Matthew Benson
Technical Director
Feature Films worked on:
In addition to my more global pipeline work, I still get the opportunity to work on some really fun one-off shots. Here are a few of my favorites. If you see any on my reel that you want more information on feel free to contact me here.
Coco Dance Fight
This was a fun sequence to work on, I worked on the cloth and hair simulation, and did quite a few shots. This shot though was my favorite. Mom Imelda had a large flowing dress, and it was important to keep the shape of it while she was moving quickly through the scene. Additionally there was a significant amount of cloth contact between her and De La Cruz. This was the first film in which I worked in the Simulation department. This sequence taught me a great deal about our physics engine and how best to use it to get beautiful results.
Voyd's Hair Sculpt
In this shot, Mrs. Incredible punches Voyd through a portal. This shot had quite a few challenges due to the PORTALS. In addition the director wanted a very specific hair shape, and ended up drawing a per frame animation on 1s. The hair motion looks very physical but getting it to come out of our physics engine in those exact poses was nearly impossible. I ended up hand sculpting each frame of her hair, from contact until the end of the shot. As someone who prides myself in always trying to think of the procedural solution, this was far outside my wheelhouse. That said, doing it taught me a lot about silhouette and animation, and I am quite happy with the end result.
Dory Open Ocean Veg
For Finding Dory I worked in a total of three departments, Sets Tech, FX and International. During my time with Sets Tech I worked on a large range of shots, however my favorite project that I worked on was a few scenes in the open ocean exhibit, including this shot, in which I did the grass cutting effect.
Riley's Core Memory
Riley’s Ice Jump, while not the most visually impressive shot on this list, it holds a special place in my heart because it was the first feature I worked on out of school and was the first shot I ever showed to a director. I did the ice shards kicked up by Riley's skates as she jumps.
