Crew | Above The Clouds (2024)

Alani Sanders

Director, Concept Artist, Rigger, 3D Animator, Texture Artist, Compositor

Alani Sanders is a 3D animator who has a passion for learning. As director of Above the clouds, Alani loved to learn a variety of new skills that allowed her to be more versatile as a leader and team member, as well as taking charge of scheduling and creating guides to make all aspects of the pipeline accessible to different team members. Her ultimate goal was to create a challenging product that everyone could say they were happy to work on and grow from, creating fond memories with the team. As a persistent optimist, she is nothing but excited for the future and considers herself incredibly lucky to have been on a team with such wonderful people. Outside of the film, Alani can be found working on side projects with friends and traveling with her partner.

Bryan Reyes

3D Animator, 2D Animator, Concept Artist, Lighter, Compositor

Bryan Reyes always had a fascination for the animation medium with its endless amount of opportunities for engaging storytelling. While he is essentially a 3D character animator, the various artistic roles in the 3D pipeline is what he is eager to continuously explore. Working alongside the talented crew of “Above the Clouds” has not only given Bryan the opportunity to push his skills in 3D character performance, but to also broaden his skillset by gaining experience in prop design, 3D layout, lighting, composting and 2D effects in order to help make the film as whimsical as it can be. When you’re not seeing Bryan working behind the computer, he enjoys his free time listening to music, reading graphic novels, playing video games with his friends, watching movies, and playing his saxophone or ukulele (in that order).

Emma (Michelle) Richmond

Producer, 3D Animation Lead, Lighter, Compositor

Emma (Michelle) Richmond is a 3D animator, whose passion is to infuse every produced artwork with the breath of life, bringing a smile to the audience’s face. With a thirst for learning, she sees each new skill as a steppingstone toward becoming an invaluable asset to her current team and future endeavors. Captivated by the film’s inception, Emma was inspired to take on these complexities and technical hurdles. As someone who prioritizes organization, she set up Flow Production Tracking for every crew member and ensured that dailies flowed effortlessly. Outside of work, Emma's wanderlust is never-ending; she's always eager to travel and explore the world. Whether she's off globetrotting or just hanging out with her cats and/or friends, she's thrives off new experiences. If elsewhere, you'll find her knee-deep in any traditional art medium, letting her imagination run wild.

Haidyn Hawkins

3D Animator, Modeler

As a 3D animator, Haidyn Hawkins was drawn to "Above the Clouds" for its focus on character development, theme, and artistic stylization, aligning with her passion for bringing characters, worlds, and stories to life in a 3D space. Haidyn not only contributed to the film’s layout, modeling, and animation, but she also aided in collaboration through feedback and engagement. Getting to work alongside an amazing team on “Above the Clouds” has continued to fuel her passion for cinematic animation and storytelling. Beyond the studio, Haidyn finds inspiration in the pages of a good book, surrounded by nature, or a combination of both

Jerilyn Tennison

CFX Artist, Technical Artist, Pipeline TD, Modeler, Compositor

Jerilyn Tennison is a visual effects artist and fundamentally a problem solver. Working on a group project is an exciting chance to aid in making the beautiful visions of the artists on the team come to life by providing technical solutions and insight. Working on "Above the Clouds" was an amazing chance to help with the building of a complete pipeline. More then anything this project has opened her eyes to how much she don't know, and has filled her with the desire to continue learning and pushing harder int he future. Outside of work Jerilyn is a big nerd about old video game technology and the history of CGI.

Lucy Le

2D Animator, Lead Lighter, Colourist

Lucy is a 2D animator with a passion for effects animation and a love for the whimsical. Her versatility and knowledge of colour theory has allowed her to wear multiple hats during film production, being the colourist and lead lighter on the film to bring a splash of vibrancy to Percy’s world. Being able to work on the film is something she is very thankful for, having the opportunity to explore new skillsets she would have never thought about learning, in a welcoming environment with amazingly talented crewmates. While not working on the film, you can spot Lucy in the wild exploring new coffee shops and practicing her stuffed animal crochet skills.

Mackenzie Gregory (Mack)

Art Director, Storyboard Artist, Concept Artist, Texture Artist, Lighter, Compositor

Mackenzie Gregory, also known as Mack, is a visual development and storyboard artist specializing in television animation. Her passion for continual growth led her to embrace new challenges, such as transitioning to 3D animation for Above The Clouds. As the film's art director, she ensured cohesion among the team while maintaining the director's vision. Mack's responsibilities spanned from storyboarding, environment and prop design, texturing, lighting, and 3D compositing. When she isn't working, she enjoys delving into fantasy/romance novels, writing short stories, and gaming with friends.

Sadie Lange

Storyboard Artist, Texture Artist, Concept Artist

Sadie Lange is a story artist with a love for collaboration and animals, making “Above the Clouds” her perfect fit. As the number one Percy fan and designated doodler, Sadie was eager not only to bring life to the characters of the film, but also the environment through matte paintings and textures, the latter of which she found an unexpected passion for. Above all, Sadie is grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such a wonderful group of people with a wide array of unique skill sets. Outside of artistic endeavors, Sadie can be found volunteering at animal shelters and studying canine behavior with her beloved dog, Captain.

Vrinda Vinod

3D Animator, Storyboard Artist, Lighter, Compositor

Vrinda Vinod, a 3D animator, found herself drawn to animation due to its limitless capabilities for a variety of storytelling and a love of showcasing character depth through acting. She is thankful to her peers for pushing her animation to be some of the best work she’s created thus far. Whilst having to wear many hats during the Production of “Above the Clouds,” Vrinda loved learning all aspects of the pipeline alongside her teammates, including but not limited to storyboarding, environment/prop design, lighting, and compositing. Working to create the final film for “Above the Clouds” has been such a wonderful collaborative experience that she is sure to cherish for years to come. When she isn’t working, you might find Vrinda buried amongst her never ending TBR, or watching shows with her sister.

Ying Huang

3D Animator, Concept Artist, Storyboard Artist

Ying Huang is a 3D animator with a love for storytelling and creating visuals. Ying's journey is all about making characters and worlds come alive on screen. On "Above the Clouds," Ying gives characters their movements and emotions, making them feel real. She also dreams up the characters and worlds as a concept artist, bringing her ideas to the team with colorful sketches and designs. Ying is always eager to learn and grow. When she's not animating, Ying enjoys painting, learning new things, and trying out new art techniques. During her free time, Ying enjoys nature and collecting pretty notebooks.

Extended Crew