Brett Stapleton-French

Creative Compositor with over 35 years of experience in VFX and Graphic Design - with more than two decades of experience working on feature films.

Passionate about compositing shots which bring stories to life, on time and on budget.

Proficient in Nuke, with proven communication skills and extensive experience working within the 2d, 2.5d and the 3d stereoscopic environments. Focused on completing projects with accuracy and artistic skill.

Showreel 2002-2013   http://vimeo.com/57122729

Showreel 2013-2018   http://vimeo.com/210199613

Showreel 2018-2021   https://vimeo.com/537069551

Showreel 2022-2025   https://vimeo.com/1116493879

(The password for each showreel is 'kongpositor')

September 11, 2015

To whom it may concern,

I am pleased to write this letter on behalf of Mr. Brett Stapleton-French. I have had the pleasure of having Brett as a digital compositing artist on my two latest feature film projects, the Warner Bros. action film, San Andreas and the New Line Cinema comedy, Vacation.
On both of these projects, Brett demonstrated to me, on a daily basis, that he is truly a talented compositor and a very versatile artist. From adding the custom CG vehicles, the Prancer and the Truckster to aerial shots in Vacation, to the extremely complex composites of large scale destruction in San Andreas, Brett’s artistic sense and technical skill have been integral in solving the challenges presented to us on both of these films.
However, even with all of his artistic and technical talents, I find that it is Brett’s affable nature and inherently calm demeanor that truly make him a gem. In this industry, with its sometimes overwhelming deadlines and last minute revisions, Brett has not only the talent, but also the temperament suited to the rigors of high-end visual effects film production.
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending him for any endeavour in which he would choose to pursue and wish him only the best. If you have any questions in regard to my recommendation of Brett, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Bruce Woloshyn
Visual Effects Supervisor
Method Studios
O: +1 604 874 8700 C: +1 604 603 7998



April 3, 2011

To whom it may concern,
Re: Reference - Brett Stapleton-French
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Brett for the last year, as head of 2d for Double Negative Singapore.
Brett delivered high quality work, always meeting production deadlines, on several feature films including Total Recall, Les Miserables and Fast and Furious 6.
His work consisted of green/blue screen extractions, CG compositing, set extensions and complex rig removals. With his years of experience in the industry, Brett was a welcome addition to our team out here in Singapore and his work was a contributing factor in the growth of the division.
I wish him the best of luck and look forward to working with him again in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Steve Muangman
Head of 2D
Double Negative Singapore.



August 5, 2011

To whom it may concern,
I have known Brett Dix since I first met with him in early 2002 when he was applying for
a role as a 2d artist here at Weta Digital, during post production of Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers.
He was subsequently hired as a senior paint and roto artist and quickly and diligently applied himself to learning to use Shake, Elastic Reality and Commotion in order to perform, among other tasks, green and blue-screen clean-ups as well as complex marker, rig, and stand-in actor removals on live action plates.
In November 2003, Brett was offered the opportunity to move over into the compositing department to assist in the final busy period of post production on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He accepted this challenge eagerly and, using Shake, was instrumental in completing several complex shots involving blue and green-screens and many separately filmed elements, the likes of which were challenging for even the more experienced compositors on the crew.
Since that time, Brett has remained on the Weta Digital compositing team and over the course of the last eight years has expanded his knowledge and skill-set to master the 'Nuke' compositing system as well as acquiring a working knowledge of Maya and several other packages.
Brett's commitment to his chosen profession has resulted in him making valuable contributions to a total of fourteen of Weta Digital's feature films, including VFX Oscar winners, LOTR: The Two Towers, LOTR: The Return of the King, King Kong and Avatar.
More recently, Brett has been working on 'The Adventures of TinTin -The Secret of the Unicorn' on which I am a vfx supervisor.
I have found him to consistently demonstrate a level of polite professionalism, commitment to quality, attention to detail and willingness to learn and contribute which have made him a valuable asset, particularly during the 'crunch' periods of tight production deadlines and demands.
Brett's quiet, calm exterior belies an internal resolve that has made him a valuable member of the team here. I can personally recommend Brett for any role he should see fit to apply himself to – and wish him all the very best for the future.

Sincerely,

Matt Aitken, VFX Supervisor, Weta Digital Ltd.



3 August 2011

To whom it may concern:
I have had the pleasure of working with Brett Dix at Weta Digital, who has now been at the company for the last 9 years.
He is hard working, diligent, patient and dedicated. His helpfulness, attention to detail, technical knowledge and great communication skills under intense pressure has made him a valuable and reliable member of our compositing team over the years.
Brett is well-liked and respected by work colleagues, and his humour and warmth has made him popular during times of pressure, whether working on single shots or mentoring other team members.
Please contact me any time to discuss further.

