Terrence Masson
phone: 413-822-4949 - email : tman(at)visualfx.com
Producers Guild of America
Visual Effects Society
ACM/SIGGRAPH
www.cg101.com
My 16 years of experiences with feature animated film, interactive and live action visual effects have given me a deep and thorough understanding of production pipelines. I work with directors, producers, executives and artists to guarantee the overall success of a project by optimizing and improving the quality of workflow between creative, technical and management. Whether feature animation, live action, commercial, large format or interactive entertainment; I believe that strong leadership, clear direction and teamwork are the key to getting the most quality (and fun) out of any endeavor.
What do I excel at?
o
Succeeding
under tight deadlines for projects both large or small by maximizing production
efficiency
o
I always
operate with a “grace under pressure” that comes from a wide range of
production experience.
o
I give (and
take) direction very well while operating both on my own and as part of a team.
I have just finished developing
an animation studio production business plan for a major New York publishing
company and consulting at Technicolor Creative Services in
Toronto as Visual Effects Supervisor. Last year I served as a CG Supervisor on
the live action Fantastic Four visual effects film. For that film I
developed, optimized and supervised a team of 60 from modeling through shading,
lighting and compositing. For Dreamworks Animation
as pre-production Head of Layout on Flushed
Away (an Aardman feature film project) I evaluated software tools and
established procedural pipeline standards for their previously 2D experienced
production environment. This experience was in collaboration with the film’s
Directors, Production Designer and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Two years ago consulting at C.O.R.E.
Feature Animation as pre-production Director of Photography I established
their camera and lighting standards and procedures. I also interviewed and
staffed the 35 person lighting department for the Toronto based, Disney backed
feature length animated film, The Wild.
Hand-on
skills
·
Camera, Lighting and
Compositing:
Fifteen years of fulltime digital cinematography experience; including eighteen
major feature films, interactive games, pre-rendered cinematics and broadcast
national commercials. I have used most 3D computer animation products in the
market today including Alias/Maya, 3Dmax, Houdini and SoftImage, as well as
many proprietary tools at large companies such as ILM and Digital Domain.
·
Animation Direction: I have Directed
several award winning short animated films such as Bunkie & BooBoo
(First Place World Animation Celebration 1998); developed the very first
digital character animation techniques for South Park the
television series; flown the Millennium Falcon in The Empire Strikes Back:
Special Edition and effects animated pixie dust in Hook to name just a few.
·
Creative Writing: Co-writer of the Bruce
Lee: Quest of the Dragon script; author CG 101: A Computer
Graphics Industry Reference; author of numerous articles and
presentations at professional conferences worldwide and co-founder of the
online visual effects resource www.VFXPro.com
Other
Accomplishments :
·
Member
of the Visual Effects Society since its inception.
·
Author
of "CG 101: A Computer Graphics
Industry Reference", New Riders Press. 1999
·
Developed
the original CG animation technique for the television series South Park in 1996
·
Founder
of Digital Fauxtography; a digital
visual effects and animation company www.digfaux.com
·
Member
of the Purdue International Center for
Entertainment Technology (PICET) Advisory Board
·
Co-founder
of The Visual Effects Resource Center (
www.visualfx.com is now www.VFXPro.com )
-major employment history-
Charlex/Launch : (Summer 2006 to
present)
Technicolor : Visual Effects Supervisor (May 2005 to
summer 2006)
Meteor Studios : CG Supervisor “Fantastic Four”; (November 2004 to March 2005)
Dreamworks
SKG : Head of Layout “Flushed Away”
(pre-production); (Nov. 2003 to March 2004)
C.O.R.E.
