Kelly Talesnick

Work History

• 

  Senior Crowds Artist

  LAIKA, Inc.

  September 2024 - September 2025

  Remote
• 

  Lead Crowds Artist

  DreamWorks Animation

  January 2023 - May 2024

  Glendale, California, United States · Hybrid

  Worked as a Lead Crowd Artist on:
  - The Wild Robot
  - Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken
  
  Nominated by the crowds department leadership and selected to participate in the DreamWorks Empower Leadership program
  
  Assists the Supervisor by disseminating information and taking over tasks when applicable
  
  Responsible for specific initiatives including leading sequences and advanced crowd development tasks
  
  Attends key meetings with or is the point person in lieu of Supervisor as needed
  
  Assists with testing and rollout of new versions of critical software.
  
  Leads educational initiatives/documentation for show specific tools, templates, and systems.
  
  Assists in development of tools and techniques to streamline pipeline/processes.
  
  Initiates cross department conversations about workflows, methods, concerns and best practices.
  
  Acts as liaison to departments to help resolve issues for incoming and outgoing asset deliveries.
  
  Confirms shot work and assets are delivered downstream.
  
  maintains all the responsibilities of a Crowds artist(including crowd shot work and agent development - see below job description)
  
  Serves as a mentor/point person for all artists on the show.
  
  Provides technical assistance for artists.

  
• 

  Crowds Shot Artist

  DreamWorks Animation

  January 2018 - February 2023

  Glendale, California · Hybrid

  Worked as a Crowd Artist on:
  -Kung Fu Panda 4
  -Trolls: Band Together
  -Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
  -The Bad Guys
  -The Croods: A New Age
  -Trolls: World Tour
  -Abominable
  -How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
  
  Create appealing performances for crowd characters using Crowd simulation software and motion editing tools
  
  Design crowd character behaviors and agents and work closely with cycle animators to craft the necessary animations
  
  Test and develop the crowd asset setups required to craft compelling performances
  
  Maintain and expand upon existing crowds technology and tools
  
  Address creative and technical notes
  
  Identify and solve problems in simulations, cycles, and renders
  
  Was awarded the DreamWorks Ingenuity Award in 2019 for my work building a more efficient stadium crowd system for Trolls:World Tour
• 

  MoCap Engineer/Artist

  DreamWorks Animation

  June 2015 - January 2018

  Glendale, California · On-site

  Worked on mocap for Rough Layout and Virtual Cameras on:
  -How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
  -Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017)
  -The Boss Baby (2017)
  -Trolls (2016)
  -Kung Fu Panda 3(uncredited) (2016)
  
  Retargeting and motion editing motion capture data onto characters in MotionBuilder
  
  Running Vicon Blade on set during motion capture shoots
  
  Cleaning motion capture data in Vicon Blade
  
  Running MotionBuilder and Vicon Blade on set during mocap shoots to give live previsualization to directors and layout artists
  
  Managing a camera capture volume for layout artists to use in feature film production
  
  Project management on various short and long term motion capture team projects
  
  Session Manager for Motion Capture shoots, which includes responsibilities such as creating a callsheet, managing assets, interacting with clients and production team members, and helping to troubleshoot and manage issues that arise during the shoot
  
  Converted animation rigs from a proprietary animation package first into Maya, then into MotionBuilder and Unreal Engine
• 

  MotionBuilder Operator

  Wētā FX

  March 2015 - June 2015

  Vancouver, Canada · On-site

  Operated a virtual camera tent on set of Disney's The BFG.
  
  Worked with the director of the film and 1st camera operator to capture virtual cameras.
  
  Ran a Giant mocap system while simultaneously running MotionBuilder and a video recording station.
  
  Also responsible for prepping and QCing scenes to prepare them for virtual camera shoots.
• 

  On Set Previsualization Supervisor

  Rockstar Games

  December 2013 - December 2014

  Supervised all live MotionBuilder previsualization for mocap shoots integrating live camera editing, audio recording, and FacewareLive facial capture recorded into MotionBuilder.
  
  Operated MotionBuilder on set for all motion capture shoots
  
  Collaborated with the tools team to develop a new pipeline and tool set for live previsualization on mocap shoots.
  
  Worked with directors, animation supervisors, clients, and actors across the many Rockstar studios to help realize their vision for each scene.
  
  Developed a new pipeline for layering multiple shots into a single MotionBuilder file, allowing directors and producers to separate complex scenes into smaller more manageable segments while still seeing all of the pieces playing back together in real-time.
  
  Titles Include:
  GTAV Next Gen
• 

  Motion Capture Specialist/Animator

  Rockstar Games

  February 2010 - December 2013

  Promoted to Motion Capture Specialist in charge of all motion capture live previsualization.
  
  Operated MotionBuilder on set for all motion capture and virtual camera shoots
  
  Worked with the camera team shooting and post processing virtual cameras in Vicon Blade and MotionBuilder.
  
  Worked on a team to develop new virtual camera technology for camera work used in Max Payne 3 and GTAV.
  
  Helped the mocap team transition from a Vicon motion capture pipeline to a Giant system.
  Motion Capture Animator (February-November 2010)
  
  Worked as an animator in MotionBuilder for cinematic scenes on L.A. Noire.
  
  Oversaw a small animation team fixing animation bugs at the end of production on L.A. Noire.
  
  Managed the operation of a mocap stage during motion capture recording sessions using Blade.
  
  Developed a pipeline for prepping characters for live previsualization in Blade and MotionBuilder.
  
  Created automated post processing scripts and pipelines in Blade.
  
  Titles include:
  GTA V
  Red Dead Redemption
  Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
  L.A. Noire
  Max Payne 3
• 

  Motion Capture Animator

  Perspective Studios

  December 2009 - February 2010

  Glen Cove, New York, United States · On-site

  Animated in MotionBuilder for Rockstar Games' L.A. Noire.
  
  Utilized Blade and Motion Analysis software for motion capture shoots and data post processing.
  
  Developed an actor set up pipeline that was used for every character range of motion captured for L.A. Noire.
• 

  Teaching Assistant

  Savannah College of Art and Design

  August 2009 - November 2009

  Assisted Professor Aram Cookson in teaching the Animation for Games course at SCAD
  
  Developed and taught the mocap portion of the class
• 

  Assistant Lacrosse Coach

  Savannah College of Art and Design

  September 2008 - November 2009

  2nd Assistant for the SCAD Bee's Varsity Lacrosse team.
  
  specialized in goalie training
• 

  Motion Capture Tech/Animator/Intern

  Perspective Studios

  June 2009 - August 2009

  Glen Cove, New York, United States · On-site

  Utilized Blade for motion capture post processing, tracking, and cleaning up raw motion capture data
  
  Set up actors and animated with motion capture data in MotionBuilder
  
  Worked as a production assistant during motion capture shoots
  
  Titles include:
  Red Dead Redemption
  Grand Theft Auto and the Ballad of Gay Tony
• 

  Generalist Intern

  Pixeldust Studios

  May 2008 - August 2008

  Created matte paintings and set extensions in Adobe Photoshop
  
  Rotoscoped in Adobe After Effects
  
  Created camera moves and 3D models in Maya
  
  Assisted with storyboarding
  
  Created in house documentation
  
  Edited and polished shots between rough cut and fine cut.