decided to do what I do when I saw, not only the first movie of the trilogy,
But the documentaries of the extended versions where you can see
how the movies where made, who made them, with all that passion
That's when I realized I could make movies. That there were people like me, from all around the world,
making movies behind the computer screen, which is what I liked
She started to see that it could be done, that it was posible. So she said: "This is what I want to do"
Cinema like in 'The Lord of the Rings'
That's when I decided to drop out of Architecture, and try to make a living out of making movies
So she started studying the technology used to make 'The Lord of the Rings' films
It was something impossible for me. Those things you think they are made in other countries
Made by other people with different talents and careers
That was the change for me
This is the beautiful Wellington, in New Zealand
Weta Digital is based here, a visual effect company that has collaborated in big movies like
'Avatar', 'Planet of the Apes', 'X-Men: First Class', 'The Adventures of Tintin', 'The Hobbit'
and 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy
On top of this, working there was Carol's dream
I was in London, I had been there like 3 months working on 'Prometheus'
As I used to do, since my dream was to work at Weta, which was the highest peak for me
Every time I updated my reel or CV, I would write them
I had been doing this for a long time, trying to draw their attention and letting them know I existed
Once again in my life
And this time they responded. I was caught totally by surprise. I was in London, at night
I opened my mail and couldn't believe it. Weta responded to the e-mail I sent them
and they wanted to interview me
At first I felt a great joy, because they finally responded. But after that I was really scared
Because of the presure of the interview, I wanted to do well and that could be really important for my future
But it meant everything to me because it was my dream
She has always liked 'The Lord of the Rings' a lot. So when she worked on 'The Hobbit' trilogy
it was a challenge that she did overcome
That's a great question because having and chasing a dream is something beautiful and really hard
When you achieve it, it is wonderful. But it's a two-sided coin
The other side is that, when you achieve it, the dream is over
Dreams break when you achieve them
So, in a way, it was the end of my dream
It wasn't the end of working at Weta, but arriving there. Because I worked with them for three years
It comes a point when it becomes a routine. You go to work at Weta everyday
And you work not in 1, not in 2, but in all 3 Hobbit films
It comes a point when it becomes a routine, something normal. And dreams are not something normal
So yeah, it was the end of a dream
That's why I always say that the dream must never be a goal. The dream has to be the journey
I fell into that trap because I had a dream I thought it was unreachable and I recached it
So I had to rebuild my dreams, enjoy that I reached an impossible dream
and learn how to create new dreams
I have achieved a lot
I sometines have the feeling that I have lived so many experiences
And sometimes I feel this is just the beginning
It's been an interesting journey, it's been hard at times, it's been very funny at times too
But this is just the start
And after learning how to enjoy what I have achieved
now it's time to look ahead and let's see what the future holds
Do you think she will come back to Spain?
Maybe in the future, probably, but I'm not sure
You have to left family and friends behind. They are what I miss the most
She is living in an ideal country and city. Great quality of life, great job opportunities, personal growth...
So I think that, when they get the permanent residence, she will stay there for a long time
For someone who likes their job, it would be easy to keep learning, getting better everyday
Keep learning everyday. I learn every single day
And I think that's the most important thing. Enjoy what you do, get better
and know that you learn everyday, you never stop learning
My job is really fun. I make movies, I make something I love to do
I feel very lucky that I get to do what I love
It's not a really important job, but it's everything to me
And I'm still excited every time I see my name on screen.
I hope to never lose that excitement and get emotional every time I see it
I think a person can inspire others if they talk with freedom and passion about what they like to do
She is like that, very communicative
She is realizing that if she shows that what she does is possible
People who follow her can see that they can do it too
You will always find people who like to do the same things
So when you speak out loud, with passion and joy, you will infect others as well
And they will see something that they can do too
It's a matter of persistence, study. She is doing nothing but responding to what other people has done for her
I would be very proud if one day I inspire like others inspired me
My advice is: You don't build once what you are going to be for the rest of your life
You build yourself every single day of your life
Do what you love, give everything you have, find help in those who know more than you,
help those who know less than you. And do not be obsessed with the goal, enjoy the ride
because life is changing every day
She has to do what she's been doing. Fighting for what she wants, her dreams, never give up
That's what she has shown me. The persistence, the willing to improve
She shows that in her work. I'm very proud of her, hope she keeps going like this.
My goal right now is to not have dreams
Enjoy the dream I achieved, learn to overcome an achieved dream, which is not that easy
Look forward, get better everyday as a professional, maybe be a supervisor one day, maybe teach what I know
And enjoy what I do every day
A FILM BY JAVIER ALEGRE
AN A-LAND STUDIOS PRODUCTION
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