Geoff Leavitt
O - (818) 536-7991 X701
C – (818) 825-0676
geoff@nitrousvfx.com
www.nitrousvfx.com
Demo Reel Breakdown Shots 1-3 – CSI:NY (Television)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting, CG, Color)
Nuke, Maya, Photoshop
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• This sequence for CSI:NY was composed of three separate plates. The debris was
modeled and animated in Maya then composited in Nuke. The crack for the helmet in the
3rd shot in the sequence was created in Photoshop, tracked and composited onto the
helmet then particulate glass was added in Nuke.
Shots 4-5 – CSI:NY (Television)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting, CG, Roto, Color)
Nuke, PFTrack, Photoshop
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• These two shots for CSI:NY needed the main elements rotoscoped off and new
backgrounds and set extensions added back in. The shots where tracked in PFTrack,
rotoscoped and composited in Nuke. The backgrounds were created in Photoshop.
Shots 6-7 – Grown Ups (Feature)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting, Color)
Shake, PFTrack, Photoshop
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• These shots for Grown Ups were tracked in PFTrack and composited in Shake. The first
shot needed a barge and equipment removed from the shot. This is an example of simple
shot cleanup. The second shot is one in a multiple shot sequence where the wardrobe
needed to be altered due to editorial flopping the direction. The letters and numbers on
the jersey and little girl’s shirt were backwards. New shirt elements needed to be created,
tracked, animated and composited back on. This was done in PFTrack, Shake and
Photoshop.
Shots 8-11 – NCIS: Los Angeles (Television)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting, CG, Roto, Color)
Shake, Maya, PFTrack
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• The first two shots needed an F-22 Raptor. The F-22 was modeled, textured and animated
in Maya. The background plates were tracked in PFTrack and then the F-22’s were
composited in Shake. They were then color corrected, had jet wash added as well as
motion blur. The next two shots needed to have fly’s buzzing around LL Cool J. The fly’s
2010 Demo Reel Breakdown
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Nitrous Visual Effects - Geoff Leavitt - (818) 536-7991
info@nitrousvfx.com
were modeled, textured and animated in Maya. The shots were tracked in PFTrack and
then composted and color corrected in Shake.
Shot 12 – NCIS: Los Angeles (Television)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting, CG, Roto, Color)
Nuke, Maya
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• This shot was created from the ground up. It is a fly through a fuel injection system with
nitrous oxide mixing into the vaporized fuel. This shot was modeled, textured, lit and
animated in Maya. The final sweetening and color correction as well as spark were done
in Nuke.
Shot 13 – NCIS: Los Angeles (Television)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting, CG, Roto, Color)
Shake, Maya, PFTrack
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• This shot needed additional helicopters added into the scene. This shot was tracked in
PFTrack and composited in Shake. Helicopters were altered in Maya.
Shot 13-14 – Ghosts/Aliens (Television Pilot)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting, Keying, Roto, Color)
Shake
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• These shots are part of a large sequence. This sequence was shot in a stationary car with
green screen walls and the driving footage was shot using a process trailer at the same
height as the camera for the GS masters. These shots were keyed , composited and color
corrected in Shake.
Shot 15 - Pandorum (Feature)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting, Color)
Shake, Photoshop
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• This shot for Pandorum was composed of three separate plates; water, base and actor.
The actor was placed on the base plate, and then the water was constructed from several
different elements. After the water was manipulated to fit the shot, it was then color
corrected to appear as though it was blood.
Shot 16 - Pandorum (Feature)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Color)
Shake, Photoshop
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• This shot for Pandorum was composed of two separate plates; water and actor. The water
was then color corrected to appear as though it were blood.
2009 Demo Reel Breakdown
2
Geoff Leavitt
O - (818) 536-7991 X701
C – (818) 825-0676
geoff@nitrousvfx.com
www.nitrousvfx.com
Shot 17 - Crank 2: High Voltage (Feature)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting)
Shake, Maya, Photoshop
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• In this shot for Crank 2, Amy Smart was originally topless. The producers requested that
she not be topless. A jacket was created in Maya and Photoshop, then manipulated and
painted in Shake.
Shots 18-19 - Crank 2: High Voltage (Feature)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting)
Shake, Photoshop
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• Jason Statham’s stunt double was engulfed in flames. The producers and the MPAA
requested that the flames be removed. The producers also requested that Jason Statham’s
head be dropped onto the stunt double.
Shots 20-22 - Monsters vs. Aliens (TV Spot)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (CG, Compositing, Matte Painting)
Maya, Shake, Photoshop
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• This was a series of shots for a Nickelodeon’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” promotion. The
arms were created in Maya and animated to the master plate of the kid. After creating
several different cameras to match the angles, the footage was rendered out and
composited together in Shake. On-set supervision was utilized for this promo.
