Sunday, September 23, 2012



Demo Reel Breakdown
1. Pixar Technical Undergraduate Program Final Lighting Project. 2011
Programs Used: Pixar Proprietary Lighting Software, Renderman, & Shake
I am responsible for the lighting, rendering, and compositing of this animation sequence from Toy Story 3. The purpose of my final project was to demonstrate an understanding of advanced lighting, compositing, and rendering techniques while matching an example lighting scenario. I chose this sequence because I wanted to create a situation in which Woody interacts with the light, but also try to work with 2 different lighting set ups (one for when Woody is in the shadow area and one for the main light source of the scene). I also tried to focus the audience’s attention using the contrast of warm and cool colors as well as luminance levels.


2. M&M's "One Track Mind" Commercial. Laika House CG Lighting Intern 2012
Programs Used: Maya, Mental Ray, & Nuke
During my internship I was given the opportunity to work as the lead lighter as well as the lead pre-compositor on this project. My duties included setting up lighting scenarios to both match the live action footage and present the character in an appealing manner, rendering out the final sequences, pre-compositing the sequences for daily reviews, setting up Nuke files to export shots to final compositing in Flame, and attending daily reviews. I worked closely with both the director and the animators to ensure the success of the project and addressed any technical issues that came about throughout the process.


3. Light Life “EIEIO” commercial. Laika House Lighting Intern. 2012
As a lighting intern at Laika House, I was able to work in both physical lighting as well as CG lighting. This project exemplifies my work in the area of physical lighting for a stop motion animated piece. During this project I was able to work as junior lighting assistant. My duties included setting up the grid system in which the lights were hung from, setting up/hanging lights, and shadowing both the lighting assistant and director of photography. Through shadowing both of these important roles I was able to learn technical and aesthetic skills that are not only applicable to physical lighting but are also an influence in my CG work.
4. Pixar Technical Undergraduate Program Lighting Study #1 (Night) 2011
Programs Used: Pixar Proprietary Lighting Software & Renderman
I am responsible for the lighting & rendering of this image of Woody. The purpose of this project was to gain an understanding of advanced lighting and rendering techniques while matching an example character lighting scenario. Because Woody is made of plastic, it was important to take into consideration the interaction of light with different materials and how I could match the look of the reference even though the two subjects differ in their materials and facial shape.
5. Pixar Technical Undergraduate Program Lighting Study #2 (Day) 2011
Programs Used: Pixar Proprietary Lighting Software & Renderman
I am responsible for the lighting & rendering of this image of Woody. The purpose of this project was to gain an understanding of advanced lighting and rendering techniques while matching an example character lighting scenario. Because Woody is made of plastic, it was important to take into consideration the interaction of light with different materials and how I could match the look of the reference even though the two subjects differ in their materials and facial shape.

6. Imagined Memories (Clips). 2012


Programs Used: Maya, Mental Ray, Mudbox,  Adobe Photoshop, & Adobe After Effects
I am responsible for all aspects of this project. The given clips of this study focused on the creation of mood through the use of texturing, lighting, and compositing. The complete short project is a recreation of a daydream I had as boy listening to the stories my grandmother told me about her life while my grandfather was serving in the navy during World War II. For most Americans World War II was experienced through the radio and newspapers. This study attempts recreate my childhood vision while telling the story of World War II through the use of a radio’s audio and visual attributes. 

7. Jesse James Lighting Study. 2012


Programs Used: Maya 2012, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Mudbox, Renderman
I am responsible for the shading of the set as well as the lighting, rendering, and compositing of the final sequence. For this personal project I attempted to match the lighting of a shot from one of my favorite Deakins’ films “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” For this project I wanted to shape each object individually with its own set of lights. Although I wanted to match the reference shot, I also wanted to have some room to interpret the image. I added several volumetric effects, and tried to push several colors a bit more than the original shot.
8. Market Shading & Lighting Project. 2012
Programs Used: Maya, Renderman, Adobe Photoshop, & Adobe After Effects
I am responsible for the lighting, rendering, cloth simulation, particle simulation & compositing of this sequence. This was a group shading project, which was assigned as the final project for a texturing class at the University of Colorado at Denver. I was voted to be the rendering & lighting lead for the project by the class and chose to take the project a step further by simulating both the cloth as well as the particulate matter in the air. In this shot I wanted to work with the contrast of warm and cool colors, I also used specular lights to shape objects in the shadows. As rendering lead I set up the pipeline in which the class followed to ensure that all shading nodes & texture files would render without errors with the fastest render times possible. My work also ensured that geometry used by each individual would tie into the scene effectively and efficiently.
9. Crate Texturing & Lighting Project. 2012
Programs Used: Maya, Renderman, Adobe Photoshop, & Adobe After Effects
I am responsible for the modeling, shading, lighting, rendering, & compositing of this sequence. Although this was a simple shading assignment with a provided crate model, I chose to create my own crate, props, and environment. I chose to light this scene during the “Magic Hour” and used the movie “Days of Heaven” as a reference for the visual look I wanted to achieve.

10. Light House Lighting & Compositing Project. 2012


Programs Used: Maya, Renderman, Adobe Photoshop, & Adobe After Effects
I am responsible for the shading, lighting, rendering, & compositing of this image.
This was a personal project in which I wanted to take an existing lighting
scenario and composite a 3d element into the image. Because a lighter is ultimately
an artist I wanted to not only integrate the light house into the scene, but make
the lighting of the object beautiful.  

Song: Get It Together
Artist: The Go! Team