Sincerely,

Hannah Bianchini Digital Producer
Weta Digital Ltd
M +64 4 27 285 0655 E Hannah@wetafx.co.nz



August 3rd 2011

To whom it may concern,
I have known Brett Dix for over fifteen years and worked alongside him at
Flying Start Pictures for five of those years. We have stayed friends and we
were each other’s best man at our weddings. I have also kept in touch with
his career at WETA where I know he is an extremely dedicated, valued, hard working compositor.
Brett's respectfulness and ability to remain incredibly calm under intense
stress are just some of his good qualities. He is very polite and helpful to coworkers in all departments and without doubt has a natural willingness to trouble shoot challenges. He consistently meets targets, is focused and committed.
I believe he is a valuable team player with expert technical know how that sits alongside his artistic talent. He is patient and his attention to detail and ability to guide and teach others is outstanding. Brett takes and gives direction positively.
Brett has a secure family life and besides being passionate about film he relishes adventure and fun activities and the challenge of relocating would be relished by him as a positive future move.
I believe Brett to be an asset to any company looking to employ him and am happy to discuss this further should you require it.

Yours Sincerely,

Gregory Keith
Editor
Toybox
Film and Television Post Production 27 Sale St
Freemans Bay Auckland
021 274 195129



July 2011

To whom it may concern:
I confirm that I have known Brett Dix in both a personal and professional capacity for over 6 years now. Brett has worked as a compositor at Weta Digital throughout this time, and we have been involved in various projects together over the years.
I've always found Brett to be dependable, reliable and hard working. Our families have grown to know each other well, and I would consider him to be someone of upstanding character.
I am happy to provide further information if required. Feel free to contact me directly for any additional requests for information.

Sincerely,

Keith Miller
VFX Supervisor, Weta Digital
9-11 Manuka Street Miramar, Wellington New Zealand
+64 027 591 6162 mobile +64 04 909 6136 direct kmiller@wetafx.co.nz



17 November, 2003

To whom it may Concern,
I am the 2D Coordinator at Weta Digital, responsible for the management of the facility’s Compositing Dept and have worked closely with Brett Dix over the last 3 months since he made his way into the ranks here.
Brett has been a valuable member of the Weta Digital Compositing Dept for the final few months of production on Return of the King. Previous to this Brett has been a paint specialist in Weta Digital’s Roto/Paint Dept.
After consistently good feedback from the Compositors Brett was interacting with while in the Paint Dept, we decided that he was a top candidate to transfer over to Compositing to bolster the ranks in the final few months, or "crunch" period, as we like to call it.
Since making the move Brett has handled all the shots he was tasked with extremely well. These tasks involved a lot of hard work -with many obstacles on offer, including troublesome Blue-Green screens and multiple layers that needed to be integrated into what was perhaps the largest sequence on offer in the third instalment of the trilogy.
I can recommend Brett highly for furthering himself even further in the Compositing arena where I am sure he will travel far.

Kind Regards,

Steven McKendry
2D Coordinator -Weta Digital
10 November, 2002



This is a review of Brett Dix for HR. Brett just started on film 2 here at Weta but had a lot of experience comping up in Auckland for TV. I think hiring Brett was one of my best decisions.
John Nugent had passed on him as a compositor since he didn't have film experience and I believe his loss was our gain. Brett started producing shots from the beginning, he was working mainly in Shake which was new to him but never held back his productivity.
I think it only took about 2 weeks for him to be very close to speed on marker removal and rig removal shots that were done procedurally in Shake. Then after that he moved onto harder Andy Serkis removal shots and even did a bit of paint in Shake.
Brett is completely dependable and has a wonderful attitude, he gets along very well with the crew and even though he likes to figure out stuff on his own he is very good about asking the advice of other crew members with more experience on the packages.
I was very pleased that we get to keep Brett on contract here and I would hope if he hasn't received a raise yet that he should for the third film. I am excited that Brett is also learning ER and Liberty since I believe he will do as well with the more involved paint shots as he has done with so many of the harder comp oriented procedural paint outs.

Nika Dunne
Weta Digital
Roto/Paint supervisor LOTR2

2024: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (digital compositor)

2023: Blue Beetle (digital compositor)

2022: Black Panther - Wakanda Forever (digital compositor)

2022: Stranger Things (digital compositor)

2021: Spiderman No Way Home (digital compositor)

2021: Lost in Space (digital compositor)

2020: The Witches (digital compositor)

2019: Sonic the Hedgehog (digital compositor)

2018: Antman and Wasp (digital compositor)

2017: Spiderman Homecoming (digital compositor)

2017: The Fate of the Furious (digital compositor)

2016: Beauty and the Beast (digital compositor)

2015: The Last Witch Hunter (digital compositor)

2015: Race (digital compositor)

2015: Pele: Birth of a Legend (digital compositor)

2015: Vacation (digital compositor)

