Postproduction house Uppercut has added sr. Flame artist Mitch Gardiner to its VFX department.
The Bay Area native has been active in the L.A. area postproduction community since 1997. He has worked at such postproduction studios as The Finish Line, Swietlik Editorial, Cut+Run, STITCH Editing, and most recently Bacon Visual Effects.
Gardiner’s 2D solves and his eye for animation have been showcased in spots for Dr. Pepper’s campaign in partnership with the film Ironman, State Farm’s “Birds,” which he completed without CGI, and Round Table Pizza’s “Round Table Delivery Guy” where Gardiner developed the look and design of the spot’s game-play element. Additionally, he has worked on projects for Apple, Honda, Hershey’s, Facebook, and Infiniti, among others.
Gardiner said, “Uppercut approaches finishing with a focus that I find inspiring. They’re really committed to growing their VFX division, and everyone I’ve worked with here so far has been enthusiastic and highly collaborative, which makes the work fun. You can tackle the high demands of postproduction if the company and team you work with are all aligned, and I’m thankful to be working with Uppercut.”
Uppercut’s founder Micah Scarpelli said, “What I like most about Mitch is that his career has been led by his genuine fascination and curiosity for VFX, and that started before he was working within that specialty. He’s an absolute genius with Flame, but you can’t teach or learn his level of applied diligence and artistry.”
Taylor Swift Wins Big At MTV Video Music Awards, Ties Beyoncé’s Record
Taylor Swift 's dominance continued at the MTV Video Music Awards, where she took home seven awards — including the night's biggest, the trophy for video of the year.
In her speech Wednesday night, Swift thanked her "boyfriend, Travis" for being on set of the "Fortnight" music video and cheering her on. Fans rewarded the mention of NFL star Travis Kelce with loud screams.
"Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic," she said, before shifting gears to the 2024 presidential election and instructing her fans who are over 18 to register to vote.
Swift did, however, avoid discussing Kamala Harris' presidential bid on stage. On Tuesday night, Swift endorsed the vice president, moments after Harris' debate with former president Donald Trump ended.
Swift's awards haul brings her to a career total of 30, tying her and Beyonc for the title of most-awarded musician in VMA history. Eminem is now the male artist with the most VMAs, at 14.
Swift and Post Malone also took home the first televised award of the VMAs for best collaboration, for "Fortnight," handed to them by Flavor Flav and Olympian Jordan Chiles.
Swift started that speech by giving remembrance to everyone who lost their lives and loved ones during 9/11, 23 years ago.
"I've just been thinking about what happened 23 years ago, everyone who lost a loved one and everyone that we lost and that is the most important thing about today," she said. "And everything that happens tonight falls behind that."
She then turned to discussing Malone.
"There is a reason Post Malone is everyone in music's favorite person to collaborate with," she shifted her attention to him. "It has taken forever for me to get him to stop calling me... Read More