My first completed film is released!  This was a monster of a project with me lighting over 90 shots.  From April to December 2016 I lived and breathed dark creatures.  Most of my work on the killing floor sequence with the grotesque Bloodshot as my baby.  Integrating him into a strobbing environment where the human characters are wielding flashlights was a fun challenge.  There was a lot of animating the light passes in nuke to sync up the flashes with those in the plate.  A

The Shape of Water has been one of my favorite shows to work on thus far.  Guillermo del Toro's latest film endeavor is a fantastical love story set in the cold war.  I was on a team of about 6 lighters with the task of bringing the main fantasy creature to life.  The great Doug Jones once again dawned an amazing suit to play an underwater character.  Out job was to augment his performance by doing CG facial work so emotions could be conveyed more easily.  I have never lit so

Just finishing up on Del Toro's The Strain Season 4.  Lots of Vampires, stingers, worms and gore galore.  None of my shots were for the trailer but I have worked on over 70.  Lighting was done in Maya except for the crowds which were in Houdini.  A specific challenge for this show for me was to match the style already established in the previous three seasons.  With a lead lighter who had already done a few rounds on this show I given the tools to make continuity happen.  Tha

So we have had a little bit of a breather between projects at work which enabled me to pursue one of my favorite pastimes: studying film!  My subjects this time were the classic Universal monster movies as well as the German Expressionist period.  Basically 1920-1940 in Germany and America.  While screenshoting my way through these gems I was come over by a strong desire to mimic them myself in good old CG.  Luckily one of my co-workers (Carlos Maciel) is also a huge fan of c

The trailer is finally released for the Netflix movie I spent months on with a team of 3-4 lighters.  How It Ends!  Does it?  Just kidding.  I did a lot of pyrotechnic clouds chasing the car down, the beach you see him standing on at 0:33 and in the thumbnail, and a lot of lighting storms.  Houdini mantra and Redshift were used to light and render depending on shots needs. #blog #HowItEnds

Of the amount of "blink shots" I lit.  Here are the ones I did that made it into this reel: 0:58  His beautiful eyes and nictating membrane. The first vfx shot completed for the film. 1:15  One of the longest shots ever, they only show the first bit here.  It was the upper face in this segment but when he eats the egg it's a full face replace so we could lower the jaw to make the cg egg replace fit.  1:26  Upper face replace with blink 1:31  Upper face replace with blink.  1

Went on a trip to England and Scotland with my little sister for an adventure.  Here are a few photos of the Scotland bit!  My sister in a castle our ancestors the Comyns built, Fairy Glen, a random lake, and the viaduct the Jacobite train goes over.  You may recognize it from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets... #blog #Scotland

So last Halloween I taught some friends how to do special effect gore makeup for fun.  We used lots of liquid latex, cotton balls, q-tips, foundation, cream paints, sponge wedges and fake blood.  It was so much fun!  Here are my results.  Beautiful, eh? #blog #Halloween

Carnival Rox Trailer And here we have my baby. Lighting lead at Mr. X on this show. I maintained the HDA for the city extensions and did desklies with artists to provide supports and train them on the pipeline at the same time. Lit and did light comps as well. Contribution: :05 City Extension, :23 BG Centaurs :25 Fairy Wings #blog #CarnivalRow

Roma Breakdown We finally have it!  The breakdown for the fix we did on Alfonso Cuarón's latest movie Roma.  We spent months bringing the nostalgic version of Mexico City to life.  Alfonso's attention to detail ensured that every frame helped tell the story, enhance the emotions, and just look good.  Enjoy! Contribution: :22  curtains that close over the projection screen :29  buildings and vintage cars and tram :37  buildings and vintage cars and trams :47  buildings and vin