I’ve spent more than three decades working in visual effects and post production. Depending on the project, that might mean working as a VFX Supervisor, Project Lead, Senior Flame Artist or Conform Artist. The role changes with the job, but I’ve always brought the same combination of creative and technical thinking to the work. Technical command can get the work done, but artistry, experience and creative judgment can truly elevate it.

I started working on Flame and Inferno early in their history and eventually spent four years at Industrial Light & Magic as a Senior Inferno Artist. While there, I worked on films including Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Terminator Salvation.

Since returning to the commercial world, I’ve worked with agencies, directors and production companies on projects for Apple, Google, BMW, Adidas, Target, Beats and many others, along with artists including Beyoncé, Katy Perry, The Weeknd and Elton John. Some jobs have me concentrating on individual shots, while others have me supervising teams, conforming and finishing, or helping shape both the creative and technical approach to a complicated project.

Over the last few years, AI has become another increasingly important part of that process. I’ve been incorporating AI tools into real production workflows for roto and matte work, cleanup and object removal, image manipulation, upscaling, shot development and other VFX tasks. Combined with Flame and more traditional techniques, these tools have opened up new creative possibilities and expanded what we can realistically accomplish within a typical production schedule.

This has all shaped how I approach the work today. I move comfortably between the creative, technical and supervisory sides of a project, I see the larger picture while still being focused on the details, and I bring an experienced perspective to a field that continues to reinvent itself, and that constant evolution is a large part of what continues to keep the work interesting and engaging for me. I love what I do.