Christian Sherden

Work History

• Lead Previs / Layout Artist and Motion Capture Actor

  Dreambeast Media

  September 2020 - Present

  Santa Monica, California, United States

  At Dream Beast, we do for hire client services creating video game cinematics in The Unreal Engine for AAA titles. We provide the full service, working with clients starting with concept design, moving into previs, motion capture data collection, layout, animation, lighting, FX, and finally integration into the game for real-time, in-game cinematics.
• 

  Lead Previs / Layout Artist

  Microsoft

  December 2017 - March 2020

  Vancouver

  (Aquent) Working on the latest Gears of War release, building animatics, creating previs sequences, taking the motion capture data that comes back and laying out scenes with final assets for the animators. It's a highly involved and independent process where we do our own editing from start to finish, working our way between Adobe Premiere, Motion Builder, Maya, and the Unreal Engine. I got to do the camera work and staging for the trailer below!
  
  Winner: Coalition GSD Award for creating essential pipeline production tools for Previs/Layout

• Producer / Director of Photography / Environment Artist

  Overlooked

  January 2018 - October 2018

  Vancouver, British Colombia

  "Overlooked" is an 360 degree, animated film, about homelessness in Vancouver. We produced this with grant money won from Storyhive / Telus for their 2018 Immersive Edition. So far, "Overlooked" has been recognized by the Vancouver International Film Festival with an Official Selection, and won top prize for Immersive Content at the Calcutta International Film Festival. One of the links attached is the shorter version of the film, the full 10 minutes will be showing at festivals in 2019.
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  Sony Pictures Entertainment

  August 2017 - November 2017

  
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  Rough Layout Artist

  Sony Pictures Imageworks

  August 2017 - November 2017

  Vancouver

  Creating previs sequences for Spider-Man: into the Spiderverse, building previs sets for scouting new locations, early development and collaboration with the team in LA to achieve the final vision of the directors.
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  DHX Media

  May 2016 - July 2017

  
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  Nitrogen Studios

  September 2013 - May 2016

  

• Previs / Layout Artist

  Nitrogen Studios Inc

  September 2013 - May 2016

  From storyboards through camera finaling, Nitrogen has me making 3D sequences using all the skills I know, from rigging, to modeling, to animation, design, lighting, storytelling, and a little bit of scripting.
  
  We are producing "Sausage Party" a 3D animated feature written by Seth Rogan. The content could be described as a "hard-R".

• Writer / Director / Producer

  I'm Running for Parliament!

  May 2015 - June 2015

  Vancouver, British Colombia

  Created a viral campaign video for Parliament hopeful Wyatt Scott. With a shoestring budget and a few weeks to produce it, we captured 1.5 million views on YouTube, and segments on NBC, Fox News, and in the Guardian as well.
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  Student

  Vancouver Film School

  2012 - July 2013

  A year at Vancouver Film School is intensely packed with information and moves at industry speed. Students spend six months learning software packages and the basics of Animation, Modeling, and Visual Effects. The second half of the year, we specialize into one of these categories and produce a personal film to showcase our abilities.
  
  I chose the animation stream and completed a two-minute, slapstick, noir film called "Outfoxed!" about a thief who is not as clever as he may think.
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  Staff Writer / Graphic Designer

  Reviewed.com

  July 2011 - April 2012

  At Reviewed.com, I had many responsibilities across several of our review sites, mainly writing reviews for TelevisionInfo.com, VideoGameInfo.com, and DigitalCameraInfo.com.
  
  In addition to writing, as project manager on the redesign of VacationCruisesInfo.com, I coded review templates to dynamically organize the wealth of information that comes from reviewing a large cruise ship.
  
  My last few months at the company, when a new website was launched, I had the privilege of designing the type icons for products like headphones, grills, and cameras. It was while making these graphics that I realized I had to go back to school for a career in the visual arts and headed to VFS.

• Assistant Director

  The Beacon Hill Village

  August 2009 - June 2011

  Beacon Hill Village is a small non-profit dedicated to helping older adults stay in their homes rather than move to assisted living or nursing homes. The company provides whatever service an elder may need during business hours, from changing a lightbulb, to getting groceries, to drives to and from appointments.
  
  As Assistant Director I could be pulled in any of these directions, overseeing operations for this organization of 6 staff, 400 members, and several volunteers. During my employment, I managed a systems transfer of almost 10 years of data into a new software package, as well as designing the interface for the updated BeaconHillVillage.org. In the evenings I would teach computer basics to the members.