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Sean C. Cunningham

  • Visual Effects
  • Producer
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
I taught myself BASIC programming before my family owned our first computer in 1984. I received a Commodore Amiga as an early high school graduation gift and started teaching myself computer graphics, working all through prom weekend on my first payed animation job. This would be the first of many "all nighters" in my career.

While building a small local client list in the Summer of 1991 I saw James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgement Day and that changed my focus from motion graphics to trying more sophisticated animations and techniques. My experimentation paid off in the form of an acceptance letter to the Character Animation department at California Institute of the Arts. My self-taught work landed me a spot in the school which one semester later landed me a job offer from Academy Award winning Metrolight Studios.

At Metrolight I learned new skills and techniques from some of the earliest innovators in computer graphics and in 1993 I joined the then startup Digital Domain, founded by James Cameron, Stan Winston and Scott Ross. While at DD I learned even more about digital visual effects for feature films, quickly advancing to lead and supervisor roles while developing procedural animation systems. In 2000 I made the first known application of Paul Debevec's image-based rendering techniques in a feature film for Bryan Singer's X-Men while at Digital Domain.

Through the early 2000s I experimented in independent film and would return to Digital Domain in addition to working for renowned visual effects studios like Sony Pictures Imageworks and Rhythm & Hues, then taking a break from the industry for a few years and making a second independent film with my brother Tim in 2010. Later I would join the startup Mighty Coconut, creating work for film and new media clients which also renewed my interest in animation projects. And in 2018 I joined Rooster Teeth Animation for several seasons and two feature length animated films in the RWBY franchise.

Whether film, television, effects or animation, I remain addicted to making imagery.
BornAugust 10, 1971
BornAugust 10, 1971
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Known for:

Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, and Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element (1997)
The Fifth Element
7.6
  • Visual Effects
  • 1997
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The Day After Tomorrow
6.4
  • Visual Effects(Digital Domain)
  • 2004
Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, and Hugh Jackman in X-Men (2000)
X-Men
7.3
  • Visual Effects(Digital Domain)
  • 2000
Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Cate Blanchett, Bud Cort, Anjelica Huston, Michael Gambon, and Owen Wilson in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
7.2
  • Visual Effects(Gray Matter Effects)
  • 2004

Credits

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IMDbPro

Visual Effects

  • Don't Stand So Close to Me
    • visual effects supervisor
    • Pre-production
  • RWBY (2012)
    RWBY
    • lead crowds artist
    • visual effects artist
    • TV Series
    • 2018–2023
  • Golshifteh Farahani, Michael B. Jordan, Kôichi Yamadera, Asia Kate Dillon, and Maisie Williams in Gen: Lock (2018)
    Gen: Lock
    • visual effects artist
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Lena Olin, Eric Roberts, Jake Carpenter, Joseph D'Onofrio, Daniel O'Shea, Ricardo Cordero, James MacPherson, Vanessa Calderón, Geovanni Gopradi, Dawna Lee Heising, and Trevor Coppola in Empire of the Heart (2017)
    Empire of the Heart
    • visual effects supervisor
    • 2017
  • Kings of Atlantis (2017)
    Kings of Atlantis
    • fx animation supervisor
    • effects animation supervisor
    • TV Series
    • 2017
  • The Mountain II (2016)
    The Mountain II
    • cg supervisor: Mighty Coconut
    • 2016
  • Red vs. Blue (2003)
    Red vs. Blue
    • visual effects plate supervisor
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Found Footage 3D (2016)
    Found Footage 3D
    • cg supervisor: Mighty Coconut
    • 2016
  • Hardcore Henry (2015)
    Hardcore Henry
    • cg supervisor: Mighty Coconut
    • 2015
  • Rob Lowe and Will Rothhaar in Killing Kennedy (2013)
    Killing Kennedy
    • visual effects artist
    • TV Movie
    • 2013
  • Un Regalo
    • visual effects
    • Short
    • 2012
  • Sick Boy (2012)
    Sick Boy
    • visual effects supervisor
    • 2012
  • Corin Nemec in Nuclear Family (2012)
    Nuclear Family
    • digital effects artist
    • TV Movie
    • 2012
  • The Millionaire Tour (2012)
    The Millionaire Tour
    • visual effects artist
    • 2012
  • Osric Chau in 2012 (2009)
    2012
    • technical director: pre-production
    • 2009
  • Brendan Fraser and Jet Li in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
    The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
    • cg effects supervisor
    • 2008

Producer

  • Sick Boy (2012)
    Sick Boy
    • co-producer
    • 2012
  • Xtracurricular (2003)
    Xtracurricular
    • co-producer
    • 2003

Writer

  • Xtracurricular (2003)
    Xtracurricular
    • story
    • 2003
  • Robin Castro in Cold Call (1999)
    Cold Call
    • writer
    • Short
    • 1999
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Spacemonkey Labs
  • Alternative name
    • Sean Cunningham
  • Born
    • August 10, 1971
    • Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

Did you know

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  • Nickname
    • Pockets

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