2015: San Andreas (digital compositor)

2014: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (digital compositor)

2014: Transformers: Age of Extinction (digital compositor)

2014: Maleficent (digital compositor)

2014: X-Men: Days of Future Past (digital compositor)

2013: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (VFX artist)

2013: I - Frankenstein (digital compositor)

2013: Captain Phillips (digital compositor)

2012: Les Miserables (digital compositor)

2012: Total Recall (digital compositor)

2012: The Avengers (digital compositor)

2011: The Adventures of Tintin (digital compositor)

2010: Gulliver's Travels (digital compositor)

2010: Knight and Day (digital compositor)

2010: The A-Team (digital compositor)

2009: Avatar (digital compositor)

2008: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (digital compositor)

2007: The Water Horse (digital compositor)

2007: Bridge to Terabithia (digital compositor)

2006: Eragon (digital compositor)

2006: X-Men: The Last Stand (digital compositor)

2005: King Kong (digital compositor)

2004: I, Robot (digital compositor)

2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Senior paint/roto artist)

2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Senior paint/roto artist)

2004: I, Robot (digital compositor)

2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Senior paint/roto artist)

Showreel 2002-2013   http://vimeo.com/57122729

Showreel 2013-2018   http://vimeo.com/210199613

Showreel 2018-2021   https://vimeo.com/537069551

Showreel 2022-2025 https://vimeo.com/1116493879

(The password for each showreel is 'kongpositor')

September 11, 2015

To whom it may concern,

I am pleased to write this letter on behalf of Mr. Brett Stapleton-French. I have had the pleasure of having Brett as a digital compositing artist on my two latest feature film projects, the Warner Bros. action film, San Andreas and the New Line Cinema comedy, Vacation.
On both of these projects, Brett demonstrated to me, on a daily basis, that he is truly a talented compositor and a very versatile artist. From adding the custom CG vehicles, the Prancer and the Truckster to aerial shots in Vacation, to the extremely complex composites of large scale destruction in San Andreas, Brett’s artistic sense and technical skill have been integral in solving the challenges presented to us on both of these films.
However, even with all of his artistic and technical talents, I find that it is Brett’s affable nature and inherently calm demeanor that truly make him a gem. In this industry, with its sometimes overwhelming deadlines and last minute revisions, Brett has not only the talent, but also the temperament suited to the rigors of high-end visual effects film production.
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending him for any endeavour in which he would choose to pursue and wish him only the best. If you have any questions in regard to my recommendation of Brett, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Bruce Woloshyn
Visual Effects Supervisor
Method Studios
O: +1 604 874 8700 C: +1 604 603 7998



April 3, 2011

To whom it may concern,
Re: Reference - Brett Stapleton-French
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Brett for the last year, as head of 2d for Double Negative Singapore.
Brett delivered high quality work, always meeting production deadlines, on several feature films including Total Recall, Les Miserables and Fast and Furious 6.
His work consisted of green/blue screen extractions, CG compositing, set extensions and complex rig removals. With his years of experience in the industry, Brett was a welcome addition to our team out here in Singapore and his work was a contributing factor in the growth of the division.
I wish him the best of luck and look forward to working with him again in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Steve Muangman
Head of 2D
Double Negative Singapore.



August 5, 2011

To whom it may concern,
I have known Brett Dix since I first met with him in early 2002 when he was applying for
a role as a 2d artist here at Weta Digital, during post production of Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers.
He was subsequently hired as a senior paint and roto artist and quickly and diligently applied himself to learning to use Shake, Elastic Reality and Commotion in order to perform, among other tasks, green and blue-screen clean-ups as well as complex marker, rig, and stand-in actor removals on live action plates.
In November 2003, Brett was offered the opportunity to move over into the compositing department to assist in the final busy period of post production on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He accepted this challenge eagerly and, using Shake, was instrumental in completing several complex shots involving blue and green-screens and many separately filmed elements, the likes of which were challenging for even the more experienced compositors on the crew.
Since that time, Brett has remained on the Weta Digital compositing team and over the course of the last eight years has expanded his knowledge and skill-set to master the 'Nuke' compositing system as well as acquiring a working knowledge of Maya and several other packages.
Brett's commitment to his chosen profession has resulted in him making valuable contributions to a total of fourteen of Weta Digital's feature films, including VFX Oscar winners, LOTR: The Two Towers, LOTR: The Return of the King, King Kong and Avatar.
More recently, Brett has been working on 'The Adventures of TinTin -The Secret of the Unicorn' on which I am a vfx supervisor.
I have found him to consistently demonstrate a level of polite professionalism, commitment to quality, attention to detail and willingness to learn and contribute which have made him a valuable asset, particularly during the 'crunch' periods of tight production deadlines and demands.
Brett's quiet, calm exterior belies an internal resolve that has made him a valuable member of the team here. I can personally recommend Brett for any role he should see fit to apply himself to – and wish him all the very best for the future.

