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​Let's talk about something exciting. Facts!

Mack Animation Studios

Character Animator & Animation Supervisor for Grand Prix of Europe

( 2023 - 2025 )

To mark Europa-Park's 50th anniversary, Mack Magic is releasing a very special birthday present: "Grand Prix of Europe", the first big 90-minute cinema adventure with our popular mascot stars Ed & Edda. New in cinemas everywhere from summer 2025. The film sends Ed & Edda on a fast-paced and heart-warming adventure that will delight cinema audiences worldwide in 2025 with its charming characters, captivating story, action and humour. It is produced by Michael Mack, managing partner of the Europa-Park Resort and founder of the entertainment company Mack Magic.

Mack Animation Studios

Character Animator & Animation Supervisor for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

( 2022 )

Athletic and agile, sneaky and cunning. Driven by the desire to once again hold in his hands what he lost, Gollum is one of the most fascinating characters in the world of The Lord of the Rings™. He has seen things that others can not imagine, he has survived things that others would not dare mention. Torn by his split personality, he can be vicious and villainous as Gollum, but social and cautious as Sméagol. While being vital to the story by J.R.R. Tolkien, many parts of Gollum’s quest have not been told in detail yet. In The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ you get to experience this story. From his time as a slave below the Dark Tower to his stay with the Elves of Mirkwood. Use stealth, agility and cunning to survive and overcome what lies ahead. Climb, leap and grapple your way past dangers or into advantageous spots. While Gollum might not be a fighter, it is not unlike him to assassinate a careless enemy when the chance presents itself – or dispose of them in more creative and villainous ways. The decisions you make and the way you play have a direct influence on Gollum’s personality: Always struggling between the two sides embodied by Gollum and Sméagol, it is up to you to decide whether the darker side of Gollum takes over or if there is a spark of reason left in what once was Sméagol. One mind, two egos - you decide! Well, that sounds pretty cool, doesn't it? But sometimes it's not that easy, and if you can't decide and need to take a little break, you'll be surprised by some wonderful "Special Beetle" animations we have created.

 

Mack Animation Studios

Character Animator & Animation Supervisor for Amber Blake VR: Operation Dragonfly

( 2021 - 2023 )

 

The interactive action adventure Amber Blake: Operation Dragonfly is conquering the virtual world and is set to become the latest VR attraction at Europa-Park in spring 2022. Based on the comic IP “Amber Blake”, written by Belgian supermodel Jade Lagardére, visitors aged 16 and older can look forward to a full body tracking free roaming VR experience that transforms the 2D comic series into an immersive 3D agent thriller and will offer a unique, distinctive experience. The brand-new VR experience Amber Blake: Operation Dragonfly will be integrated into the unique VR world YULLBE and is based on the plot of the comic series and locations of the 3rd issue. Players will be plunged into a 30-minute interactive action movie featuring a badass female agent, a mysterious villain and a thrilling finale set against the stunning Singapore skyline. To create an even more fast-paced action experience for Amber Blake: Operation Dragonfly, the YULLBE equipment, consisting of VR helmet and hand and foot trackers, has been redesigned from scratch and enhanced with additional features to make the experience even more immersive.

 

Mack Animation Studios

Character Animator

( 2019 - Present )

 

The creation of unforgettable characters and their life stories, the conception of fantastic worlds, and letting the audience experience them in all new ways - that is the passion of Mack Animation. Waldkirch, Rust, Hannover - three locations which are not being connected with world-class entertainment straight away. Nevertheless, here products are being created that excite, touch and inspire millions of people around the world to dream each year. Today Mack Rides in Waldkirch is with over 235 years of company history the worldwide leading manufacturer for rollercoaster. It’s known as the birthplace for Europa-Park in Rust - Germany’s biggest theme park which has been voted ‘best theme park worldwide’ for the fifth time in a row. MackMedia, also based in Rust, has been extending the entertainment area of Europa-Park for years with a 360° media strategy; and lastly Ambient Entertainment from Hanover - Germany’s leading studio for international cinema animations. Boldness, inspiration, passion and the strive to deliver best possible quality has made them each an outstanding company within their area. For eight years now the three business have successfully worked together on unique projects. Mack Animation was founded to perfect the collaboration in the future, to use their potential even more effectively and to create new inventions within their overlapping areas of the expertise.

