Meet Aditi Khosla: Nuke Compositor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aditi Khosla and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aditi, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
Choosing happiness & focusing on the end-result have helped me get through a lot of the strife that this past year has brought.  The ups & downs of unemployment, fear of the virus, the growing weight of this global pandemic… it has turned many of our worlds upside down.  Even a regular day can seem hard to get through.   A lot of social media is telling us “it’s okay to have bad days”, and that does help to a certain degree.  But what do we do after we open the gates to all those bad-day feelings?  To those suffering from anxiety, I’ve learned that this acceptance of negativity needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

A huge grain of salt.  Yes, we should always be ourselves and acknowledge what we’re feeling but one of the most important things I’ve discovered is to look at what lies before and after the negativity inside us.  Instead of diving head first into my angst, it has helped me to ask myself: “What’s making me feel this way right now?”  I have a list of plausible causes I force myself to go through: 1) “Have I been eating well lately?” 2) “Am I fully hydrated today?” …and my personal favourite… 3) How much contact have I had with anyone besides my fiancé & cat in the last 2 weeks? Granted, I go through spikes & cycles of irrational questioning between that list of three, but it does eventually help soothe me into getting some perspective.   Another good method of bringing oneself ‘back’ is the grounding technique, where you start listing things that are in your line of sight “yellow light, green plant, blue notebook, brown desk” and so on… but sometimes that can cause more anxiety, if you’re feeling claustrophobic in the moment.  I switch back and fourth, and it really just depends on personal preference.  This habit has been the most helpful in metaphorically lassoing my peace and sanity during these past 12 months.

Of course, some days (and sometimes, some months) are harder than others.  When my mother contracted covid, I thought my world was going to end. But a weird new habit formed out of that pain, and I found it life-changing. I just halted myself from spiraling into depression, plucked up my courage and just disallowed myself to face my anxieties, fears and negativity.  I’d never done that ever before, but it actually helped me get past quite a large mountain during the time she was sick.  I concentrated on the calmness I wanted to feel, and focused my energies on that.  It truly helps to take a break from facing inner turbulence.  For someone with a tendency towards high functioning anxiety, it’s a lot of work to constantly let yourself feel everything. A break, lets you breathe.

It might not make sense to many, but to those suffering from the same, I hope this helps.  Luckily my mother is in the last stages of recovery now.  I’ve taught myself to sculpt my inner self as a result of this new habit & build a coping mechanism that’s tailor-made to fit -me-. Side note – It’s amazing how a mother can always bring out the strength in their child, sometimes even without trying.  I just want to say, she is the most amazing person I will ever know.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I work in Film & TV, as a digital artist. I’m primarily a Nuke Compositor, and it’s become my passion more than just my day job. As things are going this year, the world of virtual reality and virtual film-making is an ever-growing bubble and I am very excited to see what’s next for us. I come from a traditional art background, I studied traditional art in Singapore, but London is where I fell in love with the digital side. I pursued my digital art interest in New York, where I was able to fully delve into the world of 2D compositing! It’s been a fantastic journey so far, and now that the world is opening back up again & filming is starting to resume (slowly), I’m excited to be able to continue building my skills in the arena.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d say my first recommendation would be to catch live music at The Baked Potato Jazz Club on Cahuenga. The entire menu is a million different types of Baked Potato, and they serve great drinks. Its a tiny little event space with a small stage, and home to possibly one of the best nights you’ll have. Next thing on the list would be to catch a game at the Dodger Stadium! Season/Off season — doesn’t matter!! It will always be exciting to go sit on the historic seats of that stadium. Literally always a good time. Speaking of historic seats – if you can grab tickets to an evening concert at the Hollywood Bowl, I would highly highly recommend it. I’ve been to shows there a dozen times, and each time feels like such a grand event. The architecture itself is a show! A few years ago I took my parents to a show at the Groundlings theater…

I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder in my entire life. I’ve been to many comedy clubs in New York and LA but nothing compares to these guys. Not sure what it is about them but it’s always been a 10/10 experience. Highly highly recommend. One of the best ways to show someone a city is to literally show it to them. The Castaway in Burbank is a beautiful restaurant that looks out over the entire city of Burbank and beyond.

The food there is great, drinks are always on point & the view is just spectacular. DeBell Golf Course is attached to this location, so you could spend the day golfing with your friends & wrap up the night with some fantastic food, drinks & uninhibited view. It’s a great day, guaranteed. They also have a putting range across the way if you want to practice the swings a little 😉 The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My fiancé. He’s opened my eyes to a lot of new & beautiful things , and there’s no one I’d rather spend the rest of my life with. Its a thing of beauty to meet someone who can change your perspective and heighten your curiosity about the world & reality as you know it.