VirtuosityParamount Pictures, 1995
Director: Brett Leonard

As Digital Post Production Supervisor on director Brett Leonard’s project, I managed all of the compositors, colorists and editors from a four-walled commercial post house in Hollywood.

This project also provided the US feature film debut of a little known Australian actor, Russell Crowe.

Independence DayTwentieth Century Fox, 1996
Director: Roland Emmerich

I joined the ID4 team at Pacific Ocean Post’s Film Division in ’95. I acted both as both director of operations and digital line producer.

The film won the Oscar for VFX in ’96 and would wind up being the first of three films I would work on for director Roland Emmerich – “Godzilla” and “2012” were the other two.

The Ghost and the DarknessParamount Pictures, 1996
Director: Stephen Hopkins

As Vice President of Digital Production at Imageworks, I recruited and managed the teams of technical and creative artists needed for the project. I worked closely with the producers to insure that they had the crews they needed to successfully create invisible VFX and complete some very tricky compositing shots.

MichaelNew Line Cinema, 1996
Director: Nora Ephron

This film for director Nora Ephron blended photographed and CG elements. The goal of the VFX on this project was to provide lead actor John Travolta with photorealistic wings.

Starship TroopersTriStar Pictures, 1997
Director: Paul Verhoeven

As VP of Digital Production, my mission was to work with the Imageworks team to recruit and manage the artists acting under the leadership of Oscar winning VFX Supervisor Scott E. Anderson and “Total Recall” director Paul Verhoeven.

We completed a number of extremely complex scenes depicting immense space battles that went on to be nominated for an Academy Award in VFX.

ContactWarner Bros. Pictures, 1997
Director: Robert Zemeckis

My first of several projects with Robert Zemeckis, and also the first Imageworks film to use Side Effects’ new FX software, Houdini. This required me to scour the globe to find senior FX TD’s who could make the new software work in our pipeline.

This film also features my favorite Imageworks effects scene and the PERFECT example of VFX used to support the story.

AnacondaColumbia Pictures, 1997
Director: Luis Llosa

This film was one of the first from Imageworks newly formed Digital Character Group and an early example of creating photrealistic characters that blended with live action photography.

Custom software applications were written to insure that the digital snakeskin behaved realistically as the snake moved and twisted. The VFX also had to match the animatronic scenes of the snake shot on location.

GodzillaTriStar Pictures, 1998
Director: Roland Emmerich

The Imageworks team created many custom destruction effects including pavement cracks and building debris caused by the monster’s rampage through Manhattan.

With the look of the creature and the plot of the film a closely guarded secret, the code name for the project was “Barney”.

Stuart LittleColumbia Pictures, 1999
Director: Rob Minkoff

Imageworks worked with “Lion King” director Rob Minkoff and VFX Supervisor John Dykstra to create a screen test with Michael J. Fox as the voice of a digitally created Stuart Little.

The success of the test proved that we could make this digital version of Stuart perform and integrate seamlessly with a live action world.

The film received an Oscar nomination for best VFX.

What Lies BeneathDreamWorks SKG, 2000
Director: Director, Robert Zemeckis

The VFX in this film include some very complicated composites and tricky CG-to-live-action transitions, all used to support the director’s wish to use classic cinema visual storytelling techniques to tell the story.

This Hitchcock inspired thriller was filmed and all of the VFX completed while another Zemeckis’ production, “Cast Away” was on hiatus.

Charlie’s AngelsColumbia Pictures, 2000
Director: McG

This hit film marked the feature film debut of commercial and music video director, McG. The project, produced by Drew Barrymore, used every music video, television commercial and broadcast TV trick in the book to achieve the final look of the film.

Hollow ManColumbia Pictures, 2000
Director: Paul Verhoeven

This suspense thriller for director Paul Verhoeven was one of Imageworks most complicated modeling, rendering and compositing projects.

We had to create complete 3D models of two characters, a gorilla and lead actor, Kevin Bacon. Each piece of anatomy had to be created to look as close to real as possible.

The spectacular results earned Imageworks another Oscar nomination for VFX.

Cast AwayTwentieth Century Fox, 2000
Director: Robert Zemeckis

This film for director Robert Zemeckis was completed in two sections. The first section depicted the airplane crash and Tom Hanks being washed up on the desert island. The second section dealt with his escape from the island.

The production shut down for a number of months between these two sections so Hanks could lose weight for the role.

“What Lies Beneath” was completed during this hiatus.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s StoneWarner Bros. Pictures, 2001
Director: Chris Columbus

This was the first of three Harry Potter projects that I worked on.

