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REALTIMERS: Cristina Bidiu, UE4 Auto Artist

If there’s one thing we love more than VFX, it’s our team. In our new series, REALTIMERS, we are showcasing the people behind the pixels to see what makes them tick. 

This month it’s Cristina, our UE4 Auto Artist, who loves Rick and Morty and became obsessed with the world of CGI in high school. 

Name & job title:  

Cristina Bidiu, UE4 Artist 

So, where do you fit in?  

I learned to be more of a generalist over the years, but I do have a soft spot for beautiful environments and automotive. 

How did you get your start in the industry? 

I came across the CGI industry for the first time when I was in high school, and I was mesmerised by it. It took me 8 years from that realisation to actually become a CGI Artist, but I can say it was worth it. I do love what I do. 

Your superpower?  

I never give up! 

What inspires you on the day-to-day? 

Being alive – I try to let myself be inspired every day by simple things, like the smell of winter when you open the window. 

Your desert island luxury: 

Rick and Morty and My Little Pony! 

Your soundtrack: 

Instrumental music. 

If you could work with anyone, who? 

I would have liked to work with the American astronomer Carl Sagan, and make beautiful CGI for Cosmos. 

If not this, then what?  

A teacher, probably. 

Why REALTIME? 

I like REALTIME because they treat me like a human and not a resource. REALTIME fulfils all my needs. 

People would be surprised that…  

I did bodybuilding in my youth! Haha. 

Advice you’d give yourself if you were just starting out? 

Be patient and keep going. You’ll get there. 

 

REALTIME conjures VFX magic for the final season of Sky’s A Discovery of Witches

“Collaborating with series VFX Supervisor Neil Riley and the team at Bad Wolf, this season brought us a whole new set of magic spells to visualise, from concepts and storyboards to intricate FX work.” (Jonathan Rawlinson, Executive Producer)

We were honoured to re-join Bad Wolf for the third season of Sky TV’s A Discovery of Witches, helping to bring to life magic performed by Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer).

Following several sequences crafted for the second season (which saw us nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Broadcast Tech Innovation awards), our team was tasked with creating magical VFX that showcase how much Diana’s powers have grown. 

A Discovery of Witches is now streaming on Sky TV and Now TV in the UK, and Sundance Now, Shudder and AMC+ in the US.

REALTIME 2021 Showreel

We’re proud to showcase (& celebrate!) the wonderful work crafted by our team across the last year – including spellbinding VFX for TV, action-packed cinematics and epic trailers for video games, through to stunningly photorealistic automotive CGI.

We wish all of our team, clients and friends a wonderful new year. We can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store!

We support Safe in our world for our 2021 Christmas charity

We are proud to support Safe in Our World for our Christmas charity this year.The charity works to foster positive mental health wellbeing and deliver support not only for players but also developers, publishers, retailers and the other incredible folk and teams who make up the video games industry. As well as donating, we’ll be working with them further as an industry partner in the new year.

We wish all our clients, friends and partners a wonderful festive season and look forward to working with you in the new year!

Our 25th Birthday Party!

Last night our team enjoyed an evening out at Manchester’s Flight Club, with drinks and darts to celebrate our 25th anniversary. It was a brilliant night, and so good to (finally) see everyone in person again. Here’s to the next 25 years!