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★ Senior Visual Effects Compositor with 18 years of Studio Experience
★ Independent Filmmaker & Photographer with over 20 years of Experience
I’m a Senior Visual Effects Compositor with 18 years of experience working on feature films, television series, music videos, and commercials at major studios worldwide. My career path as an international contractor and freelance artist has its challenges, but I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities it has given me to travel, learn, live, and work full-time in key film production hubs around the world such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, London, Sydney, Montreal, and Singapore. Notable films that I worked on include Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Revenant, 2012, Ready Player One, Jurassic World II, Mulan, and Blade Runner: The Final Cut. As a visual effects artist, I am passionate about bringing breathtaking natural phenomena, dynamic natural disasters, and epic environments to life — seamlessly integrating highly complex shots with photo-realistic precision.
As a filmmaker and photographer with over 20 years of experience, I'm equally passionate about creating music videos and documentaries that support meaningful causes such as environmental conservation, cultural preservation, indigenous rights, and organic agriculture. Currently, I’m directing a feature-length documentary film titled Sacred Ecology, which explores the vital relationship between cultural and biodiversity preservation.
★ Primary Skills: Visual Effects Compositing, 2D & 3D Animation, CG & Live Action Integration
★ Photography, Videography, Film Direction, Production, Editing, Sound, Motion, Graphic & Web Design
★ Primary Tools: Nuke, After Effects, Premiere, Photoshop, Lightroom, Adobe Suite, Mac/PC/Linux OS 
I am a Director | Executive Creative Director | VFX Supervisor w/ an Extensive & diversified background in VFX, Digital Stop-Motion, & every type of Animation, coupled with "outside-the-box approach", for marrying live action & VFX. I come from the world(s) of Production & Post, in Advertising & Broadcast, along with Feature films. Based on this diverse experience I am very comfortable driving the creative; in shepherding teams of talent (I have led teams from 10 to 200, both on site & virtually around the world), & managing clients, throughout the process of any project.
My national experiences ranges from several years at RGA, to even more at FuseFX and Click 3x, amongst other shops, with international experience working / living in Dubai, South Africa, & relationships with shops in Spain, Argentina in addition to China and India.
Here’s a link to my general reel:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/52344387/Steve-Marino-Director-Reel
Yes, while my current reel is geared towards funkier / mixed media work; that was intentional. Everything comes in cycles so I know that I have to stand out from what is commonly expected with practical examples of mine that are unique; & shops that create this type of work are extremely limited. I take pride in being ahead of the curve with the cyclical nature of certain styles & the “old-skool” organic approach of “created by hand, not solely by a machine” is becoming increasingly popular yet again. That’s specifically why my current Directorial reel is presented this way, however that’s not to say I don’t do CG, compositing, tracking, & VFX, or, more “polished seamless work” as well. In regard to projects of this nature, the following is an additional link to a montage presenting samples I have created with shops here in the States, & those from elsewhere around the globe.
https://www.behance.net/gallery/177805725/Steve-Marino-Before-After
LASTLY: Various Wrk. Unique. Fun. Full Samples.
https://www.behance.net/stevemarin5b81 
At various times throughout the last few decades or so, I've worked as a Character Animator, a Lighter, a Surfacer, an FX Artist, a Generalist, and a Supervisor (In Studio & On Set).
Recently, I've been doing all sorts of things from birds & dinosaurs, talking pigs & singing fish, tornadoes to giant holographic heads, crashed cars, airplanes, spiders, and flying flaming arrows, for tv, film, commercials, & all sorts of other media.
I am considering all types of work opportunities. Whether it be staff, freelance, on-site, remote, long-term or short.
Contact me for availability, or any questions about my work, skills, or experience. 
CORE SKILLS
• CG lighting as Senior Artist and Lead: Vray, Arnold, PrMan, Clarisse, Mantra, Redshift in Katana, Houdini, 3dsMax, Clarisse and Maya.
• CG lookdev and procedural texturing: Houdini, Katana, 3dsMax, Clarisse and Maya
• Texture painting: Mari, Photoshop, Substance Painter.
• Technical Development and Documenting of tools: Python, Houdini VEX, node based and bash/tcsh
• Leading and mentoring: Artist teams and students
• Environments as CG Generalist: modelling, layout, camera, through to lit render
and comp. 
