Mike Hardison

Work History

• 

  Principal Artist

  Activision Blizzard

  October 2022 - Present

  Irvine, California, United States · Hybrid
• 

  Digital Effects Supervisor

  Blizzard Entertainment

  November 2020 - December 2022

  Irvine, California, United States

  Manage the daily activity, development and progress of the in-game cinematics team. Communicate and coordinate goals between the game team and the project crew. Research and help develop solutions for technical and artistic challenges with the project.
• 

  Senior Lighting/Compositing Artist

  Blizzard Entertainment

  June 2007 - December 2022

  Orange County, California Area

  Assembly, lighting and compositing of the pre-rendered cinematics for Blizzard's major game titles:
  World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
  Diablo III
  Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
  World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
  World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

  

  

  

  

  

  
• 

  SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival Electronic Theater Juror

  ACM SIGGRAPH

  March 2020 - April 2020

  Los Angeles County, California, United States

  Since 1999, the Computer Animation Festival has been recognized as a qualifying festival by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and several works that were originally presented in this program have received nominations and wins for the Best Animated Short Film Academy Award. The Computer Animation Festival Electronic Theater jury is composed of experts from various backgrounds and industries that help to determine the best content for the SIGGRAPH 2020 show.
• 

  Lighting Lead

  Blizzard Entertainment

  December 2015 - November 2018

  Orange County, California Area

  Lighting Lead helps organize and guide the lighting team from start to completion of a cinematic project. Duties include the setup and planning of lighting assemblies and lighting sequences, the organization of the lighting team and their assignments, and acting as a liaison between the show's Supervisors and the lighting team. Further tasks include tools guidance and development as well as task scheduling and cross-team representation.
• 

  SIGGRAPH 2015 Games Chair

  ACM SIGGRAPH

  January 2014 - August 2015

  Greater Los Angeles Area

  The SIGGRAPH Games Chair is responsible for the planning, selection process, and implementation of the annual conference with an eye towards Games. The Games Chair works closely with the Conference Chair, the Chief Staff Executive (CSE), other volunteers, and contractors to produce an interesting and successful Games Program.
• 

  Senior Lighting/Compositing Artist

  Sony Pictures Imageworks

  October 2005 - May 2007

  Culver City, CA

  Generated lighting and compositing for the following film releases:
  Spider-Man 3
  Monster House

  

  

  
• 

  3D Supervisor

  Pixel Magic

  July 2001 - September 2005

  Toluca Lake, CA

  Oversaw the 3D animation department of the studio. Jobs included managing, scheduling, training of the 3D staff along with interaction and communication of various studio clients. Worked with the following film projects:
  Scary Movie 4, The Pink Panther, Fantastic Four, Mr. & Ms. Smith, Elektra
  Blade: Trinity, Taxi, Exorcist: The Beginning, I, Robot, The Final Cut, Torque, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Freddy vs. Jason, S.W.A.T., League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, Basic, Agent Cody Banks, Daredevil, Final Destination

• Animator

  Foundation Imaging

  July 1999 - June 2001

  Valencia, CA

  Animated, lit and composited for the following full C.G. animated television shows. Tasks also included keyframe animation, motion capture direction:
  Max Steele, Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles
• 

  Animator

  Magnetic Dreams Animation Studio

  1997 - June 1999

  Greater Nashville Area, TN

  Concepted, animated, lit and composited for a varied range of commercial projects.