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Brock J. Stearn

brock@myanimator.com

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Dreamworks Animation (2009 – Present)

Senior Lighting and Compositing Artist (How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek Forever After, How to Train Your Dragon: Legend of the Boneknapper, Megamind, Puss in Boots, Turbo)

  • Lighting and Compositing of shots to final
  • Shots completed in both Mono and Stereoscopic formats
  • Match stylized look set forth by Production Designer(s) and Art Director(s) for each project
  • Help transition the studio to using Nuke as the main compositing package
  • Created Nuke Gizmos to assist artists in compositing
  • Lead the creation of a new documentation system including layout, templates and search protocols which were first implemented in the Lighting department but has since been adopted by other departments
  • Created a more functional and easily expandable Lighting Department homepage
  • Re-structured the Lighting new hire training program
  • Received multiple awards from Dreamworks Animation

Image Movers Digital (2009)

Senior Lighting and Compositing Technical Director (Disney’s A Christmas Carol)

  • Lighting and Compositing of shots to final
  • Shots completed in both Mono and Stereoscopic formats
  • Worked on a aggressive “911 schedule” and delivered 40% more than estimated
  • Created lighting and compositing rigs from scratch
  • Created 2.5d setup in Nuke for a nighttime snowy city environment
  • Worked collaboratively with a very small team to share duties to complete on schedule

Sony Pictures Imageworks (2008 – 2009)

Senior Lighting and Compositing Technical Director (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs)

  • Lighting and Compositing of over 25 shots to final
  • Complete shots in both Mono and Stereoscopic formats
  • Match stylized look set forth by Art Director
  • Assisted other artists in various stereoscopic setups for their shots

Walt Disney Feature Animation (2008)

Lighting and Compositing Artist (Bolt)

  • Lighting and Compositing of over 30 shots to final
  • Create Lighting rigs and Compositing networks from scratch for various shots and sequences
  • Create rigs shared across a sequence
  • Match stylized look set forth by Art Director

Rhythm and Hues Studios (2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008)

Senior Lighting Technical Director (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor)

  • Set “hero look” of the Yeti character
  • Assist in optimizing lighting rig of the Yeti character
  • Optimize pipeline and assist in training new lighters and a new lead

Lead Lighting Technical Director (His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass)

  • Co-Lead a team of 10 Lighters compromised of a mix of Houdini Lighters and Rhythm and Hues Proprietary software Lighters
  • Create a training course and documentation for all Lighters joining the show
  • Assist Lighters in achieving the artistic direction set by the Sequence Supervisor
  • Manage a Houdini/VMantra mixed with Rhythm and Hues’ proprietary software workflow
  • Fill in for artistic direction in Supervisor(s) absence

Lead Lighting Technical Director (Happy Feet)

  • Lead two Houdini Lighting teams with a total of 13 Lighters of various skill levels
  • Assist Lighters in achieving the artistic direction set by their Sequence Supervisor
  • Create “hero” shots for Lighters to match
  • Create a training course and documentation for all Houdini Lighters joining the show
  • Work with all artists in matching the look already established by Animal Logic for the water, ice and whale characters
  • Become the first point of contact for all troubleshooting issues for Lighters
  • Build communications with leads and supervisors in all other stages in the pipeline and serve as a point of contact for Lighting needs and issues
  • Assist in developing tools to use Rhythm and Hues proprietary software’s features with Houdini/VMantra
  • Create a rigorous training program for artists new to Houdini Lighting
  • Optimize Superman Return’s Ocean pipeline for use in an all CG Feature
  • Fill in for artistic direction in Sequence Supervisor and CG Supervisor absence
  • Provide weekly Lighting Meetings to discuss ongoing issues and cover improved lighting techniques

Lead Lighting Technical Director (Superman Returns)

