Michael LaFave

Michael LaFave

Highly trained to routinely solve production fx problems

Houdini VFX/Technical Artist

Los Angeles, CA

Visual Effects

The Orville (2022)

Visual Effects Artist

Signs of Life (2020)

Digital Effects Artist

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2015)

VFX Artist

Redfall (2023)

Houdini artist (2022)

The Orville (2017)

Houdini artist (2022)

Stranger Things (2016)

Houdini artist (2022)

Naomi (2022)

FX Artist

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Houdini artist (2021)

Evil (2019)

FX Artist

See (2019)

Visual Effects Artist

Countdown (2019)

Senior Houdini FX Artist

Signs of Life (2022)

Visual Effects Artist

The Runaways (2017)

FX Artist

The Man in the High Castle (2015)

FX Artist

Goliath (2016)

FX Artist

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

digital effects artist

Black Sails (2014)

Effects Artist

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

FX Artist

Skull Island: Reign of Kong (2016)

FX Animator

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)

Digital Effects Artist

The Ten Commandments (2015)

Digital Effects Artist

Arrow (2009)

digital effects artist

Sleepy Hollow (2013)

Destruction / Dynamics

Halo 5: Guardians (2015)

Houdini VFX Artist

Noah (2014)

Sr. Fx TD

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Sr. Fx TD

Men in Black 3 (2012)

Effects Technical Director

Wildest Weather in the Solar System (2011)

Sr. Fx TD

Arthur Christmas (2011)

Sr. Fx TD

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Lighting & Fx TD

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010)

freelance Sr. Fx TD

The A-Team (2010)

freelance Houdini TD

Red Dawn (2012)

freelance Houdini TD

Invictus (2018)

freelance Sr. Fx TD

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)

show hire Sr. Fx TD

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

Sr. Fx TD

Hancock (2008)

Sr. Fx TD

I Am Legend (2007)

Sr. Fx TD

Superman Returns (2006)

Sr. Fx TD

Elektra (2005)

Sr. Fx TD

Around the World in 80 Days (2004)

Sr. Fx TD

Garfield (2004)

X-Men 2 (2003)

Sr. Fx TD

The Sum of All Fears (2002)

digital effects artist

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

3d lighter

Cats & Dogs (2001)

Digital Effects Artist

Red Planet (2000)

Hollow Man (2000)

3d digital artist

Battlefield Earth (2000)

Fantasia 2000 (2000)

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Digital Effects

T-Rex: Back to the Cretacious (1998)

The X-Files: Fight The Future (1998)

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Titanic (2012)

Volcano (1997)

FX TD

Jingle All the Way (2011)

digital effects artist

Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension (1996)

Judge Dredd (1995)

Digital Effects Artist

Tales from the Crypt (1989)

digital modeler

Labyrinth (2021)

I brought a projector to show my Regular-8mm demo reel to my 1st computer motion-controlled animation employer in 1982
Work History

  • Senior Houdini VFX Artist

    id Software

    June 2022 - Present

  • FX Artist (remote Temporary)

    Company 3

    July 2021 - May 2022

    Houdini 18.5 commercial + episodic lighting & fx dev : Method & PHVFX

  • FX Artist (remote Temporary)

    Chicken Bone VFX (CBFX)

    April 2021 - July 2021

    Houdini 18.5 episodic series Pyro FX

  • FX Artist (remote Temporary)

    Method Studios

    March 2021 - April 2021

    Houdini 18.5 corporate video FX-animation & Lighting

  • FX Artist (remote Temporary)

    MPC

    February 2021 - March 2021

    Houdini 18.5 FX R&D for commercials

  • FX Artist (on-site & remote work)

    The Mill

    January 2020 - March 2020
    Los Angeles

    Houdini 17.5 FX work for 2020 national TV commercial spots (w/ Ftrack asset mgr on Linux PCs)

  • FX Animator

    Stargate Studios

    September 2019 - September 2019
    Los Angeles, CA

    Houdini 17.5 FX for theatrical release

  • Sr. FX Artist

    Griffith Observatory

    January 2019 - June 2019
    Los Angeles, CA

    Houdini FX for planetarium show at the Griffith Observatory
    with Friends of the Observatory (FOTO)

