Growing up in Shanghai, China, Xiaoli Zhang loved watching movies. At first, it was just a form of entertainment and a way to pass time. However, the more she watched, the more she found a passion in the artform. She knew that she one day wanted to get into filmmaking, and it didn’t take long to find passion in visual effects, a key element of modern storytelling.
“Watching a movie is like experiencing a different life. You resonate with the characters and you feel what they feel. A good film or television program can change a person’s life. I find this extremely fascinating and it’s what initially got me interested in the industry,” she said.
Now an internationally sought-after compositor, Xiaoli has put her touch on many beloved popular films and series. Audiences all over the world have seen her work on hit shows like The Blacklist, The Good Doctor, Wu-tang: American Saga, Inventing Ana, and so many more.
One of Xiaoli’s most recent successes is 9-1-1, the award-winning television series created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series explores the high-pressure experiences of first responders – including police officers, firefighters and dispatchers – who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives. The show draws from real-life, high-pressure experiences of first responders who regularly face heart-stopping situations that are often unpredictable, intense, and uplifting at the same time.
“There are many factors that make the story appealing. The writing and acting are both keys to success for this show, and part of the fun for me is watching the writers create some unbelievable emergencies for the characters to face. The story really caught my eye, as each episode they encountered different emergencies. I think these are all very important to the audience. I got to work on many fun scenes such as creating blood spots in the crime scene, incorporating matte paintings of broken arms, creating a dusty environment, etc.,” said Xiaoli.
Xiaoli first came on board during the show’s fifth season. At the time, there was an emergency that required a highly skilled compositor to rectify with a very short deadline. Xiaoli came to the rescue, answering the show’s own 9-1-1, and was so impressive that she was hired on to work regularly for the rest of the season, as well as the show’s sixth season, which is currently on the air.
“I was praised a lot by others because I worked really fast. I like the pace for this show, and I like pushing myself to work faster to achieve the results. Also, I like how the story for each episode is a “surprise” for me. This episode I’m creating a bloody crime scene and the next I’m creating a broken arm for a person,” she said.
Xiaoli’s ability to work on tight deadlines while producing high quality work made her an asset for the latest season of 9-1-1. When she worked on the show, she often “examined” and took a little bit of time to think about how she was going to approach each shot to save more time and ultimately save the client money, completing shots in record time because of her well thought-out planning.
“For one of the episodes, there was a need for matte painting for the blood spots. I was able to composite them and create the blood spots, which gave some extra time for the matte paintings,” she described.
9-1-1 first premiered in January 2018 and was an instant hit. With an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 13 awards with 22 nominations, the show continues to be a critical success into its sixth season.
“Before I started working on this show, I already was a huge fan and knew it was great. Having been a part of making season 5 and season 6, I’m glad to see people are still liking this show and it continues to gain success, reaching even broader audiences,” she said.
Be sure to check out the sixth season of 9-1-1, currently airing on FOX.