Before Shawna Schultz co-founded Mass FX—a Denver-based motion graphics and visual effects studio—she was just a kid disappearing on VHS tape, thanks to her mom, a rental camera from the library, and a little movie magic. That early spark still fuels her work today, as the Mass FX team she leads uses motion graphics to elevate feature films, documentaries, advertisements and digital content in unexpected ways that drive storytelling forward.

Here, Schultz reflects on the origins of Mass FX, the power of visual effects in non-fiction storytelling, and why strong relationships in the industry remain vitally important to her studio’s success. From visualizing abstract ideas to filling gaps in footage, VFX has become an essential tool for telling compelling, human-centered stories. Now, by applying this creativity to non-fiction projects, Schultz and Mass FX are helping redefine its role in video.

What drew you into motion graphics & VFX work initially?

I attribute my love for filmmaking and VFX to my mom. She used to rent a VHS camera from the library and shoot videos at our house. She would put me and my siblings on the stairs, roll a little bit, then stop; then we'd all switch places, she'd roll a little bit more, then one of us would move out of the frame so we could disappear. You’d hear my mom say “Abracadabra” on the tape, and it was delightful… it’s all just magic tricks.

When I was 11-years-old, I asked for a VHS camera for my birthday, and that became my filmmaking tool all through high school. I would make my own videos, act in them, play both sides. When I met Matt—my husband and now business partner at MassFX—in high school, he introduced me to non-linear editing in Adobe Premiere Pro, which opened everything up. Now, I get to work with every discipline… one day I’ll be exploring weather and how planes can help us track hurricanes, the next I’ll be working on a project like The Social Dilemma exploring how social media is affecting democracy. I’m constantly working on different projects aimed at improving empathy and humanity.

What was the inspiration to start Mass FX? How do you differentiate from other studios?

We really just started it out of necessity. We initially wanted to do a four-month documentary project, but we had to quit our jobs to do it. So, it was like, “I guess we'll just start a company!” [Laughs] As we continued to grow, we realized there would be value in consistency, hired our first employee, got our first office, and that was like a taste of candy having a group of people that cared equally about the process and shared common goals.

Over time, we realized our strengths as a company that does motion and VFX for non-fiction films and series. Brand work pays the bills, but we always found our souls were fed by documentaries. Turns out, brands love telling those stories, too. So we’re finding success striking the balance between the film & entertainment work with the brand work, always aiming to tell authentic, human-centered stories. This positioning has been really helpful.

What’s shakin' at Mass FX right now?

We're currently working on a four-part HBO series, and we also have numerous brand partnerships. Our emphasis is making documentaries, but we're also a motion design studio always mixing real human stories with motion graphics. For brands, we're filming as well as adding graphics and animations, always looking to combine those elements.

How do VFX & motion graphics play a special role in documentary projects?

As motion designers, we see stories—and holes within them—differently than filmmakers. When you're a cinematographer, you go shoot something; when you're an editor, you ask what needs to be rearranged. As animators, we think in motion—and we're not constrained by what we can shoot. We can create literally anything. If we come across a hole in a documentary, or there isn’t the right B-roll footage, we can still bring an idea to life.

What is a common misconception about motion design and VFX?

There’s definitely some misunderstanding about how easy it looks. For example, our website features a bunch of VFX breakdown videos… and people can forget (or not even know) how much VFX teams are capable of, how much work goes into it, how much we can actually change on-screen. For one commercial, we needed to build out an entire neighborhood digitally; so we replaced the sky and we changed the scene so it was summertime, even though it was shot during winter. When people get to see those split screens, it just brings out the magic of it all. Nowadays, the VFX work is so good you can’t even tell most times what has been altered. It’s great to pull back the curtain.

What are some of the most important tools your team uses to create?

Nuke is a big one... and plug-ins like CopyCat node. Foundry also offers a great Upscale tool, which lets the computer figure out how to make a frame higher resolution. That’s crazy, the math behind it is amazing.

When we tap into using Generative AI, it’s about augmenting what already exists, like enhancing an image, upscaling resolution, extending illustrations. In some instances, AI can be invaluable—our artists don’t have to sit around for hours to finish illustrating; they can have five options in a matter of moments. Those creative shortcuts can be really helpful, but we want to avoid the entire VFX industry becoming AI prompters. That’s not why we got into it.

What was something you wish you knew when you were first starting Mass FX?

How to run a business. [Laughs] I went to film school, I didn't go to business school. It took a few years, but when I realized that I didn’t know how to run a business, I took a lot of classes. I did weekend workshops to better understand how to run a company. If I could go back and offer advice to myself, it would be to look into business training earlier.

What's a piece of advice that someone has given to you that really stuck?

The best piece of advice has been to follow your passion and the money will come. There can be a lot of fear when you're starting out, especially when you're a young entrepreneur, you love your craft, but you don't know how to make it as a professional. You can often make the sales and build the relationships if you're good at what you do—the money will follow. That goes with anything you choose to do in your life—as long as you're passionate, you'll always have the energy for it and you'll make it happen.

What’s some advice you’d give to others in the VFX space?

Relationships are everything. Nurturing your network and finding your people, folks that are just as driven as you, just as passionate as you are, that have complimentary skills. That’s the most important thing. The relationships you build will drive you to success. I always say that finding a new client is much less important than serving our current clients. If they’re happy with the work we do and they like working with us, they're going to recommend us to others. It’s just so important to have really solid relationships with our clients and our network of peers.

Why is it important to get involved in industry communities like Women In Media?

I have a group that I run called the Lady Bosses. We currently have about 75 women across the world that run creative firms and we communicate regularly on a Slack channel. It’s great to have spaces where you can communicate to others about life as an artist, a mom, an entrepreneur…

Women in Media is another example. Folks will say, “I don’t know any female cinematographers" or things like that. Women In Media has that list, has those connections. It’s such a beautiful thing and I love to be a part of it. As we’re navigating topics of parity, equity, and inclusion in the industry, having WIM as a resource is so important.

Let’s end on a fun one: Is there a movie you've seen recently that really stuck with you? 

I recently watched the indie body horror film, The Substance… I’ll never watch it again, but I loved it. [Laughs] Everything about it was so poignant and horrifying in all the right ways. With The Brutalist and Porcelain War getting recognized at the Oscars, too, it’s been an exciting time for indie film. That’s in juxtaposition to streamers releasing things like “second-screen mandates,” meaning that filmmakers have to create content and assume that their audience will have a cell phone in their hand, or they’ll be cooking while watching, or watching it at 1.5x speed—the media has to be compatible with people not giving it their full attention. These powerful studios and streamers are interested in content that you can ignore or put on in the background. The beauty of indie filmmaking is being currently celebrated, which is really inspiring amidst the push for quantity over quality.

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