Shot 23 - Hotel For Dogs (TV Spot)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (Keying, Compositing)
Shake
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• This was a series of shots for Nickelodeon’s “Hotel For Dogs” promotion. On-set
supervision was utilized for this promo. Multiple passes were shot of the dogs for each
row against green screen, and then the dogs were layered into the seats in Shake.
Shots 24-25 - Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Feature)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (CG, Tracking, Compositing, Matte Painting)
Maya, PFTrack, Shake, Photoshop
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• This series of shots for Mall Cop were shot out of order. The continuity was way off so
Kevin James had to be re-dressed in over 45 shots of varying angles and range of motion.
His tie had to be removed and his shirt needed to be grunged up.
2010 Demo Reel Breakdown
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Nitrous Visual Effects - Geoff Leavitt - (818) 536-7991
info@nitrousvfx.com
Shot 26 - Scary Madison (Logo Design & Animation)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (CG Modeling, Animation, Texturing)
Maya, After Effects
• The logo and animation were created in Maya and then composited in After Effects.
Shot 27 - Punisher: War Zone (Feature)
Visual Effects Artist (CG Modeling, Matte Painting, Compositing)
Maya, After Effects
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• This series of shots were a combination of driving composites and custom built
background plates which were composited into the final scene. The shots were tracked,
keyed and then added to the background plates and color corrected.
Shots 28-35 - Mirrors (Feature)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Artist (3D Matchmoving, CG, Animation, Compositing)
Boujou, Maya, After Effects, Photoshop
• This series of shots was created by a combination of techniques. Maya was used for
building the glass element. The shots were tracked in Boujou. Finally the displacements
and compositing were done in After Effects.
Shot 36 - My Best Friend’s Girl (Feature)
Visual Effects Artist (3D Matchmoving, CG Modeling, Texturing)
Boujou, Maya
• The shot was matchmoved in Boujou and the CG elements were built and textured in
Maya.
Shots 37-39 - X-Men: The Last Stand (Feature)
Visual Effects Artist (CG, Matchmoving)
Maya, SynthEyes
• All the shots were matchmoved. All the CG elements were custom built. Character
texturing was required and lighting enhancements were added.
(Please see shot by shot breakdown on page 4)
Shots 40-41 - Ultra (TV Movie)
Lead Visual Effects Artist (Compositing, 3D Matchmoving, Matte Painting)
After Effects, Photoshop, Boujou, Maya
• All shots were handled from start to finish.
(Please see shot by shot breakdown on page 4)
Shot 42 - Vanished (Season 1) (TV Series)
Visual Effects Artist (Compositing, CG, Matchmoving, Matte Painting)
After Effects, Photoshop, Boujou
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• This shot consisted of multiple plates. The actor was pulled in front of a blue screen.
Various background plates were modified to create the main background. The explosion
was created using a series of six different elements. Once the explosion was created and
2009 Demo Reel Breakdown
4
Geoff Leavitt
O - (818) 536-7991 X701
C – (818) 825-0676
geoff@nitrousvfx.com
www.nitrousvfx.com
placed in the shot, shadows and flickers were added. The particles the explosion gives off
were created using Trapcode Particular.
Shot 43 - Haunted Echos (Feature)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Lead Artist
(Compositing, CG, Matchmoving, Matte Painting)
After Effects, Maya, PFTrack, Photoshop
• Shot was handled by from start to finish.
• This shot was tracked using PFTrack. A clean matte painting of the wall and a destroyed
wall were created. The elements were composited using Shake and then letters being
carved in the wall were animated. Dust and debris in the full shot were added using
Maya.
Shots 44-45 - Conjurer (Feature)
Visual Effects Supervisor/Lead Artist
(Compositing, CG, Matchmoving, Matte Painting)
After Effects, Maya, PFTrack, Photoshop
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
(Please see shot by shot breakdown on page 4)
Shot 46 - Species IV (Feature)
Visual Effects Artist (Compositing, Matte Painting)
After Effects
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• Veins were painted in using After Effects and definition was added by using filters. The
shot was tracked using the After Effects tracker. The veins were animated to disappear as
the injection was being given.
Shot 47 - CSI: Miami (Season 6) (TV Series)
Visual Effects Artist (Compositing, CG, Matchmoving, Elements)
After Effects, Maya
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
• The bullet element was modeled, textured, lit and animated in Maya.
Shots 48-57 - CSI: Miami (Seasons 3, 4) (TV Series)
Visual Effects Artist (Compositing, CG, Matchmoving, Matte Painting, Elements)
After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Boujou, Maya
• All Shots were handled from start to finish.