  • Lead the first ever at Rhythm and Hues Houdini Lighting team of 11 Lighters of various skill levels
  • Create “hero” shots for Lighters to match
  • Become the first point of contact for all troubleshooting issues for Lighters
  • Coordinate artist, producers and stage teams that interact with lighting
  • Assist in R&D and look development with an emphasis on the ocean surface
  • Assist in setting up a Lighting pipeline using Houdini and VMantra mixed with Rhythm and Hues’ proprietary software
  • Assist in tool development, implementation and testing to optimize the pipeline and output
  • Create documentation on a completely new pipeline, including shaders, tools and workflow
  • Assist all Lighters in achieving the artistic lighting direction set by the Sequence, CG, or VFX Supervisors
  • Provide weekly Lighting Meetings to discuss ongoing issues and cover improved lighting techniques
  • Create and design production lighting scenes

Sequence Lighter (Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed)

  • Responsible for pre-production, set-up and shot prep of over 100 shots
  • Responsible for importing and setting up tracking and animation assets
  • Create continuity between shots
  • Coordinate with lighting lead and scene lighters to create the highest quality shots
  • Document workflow
  • Immediate troubleshooting
  • Become the first point of contact for Lighting troubleshooting

Scene Lighter (Cox Communications Commercials, Garfield: The Movie, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed)

  • Set-up CG lighting system
  • Lighting characters and environments
  • Render all of the elements and assets
  • Produce an initial composite (PreCmp) to display the look and progress of the shot

Digital Domain (2006-2007)

Stereoscopic Compositor (Meet the Robinsons)

  • Take flat 2d images from finished shots at Disney Feature Animation and project them onto geometric surfaces from additional eye camera to achieve 3d look
  • Heavy Rotoscope and Paint to make both eyes appear to be have rendered from the same source

Brain Zoo Studios (Contract 2005)

CG Artist/Lighter (Blitz: The League – Promotional Game Trailer)

  • Managed quick turnaround of project
  • Troubleshoot a rudimentary pipeline
  • Football players  texturing, lighting and rendering
  • Create assets in the style of the existing game elements

CIS Hollywood (Contract 2004)

Environment Modeling/Scene Lighting (Constantine, Ultraviolet)

  • Model and Textured over 50 buildings in a future city based on present day Shanghai (Ultraviolet)
  • Modeled and textured additional environmental elements
  • Lit CG elements to match live action plates

The Ohio State University (2001-2003)

Instructor (Art Education 252 – Introduction to Computer Graphics)

  • Create a new Syllabus to rejuvenate an old curriculum
  • Bring elements into the classroom that would assist in achieving a job in the arts
  • Teach students of varying skill levels from different fields of study

EDUCATION:

MFA in Industrial, Interior and Visual Communication Design (2001-2003)

The Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD)  |  The Ohio State University  |  Columbus, Ohio

Thesis: Designing a pipeline for product designers using image based illumination and high dynamic range imagery to more effectively add computer generated product visualizations into live action photographs

Thesis Topics Include:

  • Image Based Illumination (IBI)
  • High Dynamic Range Imagery (HDRI)

Other Selected Research Subjects:

  • Motion Capture: Human and Non-Human
  • Non-Photorealistic Rendering (NPR)
  • Procedural Animation Systems

BFA in Computer Animation (1997-2001)

Ringling College of Art and Design  |  Sarasota , Florida

  • Character Animation, Modeling and Lighting
  • Traditional Animation (Drawn and Stop Motion)
  • Illustration, Figure Drawing and Fine Arts

SKILLS:

Maya ·  Houdini  ·  Katana  ·  Dreamworks Proprietary Software  ·  Rhythm and Hues Proprietary Software ·  Disney Animation Studios Proprietary Software  ·  Renderman  ·  Mental Ray ·  Arnold ·  Mantra ·  Shake  ·  Nuke ·  Composer  ·  Premiere  ·  House of Moves’ Diva  ·  Motion Builder  ·  Vicon Workstation 4.5: Vicon 8 System  ·  Deep Paint 3D  ·  Photoshop  ·  Illustrator  ·  GoLive

PC/Mac: Linux, Windows, OSX