Biography

Sean Stranks, Visual Effects Supervisor

Sean joined Cinesite in January 2020 to deliver the final season of popular Netflix series Dark. He had previously provided on set supervision in South Africa for the Ridley Scott 10-episode HBO series Raised by Wolves.

Beginning his visual effects career in the late 1990s, Sean worked in Canada and the US before joining Double Negative in London, where he remained for 10 years. Sean cites his 2013 work as on-set supervisor on Skyfall off the coast of Turkey as a perfect example of why he loves his job. “In one day I climbed to the top of a remote and rocky Mediterranean island to take reference photos, was transported by Turkish navy SEALS to a yacht to film whilst sailing before boarding a helicopter to shoot plates and gather more stills. What a job to have!”

Sean received two nominations in 2016 at the VES awards as VFX Supervisor for Bridge of Spies and In The Heart of The Sea. “Bridge of Spies gave me the opportunity to meet and work with one of my heroes, Steven Spielberg.” Portraying the sinking of a 19th century whaling ship by a giant whale, VFX involved the creation of epic oceanic environments both above and below the water. Spectacular travelling shots with CG cameras mounted onto whales included fluid simulations mimicking water currents and the addition of bubbles, krill and general detritus for absolute realism.

Sean also provided his expertise as a VFX consultant to Base FX in Beijing, overseeing productions including Cloverfield Paradox and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Sean’s fascination with film began as a child, with his love for films like Star Wars, Close Encounters and Indiana Jones, which inspired his imagination and encouraged his early creativity. “I am very lucky that this led to my career in film,” Sean muses, “which has allowed me to create the kind of sequences I would have loved as a child.”

Sean has also been involved in skateboarding since he was very young and is still passionate about the sport. His first skateboarding business, Curb Chemist Skateboard Company, will soon open, building skateboard decks as a rather cool side-project to visual effects.