(Please see shot by shot breakdown starting on page 5)
2010 Demo Reel Breakdown
5
Nitrous Visual Effects - Geoff Leavitt - (818) 536-7991
info@nitrousvfx.com
X-Men: The Last Stand - Shot by Shot Breakdown
1. Jean Gray’s House: Maya, SynthEyes - SynthEyes was used to matchmove the miniature
house for all the elements and holdouts. Maya was used to create a CG roof with individual
shingles. Maya was also used to create all the CG elements that fly around as well as the
Adirondack chair that sits on the lawn.
2. Jean Gray’s House: Maya, SynthEyes - SynthEyes was used to matchmove the miniature
house for all the elements and holdouts. Maya was used to create a CG garage door that tears
off as well as the underside of the house for the cross beams and water holdouts. Maya was
also used to create all the CG elements for the particle simulations.
3. Jean Gray’s House: Maya, SynthEyes - SynthEyes was used to matchmove the miniature
house for all the elements and holdouts. Maya was used to create a CG roof with individual
shingles. Maya was also used to create all the CG elements that fly around. The characters
that fly out of the house were textured and lit.
Ultra - Shot by Shot Breakdown
1. Young Ultra: Boujou, After Effects, Photoshop, and Maya - A 3D matchmove was created
using Boujou to get the full perspective shift on the shot. The young girl was rigged with a
harness and cable from a crane. The harness had to be replaced with wardrobe, the cable and
crane needed to be removed from the shot all together. The back of the girls head and her
upper torso were recreated in Photoshop as well as the sky and background. Then they were
mapped onto a CG double created in Maya. They were composited all together in After
Effects.
2. Satellite Phone: Boujou, After Effects - A green screen composite of the main actor was
placed against a background plate. Atmospheric elements were added and two additional
people were placed in crossing the scene.
Conjurer - Shot by Shot Breakdown
1. Thorn: Shake, Photoshop – The thorn element was created in Photoshop. It was then added to
a new thumb matte painting. Finally the shot was composited and animated in Shake.
2. Crow: Shake, Photoshop - Blood elements were added to the shot as the knife is pulled from
the crow. The blood on the knife was added in Photoshop and then tracked and composited in
Shake.
CSI: Miami - Shot by Shot Breakdown
1. Gun Shot: After Effects, Maya - The transition was created from the exterior of the body to
the interior using After Effects. The shot was color corrected and more atmosphere was
added to in the interior of the body. Maya was used to create the bullet based on a sample
from the set. The bullet was lit, textured and animated in Maya. The final step was
compositing and color correcting the bullet back into the shot.
2. Nail Gun: After Effects, Maya - The nail was created in Maya. The nail was lit, textured and
animated, and then composited using After Effects.
2009 Demo Reel Breakdown
6
Geoff Leavitt
O - (818) 536-7991 X701
C – (818) 825-0676
geoff@nitrousvfx.com
www.nitrousvfx.com
3. Blood Images to Action: After Effects – The shot was tracked using the corner pin tracker in
After Effects. The footage of the stairwell was used to create flashes to motivate the next
image. The motion of the investigator walking was then transitioned to with the image in the
file.
4. Suitcase Handle: After Effects, Boujou, Maya, Illustrator - This was a series of three plates
that were composited together and finessed. Once the rough composite was assembled,
Boujou was used to track the shot. The fingerprint outline was created in Illustrator and then
Maya was used to extrude, texture and animate it to the master AE composite. Additional
particles flying through the scene were added using Maya.
5. Blood Hitting Briefcase: Maya, After Effects - The blood drop was created in Maya and
textured and animated in Maya as well. The element was composited and color corrected in
After Effects.
6. Car Falling Through Bridge: After Effects, Photoshop, Boujou, Maya - The hole in the
bridge was created using Photoshop to create the matte. The boat was moored to the bridge
and the lines were removed. The shot was tracked with Boujou and animated water and sky
elements were created to place over the lines. The car was a separate element that was
composited in. Chunks of the bridge were created using Maya.
7. Wide Bridge: After Effects, Photoshop - This was a still image that was taken of the specific
bridge in Miami. Photoshop was used to create the missing chunk and to fill in the water and
pilings. In After Effects, the water was animated. Miniatures of toy cars were shot and placed
in the shot with light flashing. Green screen elements of people walking and standing around
were added into the shot as well.
8. Action to Photo: After Effects - A series of elements was composited together to create the
motion. The element of the investigator holding the picture was tracked in After Effects, then
the motion to still transition was created and composited into the shot.
9. Warehouse: After Effects, Boujou, Photoshop - The warehouse in this shot was empty. The
shot was tracked using Boujou. All the elements were then created in Photoshop and
composited in using After Effects.
10. Grenade: After Effects, Photoshop - This was two plates, one of Adam Rodriguez and a
motion control shot of the grenade. A transition was created from the actor to the grenade. A
moving background was created behind the grenade and then tracked on the fingerprint.
Some 3D lights were created in After Effects and animated to reveal the print.
2010 Demo Reel Breakdown
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