Sincerely,

Matt Aitken, VFX Supervisor, Weta Digital Ltd.



3 August 2011

To whom it may concern:
I have had the pleasure of working with Brett Dix at Weta Digital, who has now been at the company for the last 9 years.
He is hard working, diligent, patient and dedicated. His helpfulness, attention to detail, technical knowledge and great communication skills under intense pressure has made him a valuable and reliable member of our compositing team over the years.
Brett is well-liked and respected by work colleagues, and his humour and warmth has made him popular during times of pressure, whether working on single shots or mentoring other team members.
Please contact me any time to discuss further.

Sincerely,

Hannah Bianchini Digital Producer
Weta Digital Ltd
M +64 4 27 285 0655 E Hannah@wetafx.co.nz



August 3rd 2011

To whom it may concern,
I have known Brett Dix for over fifteen years and worked alongside him at
Flying Start Pictures for five of those years. We have stayed friends and we
were each other’s best man at our weddings. I have also kept in touch with
his career at WETA where I know he is an extremely dedicated, valued, hard working compositor.
Brett's respectfulness and ability to remain incredibly calm under intense
stress are just some of his good qualities. He is very polite and helpful to coworkers in all departments and without doubt has a natural willingness to trouble shoot challenges. He consistently meets targets, is focused and committed.
I believe he is a valuable team player with expert technical know how that sits alongside his artistic talent. He is patient and his attention to detail and ability to guide and teach others is outstanding. Brett takes and gives direction positively.
Brett has a secure family life and besides being passionate about film he relishes adventure and fun activities and the challenge of relocating would be relished by him as a positive future move.
I believe Brett to be an asset to any company looking to employ him and am happy to discuss this further should you require it.

Yours Sincerely,

Gregory Keith
Editor
Toybox
Film and Television Post Production 27 Sale St
Freemans Bay Auckland
021 274 195129



July 2011

To whom it may concern:
I confirm that I have known Brett Dix in both a personal and professional capacity for over 6 years now. Brett has worked as a compositor at Weta Digital throughout this time, and we have been involved in various projects together over the years.
I've always found Brett to be dependable, reliable and hard working. Our families have grown to know each other well, and I would consider him to be someone of upstanding character.
I am happy to provide further information if required. Feel free to contact me directly for any additional requests for information.

Sincerely,

Keith Miller
VFX Supervisor, Weta Digital
9-11 Manuka Street Miramar, Wellington New Zealand
+64 027 591 6162 mobile +64 04 909 6136 direct kmiller@wetafx.co.nz



17 November, 2003

To whom it may Concern,
I am the 2D Coordinator at Weta Digital, responsible for the management of the facility’s Compositing Dept and have worked closely with Brett Dix over the last 3 months since he made his way into the ranks here.
Brett has been a valuable member of the Weta Digital Compositing Dept for the final few months of production on Return of the King. Previous to this Brett has been a paint specialist in Weta Digital’s Roto/Paint Dept.
After consistently good feedback from the Compositors Brett was interacting with while in the Paint Dept, we decided that he was a top candidate to transfer over to Compositing to bolster the ranks in the final few months, or "crunch" period, as we like to call it.
Since making the move Brett has handled all the shots he was tasked with extremely well. These tasks involved a lot of hard work -with many obstacles on offer, including troublesome Blue-Green screens and multiple layers that needed to be integrated into what was perhaps the largest sequence on offer in the third instalment of the trilogy.
I can recommend Brett highly for furthering himself even further in the Compositing arena where I am sure he will travel far.

Kind Regards,

Steven McKendry
2D Coordinator -Weta Digital
10 November, 2002



This is a review of Brett Dix for HR. Brett just started on film 2 here at Weta but had a lot of experience comping up in Auckland for TV. I think hiring Brett was one of my best decisions.
John Nugent had passed on him as a compositor since he didn't have film experience and I believe his loss was our gain. Brett started producing shots from the beginning, he was working mainly in Shake which was new to him but never held back his productivity.
I think it only took about 2 weeks for him to be very close to speed on marker removal and rig removal shots that were done procedurally in Shake. Then after that he moved onto harder Andy Serkis removal shots and even did a bit of paint in Shake.
Brett is completely dependable and has a wonderful attitude, he gets along very well with the crew and even though he likes to figure out stuff on his own he is very good about asking the advice of other crew members with more experience on the packages.
I was very pleased that we get to keep Brett on contract here and I would hope if he hasn't received a raise yet that he should for the third film. I am excited that Brett is also learning ER and Liberty since I believe he will do as well with the more involved paint shots as he has done with so many of the harder comp oriented procedural paint outs.

Nika Dunne
Weta Digital
Roto/Paint supervisor LOTR2