Dassault Systèmes 3DEXCITE

Generalist, Deputy Team Leader, Technical Leader and Technical Artist

( 2012 - 2019 )

 

3DEXCITE drives marketing transformation through content production pipelines and collaborative value networks, breaks traditional silos and focuses on interactive storytelling across all channels, and creates real-time content for powerful product experiences and high-impact storytelling across all media channels. The company opens up creative freedom to deliver emotional assets for digital, interactive marketing and sales experiences. One step further, it offers a direct line to the end-consumer with customizable engagements.

As a Technical Leader and Technical Artist, I was proud to work in one of the most interesting profiles in the CGI domain. It is somewhat in the middle between technology and creativity with chances of being pulled into both ways or into any other field such as animation, modeling or application development. Usually every department has a Technical Leader who specializes in workflows and tools of that department and provides support for the same, but in my case I was also a generalist where I oversaw things in multiple and totally different departments. The role needs the right mixture of engineering background to help design solutions, programming experience to write tools, creative and artistic sense to understand workflows, excellent communication skills plus the ability to work in teams, but the crux of the role is always the same: Problem solving. Sometimes I solved problems by designing internal workflows, adopting new software in existing pipelines, defining guidelines, creating software frameworks, and sometimes I solved day-to-day problems and provided technical support for that team, wrote new tools to automate repetitive tasks, provided plugins or additional scripts to support the daily work and more.

 

Ambient Entertainment

Character Animator

( 2019 )

 

Since 1998, Ambient Entertainment has been specialising in CGI-animated film production, and has produced, either as its own in-house productions, or as commissioned work for and with Warner Bros., Constantin Film or Bavaria Entertainment, five full-length CGI animation features, all of which were released world-wide, covering the entire value chain from Cinema to Free TV. The look and feel of Ambient Entertainment's oeuvre covers the full spectrum from a cartoon approach to the photorealistic, and our carefully grown and constantly updated production pipeline has allowed us to deliver high quality animation to the market for more than 15 years - with no end in sight.

 

Fish Films

Character Animator

( 2018 - 2019 )

 

Fish Films is a production company based in Curitiba, Brazil. Currently, it's crew is mainly working on an animated short film called Napo, that tells the story of a friendship between a grandfather and his grandson. Although the company focus is on animated movies, there are also live action, literature and game projects.

 

Ember Lab

Character Animator

( 2019 )

 

Ember Lab is driven by a passion to tell unique and engaging stories through the creation of digital media. This central focus fuels the development of all projects across a range of media from visual effects to animation and game development. The companies work includes branded entertainment and advertising for The Coca-Cola Company, stereographic 3D commercials, animated shorts, mobile games, post-production for feature films, music videos and convention media.

 

Animation Mentor

Student Assistant

( 2014 - 2015 )

 

The student assistant program pairs students in higher classes with students in lower classes to assist them by offering useful advice, comments, feedback on their work and to offer support and encouragement throughout the term.

 

Acting for Animators Masterclass by Ed Hooks

Workshop

( 2013 )

 

The actor in an animation is the character on the screen, but it is the animator who must endow the character with the illusion of life. To do this, the animator must understand the connections between thinking, emotion and physical action, which are the building blocks of human behavior. Ed Hooks pioneered acting training specifically for animators (as opposed to stage and movie actors), and his Acting for Animators masterclass has been presented to tens of thousands of animators around the world.