Imageworks worked on several character-driven sequences for the film as well as taking on the unenviable task of creating the first Quidditch match ever seen on the screen.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two TowersNew Line Cinema, 2001
Director: Peter Jackson

Imageworks wasn’t originally slated to work on this film. We came in later when the schedule was getting tight and VFX shots were being added as the film was assembled.

This project was my first exposure to the challenges of global VFX production. The Imageworks team was in LA, the VFX Supes in Wellington and Peter Jackson in London.

The film won the 2003 Oscar for best VFX.

Spider-ManColumbia Pictures, 2002
Director: Sam Raimi

This eagerly awaited film was the first big VFX blockbuster for Sony Pictures and Imageworks, setting box office records.

We used our experience in building a digital human for “Hollow Man” on this first of three Spidey films for director Sam Raimi.

VFX Supervisor John Dykstra led the Imageworks team to our fourth Oscar nomination for VFX.

Stuart Little 2Columbia Pictures, 2002
Director: Rob Minkoff

This sequel allowed the creative and technical teams at Imageworks to develop unique solutions for the look and movement of feathered characters Margalo and Falcon.

Complex, custom software was developed while new methods and techniques were created to refine the integration of furred, clothed and feathered characters into live action settings.

The ChubbChubbsColumbia Pictures, 2002
Director: Eric Armstrong

This project started out as an experiment in creating a pipeline for a fully rendered CG feature film.

This ‘little film that could’ was shown before screenings of Men In Black II. It was also the genesis of Sony Pictures Animation, and won Imageworks its first Oscar for Animated Short Subject film.

Men in Black IIColumbia Pictures, 2002
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

The Imageworks team came on to this project mid-way into the production of the VFX for the sequel to the popular film by director Barry Sonnenfeld.

The talented team, led by VFX Supervisor Sheena Duggal completed the highly complex CG imagery used in the opening title sequence as well as the compositing of multiple layers of live action and CG elements for the ‘Locker town’ sequence.

Anger ManagementColumbia Pictures, 2003
Director: Peter Segal

This production is another fine example of invisible VFX such as filling an empty Yankee Stadium with cheering fans and placing Adam Sandler and co-star Jack Nicholson in a stopped car in the middle of George Washington Bridge during rush hour.

In both instances the shots could have been filmed on location, but the use of VFX helped the project stay on budget.

The Matrix ReloadedWarner Bros. Pictures, 2003
Director: The Wachowski Brothers

We inherited the work on this film after a VFX company closed, forcing the production to scramble and find companies that had the capacity to take over and final highly complex work in progress.

I worked closely with the fiIm’s production team to identify the key artists from the previous company’s VFX team and then spent an entire holiday weekend hiring 48 key artists to come back to the project.

Stuart LittleColumbia Pictures, 2003
Director: Michael Bay

This was our first film project for director Michael Bay. VFX Supervisor Carey Villegas worked closely with the production and Imageworks teams to shoot, design and supervise the creation of highly complex invisible VFX shots.

The bridge chase sequence involving the heroes, bad guys, exploding cars and boats was digitally composited, blending real with synthetic to keep the actors and their cars out of harm’s way.

Peter PanUniversal Pictures, 2003
Director: P.J. Hogan

This film for director P.J. Hogan, told a much darker version of the classic Peter Pan story. The schedule was tight and the work was very complex. The Imageworks team worked closely with VFX Supervisor Mark Stetson and the Peter Pan production team to make sure that our VFX sequences blended seamlessly with the work of the other facilities working on the project.

Big FishColumbia Pictures, 2003
Director: Tim Burton

This project was Imageworks first for director Tim Burton. Under the leadership of VFX Supervisor Kevin Mack, Producer Victoria Alonso and DFX Supervisor Seth Maury, the team created a number of very different types of VFX for the production.

From singing Siamese twins to FX animation of vines engulfing a house, the work in “Big Fish” is as imaginative of any you would expect from Burton.

Charlie’s Angels: Full ThrottleColumbia Pictures, 2003
Director: McG

The VFX on director McG’s sequel relied heavily on Imageworks compositing, matte painting, set extension and image processing skills.

The overall final look of the film was pushed to exaggerate the color saturation, creating an almost surreal gloss to the scenes.

The Matrix RevolutionsWarner Bros. Pictures, 2003
Director: The Wachowski Brothers

Imageworks completed a number of very complex VFX shots on this film. The work on this production was divided up amongst a number of facilities worldwide, creating a 24/7 work schedule for the Imageworks team.

The VFX on this production included some of the most complex imagery ever seen, was highly labor intensive and required massive amounts of computing power.

The Polar ExpressWarner Bros. Pictures, 2004
Director: Robert Zemeckis

The first of three ‘hybrid’ animated films Imageworks completed for Robert Zemeckis and quite possibly the film that kicked off the 3D trend due to the success of the stereo IMAX release.

