LONDON — Union (www.unionvfx.com) has added three new VFX supervisors to its team in order to support the studio’s growing number of film and television projects. James Etherington-Sparks and Mark Michaels are new to the studio, while James Roberts was promoted from within. Union added secondary space in 2016 and the new additions will allow the studio to increase its volume of work. They join the existing senior creative team of co-founder/VFX supervisor Adam Gascoyne and VFX supervisor Simon Hughes.
Photo: Union’s Mark Michaels, Adam Gascoyne, James Etherington-Sparks, Simon Hughes and James Roberts
James Etherington-Sparks brings a wealth of experience gained at Cinesite, Clear, The Mill and, most recently, Double Negative, where he worked for more than a decade. He started supervising in 2010 and has amassed an eclectic range of credits ranging from VFX supervisor on Season 1 of Sherlock (for which he received an Emmy nomination), Downtown Abbey and British Indie Fast Girls, through to 2D supervisor at Double Negative on projects such as Ron Howard’s Inferno, and most recently Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.
Mark Michael’s extensive background includes time at Digital Domain, Cinesite, The Mill, MPC and Double Negative on both sides of the Atlantic. His credits include work on two Tomb Raider films, four Harry Potter films, Casino Royale, The Wolfman, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, Maleficent and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
James Roberts has been promoted to VFX supervisor. He joined Union in 2012 and has contributed to work on Everest, The Lady in the Van, The Take, Bridget Jones’ Baby, T2 Trainspotting and My Cousin Rachel. Over the last few years, Roberts has done an increasing amount of on-set supervision and is currently working on his second project as VFX supervisor.