All about the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why. The creative teams from top studios present on the creation of some of the most thrilling, dynamic films and television series to date.
Learn about how the team at Crafty Apes turned modern-day cities into futuristic Trek cities, created the Borg Queen fight sequence, and more in the season 2 opener of Star Trek: Picard.
Image Credit: 2022 CBS Television Studios. All Rights Reserved.
SPEAKERS
John Nelson
CG Supervisor // Crafty Apes
(Star Trek: Picard, Promised Land, Fear of the Walking Dead, Animal Kingdom)
John Nelson is a visual effects artist based out of Los Angeles, with over 18+ years’ experience in episodic television, film, commercials, and games. He is currently a CG Supervisor at Crafty Apes.
John began his career in visual effects inspired by a love for video games, which led him to begin working in the game industry in the early 2000s. Shortly after, he transitioned to working in photorealistic commercials for vehicles, and today, John works in television where his recent notable credits include projects such as MacGyver, Magnum PI, The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, and Picard.
Among his accomplishments, prior to his role at Craft Apes, John was co-founder of Invisible Numbers, a boutique visual effects company specializing in television and web content for automotive companies, including campaigns for global brands such as Ford and General Motors. Most recently, he has taken on the role of on-set visual effects supervisor for the ABC drama, Promised Land.
Josh LaCross
VFX Supervisor // Crafty Apes
(Star Trek: Picard, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, Loki, The Forever Purge)
Josh's love for storytelling kicked off way back in high school when he drove to San Diego Comic-Con to pass out story ideas to anyone that would take them. He joined the Air Force at 19, completing multiple overseas tours that further fueled his passion for storytelling.
After putting himself through night school and earning a bachelor's degree in visual effects, Josh started working in film and eventually became a VFX supervisor, creating stunning visuals for some of Hollywood's biggest movies like Thor: Ragnarok, Star Wars VII, and Power Rangers. He won Emmy Certificates for Best Visual Effects in a Miniseries for his work on John Adams and The Triangle, and a VES award for Best Compositing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial for John Adams.
Molly Pabian
Head of Studio & VFX Producer // Crafty Apes
(Promised Land, Star Trek: Picard, Foundation S1, Reservation Dogs S1)
Michigan-born and raised, Molly always had a passion for movies. Growing up her bedroom was filled with movie posters and an extensive VHS collection. Some of her favorite movies included: Jurassic Park, Death Becomes Her, and Willow, all of which were very VFX heavy. One day, Brooks Institute of Photography persuaded her to move to Ventura, California to pursue her love for movies. While at Brooks, she learned all aspects of filmmaking, but her passion remained in Visual Effects. During the last 4 months of her college career she interned at a VFX house, earning her first credit on Live Free or Die Hard before she graduated. After that she was brought on as the company’s PA and has been climbing ever since.
Molly brings experience from some of the top studios around the world: Digital Domain, Rhythm and Hues, Method, and DNEG. Working on both features and episodics, she has racked up close to 100 credits; some of her most notable credits include: Avatar, Real Steel, Life of Pi, Iron Man 3, True Detective, Justice League, Lost in Space, Westworld, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Joker, and Star Trek: Picard. In Molly’s free time you can find her spending time with her dog, Bailey, cooking, DIYing, and of course watching movies.
Spencer Hecox
Compositing Supervisor // Crafty Apes
(Star Trek: Picard, The Starling, The Forever Purge, DC's Legends of Tomorrow)
Spencer has worked as a Visual Effects Artist / Supervisor & Composite Supervisor for over 2 decades and has an additional decade of experience in various aspects of Animation & Post Production. His work can be seen in commercials, episodic television shows & feature films.
MODERATOR
Keith Blackmore
Sr Lecturer // Vancouver Film School
As an animation historian, Keith Blackmore has been a passionate cheerleader and a voice for all-things animated in the Vancouver area for almost 30 years. As one of the producers of the SPARK ANIMATION Festival and an active member of the local SIGGRAPH chapter, Keith has presented, interviewed and moderated at many festivals, local and national.
Since 1995, Blackmore has educated, entertained and inspired students in the history of animation and media studies at the Vancouver Film School. When he’s not reading, teaching or talking about animation, he’s watching it.
