Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts (2023)

Responsibilities: A worldwide project of which I was tasked with being one of the core CG supervisors on, E77 was centered on the creation of the legacy characters of the Transformers franchise that was already well known and loved. This was the first time MPC would handle such substantial Transformers type work, and many of the technical and creative problems to solve fell upon my lap. From managing and helping development of the internal process for the actual transformation shot workflows, to establishing a lighting standard across the show to sell the believability of the characters, the challenges were never too few. Working with teams in Bangalore, London, and Montreal, I supervised departments from Matchmove, Layout, Tech Anim, Crowd, FX and Lighting to deliver about ~ 900 shots.

Ghostbusters Afterlife (2020)

Responsibilities: As CG Supervisor, I worked with VFX Supervisor Pier Lefebvre in handling the Lighting, FX, Tech Anim, Crowd, Layout, and Matchmove departments. From Matchmove briefs to final Lighting renders, I helped push forward CG departments on the special work for this project. Foremost of this work was the posthumous digital double of actor Harold Ramis, who played the Ghostbuster Dr. Egon Spengler. The digital double shots were posed with the challenge of remaking an actor not as he was when he passed, but as the original actor from the 1984 film would have aged. Meticulous photorealistic asset work, along with impeccable shot lighting and character effect work, helped bring to life the beloved character for the emotional climax of the film. In addition to these shots, a handful of Mini Puft character shots also were completed which provided many other diverse shot challenges to solve. The result was an emotional moment that excited fans new and old, bringing together the spirit of the team and family.

Clifford the Big Red Dog (2020)

Responsibilities: I joined the shot midway through production to help focus specifically on the Lighting and Lookdev collaboration needed to help manage the execution of the look the team was headed for. Naturally with a character so on one side of the color spectrum, careful details of setups in Lighting and Lookdev were needed to keep the look healthy and have shot lighting set ups respond in a pleasant way. I worked with the Lookdev and Lighting teams to establish a thorough set of tests of the asset in order to establish a recipe for shot looks, in order for us to be able to light as physically as possible in shots. During the bulk of shot production, I ran the daily lighting reviews throughout the roughly 1000 shots on the project. Working with teams in Montreal and London, we pushed forward with the work during peak pandemic times and transitioned to a remote workflow during this project with greatly minimized team sizes. While another co-CG Supervisor primarily handled supervising Tech Anim, responsibilities would be shared in this area along with a small selection of FX shots.

The Call Of The Wild, MPC, 2019

Responsibilities: As one of two CG Supervisors on the project, I was responsible for overseeing the department work from Matchmove, all the way through to Lighting for delivery to Compositing. The entirety of the project was handled by our team at MPC, where I worked along side Animation and Environment supervisors to deliver a full CG photorealistic dog sled team integrated into digital environments, and photographed elements, using a wide variety of FX elements in the majority of shots. These environments represented the vast landscape of the Canadian Yukon that ranged from snow covered plains to icy mountain tops and through a serene Spring river. I would provide creative and technical direction to all departments under my purview, furthering the vision of our VFX supervisor and client. Challenges across the board included: quality layout consistency for sequences set in a CG environment based on varying photography, rich and elaborate Tech Anim simulations for not only fur dynamics but sled rope dynamics as well, sequences of a CG wet dog / water interaction using BG plates and separate actor plates, complex snow interaction simulations in many different animation scenarios, and render resource benchmarking to manage farm and turn around times. In the end, we were able to deliver a cutting edge hybrid live-action/CG feature with a lead character immersed in natural environments that was fully digital, yet still very emotive.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, MPC, 2018

Responsibilities: Working remotely with the team from lead MPC site in Vancouver, I was the sole CG supervisor tasked with helping take on sequences in Montreal, along with the direction of our DFX Supervisor. Shots were predominantly character based, in a variety of CG and plate based environments. Plates of a real city were enhanced with Pokemon crowd elements, a multitude of digital signage, and digital buildings tailored for the fictional place of Ryme City. Character specific FX elements were created for each Pokemon power, including a morphing creature that would transition between multiple characters at once. Tech Anim would also provide cloth and fur simulations, not only for soft surface interaction, but for dynamic vegetation interaction as well. Working and reporting to VFX supervisors remotely was a key skill in order to keep the production in step with each other. The seamless remote collaboration proved effective in delivering our set of shots from Montreal.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, MPC, 2018

