PNYA “Post Break” to Host Top VFX Editors in Part II of Its “Turnover” Series

Post Break, the webinar series from Post New York Alliance (PNYA), presented second in its three-part series on Turnover as a panel of visual effects experts discussed best practices in managing VFX material from editorial through post-production and delivery. Designed for assistant editors, this session included a wealth of information essential for anyone involved in the complex process of coordinating media deliveries between VFX vendors, editors and post houses.

Took place on Thursday, March 10th at 4:00 EST. Mechanism Digital president Lucien Harriot and VFX editors Kent Blocher, Christian Kelley-Madera and Alec Styborski joined moderator Ben Baker in offering practical advice for keeping VFX projects organized and on track in a variety of workflows. It was a rare opportunity to learn from pros who have been in the trenches on scores of high-profile motion picture and streaming productions.

View the full recording HERE

Panelists:

Lucien Harriot is president of Mechanism Digital, New York City, and has been designing and producing award-winning CGI and VFX for feature films, episodic television and advertising for more than 25 years. Mechanism prides itself in taking the mystery out of the process, working closely with clients through the technical and creative phases from storyboard to delivery. A fast thinker and problem solver, Harriot is comfortable leading teams of technical artists at the studio or supervising crews on the sets of feature films.

Kent Blocher is a New York City-based VFX Editor who has been involved in editorial since 1989. His VFX projects include Jarhead with Sam Mendes; Black Swan, Noah and Mother! with Darren Aronofsky; The Bourne Legacy with Tony Gilroy; Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and Gemini Man with Ang Lee; and Mary Poppins Returns and The Little Mermaid with Rob Marshall.

Christian Kelley-Madera has worked as a VFX editor on both the production and vendor sides for nearly ten years. His credits include Marco Polo for Netflix, The Purge: Election Year for Universal, Noelle for Disney and Birds of Paradise for Amazon. His current project involves full CG character animation with dialogue. He is constantly seeking ways to make VFX editorial processes smarter, not harder. In his free time, he co-writes and directs a scripted fiction podcast.

Alec Styborski is a freelance assistant editor, VFX editor and editor based in New York City since 2007. He has worked on many high-profile film and television projects including Boardwalk Empire, Life of Pi, Europa Report, American Ultra and Gemini Man.

Moderator:

Ben Baker has more than 22 years of experience in VFX and post-production in Australia, the UK and, for the last 12 years, the United States. He has experience as a post producer, onset supervisor, and head of department at Framestore, London, and as a VP at Vice and at HBO. Always working at the bleeding-edge production technology (with the scars to prove it), he is also a board member of Post New York Alliance.

For the last 18 months, Baker has focused on virtual production, finishing the Epic Games Unreal Fellowship in March 2021, consulting for studios, networks and construction clients through Next Gen Production. He is currently serving as Executive Producer of the Entertainment Technology Center@USC’s latest R&D short, FATHEAD, in production on a volume stage in LA.