Resume

PETE UPSON

  • Highly adaptable, technically proficient Creative Lead and 3D Generalist with fifteen years of content production and pipeline creation experience in video games, television, commercials, and feature films.
  • Eight years of management experience: Four years as an officer and pilot, four years supervising film and animation crews.
  • Developer of film production pipeline and asset management tools for Lucasfilm, Dreamworks, and Sony.

EXPERIENCE

SEPTEMBER 2016 – PRESENT
PREVIZ/LAYOUT ARTIST, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, LUCASFILM/ILM
  • Story/Previs Artist for Lucasfilm Animation Ltd (Apr 2018 – Present)
    Created storyboards and previs for the Clone Wars animated series.
  • External Technical Assistant III for ILM ( Jan 2018 – Apr 2018 )
    Managed, curated, packaged, and rendered Star Wars franchise 3D assets for delivery to internal departments and external vendors.
  • Technical Director for the Lucasfilm Franchise Team (Jul 2017 – Dec 2017)
    Curator of Lucasfilm franchise asset database. Developed tools for database management and asset delivery to Disney partner licensees and vendors.
  • Layout/Matchmove Artist for ILM (Sep 2016 – Jul 2017)
    Performed camera layout, matchmove, matchamation, photogrammetry, processed LIDAR, modeled set extensions, 2D and 3D stereoscopy, previz, scripted tools, and technical shot setup.
  • Projects included:
    • Solo: A Star Wars Story
    • Star Wars: The Last Jedi
    • Ready Player One
    • Transformers: The Last Knight
MARCH 2016 – SEPTEMBER 2016
CREATIVE LEAD, VISCIRA

Led a team of technical artists to create high-end animation solutions grounded in scientific accuracy for pharmaceutical companies including Novartis and Boehringer Ingelheim.

MARCH 2015 – FEBRUARY 2016
CINEMATIC ARTIST, TELLTALE GAMES

Adapted script pages and pitches into interactive cinematic scenes for episodic games.

  • Projects included:
    • Game of Thrones
    • Tales from the Borderlands
    • Minecraft: Story Mode
    • The Walking Dead
APRIL 2007– JANUARY 2015
LAYOUT LEAD, SENIOR LAYOUT ARTIST, PDI DREAMWORKS
  • Managed a cross-site team, developed new workflows and tools to improve efficiency, and coordinated and delegated tasks from other departments.
  • Animated cameras and blocked characters, composed set dressing, stereoscopy, edited playlists, scripted tools, collaborated with directors and art supervisors, and executed technical shot setup.
  • Developed workflows and toolsets for two motion capture systems, managed and operated capture sessions, and demonstrated the camera system to corporate investor groups, foreign dignitaries, celebrities, and media groups.
  • Projects included:
    • Penguins of Madagascar
    • Peabody and Sherman
    • Turbo
    • Madagascar 3
    • Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury
    • Megamind/Megamind: The Button of Doom
    • How to Train Your Dragon
    • Madagascar 2
    • Bee Movie
JANUARY 2005 – APRIL 2007
TECHNICAL ANIMATOR, LAYOUT ARTIST, SONY IMAGEWORKS

Cinematic creation and Motion Capture duties. Animated cameras and characters, composed set dressing, edited playlists, and executed technical shot setup. Developed the studio Maya/Motionbuilder camera capture pipeline and scripted associated tools.

  • Projects included:
    • Beowulf
    • Spiderman 3
    • Surf’s Up
    • Monster House
NOVEMBER 2004 – JANUARY 2005
MOTION CAPTURE TECHNICIAN, MOTION ANALYSIS STUDIOS

Motion capture stage technician, motion editor, integrator, and animator for video games including NHL 2K6, and The Godfather.

APRIL 2004 – NOVEMBER 2004
TECHNICAL ANIMATOR, MOTION CAPTURE STAGE TECHNICIAN, MOTIONWORKS

Motion capture stage technician, motion editor, integrator, and animator for video games and commercials including the Matrix and the U.S. Open.

AUGUST 1998 – NOVEMBER 2002
C5 PILOT, FLIGHT OFFICER, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

First Pilot, Mission Control Officer, and Stage Manager for multiple global operations spanning Enduring Freedom and the Iraq War.

EDUCATION

AUGUST 1993 – MAY 1997
B.S. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

Walter A. Haas School of Business

JANUARY 2003 – DECEMBER 2003
ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY

Courses completed in Film Production, Editing, Visual Effects and Animation

JANUARY 2005 – JANUARY 2006
GNOMON SCHOOL OF VISUAL EFFECTS

Courses completed in Advanced Scripting, Rigging

SKILLS

Consistently recognized for quickly mastering new technology and enhancing existing workflows to improve efficiency.

  • Production knowledge of Maya, Modo, Katana, Nuke, Unreal, Unity, 3DEqualizer, PF Track, Boujou, Syntheyes, MotionBuilder, V-Ray, Arnold, Mental Ray, 3D Studio Max, Proprietary 3D Software (ILM, Telltale, Dreamworks, Imageworks), Final Cut Pro, Avid, and the Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Audition, After Effects, Premiere).
  • Motion Capture hardware and software experience with the Vicon, MAC, and Intersense systems.
  • Programming and tool development experience in Python, Java, Perl, MEL, UNIX, and HTML.
  • Extensive knowledge of Mac, Linux, and Windows operating systems.