Crafty Apes – The Art and Business of VFX


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CRAFTY APES – VFX PRODUCER, SARAH McCULLEY and VFX SUPERVISOR, KOLBY KEMBER

With offices in; Los Angeles, Baton Rouge, Montreal, Atlanta, New York City and Vancouver, Crafty Apes is a full-service visual effects company. Beginning as a VFX studio for film and TV, Crafty Apes has grown to include a talented roster of creative and production supervisors that offer set supervision, VFX consultation and high-end CG and previsualization services.  Their cinematic work can be seen in such films as; WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING (2022), DR. STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (2022), THE BATMAN (2022), GHOSTBUSTERS AFTERLIFE (2021), LICORICE PIZZA (2021) and SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (2021).  The work of Crafty Apes also features heavily in TV/Streamer shows like; STRANGER THINGS, THE ORVILLE, MOON KNIGHT, PEACEMAKER,  STAR TREK: DISCOVERY and COBRA-KAI.

SARAH McCULLEY

Sarah has worked as a VFX Producer on; WHERE THE CRAWDADS SINGS (2022), OUR KIND OF PEOPLE (2022), RAY DONOVAN (2019-20), COBRA-KAI (2019) and a VFX Coordinator on HOMELAND (2016-17), SANTA CLARITA DIET (2017) and TRUE DETECTIVE (2014).

KOLBY KEMBER

Kolby’s work as VFX Supervisor can be seen in; WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING (2022), HIGHTOWN (2021) and BLACK LIGHTNING (2019-20).  He has also served as Compositor on NOBODY (2021), PENNYWORTH (2019) and THE ORVILLE (2019).

In our discussion with the Sarah McCulley and Kolby Kember of Crafty Apes, we talk about:

  • The major phases of VFX
  • Different roles within the VFX process
  • Where communication begins between production and VFX
  • How VFX in television compares to feature film
  • How to cut corners without cutting quality

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