VISUALT is the studio of Owen Lightning, a freelance flame artist and compositor based in Paris. I work on Autodesk Flame for fashion, beauty and luxury campaigns — from the first compositing pass through to final delivery.
Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton: houses for which the final image leaves no room for approximation. I work from a studio in Paris or remotely, alone on a single shot or embedded in a wider post-production team.
High-end compositing for advertising and fashion film. I handle the final image — color, texture, atmosphere — until every frame holds up at the highest level.
Flame's node-based compositing gives non-destructive control over every element of a shot. In practice: rebuilding an image layer by layer, reconciling sources shot under different conditions, and holding perfect continuity from shot to shot across an entire film.
Skin, hair, product, set. Frame-by-frame video retouching for campaigns where every detail is visible and nothing can be approximate.
Beauty retouching in motion has little to do with photo retouching: grain, movement and light have to survive across hundreds of consecutive frames without the work ever becoming visible. This is the core of what I do.
Environment cleanup, set extension, object removal. Seamless work that disappears into the image and serves the director's original vision.
Keying, roto, tracking, CGI integration and set continuity: the tools change from shot to shot, the goal never does — nobody should notice there was an effect.
Timeline conform, source management, finishing grade and delivery in every format the campaign requires: broadcast, cinema, social, out-of-home. The master leaves ready to air, in the right colour spaces.
I can join the production at the shooting stage to anticipate post needs, streamline the workflow, and ensure the footage arrives in the best possible condition for finishing.
An hour of vigilance on set often saves several days of repair in post. It is the least spectacular part of the job, and frequently the most profitable one for the production.
A flame artist is a compositor and finishing artist working on Autodesk Flame, the reference finishing system in advertising and fashion. They come in at the very end of the chain: assembling the elements of a shot, retouching, integrating effects, matching colour and delivering the master. In France the role is also called « flamiste ». It is the last set of eyes on the image before it airs.
The editor decides structure and rhythm. The colourist works the overall colour. The flame artist works inside the image: rebuilding, retouching and correcting what sits within the frame, shot by shot. On many campaigns the three roles overlap, and Flame is precisely the tool that allows conform, compositing and finishing to happen in a single session.
Both. I am based in Paris and can work on site with the agency and the client in the room, which is still the best format for an approval session. I also work remotely, in France and internationally, with live review sessions.
Both, depending on what is needed. That ranges from a single shot to rescue under deadline to the complete finishing of a campaign: conform, compositing, retouching, grade and delivery of every format. On larger projects I can join an existing team or coordinate additional artists.
Day rate or project fee, depending on volume, complexity and deadline. A single beauty retouching shot and the full finishing of a campaign are not costed the same way. Send me the brief and the schedule and I will come back with a precise quote.
It depends on the current schedule, but tight turnarounds are part of the job in advertising. The simplest approach is to get in touch early, even without firm dates: it lets me hold a window and anticipate the technical needs.