  • Houdini artist

    Electric Theatre Collective

    September 2018 - September 2018
    Santa Monica, CA

    Redshift 2.5 lighting in Houdini 16.5

  • Houdini FX artist

    Double Negative

    July 2018 - August 2018
    Los Angeles, CA

  • FX Artist

    Barnstorm VFX

    December 2017 - June 2018
    Los Angeles, CA

  • FX Artist

    Gradient Effects

    September 2017 - October 2017
    Los Angeles, CA

    Houdini 16 particle & volumetric fx

  • FX Artist

    Pixomondo

    January 2017 - July 2017
    Los Angeles, CA

  • Houdini FX artist

    Rhythm & Hues Studios

    July 2016 - November 2016
    Los Angeles, CA

    episodic TV series VFX particle dynamics, using Houdini 14 on Linux PCs

  • temporary Houdini FX Artist

    Prologue Films

    June 2016 - July 2016
    Los Angeles, CA

    Houdini Mantra FX elements for multiple shots

  • FX Artist

    Mirada Studios

    May 2016 - June 2016
    Los Angeles, CA

    Houdini procedural FX animation for a TV commercial

  • FX Artist

    Method Studios

    May 2016 - May 2016
    Los Angeles, CA

    Houdini FX on a music video segment for an episodic TV show

  • show hire Houdini FX Artist

    Rhythm & Hues Studios

    April 2016 - May 2016
    Los Angeles, CA

    Game of Thrones, Season 6

  • temporary Houdini FX Artist

    Zoic Studios

    March 2016 - April 2016
    Culver City

    Houdini 15 particle/pyro sims from procedural fx on 1 foreign TV commercial and 1 DC Comics Superhero TV episode (Win7 PCs)

  • show hire Houdini FX Artist

    Comen VFX

    February 2016 - April 2016
    Los Angeles

    feature film fx: Houdini 13 particle/pyro sims w/multi-sample blur & sub-shutter lifespans (Apple OS-X)

  • show hire Houdini FX Artist

    Rhythm & Hues Studios

    December 2015 - January 2016
    Los Angeles

    theme park ride film and TV series VFX particle dynamics using Houdini 14 on Linux PCs

  • Sr. 3D Dynamics Artist

    Stargate Studios

    September 2015 - October 2015
    South Pasadena (L.A.), CA

    epic large scale Dust FX using Houdini 15 pyro-solver for TV VFX on Windows 7 PCs

  • Destruction/Dynamics (Technical) Artist

    343 Industries

    June 2014 - May 2015
    Kirkland, WA

    Destruction of Environment Geometry using Houdini Rigid Body Dynamics, Cloth Sims, and Procedural Animation on major Microsoft Game, "HALO 5 : GUARDIANS", Outstanding Real-Time VFX Award Nominee -- V.E.S. 2016

  • Houdini FX artist

    Look Effects

    July 2013 - February 2014

    Houdini 12.5 3D animating geometry, simulated/evolving grass growth, and multi-layer Mantra lighting for several timelapse river shots in "Noah" (Paramount 3/28/'14), all on Windows 7 PCs

  • freelance FX Artist

    Logan

    April 2013 - June 2013

    Houdini 3D CG FX artist

  • freelance FX Artist

    Method Studios

    January 2013 - February 2013

    Houdini 3D CG FX artist

  • vfx artist

    Stereo D

    October 2012 - December 2012

    Softimage XSI particle fx and Nuke compositing, all on Windows 7 PCs

  • Fx TD : Commercial Projects division

    Digital Domain

    August 2012 - September 2012

    Maya nParticle fx, music video

  • Sr. Fx TD

    Sony Pictures Imageworks

    October 2006 - July 2012

    Houdini, Maya, Massive, Katana, Renderman, Arnold, Shake, Nuke 3D CG FX / Crowd artist

  • Houdini Fx TD

    CIS Hollywood

    2009 - 2009

    Houdini, Shake, Python, Linux C-shell 3D CG render pipeline / lighter

  • Sr. Fx TD

    Rhythm & Hues Studios

    March 1999 - October 2006

    procedural fx, cloth & hair sims, rigid body dynamics, non-character animation, lighting

  • Sr. Fx TD

    20th Century Fox - VIFX

    August 1996 - March 1999
    Los Angeles, CA

    PRISMS/Houdini, Alias/Maya, Renderman, Chalice

  • Sr. Animator

    Atomix, Inc.

    May 1992 - July 1996
    Los Angeles, CA

    Wavefront / Prisms 3D CG generalist

  • Sr. Animator

    ReZn8

    1988 - April 1992

    Wavefront / TDi 3D CG generalist

  • Designer Encoder (modeler)

    Digital Productions

    December 1984 - May 1987
    Los Angeles, CA

    Modeling, Witness Point Camera Tracking, 3-Space digitizing, Scripting

  • Production Artist/Assistant Director

    Klasky Csupo

    March 1983 - December 1984
    Hollywood

    Animation Camera, Shot Instruction Sheets, Artwork

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