This CG feature film was produced using Imageworks existing VFX pipeline. The animation was a combination or hybrid of motion capture technology blended with key frame animation.

Spider-Man 2Columbia Pictures, 2004
Director: Sam Raimi

The production process was pretty refined by the time we got to the second film and many of the kinks had been worked out.

The FX animation team pulled out all the stops and created numerous pipelines to create photo real water, fire and falling building debris.

This film won Imageworks its first Academy Award for VFX.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeBuena Vista Pictures, 2005
Director: Andrew Adamson

The first film in the Narnia series was Imageworks first chance to work with “Shrek” director, Andrew Adamson.

This project allowed Imageworks to show off our prowess in animation of photoreal characters. Our work can be seen in the characters of Mr. & Mrs. Beaver, Mr. Fox and The Wolves.

The project was the most successful of the Narnia series and earned Imageworks another Oscar nomination for VFX.

Open SeasonColumbia Pictures, 2006
Director: Roger Allers, Jill Culton & Anthony Stacchi

This film was the first feature film release of Sony Pictures Animation and my first exposure to traditional animation production methodology.

It was my job to manage the culture clash of animation and VFX, look for VFX production efficiencies while at the same time respecting the traditional animation production process introduced by folks from Disney and Dreamworks.

Superman ReturnsWarner Bros. Pictures, 2006
Director: Bryan Singer

The Imageworks FX team wrote custom software to control the movement and look of the clouds seen in the opening sequence. Our animation and character building team created a photorealistic Superman that could cut effectively back to back with live action photography of actor Brandon Routh.

We received an Oscar nomination for our VFX work on this film.

Monster HouseColumbia Pictures, 2006
Director: Gil Kenan

This is my favorite Imageworks animation project and our second for Robert Zemeckis and his Imagemovers team. This film introduced innovative technology into the company including a new image rendering pipeline.

We received an Oscar nomination for our work on this film. For many years, Imageworks was unique as the only studio to be nominated in VFX and animation categories in the same year.

Surf’s UpColumbia Pictures, 2007
Director: Ash Brannon & Chris Buck

This film combines the efficiencies of a VFX production pipeline with the story-based sensibility of traditional animation production.

Custom software was written to govern the look and movement of the waves, allowing an animator to the control the performance of the character and their interaction with the waves.

Imageworks received their second Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film for this well-reviewed CG feature.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,
Part 1Warner Bros. Pictures, 2010
Director: David Yates

This was the first project for StanleyVision, Inc. I worked with the talented teams at Technicolor and MPC’s Vancouver and London studios to redesign their staffing procedures and assemble a team of recruiters.

The team hired a large number of creative, technical and professional personnel for various projects, including Potter.

The film received an Oscar nomination for best VFX.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,
Part 2Warner Bros. Pictures, 2010
Director: David Yates

The StanleyVision recruiting team assembled a world class crew of artists for London-based The Moving Picture Company (MPC). This team completed a large number challenging VFX shots on the last Harry Potter film.

The film also received an Oscar nomination for best VFX.

Alice In WonderlandWalt Disney Pictures, 2010
Director: Tim Burton

This film was my second project for director Tim Burton.

This fascinating hybrid of motion capture, key frame animation, digital sets and heavily enhanced photography was one of Imageworks’ most complex projects with over 1700 VFX shots under the guidance of VFX Supervisors Ken Ralston, Carey Villegas, Sean Phillips and Animation Director Dave Schaub.

Transformers: Dark of The MoonParamount Pictures, 2011
Director: Michael Bay

This was one of the first projects completed by the stereo conversion team formed for Digital Domain’s Florida studio. I assembled a top-notch team of senior artists from LA and junior to mid-level artists recruited from Florida.

The team completed a number of tricky stereo conversion shots for director Michael Bay’s destructively popular film series.

ThorParamount Pictures, 2011
Director: Kenneth Branagh

This was the first VFX project I produced for new Digital Domain’s Florida facility. Kenneth Brannagh’s superhero tale was used to alpha test the new VFX pipeline of the Florida studio.

I combined the skills and experience of the VFX team with the stereo conversion team’s skilled roto and paint artists to complete a number of complex scenes.

The Girl with the Dragon TattooColumbia Pictures, 2011
Director: David Fincher

This project for director David Fincher was the second VFX project produced at Digital Domain Florida. I worked closely with the VFX Producer and Paint & Roto Supervisor to assemble a team and create a new revenue stream for the company.

I combined the best of the VFX and stereo conversion teams to complete a number of complex, paint fixes and rig removal scenes for this popular film.