Today we’d like to introduce you to Rochelle (Ziqiong) Cao.
Hi Rochelle (Ziqiong), so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The story starts with the influence that my dad gives me since I was a kid. He always liked to rent DVDs to watch the Jurassic Park series together. That’s the first live-action CG combined film I can remember watching in my life. When the first Avatar was out, my dad and I went to watch it three times in the cinema, because we were so impressed by the visual effects. Since then, a seed has been planted in my heart that I want to work on something like that in the future. In college, I majored in Animation. I didn’t know visual effects was a major since it was not a well-known concept in China back at that time. After four years of studying, I found although I know everything about animation, I’m not really good at any particular thing. Animation is a whole process, but the courses in the college just helped us go through these processes rather than helping us to find our real interests and specialize in them.
So my senior year in the college, I decided to come to the US to pursue my animation dream. With the help from professors and friends in SCAD, I see myself more clearly. I found myself more talented and interested in visual effects Lighting and compositing rather than doing animation. I was so interested that I spent most of my time in the school building doing homework because I really enjoyed it. And I was so fascinated to ask my friends about my project, “Tell me which one is real, which one is CG”.
At one point, I realized that was the thing I wanted to do when I was in middle school. And after that, I am pretty sure that I’m going to focus on lighting and compositing as my career. My working experience is quite interesting as well. I worked in advertising, game, and visual effects companies. They are similar but different. The experience of working in different industries gives me a different perspective and inspiration for my career. And at the same time, I found which one is the most suitable for me.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s never been a smooth road. The lost feeling I had when I was in college. I didn’t know what to do next. And the language barrier I had with others during the first year I came to the US. After I graduated from SCAD, I went to LA. I don’t know why I was so confident I could find a job there, but I didn’t. I got a compositing job in Atlanta eventually. And now, we are having the Hollywood strike, which affects VFX artists, including me a lot.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an artist who works on animation and film. I focus on lighting and compositing. I have worked on well-known TV series like West World, One Piece, Gotham Knights, Resident Alien, etc… I have also worked on the mobile version of PUBG. People are naturally born differently; we are all good at different things. For me, I’m just naturally having artistic sensitivity. Talent is important, but what makes me different is the effort I put into it. I’m very patient with the art I do.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I’m always considered a gentle person; I talk softly and almost never yell at people, but at the same time, I always have strong personal opinions. My dad has strong personal opinions too; as his kid, I had to fight for myself to do the things I wanted to. It was hard, but it was harder for me to compromise. I always had an interest in art-related things; when I was younger, I was really interested in music; I liked singing and instruments. In college, my friends and I built a band. It was one of the most memorable moments I had. Now, I still play guitar as my hobby. I also like photography. I appreciate how light and shadow can create so many beautiful moments, and the camera can capture these moments helping us to remember how beautiful it was.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rochellecao.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caorochelle/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rochelle-cao/