All about the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why. The creative teams from top studios present on the creation of some of the most thrilling, dynamic films and television series to date.
Learn about how the team at Crafty Apes turned modern-day cities into futuristic Trek cities, created the Borg Queen fight sequence, and more in the season 2 opener of Star Trek: Picard.
Image Credit: 2022 CBS Television Studios. All Rights Reserved.
SPEAKERS
John Nelson
CG Supervisor // Crafty Apes
(Star Trek: Picard, Promised Land, Fear of the Walking Dead, Animal Kingdom)
John Nelson is a visual effects artist based out of Los Angeles, with over 18+ years’ experience in episodic television, film, commercials, and games. He is currently a CG Supervisor at Crafty Apes.
John began his career in visual effects inspired by a love for video games, which led him to begin working in the game industry in the early 2000s. Shortly after, he transitioned to working in photorealistic commercials for vehicles, and today, John works in television where his recent notable credits include projects such as MacGyver, Magnum PI, The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, and Picard.
Among his accomplishments, prior to his role at Craft Apes, John was co-founder of Invisible Numbers, a boutique visual effects company specializing in television and web content for automotive companies, including campaigns for global brands such as Ford and General Motors. Most recently, he has taken on the role of on-set visual effects supervisor for the ABC drama, Promised Land.
Josh LaCross
VFX Supervisor // Crafty Apes
(Star Trek: Picard, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, Loki, The Forever Purge)
Josh's love for storytelling kicked off way back in high school when he drove to San Diego Comic-Con to pass out story ideas to anyone that would take them. He joined the Air Force at 19, completing multiple overseas tours that further fueled his passion for storytelling.
After putting himself through night school and earning a bachelor's degree in visual effects, Josh started working in film and eventually became a VFX supervisor, creating stunning visuals for some of Hollywood's biggest movies like Thor: Ragnarok, Star Wars VII, and Power Rangers. He won Emmy Certificates for Best Visual Effects in a Miniseries for his work on John Adams and The Triangle, and a VES award for Best Compositing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial for John Adams.
Molly Pabian
Head of Studio & VFX Producer // Crafty Apes
(Promised Land, Star Trek: Picard, Foundation S1, Reservation Dogs S1)
Michigan-born and raised, Molly always had a passion for movies. Growing up her bedroom was filled with movie posters and an extensive VHS collection. Some of her favorite movies included: Jurassic Park, Death Becomes Her, and Willow, all of which were very VFX heavy. One day, Brooks Institute of Photography persuaded her to move to Ventura, California to pursue her love for movies. While at Brooks, she learned all aspects of filmmaking, but her passion remained in Visual Effects. During the last 4 months of her college career she interned at a VFX house, earning her first credit on Live Free or Die Hard before she graduated. After that she was brought on as the company’s PA and has been climbing ever since.
Molly brings experience from some of the top studios around the world: Digital Domain, Rhythm and Hues, Method, and DNEG. Working on both features and episodics, she has racked up close to 100 credits; some of her most notable credits include: Avatar, Real Steel, Life of Pi, Iron Man 3, True Detective, Justice League, Lost in Space, Westworld, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Joker, and Star Trek: Picard. In Molly’s free time you can find her spending time with her dog, Bailey, cooking, DIYing, and of course watching movies.
Spencer Hecox
Compositing Supervisor // Crafty Apes
(Star Trek: Picard, The Starling, The Forever Purge, DC's Legends of Tomorrow)
Spencer has worked as a Visual Effects Artist / Supervisor & Composite Supervisor for over 2 decades and has an additional decade of experience in various aspects of Animation & Post Production. His work can be seen in commercials, episodic television shows & feature films.
MODERATOR
Keith Blackmore
Sr Lecturer // Vancouver Film School
As an animation historian, Keith Blackmore has been a passionate cheerleader and a voice for all-things animated in the Vancouver area for almost 30 years. As one of the producers of the SPARK ANIMATION Festival and an active member of the local SIGGRAPH chapter, Keith has presented, interviewed and moderated at many festivals, local and national.
Since 1995, Blackmore has educated, entertained and inspired students in the history of animation and media studies at the Vancouver Film School. When he’s not reading, teaching or talking about animation, he’s watching it.
