Mauro Catena

Mauro Catena

Lighting Artist and VR Enthusiast

Senior Lighting Artist / 16 yrs

Italy

Hire Me

lighting artist

The Mummy (2017)

lighting artist

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Shading Artist

Love Is in the Air (2017)

lighting / lookdev artist

Suicide Squad (2016)

Lighting TD

The Nostalgist (2014)

Lighting Artist

Black to the Moon 3D (2013)

Compositor / Lighting Artist

La cantata dei pastori (2012)

Lighting Artist / Texture Artist

Winx Club (2004)

I am a Lighting/Lookdev/Surfacing Artist, with skills in photoreal CG/live-action lighting and compositing. I worked in high-profile post production facilities, in Italy, United Kingdom and Canada
I always look forward for the opportunity to create amazing visuals for Movies, TV and Games and to improve my technical and artistic skillset.
I strongly believe that team working, communication and interaction framework, together with a problem-solving attitude and an enthusiastic approach to every task, are all keys to professional excellence.
Work History

  • ICT Consultant, UX Designer, Project Manager

    Tech4Care

    October 2018 - December 2019
    Falconara Marittima, Italy

  • Lighting Artist & VR Game Developer

    Tech4Care

    July 2018 - September 2018
    Falconara Marittima, Italy

  • Game Artist and VR Developer

    Tech4Care

    January 2018 - May 2018
    Ancona, Italy

  • Tech consultant and Serious Game developer

    Tech4Care

    October 2017 - January 2018
    Italy

  • Junior Serious Game Developer

    Ulster University

    September 2017 - October 2017

    - Informally hosted by Ulster University to collaborate with researchers and PhD students with the goal to R&D new game experiences for stroke rehabilitation
    - Building my skills in Serious Game Design and VR Game Development, using Unity and C# programming
    - Exploring present and future boundaries of Virtual and Augmented Reality simulations

  • Lookdev/Lighting TD

    MPC

    November 2015 - April 2017
    Montreal, Canada Area

  • 3D Generalist, Lighting Artist

    Inky Mind

    February 2015 - October 2015
    London, United Kingdom

  • 3D Tutor & Trainer

    Mykey Studios

    February 2015 - October 2015

  • Freelance 3D generalist - Surfacing - Lighting - Compositing

    The Caravel Animation

    January 2013 - June 2015
    London (UK)

    Surfacing (Maya, Mudbox, Photoshop)
    Lighting (Maya, Mental Ray, Vray, 3Delight)
    Compositing (After Effects, Nuke, Fusion)

  • 3D Generalist and Lighting Artist

    National Film & Television School

    November 2014 - January 2015
    London, United Kingdom

    Lighting & Rendering (Maya, Vray)
    Surfacing & Texturing (Maya, Mudbox)

  • Production Coordinator

    Inky Mind

    February 2014 - April 2014
    London, United Kingdom

  • Lighting TD

    Inky Mind

    December 2013 - April 2014
    London, United Kingdom

    Creating and tweaking light setup according to live-action plates.
    Setup render passes and prepare the scene for rendering
    Manage render queues on Deadline and follow up the rendering process.

  • Freelance Compositor

    Inky Mind

    November 2013 - April 2014
    London, United Kingdom

    Integrating CG vfx and character into live-action shooting (Nuke)

  • Lighting & Compositing Artist

    MAD Entertainment Animation Studio

    August 2012 - January 2013
    Naples, Italy

    "La Cantata dei Pastori" CG tv movie
    Lighting and compositing of many shots of this 50'' CG animated movie produced by Rai Fiction and aired on the main italian broadcast channel on Christmas 2012.

  • Lighting and surfacing artist

    Rainbow CGI Animation Studios

    September 2011 - July 2012
    Rome, Italy

    "Winx Club"" CG animated TV series
    Surfacing/Texturing of props, background and characters. Lighting of many shots of the new season 5 CGI episodes.

  • Lighter and compositor

    Animoka s.r.l.

    June 2011 - August 2011
    Turin - Italy

    "Black to the Moon" CG animated feature film
    Lighting and compositing (Maya/Nuke) in the post-production pipeline of this animated Italian - Spanish co-production.

  • Freelance 3D generalist

    Various

    January 2011 - May 2011

    Keyframe animation, Surfacing, Texturing, Lighting, Rendering, Particle Systems Dynamics in videoclips, company demos and presentations.

  • 3D generalist; technical coordinator

    Lastrego e Testa Multimedia s.r.l.

    September 2009 - December 2010
    Turin - Italy

    Camera layout, lighting & compositing;
    modeling; keyframe animation;
    technical and communication co-production support in Italy and China (at Blue Dolphin Studios, in Nanjing)

  • Junior compositor & 3D animator

    EDI - Effetti Digitali Italiani

    April 2009 - August 2009
    Milan - Italy

    VFX production for TV commercial and serials; lighting; keyframe animation; digital rotoscoping & compositing on live action productions

  • 3D generalist

    Virtual Reality & Multi Media Park

    March 2008 - August 2008

    Camera layout, keyframe animation, lighting & compositing on my 3D graduation movie

View All Positions
Education

  • Compositing for VFX in Digital Compositing with Nuke

    Escape Studios

    2015 - ?

  • Autodesk Maya 2015

    Acedemy Class (London, UK) - Autodesk Official Training Center

    2014 - ?

  • Internship in Post-production and VFX

    EDI - Effetti Digitali Italiani (Milan, Italy)

    2009 - 2009

  • Masterclass in CGI & Digital Entertainment

    Virtual Reality & Multi Media Park (Turin, Italy)

    2007 - 2008

  • Master's Degree in Communication Studies - New Media Semiotics

    Università di Bologna

    1998 - 2005

  • CGI Course (entry-level) in 3D modeling and animation

    Noetica (Bologna, Italy)

    2002 - 2002