I’ve spent 27 years of my career in the animation and vfx industry with the last 17 focusing on VFX. In that time I’ve worked for clients such as Marvel, Disney, Lionsgate, WB, the BBC, Netflix and Amazon. At the companies Goodbye Kansas, Cinesite, Illoura, Double Negative, Peerless, MPC and Animal Logic. My time at Goodbye Kansas saw me moving from Global Head of VFX to VFX Supervisor, whilst maintaining Executive seniority, so I could work more closely with customers and creatives.
At the end of 2023 I finished supervising the Demon 79 episode for the new Black Mirror series on Netflix which included on-set supervision for my episode. This consisted of two main sequences and other shots. The main sequences being extensively adding fire and smoke to a burning flat to match and enhance the onset sfx. The other sequence consisted of creating a stylised nuclear attack and the end of the world.
I then moved on to Rise of the Witches for MBC. However, the studio put it on hold pending a rewrite and reshoot in March of ‘23. The work consisted of CG characters, birds, environments and magic effects. The project had been going brilliantly and I was enjoying an excellent relationship with the clients with comments from them such as ‘You get a gold star’, ‘You’re knocking it out of the park’, ‘the Director let out a gasp of joy when he saw your work’. Due to financial problems at GBK and no new projects I was made redundant at the end of May ‘23, just in time for the strikes. I was lucky enough to be able to get on set VFX supe work on Toxic Town in the autumn of last year.
In addition to these projects, my VFX Supervision experience has included onset VFX supervision for the project Toxic Town for Netflix. Being the initial VFX Supervisor for The Full Monty TVS for Disney+ where I talked with them from the start and went on location a couple of times to advise the director on what was possible and how best he could tell his story on the limited budget. I also provided VFX supe cover at GBK and I was the on-set VFX supe for a commercial for H&M for GBK. I was also the on-set VFX Supe for Robin Hood for a week when I was at Cinesite.
As an Executive VFX Supervisor, I would meet with clients about possible projects along with our EPs to discuss their projects and advise them on the work and methodologies to better meet their budgets. Talking to directors and producers, which often involved giving them different options at different costs, or even suggesting different ways of filming or storytelling. If any of these were awarded, one of the in-house VFX Supes would take over. I also advised our other VFX supes on the best ways to solve the problems on projects and helped out with clients or supervising a show when needed. I was also bidding out about 90% of projects for TV and film projects, as well as script breakdowns, bringing a greater understanding and level of consistency to bids.
The type of VFX Supe I am believes it’s not about me or my career. Instead, it’s about being part of a team both on the company side and the client side. About engaging the client, listening, advising and guiding my team to fulfil the creative and technical goals of the project. All the while keeping an eye on the fiscal side of things to make sure we’re on budget.
I also have a strong technical side and understand all aspects of the VFX and filming process. This includes colour, Virtual Production, the pros and cons of using Unreal, what genAI actually is and where machine learning can actually help us. As such I can bring new and novel ways to solve problems on shows or make the creative process more efficient.
Friends and colleagues would describe me as charismatic, engaging, positive, a people person, great with clients, not afraid to speak up, but also a good listener. I’ve had a lifelong love of stories, especially told in the visual form. I’m a hobbyist photographer, I’m passionate about cinematography and lighting, but also the craft of filmmaking and understanding the skills, processes and needs of our clients. This year I hope to finish my first screenplay and start work on a short film.
I’m also known to wear hats, tell dad jokes and sing in dailies.