Francis Liu

Francis Liu

Supervisor VFX Artist / 29 yrs

San Francisco, CA, United States

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Head Of Lighting

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Head Of Lighting

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Head Of Lighting

Mortal Engines (2018)

CG Look Up Development Lead TD

Cursed (2017)

Shader Writer

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

Shader Writing

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)

Shader Writer

The Croods (2013)

Shader Writer

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Shader Writer

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

Senior Shader Writer

Puss in Boots (2011)

Production Tester

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

CG Supervisor

TRON: Legacy (2010)

CG Supervisor

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Color & Lighting

Spider-Man (2010)

Shader Writer

Turbo (2009)

Look Development Supervisor

Beowulf (2007)

Animator

Curious George (2006)

Look Development Lead

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

Visual Effects TD

Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

Lead Digital Artist

Bad Boys II (2003)

Digital Artist

I Spy (2002)

Look Development

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Lighter

Mission to Mars (2000)

Effects Animator

Bicentennial Man (1999)

3D Animator

The X-Files: Fight The Future (1998)

Programmer

Volcano (1997)

Work History

  • Senior Product Manager

    NVIDIA

    October 2019 - Present
    California

  • Head of Lighting

    Wētā FX

    April 2017 - October 2019
    New Zealand

  • Head of Lighting

    Wētā FX

    February 2017 - February 2019
    Wellington, New Zealand

  • Senior Product Manager

    Tableau Software

    October 2015 - April 2017
    Palo Alto, CA

  • Senior Program Manager

    Tableau Software

    June 2015 - October 2015

  • Senior Rendering Engineer, Product Owner and Design Lead

    DreamWorks Animation

    April 2014 - May 2015
    Redwood City

    · Gathered and expressed requirements from user base and translated into features and roadmap for Cloud based production and product renderer.
    · Conducted opposition research for competitive analysis and established new performance targets.
    · Organized and focused engineering development for scheduled releases.
    · Supported practitioners in use of complex graphical application for product design.
    · Implemented solutions within established framework to optimize user workflows and outcomes.
    · Defined training, deployment, and transition strategies for Productions.

  • Raytracing Product Lead

    DreamWorks Animation

    October 2009 - April 2015
    San Francisco, CA

    Responsible for defining workflows, design requirements, and performance targets for raytracing across Studio businesses.

  • Senior Rendering Engineer, Production Strategy Group

    DreamWorks Animation

    July 2012 - April 2014
    Los Angeles and Redwood City, CA

    · Participated in the analysis, augmentation and standardization of Lighting and Rendering workflows.
    · Researched and prototyped new Raytracing and Lighting solutions for Oriental Dreamworks, Shanghai China.
    · Cooperated with Productions to implement data and meta-data exchange pipeline between departments.

  • Lighting Supervisor, Tron 2

    Digital Domain

    October 2008 - August 2009
    Venice, CA

    · Supervised Look Development, Texturing and Shading teams to create digital sets and vehicles.
    · Interfaced with Disney's Art Department to define all vehicle requirements.
    · Supported Producers and Visual Effects Supervisors to formulate budgets and production plans.

  • CG Supervisor

    Sony Pictures Imageworks

    January 2006 - October 2008

    · Supervised Look Development, Texturing and Shading teams to create digital content for several films.
    · Served as Senior Pipeline member to help steer tools and workflow development.

  • Sequence Lead, Look Development Lead, Shader Writing Lead, Technical D

    Sony Pictures Imageworks

    October 2000 - December 2005

    · Established lighting techniques and constructed master lighting rigs for use in sequences.
    · Developed and maintained show standards for Lighting teams.
    · Mentored junior and mid-level Lighting artists.
    · Triaged and troubleshot lighting and rendering problems.
    · Created and supported material asset definitions for various characters, creatures, props, vehicles, and environments.
    · Helped formulate overall rendering strategy.
    · Wrote and conducted training courses on digital asset creation.
    · Developed Renderman materials and light shaders.
    · Helped establish shading strategies.
    · Researched new lighting and rendering techniques.

  • Instructor

    The Gnomon Workshop

    1999 - 2001
    Hollywood, CA

    · Developed and taught the 3D Lighting course.

  • Technical Director

    Disney's Secret Lab

    January 2000 - September 2000
    Burbank, CA

    · Developed Renderman shaders for use in production.

  • Technical Director

    Dream Quest

    September 1998 - January 2000
    Simi Valley, CA

    · Migrated Dream Quest from Power Animator to Renderman.
    · Developed Renderman shaders for use in production.
    · Evaluated software, including Yeti, Jig, and Renderman.

  • Programmer / Technical Director

    Pixel Envy

    1996 - 1998
    Pacific Palisades, CA

    · Developed compositing plugins for Amazon Paint and Piranha.
    · Developed render farm and shot management tools.
    · Performed various Digital Artist duties: lighting, compositing, texture painting, animation, scene setup, and tracking.
    · Performed on-set survey.

  • Intern

    Silicon Graphics

    1995 - 1995
    Chicago, IL

    · Film and Video Technician. Onyx and Challenge Support.

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Education

  • B.S. Computer Engineering

    Northwestern University

    September 1993 - May 1997