Feature Animation : Director of Photography (pre-production); (June
2003 to Nov. 2003)
Kleiser
Walczak Construction Company : Visual Effects Supervisor (ongoing
constultant)
http://www.kwcc.com/newsletters/newsletter_spring_2003.html
Ronin
Entertainment : Director of Development & Creative Project Lead
; (Jan. 2000 to Jan. 2002)
Industrial
Light + Magic : Senior Technical Director & CG Sequence Supervisor;
(1996 to Jan 2000)
Sony
Pictures High Definition Center : Visual Effects Supervisor; (Nov. 1995-Feb
1996)
Sony
Pictures Imageworks : Animation R&D Consultant; (Nov/Dec 1995)
SimEx
Digital Studios : Digital/Visual Effects Supervisor; (January-October 1995)
Warner
Brothers Imaging Technology : Computer Graphics Supervisor; (March 1994-Oct
1994)
Digital
Domain : Technical Director & Digital Artist; (Oct 1993-March 1994)
The
Trumbull Co. Inc. (May 1992-Oct 1993) ; Image Engineering Supervisor
Industrial
Light + Magic (1991) ; Computer Graphics Artist and Technical Assistant
-feature film credits-
Fantastic Four ; CG Supervisor at Meteor Studios
Star Wars Episode 1: The
Phantom Menace ; CG Sequence Supervisor at ILM
Small Soldiers ; Senior Technical Director at ILM
Bunkie & Booboo ; Designer & Director at ILM (short animated film)
Spawn ; Senior Technical Director at ILM
Return Of The Jedi/Special
Edition ; Technical Director at ILM
The Empire Strikes
Back/Special Edition ; Technical Director at ILM
Lord Protector ; Digital Effects Supervisor(300+ shots) for Alpine Pictures
Anaconda ; Animation R&D consultant at Sony Pictures Imageworks
Cutthroat Island ; Digital Fauxtography Contract for 2D effects animation
Mars Odyssey (ride film) ; Digital Visual
Effects Supervisor at Simex Digital Studios
Batman Forever ; Digital Fauxtography Contract for the opening title sequence
Batman Forever ; Shot planning and animation for Warner Brothers Studios
Judge Dredd ; Digital Fauxtography Contract: Courtroom Lawgiver and 3-D map
sequences
Dark Territory/Under Siege
Two ; Digital Fauxtography Contract
Batman Forever ; Shot planning, previsualization and animation for Warner Brothers
Studios
Woodstock-25th Anniversary ; Restoration work for Warner Brothers Studios
True Lies ; Technical Director at Digital Domain
Interview With The Vampire ; Technical Director at Digital Domain
Color of Night ; Digital artist at Digital Domain
Luxor (ride film) ; Image Engineering Supervisor. The Trumbull Co.
Hook ; Computer Graphics Animator and Technical Assistant at ILM
-short animated films-
Bunkie & Booboo: http://www.kascope.com/cgibook/html/tmanhtml/booboo.htm
First place
winner: "Best 3D/Effects Animation by an Independent". The World
Animation Celebration 98.
-Featured in the
new DVD/VHS release “Little Bytes” presented by Odyssey Productions.
-Selected for
the1999 Mill Valley Film Festival: Sat. Oct 16, 1999
-Selected for
the Hollywood Shorts monthly film series. (Sunday Sept.12th 1999)
-Screened at
Sausalito Arts Festival Sept. 4-6, 1999.
-Featured in
Visual Fantasy: The World of Computer Graphics 1999: Machida City Museum of
Graphic Arts, Tokyo
-Featured in the
1998 SIGGRAPH Animation Festival and SIGKids Theaters.
-Film debut at
the Sonoma Valley Film Festival 1998
-Featured in
NICOGRAPH98 CG Film Show Nov. 25th-27th 1998
Paranoimia: Designed and Directed this short animated film in 1990.
-Featured in the
1991 Mill Valley Film Festival(CA).
-awards and articles and
other neat stuff-
-SIGGRAPH 2006 Computer Animation Festival
Chair
-South
Park: Developed the original CG animation
technique and production pipeline with Producer David White to win the approval
for the animated cable series. (details online at:
http://www.spscriptorium.com/SPinfo/MakingOfSouthPark.htm#Beginnings )
-Host of Creative Planet's "Visual
Effects" Community Center Forum. (May, 2000 to May, 2001)
-Contributing writer for VFXPro.com
"Paul
Debevec and the Art of Photogrammetry"”, “Understanding Motion Capture": a book review.
"Details,
details, details" article, "Entering the VFX Industry" article.
"The Art
and Science of Digital Compositing": a book review.
-1999 Francis Cabot Lowell Fine Arts Young
Alumni Award: University of Massachusetts Lowell
-Animation Magazine: Contributor to
"Opportunities in Animation; Demo Reel Tips". Sept. 1999.
-Joel
Seigels Inside Hollywood Oscar Special
(3/18/99): Presenting Star Wars SE work.
-National Institute for Standards and
Technology expert consultant for digital video graphics.
-SHOTS Magazine (November issue #49): ILM's Terrence
Masson - profile. The commercial design industry's premier magazine and video.
-Good
Morning America: George Lucas interview with Joel Seigel for
Star Wars Special Edition. Presenting Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition
work.
-ACM/SIGGRAPH 1995(Aug/95): Interactive
Entertainment Technical Director.
-recent speaking engagements-
-SICAF : Jury member. Seoul, Korea. May 2007.
-fmx/07 : Invited lecturor, Stuttgart, Germany, May 2007 The SIGGRAPH Animation Festival selection process, and A Brief History of Computer Graphics: From the 1940's to tomorrow.
-Connecticut College : New Media Colloquia Series. April 2007.
