Watch: Todd Vaziri breaks down ILM’s excellent visual effects work
by Alex Billington
October 20, 2025
Source: YouTube
“Let’s make it as cool as possible.” While making it as realistic as possible! Every few months there’s a discussion about visual effects and CGI and how Hollywood likes to hide the truth about how a lot the work is present in each film. The most vocal advocate for reminding people about CGI in movies is the social media pundit. Todd Vaziri – who also works for the illustrious ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) in San Francisco. He’s always commenting on Twitter about how visual effects happen, so Vanity Fair made a video in which he discusses his work at the studio. “ILM Compositing Supervisor Todd Vaziri details the methodical approach to groundbreaking creations that redefined the limits of our imagination.” He spends a few minutes on a handful of films to discuss the shots and his work on those shots, as well as how ILM created and finished each of those shots. This is one of the most interesting and comprehensive analyzes that actually shows what Really is getting into VFX shots these days. Todd always said THE Most important aspect to make VFX look legit: composition of the plan. Which he talks about in depth in the video.
Thanks to Twitter for the tip on this video. Original intro via YouTube from Vanity Fair: “Breathtaking innovations in Star Wars trilogy with astonishing images of TransformersIndustrial Light & Magic truly revolutionized visual effects in television and film. ILM composition supervisor Todd Vaziri breaks down [their] approach to groundbreaking creations that have redefined the limits of our imagination.” This video includes details on the visual effects of a few films, including: Gareth Edwards Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2013), Disney+ Star Wars: The Skeleton Crew series (2024), by JJ Abrams Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013), Michael Bay Transformers the films and that of JJ Abrams Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015). For more videos about visual effects work in Hollywood, you can also watch: Last year’s video Why This Looks Like the End of Visual Effects/VFX explains how “no CGI” is really just invisible CGI. You can also follow Todd on Twitter @tvaziri or visit his Linktree for more videos and updates. Any thoughts on ILM’s VFX work?
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