|
ABOUT JEFF LEW
Jeff
Lew has been a character animator in the visual effects industry since
1997. He has worked on several feature films, commercials and themepark
rides for several different studios, such as Warner Brothers Feature
Animation.
Jeff originally graduated from Columbia University with an electrical
engineering degree, but he wanted to have a more creative career. After
college he studied computer animation on his own, reading books and
websites. After 2 years of practicing and studying in his spare time,
he landed his first job as a character animator, proving that you don’t
need to go to art school to get a job in computer animation. It just
takes hard work and dedication.
Since
then, Jeff Lew has created one of the most popular shorts on the
internet, Killer Bean 2: The Party. This 7-minute short has been viewed
over 1.7 million times on Ifilm alone. Jeff completed KB2 in 2000,
taking 3 years to complete it in his spare time .
Learning from his own projects and learning from working at feature
film FX studios, Jeff has refined his craft and his work methods. He
decided to share his knowledge and techniques with other aspiring
animators on his 'Learning 3D Character Animation' DVD series. This DVD
series took 2 years to complete, again in his spare time. Jeff hopes
that future animators will benefit from his experience.
Jeff Lew's Professional Film Credits:
Transformers 3
Currently working on.
Animated on 46 shots.
Animated in 19 shots including the 10 headed Hydra and Fury characters.
Animated Reedman, Wheels, and Alice in 15 different shots.
Jeff Lew's feature film directorial debut. Worked on over 1000 shots.
Jeff
Lew’s main role was the Lead Animator, responsible for the majority of
CG Neo animations and also several CG Agent Smiths in 20 different
shots. Jeff was also involved in several aspects of the visual effects
production. Jeff had direct interaction with the Wachowski Brothers and
VFX Supervisor John Gaeta to pre-visualize the virtual camera
cinematography and also the kung fu action in the Burly Brawl sequence.
Jeff also developed the original CG crash-test-dummy system that was
used for the CG stuntmen in Maya. The crash-test-dummy system was later
developed in Havoc by the ESC R&D team. Finally, Jeff assisted in
character setup on a per shot basis, developing complex rigs to
accommodate Neo’s extraordinary abilities. The majority of setups were
developed for the Neo pole fighting shots.
Jeff
was hired by Warner Brothers Feature Animation late in the production
as a CG Animation Supervisor for the final action sequence between the
main actors and a CG Robodog. The animation was produced at Pixel Magic
using Lightwave. Jeff previsualized the animation of the CG robodog
with the edited film backplates that were previously shot. Upon
receiving approval from Director Joe Dante, Producer Chris De Faria,
and VFX Supervisor Chris Watts, Jeff Lew supervised the animation from
a team of talented animators at Pixel Magic.
Kung Pow
Jeff Lew was originally contracted by Director/Writer Steve Oedekerk to
produce a complete fight scene between the main actor and a CG cow.
Steve Oedekerk provided Jeff an incredible amount of creative freedom
in how the scene would play out. Jeff pre-visualized a 4-minute fight
sequence in 7 weeks. The final fight sequence was edited down to 2 ½
minutes, and Jeff joined the visual effects animation team to complete
the final CG cow animation using Maya. Jeff also assisted in creating
particle effects and character setup.
X-Men
For his first feature film credit, Jeff Lew was contracted by KWCC to
animate the Mystique character for 2 effects shots. Jeff also did the
character setup for the CG Mystique character in Maya.
Amazing Adventures of Spiderman: Universal Studios Themepark Ridefilm
Jeff
Lew’s first studio job was as a character animator for the Spiderman
themepark ridefilm. He animated characters such as Spiderman, Electro,
and Hydroman in 5 out of the total 13 shots. Animation was done in
Maya.
Tivo
This
was Jeff’s first credit as Animation Supervisor. Jeff supervised a
small team of animators for the animated intro of the Tivo product.
Other professional credits include:
Sobe Thrillicious Super Bowl Commercial - animation lead
Sobe Summer Magic Commercial - animation lead
Intel commercial - animation lead
Stardox commercial - animation supervisor
Docomo commercial - animation lead
Corkscrew Hill Ridefilm
Dodge/Universal commercial
Monsters of Grace
Ugly Duckling Car commercials
Little Miss Spider
© 2003 Jeff Lew Productions LLC
|