-IIFF (Institute for Independant Film Financing) : Invited Speaker, March 15th, 2007 The Animation Business in Flux: Evolving Trends & Emerging Opportunities for Filmmakers & Financiers
-Northeastern University (Boston) : Invited speaker. Feb 26th, 2007 Screening of the 2006 SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater and animation production discussion
-Graphite 2006 : Keynote speaker, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Nov.29th-Dec.2th, 2006 International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques The Top 5 Things That Will Doom Your Animation Production
-Pratt Institute : Lecture for students of Prof. Linda Lauro-Lazin, Brooklyn, NY. November 1st 2006 Topic focused on "What it is like working and animating in production" Highlighted the difference between VFX, feature animation and games production Highlighted selected legal concepts of contracts and working practices
-Pixar Animation Studios : Presenting the 2006 Electronic Theater. October 30th, 2006
-New York University : Thesis project review, ongoing, 2006-2007 Review and advise senior students on short animated film projects Follow students progress to ensure timely completion and highest quality
-Walt Disney Feature Animation : Presenting the 2006 Electronic Theater. September, 2006
-fmx/06 : Invited lecturor, Stuttgart, Germany. Summer 2006. How To Get Your Animated Short Rejected Focus on major areas of animation excellence: story, editing, art direction, "acting", camera, etc. The SIGGRAPH Animation Festival selection process, Discussed "vision" and selection of Jury and Committee Highlighted personal selection criteria for excellence in final film choices
-Pratt Institute : Production lecture for Prof. Linda Lauro-Lazin, Brookln, NY. 2005.
-Purdue University : Spring Banquet Guest Speaker. April 4th, 2003
-Purdue University : PICET Speaker "Digital Cinema and Cinematography:. Oct. 13th-16th 2002
-The Art Institutes International : National Curriculum Panel member. April 30th, 2002 Advised on national level curriculum restructuring; Focus on instituting a new interactive video game program; Specific areas included animation tools, techniques and relevance to other existing courses.
-The Art Institutes International San Fransisco : Guest Speaker and portfolio review. March 14th, 2002
-Expression Center for New Media (Emeryville, CA) : Instructor for final project class with Maya-based short animated film as graduating requirement. Class size approximately 24 students, 13 week duration
-University California / Berkeley : "Advanced Computer-Aided Rendering and Animation" Nov.9th, 2001
-SIGGRAPH / San Fransisco : "A Night Inside Computer Games: Game Design". Oct.30th, 2001 Discussed game design and its influence on animation requirements Highlighted technical limitations and gameplay fundamentals
-Purdue University : PICET Conference speaker Oct.8th, 2001
-Expression Center for New Media : "How to prepare for a job in the CG industry". Sept.6th, 2001
-3D Festival "International Forum for 3D Graphics" : Copenhagen, Denmark. Oct., 2000
-World Animation Celebration : Panel Speaker "How to prepare to get a job in animation". May, 2000
-3D Conference & Expo (Santa Clara, CA) : "How to Enter the Computer Graphics Industry". May, 2000
-SIGGRAPH / San Fransisco : Education Seminar. April 26th, 2000
-Imagine Con 2000 : FX Guest of Honor. Virginia Beach, Virginia. April 20th-23rd, 2000
-Purdue University : Spring Banquet Guest Speaker. March 31st, 2000
-Barnes & Noble : "CG 101" book signing and lecture. Fremont, CA. Feb.25th, 2000
-Swarthmore College : Guest Lecturer. Feb.17th-19th, 2000
-Purdue University : Invited Speaker. Dec.3rd, 1999
-Director's Guild of America (DGA) : Improving Communication between VFX and Production. Oct.1999 Fellow panelists included Visual Effects Supervisors John Dykstra and John Bruno
-ASIFA : San Fransisco. Careers night at the Exploratorium. Nov.9th, 1999
-Borders Books : San Rafael, CA. "CG 101" book signing and lecture. Nov.4th, 1999
-SIGGRAPH / San Fransisco : Education Seminar. Sept.30th, 1999
-Film&Media Exchange - fmx/99 : Germany. Keynote Speaker "The History of Computer Graphics". May, 1999 Highlighted the past 40 years of CG animation and technology Presented select film clips and discussed present day relevance and future trends
-Lawrence Livermore Labs : "Science On Saturday" lecture series. "The Digital Creature Feature". Feb.1998
-World Summit for Feature Films and Visual Effects : Invited Panelist. March 1998 Presented past work, including "Bunkie & Booboo" in Los Angeles, CA Fellow panelists included Directors Eric Armstrong and Henry Selick
-SIGGRAPH / Los Angeles : Guest Panel Speaker on Independent Animation. Feb.1996
-Alias | Wavefront Los Angeles Users Group : Featured Speaker presenting past work. June 6th, 1996
-education-
-William Paterson University. (Wayne, New
Jersey) ; Master of Arts in Computer Animation 1990 (one year)
-University of Massachusetts (Lowell,
Massachusetts) ; BFA Graphic Design: Computer Graphics / Graphic Design major
with Art History minor 1989
-Marian High School (Framingham, Massachusetts) High School: Voted Most Artistic in graduating class 1984