‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Effects Guru Talks Pretend VFX and the AI “Tsunami Wave”

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Jeff Desom, a writer, director, and visual effects artist, is renowned for his work on the VFX in Daniels’ Academy Award-winning film, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Balancing his time between Los Angeles and Luxembourg, he skillfully blends live-action footage, found material, and digital manipulations.

Presently, Desom is in his homeland, serving as part of Mohammad Rasoulof’s jury for the 15th edition of the Luxembourg City Film Festival. He is joined by esteemed colleagues such as screenwriter Paul Laverty and Danish actress Trine Dyrholm.

Or, more informally:

Desom is currently representing his home country as a juror in the 15th edition of the Luxembourg City Film Festival, alongside fellow jury members like screenwriter Paul Laverty and Danish actress Trine Dyrholm.

Experiencing the phenomenal success of ‘Everything Everywhere’, featuring Michelle Yeoh, drastically reshaped my professional journey. During a chat with The Hollywood Reporter at a film festival, I shared that visual effects weren’t my primary focus. I was more into directing and scriptwriting, considering visual effects as a tool rather than an art form. I used to handle it for my own projects but had never done it for someone else’s until the Daniels approached me. We have been friends for years, and I had dabbled in visual effects for their music videos before, but ‘Everything Everywhere’ was the first time I took on such a role for one of their full-length productions.

The Daniels gathered a custom-made Visual Effects (VFX) crew. As Desom recounted, they approached Zak Stoltz, visual effects supervisor, along with Ben Brewer and Ethan Feldbau, who were also directors prior and formed the main team. They posed the question: “Would you prefer to handle the VFX instead of outsourcing it to a large company?” There are numerous such companies with vast armies of VFX artists, but they had previously used this method, and while the outcome was acceptable, they felt a lack of personal interaction.

The complexity and novelty of the film required considerable effort and fresh methods, as one expert put it with a smile, “It involved 500 shots and only four people – figure that out for yourself.” “Given that you’ve watched the movie, you can see how many scenes there are, and nothing is simple. Everyone recognized it was an extraordinary film. I recall the first rough cut I saw. Before that, I hadn’t worked on a movie so ambitious in concepts and production, which made it quite intimidating. However, we could not have imagined then how far the film would reach.

The movie’s success led to numerous job offers and demands, and Desom shared with THR that directing is still a possibility, along with his love for writing and completing projects. In the interim, he has directed some music videos. However, due to the influx of work following the movie’s success, they decided to consolidate all requests and selectively choose what to work on. As a result, they established Pretend VFX, focusing on identifying their interests and taking on projects they are capable of handling. Since then, they have been incredibly busy, with two features already in progress this year, although he is currently unable to disclose specifics about these projects.

In today’s world, particularly in Hollywood and beyond, artificial intelligence is a highly debated topic. So, what does Desom think about AI? In the field of Visual Effects (VFX), he stated that currently, the traditional workflow remains the most reliable and trusted. He explained that this process involves many revisions based on specific director’s demands, and at present, AI isn’t advanced enough to handle such nuances effectively. However, he foresees a future where AI will become more prevalent in VFX, predicting it like an approaching tsunami wave.

The expert went on to say: “Things will shift in the near future, and it’s challenging to foresee exactly how. At present, it’s difficult to pinpoint where we should concentrate our efforts because AI isn’t merely transforming visual effects; it’s reshaping roles such as the cameraman, director, and many others. This technological advancement is poised to impact all aspects of the process, potentially making some tasks obsolete. It’s fascinating to observe what AI can streamline, particularly tedious, time-consuming tasks that lack creativity. Ideally, AI would serve as a useful tool in such scenarios.

As a gamer, I’ve pondered about this as well. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows when it comes to AI in creativity. The question arises: How much of our own work could be superseded by technology that learns from our creations? That feels a bit uncomfortable. When the line is blurred between using AI to produce something that’s the end result, and I can’t trace its origins – Is it ethically sound? Am I the rightful owner of the outcome? These are valid concerns that need to be addressed as we delve deeper into AI-generated content.

Desom’s point can be rephrased as: “While AI is widely admired as a tool, it requires a thoughtful approach. In essence, you could unwittingly be involved in an unethical act, similar to robbing a bank. If such actions were taken by humans against each other, they would be considered wrong.

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2025-03-13 15:54