This is Engineering: dream maker

This resource is an interview with Sonya - a dream maker.

"Sonya loved drawing and making up stories as a child, and she also loved maths. Bringing together these two interests seemed impossible until she completed a degree in Engineering and Computer Science, and landed her first job working for Disney Animation as a Visual Effects artist. Sonya grew up creating her own films and storylines with her sisters, using her toys as a character cast, and creating effects with everyday objects and things around the house, like pouring water to create a waterfall. As she got older however, the idea of working in film seemed less and less likely until she realised she could combine her skills in maths, and her interest in storytelling by going into engineering.

After she completed her degree in Engineering and Computer Science, Sonya joined Disney, where she was surprised by how much she was using both sides of her brain, the creative and the technical, to bring stories to life.

Now, Sonya works as a Lead Effects Technical Director at Framestore in London, managing a team of visual effects artists. Every day, she is presented with seemingly simple problems like how to create digital fires, or water that looks realistic but is actually animated. Using creativity, technical skills and attention to detail, she brings ideas like these to life on the screen. Over the course of her career, she has put these skills to work on films including her childhood Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy and the box office smash, Avatar."

This resource forms part of the This is Engineering campaign.