Responsibilities: While starting the project as the Lighting Lead, putting together a setup and plan for the variety of rendering and lighting workflows for a project of this scale, I took my position of CG Supervisor midway through the project to completion, expanding my oversight to include Matchmove, Layout, Tech Anim, FX, and Lighting. I helped develop methodologies and tests for each of the characters bioluminescent signature looks, a mixture of FX and lighting elements. Coming up with a look not only in terms of lighting, but across other disciplines also, was defined in a key way by embracing aspects of scale and minimalism. This helped create a stark visual look defined by flashes of light amidst the tapesty of sheer destruction by multiple skyscraper sized creatures. Key monster fight moments took place in scenes ranging from a full CG downtown Boston area, an ice covered military base in Antarctica in the middle of a snowstorm, an erupting volcano and an ensuing jet chase through a digital clound filled sky, a superstorm filled with rain and lightning, an underwater fight culminating in a mushroom cloud explosion, and a water sinkhole in the middle of the ocean. Each of these scenarios had a robust set of FX elements, which by far was one of the huge show challenges that included water, fire, snow, building, smoke, lava, explosions, and pretty much anything else you could imagine. A true visual effects project with the highest degree of destruction and awe-inspiring monster moments.

Lighting/Lookdev Lead Reel, MPC, 2015 - 2017

Shows listed:

Ghost In The Shell, Jumanji, X-Men Apocalypse

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, MPC, 2017

Ghost In The Shell, MPC, 2016

Goosebumps, MPC, 2014

Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles, Industrial Light + Magic, 2014

Responsibilities: Lighting of full CG shots utilizing templates while adding beauty lighting for hero type shots. Brought in during crunch time to help with the final push. Katana/Renderman/Nuke.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sony Pictures Imageworks, 2014

Responsibilities: Lighting and Compositing of full CG and plate integration shots. CG digital double hand-offs from plate characters, full CG shots involving digital doubles, and atmospheric heavy shots involving lots of volume rendering and optimization. For a plane crash sequence, I was involved in the lighting/compositing-side look development and setup of cloud elements for all-CG shots and any skyscapes seen through interior plane windows. Using only stock volumes from the fx department, I was tasked with helping create an early morning cloudscape that could work for the sequence, yet with flexibility for art directable changes. This involved positioning and lighting the cloud elements for a number of perspectives. Also served as a stereo lead to help relieve backlog of stereo compositing shots and stereo conversion vendor breakouts. Katana/Arnold/Nuke.

Oz, The Great and Powerful, Sony Pictures Imageworks, 2013

Responsibilities: Primarily a Look Development and sequence lighter involving integration of the fully CG character Finley. I was given a full sequence to manage the lighting over, which included both character lighting and set extension lighting. On the Look Development team, I was entrusted to manage the "nursery" of over a hundred different plant and tree assets. These assets were used across the show, and when needed, I would provide support and more attention to hero assets when a specific sequence/team would require it. In addition to the nursery assets, I also worked on the look development of several digital environments that would aid in practical set extensions and full cg use. Katana/Arnold/Nuke.

The Amazing Spider-Man, Sony Pictures Imageworks, 2012

Responsibilities: Compositing of shots with attention to detail on digital web integration to live action hands, fixing problematic areas from inaccurate match moves. Served as team Stereo lead for a inaugural native stereo pipeline at the facility, helping artists work and review team material for stereoscopic accuracy. Also helped to develop conceptual looks and layouts of a particular web element holding a thief against a wall. Katana/Arnold/Nuke.

The Smurfs 2, Sony Pictures Imageworks, 2013

Responsibilities: Lighting and compositing of Smurf characters into live action plate. Creating a wet cat look for a close up shot with drips and water elements. Integration of CG storks and water fx elements into existing plate water. Integration of Smurfs and CG Cat within a law of grass using animated warps and procedurally generated foot trail maps. Syncing up of Smurf pen writing on paper animation using reveal and prop warping methods. Katana/Arnold/Nuke.

Green Lantern, Sony Pictures Imageworks, 2011

Responsibilities: Lighting/Look Development. Lighting of characters to plate for digital suit integration, along with suite of fx passes. Lighting of Environment buildings using custom created light projection maps for detail and interest when textures were not enough. Look Development of props for Parallax creature system, Ryan Reynolds digital double, and Sinestro prop ring. Katana/Arnold.

Alice In Wonderland, Sony Pictures Imageworks, 2010

Responsibilities: Lighting and Compositing of plate photography into a full CG environment. Integration and interaction of CG characters with plate photography. Integration of plate facial features on a number of shots for "Tweedle" characters. Katana/Arnold.

Toy Robots, Personal Project, 2010

Personal project and ongoing asset creation of a line of toy robot characters for a self-created short film. Modeled, textured and materials for all variations of characters for eventual integration into live action environments. Maya/Arnold/Mental Ray.