Christopher Barischoff

I worked with Flying Bark Productions on the Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender feature film. I set up the workflow for the complex 2D/3D hybrid animation style. I worked with the Art teams at Avatar Studios, as well as the Director of Animation at Flying Bark, to come up with methodologies that fit the project’s style while maintaining the scope and budget. I thought of outside-the-box techniques that would allow us to achieve a handmade look for the film, but in a way that is production-friendly. I led the CG Leadership, creatively reviewed all shots and assets, and provided support for their teams to be as happy and effective as possible. I informed the Avatar team of any technical and budgetary hurdles, and offered solutions that fit the show’s scope.

For Stranger Things and Ghostbusters, I worked with the Showrunners, VFX Supervisors, Producers, and Heads of Department to make back-end creative decisions, deliver on technical requirements, and solve any issues that came up before they became big problems. I helped to hire and onboard new artists, bid shots and sequences, and managed CG teams. I creatively reviewed shots and assets before they went to the showrunner, and helped the teams understand notes and feedback from the showrunners.

As the CG Supervisor for Ember at The SPA Studios, I collaborated with the CTO and production team to oversee and manage the CG department, including staffing and workload distribution. I also developed and implemented efficient workflows that supported the 2D animation and art teams and worked with the art direction to ensure that the film’s vision was being met. In addition, I acted as a liaison between the team and external freelancers and vendors to manage outsourced work, and continuously checked in with other departments to assess and document CG needs. I also played a key role in improving and optimizing our custom Blender pipeline by working closely with the Pipeline team to request and test new tools and features.

At Netflix Animation I was the CG Supervisor for Ghee Happy. This is a children’s episodic show produced in partnership with a high-quality vendor studio based in Paris. I worked with the creator and producers to plan a CG style that was both feasible and of high quality. I helped manage our internal R&D, advised the story and design teams on technical limitations and creative choices as they pertained to CG viability, reviewed designs and assets between our local team and vendor studio, helped manage the show’s CG resources when budgeting assets and shots, and helped find creative solutions to artistic requests. I wrote out guides and decks to help set standards for our internal teams and vendor studios, and to make sure we were all on the same page. I also did hands-on R&D and finishing for key assets and shots to fulfill the creator’s intended look and feel. I was the main liaison between Netflix and our partner studio, and I sat with the creator and colorist in every color session to tune the final look of our episodes before they went to air.

At StoryBots I was the Lighting/Lookdev Supervisor on Ask the StoryBots on Netflix (Seasons 2 and 3, and A StoryBots Christmas). Apart from setting an example in terms of workload and quality with hands-on lighting of shots, it was my job to make sure our renders made it out on time and up to the quality level that our budget allowed. I oversaw the team, reviewing all content before it made it to the director. I solved CG problems that my team (or other CG teams) had, and I worked to maintain our CG pipeline and keep it running smoothly and improving in features. I lookdeved new assets, created master light rigs and template files, and cast team members to shots and tasks. I worked with production to keep the budgets and schedules working well, and to avoid any hiccups or bottlenecks.