Afonso Salcedo

Work History

• 

  Technical Director

  Framestore

  August 2003 - June 2004

  Harry Potter 3
  Troy
  Thunderbirds
• 

  Lighting and Compositing Artist

  Walt Disney Animation Studios

  April 2019 - October 2023

  Los Angeles, California, United States · Remote

  Tasked with making animated worlds look consistent, atmospheric, and occasionally magical. Developed and executed lighting strategies for CG features and shorts using Maya, Nuke, and some studio-exclusive wizardry.
  
  Established foundation lighting for several sequences, because even cartoons need their mood just right, and created key lighting rigs to make sure characters and crucial details weren’t just well lit but felt like they belonged in a billion-dollar story.
  
  Achievements include optimizing internal workflows (translation: wrangling chaos into something more tangible) and helping to guide the pipeline towards modern tools as an active participant in Houdini workflow design meetings.
  
  Credits include WISH, Strange World, Encanto, Baymax, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Frozen 2, because nothing says ‘lighting expert’ like making sure animated pixels react appropriately under every conceivable light source…
• 

  Lighting and Compositing Artist

  Walt Disney Animation Studios

  June 2024 - October 2024

  Burbank, California, United States · Remote

  Responsible for making Moana look like she’s having the adventure of a lifetime, one carefully composed ray of sunlight (or moonlight) at a time. Specializing in lighting, compositing, character and environment integration, with a great eye on continuity (because when we’re all working at the same time, cohesion is way more challenging).
  
  Worked closely with fellow artists, production designers, and directors, and upstream departments to make sure everything from sand to the biggest ocean knew its place in the spotlight.

• Photographer

  Afonso Salcedo Photography

  February 2014 - Present

  Los Angeles, California

  For several years I’ve been on a noble pursuit of getting people to look both natural and impressive in front of a lens, at the same time. Specializing in in-studio portrait and documentary photography, I make sure every subject shines, or at the very least, doesn’t look like they’ve been dragged out of bed at 6 AM.
  
  Additional adventures include freelance photojournalism for LosAngeleno.com, capturing Los Angeles news in all its gritty and glamorous glory, and leading a nationwide print campaign for Clorox Pro, because even bleach deserves to look good.
  
  I’ve also lent my retouching skills to Netflix’s ‘After Life’ (yes, that show with Ricky Gervais) and documented Burning Man for Sony Pro, proving my versatility from desert dust to Hollywood glow.
  
  Skills: Portraiture, documentary, travel photography, studio and on-location expertise, visual storytelling, and the ability to make even the most camera-shy individuals look their best.
• 

  Lighting and Compositing Artist

  Walt Disney Animation Studios

  August 2020 - Present

  Los Angeles, California, United States

  - Encanto
  - Baymax
  - Raya and the Last Dragon
• 

  Visual Effects Advisor

  Academy of Art University

  2008 - 2010

  San Francisco

  Working with graduate students on their MFA thesis on Visual Effects, serving as their advisor over a course of a semester in both classroom and online settings, focusing on lighting and compositing.
• 

  Lighting Artist

  Pixar

  January 2005 - December 2011

  • Served as a senior artist in CG animation, specializing in cinematography, lighting, and compositing using industry-standard software like Shake (!!) and Nuke to create visually captivating feature films.
  • Contributed to a variety of acclaimed feature film projects, including Cars, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Cars 2, and La Luna.
  • Collaborated with Disney Imagineering to develop visually stunning assets for theme park attractions, such as World of Color and Cars Land at Disneyland.
  • Actively participated in mentoring and teaching craft classes at Pixar University, sharing knowledge and expertise with other artists and co-workers.
  • Cultivated a highly communicative and collaborative team culture on all film projects, fostering effective cooperation and exchange of ideas.
  • Guided junior artists in honing their creative processes, offering support and advice to help them excel in their craft.
  • Adapted to new software packages and techniques in addition to utilizing traditional art methods, ensuring continued growth and versatility as an artist.
  • Worked closely with production teams to create task lists and ensure the timely completion of project milestones, contributing to the overall success of each film.
• 

  Advisory Board

  Escape Studios

  2010 - 2012

  Los Angeles

  Collaborating with other Advisory Board members to keep the high standard of education provided by Escape Studios and maintain its status as the best Visual Effects school in the country.
• 

  Freelance Creative Director/Producer

  Sutro Studios

  January 2013 - April 2019

  San Francisco

  Story-driven creative direction, production, and post-production supervision for video and film to inspire and drive engagement.
  
  https://sutrostudios.com
• 

  Photographer

  Freelance

  January 2014 - Present

  Los Angeles, CA

  https://afonso.me
• 

  Sr. Lighting Artist

  Method Studios

  December 2019 - January 2020

  Santa Monica, CA, United States

  Cinematics for an Amazon Games project
• 

  Lighting Artist

  Walt Disney Animation Studios

  April 2019 - September 2019

  Burbank, California

  Lighting and Compositing on Frozen 2
• 

  Creative Producer

  Masterclass

  February 2018 - September 2018

  San Francisco Bay Area

  • Production of long-form narrative content through creative leadership, project and people management, comprehensive research and story development, instructor pitch, and guiding projects through all aspects of production and post-production.
  • Photography creative direction for a variety of classes and instructors, working closely with a roster of freelance photographers to create the necessary image assets on-set and through delivery.
  • Leading teams through creative direction in pre-production, editorial, color grading, and motion graphics.
  • Chose and followed targeted styles, grammatical approaches and narrative voices for each course between edited material, web guidelines and course workbook.
  • Delved into unique themes and subjects with each class and instructor to enhance student's growth and engagement.
  • Resolved conflicts and negotiated mutually beneficial agreements between creative leadership and instructor's needs.
  • Monitored social media and online sources for industry.
  • Developed team communications and culture improvement needs throughout company.
• 

  Senior/Lead Lighting Artist

  DreamWorks Animation

  December 2011 - August 2012

  Redwood City

  Worked on:
  
  - Madagascar 3
  - Rise of the Guardians

  

  
• 

  Advisory Board

  Escape Studios

  January 2010 - May 2012

  Los Angeles, CA
• 

  Lighting Artist

  Pixar

  2005 - December 2011

  Emeryville, CA

  - Cars 2
  - Toy Story 3
  - La Luna
  - Up
  - Wall-E
  - Ratatouille
  - Cars

  

  

  

  

  
• 

  Graduate Advisor for Visual Ef

  Academy of Art University

  2008 - 2010

  San Francisco, Ca
• 

  Technical Director

  Framestore

  2003 - 2004

  London, UK

  - Harry Potter 3
  - Troy
  - Thunderbirds