 

Fine Arts Medienservice GmbH

Animator & Film Editor

( 2011 )

 

The Fine Arts Medienservice GmbH will tell stories about you - and your brand. Unconventional, with fun in creativity, but above all with competence in communication, dramaturgy and design. Together with you, they want to create large images that impressively stage your company. With imagination and competence they want to make your brands and products, values, culture and visions an emotional experience, create sympathies and turn the audience into a fan.

SAE Institute GmbH

Supervisor & Lecture for Digital Film & Animation

( 2009 - 2011 )

School supervisors are in charge of the daily operations of schools. At the SAE Institute GmbH the film supervisors are supporting students in digital film and animation, create and revise practical tests, interacting with clients and potential students, interacting with software and hardware components and maintaining school equipment. I also started out as a teacher for workshops and teaching units in Autodesk Maya, Maxon Cinema 4D, Facial Animation in Autodesk Maya, Adobe After Effects plus Expressions and Film Production.

Comtex GmbH

Management Assistant in IT-Systems, Information Technology

( 2004 - 2007 )

The Comtex GmbH is an IT Service and Consulting company and has been offering IT services for over 25 years. As a specialist trading partner of well-known companies such as Microsoft, AVM, Tobit and many others, they offer complete system solutions from hardware equipment to software solutions to installation and configuration of network technology and telecommunications systems. The IT Management Assistants are the interface between technology and application, and so I was responsible for servers, desktop computers, printers, routers, network security systems, technical support, the company's own website, administration of networking technologies, VoIP, Unix / Linux, helpdesk support, troubleshooting for desktop and laptop configurations, remote VPN network access, wireless networking, monitoring and maintaining servers and server applications, network performance, utilization, installation and configuration.

 

On the software side, I had to ensure applications compatibility with operating systems and patches, establish and enforce standard operating procedures, security and data backups, archive policies and procedures. Moreover, I assisted the director of the IT infrastructure in developing and implementing technical improvement plans to support the company’s immediate and long-term goals, assisted in the creation of project plans, created standard operating procedures and capital expenditure requests.

 

AnimSchool

Digital Character Animation Program

( 2018 - 2019 )

 

AnimSchool is the premiere online school for learning 3D animation, modeling and rigging, and was founded in 2010 by David Gallagher, animator, rigger, and former Character Development Supervisor at Blue Sky Studios. With about 30 instructors currently working at studios like Blue Sky Studios, DreamWorks, Disney, Sony and Pixar, AnimSchool’s mission is to teach 3D animation and supporting skills at the highest level with top working professionals, in live online classes and in different programs with a broad curriculum to prepare the students for the 3D workforce, from the first stages of learning to qualify for jobs in the competitive animation industry.

 

Animation Mentor

Animation Fundamentals and Advanced Studies in Character Animation Diploma

( 2014 - 2015 )

 

Animation Mentor is the original Online Animation School founded in 2005 by Pixar and Industrial Light and Magic animators. Students learn directly from professional mentors currently working at studios such as Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Industrial Light and Magic, Blizzard and many more. With more instructors from major studios than any other school, aspiring animators get the one on one time they need to prepare for a successful career in the Animation Industry. Animation Mentor students learn using the proprietary online campus, exclusive feedback tools and real-world production pipelines. Animation Mentor has an alumni community of over 5,000 students in over 105 countries, now working in world-class studios.

 

SAE Institute GmbH

Digital Film & Animation

Diplom & Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Digital Film Making

( 2007 - 2010 )

 

Delivering creative media courses since 1976. The SAE Institute is the world’s largest Creative Media training organization. With 57 campuses across 26 countries, students become part of a global community of aspiring and established creative media professionals. The Bachelor degree programs (in the fields of Audio Production, Film Production, Animation, Games Design / Programming and Web Development) are taught in a 2-year accelerated learning format enabling students to become industry qualified and out into the workforce that much sooner. Students are given exclusive access to state-of-the-art film and audio equipment, enabling them to gain technical mastery and advance their skills to industry standard upon completion of their course. Hands-on practical education ensures students receive outstanding training on the latest industry standard software, getting them ready for the workforce and providing an opportunity for their creativity to thrive.

