Looking back on 2008, Shane Cook knows he’s had a good year – with credits on such hit films as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and Get Smart.
“There’s nothing better than to sit in a movie theater in the summer, see your work fly across the screen, and then watch your name crawl by in the credits,” he shares. “I really feel lucky to be where I’m at in my career right now. It’s been awesome.”
Shane moved to Los Angeles immediately after graduating from Full Sail’s Computer Animation program in 2003, and soon made a name for himself in the visual effects world as a compositor at CIS Hollywood, one of the industry’s busiest post-production houses.
“As a compositor I handle the 2D visual work, which is usually something like removing unwanted items from the frame,” he explains. “Something that shouldn’t be in the shot, like a crew member or a piece of machinery or a safety rig.
“The Mummy was a lot of fun to work on doing that,” he adds. “Most of the work involved wire removal because Jet Li was in it and there was a lot of martial arts. Some of those shots got very complex because of all the quick movements, but in the end it turned out really well. I love getting that spark of inspiration and figuring out how to accomplish something that seems difficult to pull off.”
Any of Shane’s recent credits would be a visual effects artist’s dream to work on, but as a longtime movie fan, he is most excited about his work on the latest Indiana Jones film. Coming almost two decades after the last entry in the series, Shane admits that being able put his stamp on the classic franchise was a definite career high – and also a complete surprise.
“They didn’t originally tell me what the film was, they just used a code word for it,” he laughs. “So when I sat down and pulled up the elements and started looking at it – I was like ‘Holy crap, this is Indiana Jones!’ That was a real shock. And being able to tell my peers, and even people I graduated with at Full Sail, that I worked on Indiana Jones has been a lot of fun.”
After wrapping up the summer movie rush at CIS, Shane decided to make the move to Gradient Effects, a post-production company in Marina Del Rey, California, where he was recently promoted to the role of 2D Supervisor.
This administrative position has him overseeing the work of a team of artists, as well as working closely with filmmakers to coordinate their visual effects needs. One of his favorite projects since taking the new position has been collaborating with visionary director Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko) on the upcoming 2009 thriller The Box.
“We’ve kind of become his visual effects house of choice,” Shane explains. “He’s very hands on with his films, and was here in the office at least once or twice a week working with us. There are things we did in that movie that I think will definitely raise some eyebrows. We did some work with CG that you wouldn’t normally expect CG to have done. I hate to be vague but the movie doesn’t come out for a year so I unfortunately can’t give very much away.”
What Shane can tell us is how much he’s enjoyed being able to expand his role in the visual effects industry – although after talking with the Computer Animation grad, it almost seems that just being a part of the entertainment he loves has been as important to him as building a successful career.
“I was one of those kids that grew up in the era of the original Star Wars,” he begins. “I remember going to see The Empire Strikes Back in the theater, and then later Jurassic Park, and being blown away by them. They’re milestones in my life. I really can’t tell you how much I love those kinds of films, and to be able to be involved in that every day is probably one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of the excitement.”