 

Vocational Education College

Management Assistant in IT-Systems, Information Technology

( 2004 - 2007 )

 

The upper secondary and vocational level training college (BOS) in Bayreuth offers apprenticeship and training in a variety of courses including electronics, science, engineering, carpentry and information technology.

 

Private Economy School

High School

( 2001 - 2003 )

 

The Private Economy School (PWS) in Bayreuth provides an extensive basic vocational education for all occupations in the fields of economics, management, and administration of justice. It provides for training of these professional qualifications the necessary teaching units. The school opens the door to the Technical School, offers access to numerous occupations, where the economy requires an intermediate-level today and offers many more additional opportunities.

 

Digital Tutors

Official Digital-Tutors Certificates of Completion
Digital Character Animation, VFX and Animation and Scripting

 

Digital Tutors is an innovator and leader in video-based training for emerging digital artists. The award-winning educational solutions developed by the team of educators and industry professionals at Digital Tutors are currently being used by students, professionals, universities, and production companies from across the globe. Artists from the world's top studios are utilizing Digital Tutors' training solutions and services to assist in the creation of next generation feature films, commercials, video games, visual effects, and emerging media. Digital Tutors maintains strategic relationships and partnerships with Autodesk, Pixologic, Houdini, Luxology, Next Limit, Adobe, Pixar and many more. Digital Tutors is now Pluralsight: In 2014, Pluralsight acquired Digital Tutors to offer all subscribers creative, developer and IT training, providing thousands of courses and more everyday.

 

Main Skills

Professional & Personal

 
 

Autodesk Maya

 

 

Animation, Modeling, Texturing, Scripting, Lighting and Rendering

Overall  14+ Years Experience

average rating is 5 out of 5

Maxon Cinema 4D

 

 

Animation, Modeling, Texturing, MoGraph, Lighting and Rendering

Overall 5+ Years Experience

average rating is 4 out of 5

Compositing

 

 

After Effects, Nuke and DaVinci Resolve

Overall 10+ Years Experience

average rating is 4 out of 5

Scripting & Programming

 

 

Python, MEL, PHP, MySQL, Actionscript, C / C++ and MS-DOS

Overall 15+ Years Experience

average rating is 5 out of 5

Adobe Creative Cloud

 

 

Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and Premiere Pro

Overall 10+ Years Experience

average rating is 5 out of 5

Pixologic ZBrush

 

 

Common Sculpting Tasks

Overall 2+ Years Experience

average rating is 3 out of 5

Allegorithmic Substance Painter

 

 

Common Texture Painting Tasks

Overall 2+ Years Experience

average rating is 3 out of 5

Unity

 

 

Animation, Asset Creation and Scripting for Web Applications

Overall 7+ Years Experience

average rating is 4 out of 5

Lighting & Rendering

 

 

V-Ray, Mental Ray and Redshift

Overall 10+ Years Experience

average rating is 5 out of 5

Audio

 

 

Audition and Davinci Resolve

Overall 10+ Years Experience

average rating is 4 out of 5

Organisation

 

 

Milk first, then cereal - right ?

average rating is 5 out of 5

Communication

 

 

We'll never solve a problem we don't talk about. It's true.

average rating is 5 out of 5

Microsoft Windows & Office

 

 

All Windows and Office versions

Overall 15+ Years Experience

average rating is 5 out of 5

Modeling & Texturing

 

 

Maya, ZBrush and Substance Painter

Overall 10+ Years Experience

average rating is 4 out of 5

Teamplayer

 

Well, simply stated: It is less me and more we.

average rating is 5 out of 5

Positive Attitude

 

 

My everyday goal: Make it happen. Shock everyone.

average rating is 5 out of 5
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