I am a visual artist
Back then, if I wanted to visualize a head on fire, my only option was to soak my hair in rubber cement, strike a match, and hope for the best.
In 1997, AI was decades away and I hadn’t yet discovered visual effects.
Years later, I repurposed the footage for SOULSCAPES, where fire represents one's ego and this visual represented ego death.
Creating for any canvas
Every canvas offers opportunities to push creative boundaries.
I contributed to the concert visuals for Beyonce's Renaissance World Tour—an electrifying experience, seeing the imagery come alive at stadium scale, amplified by the energy of the crowd.
I’ve had the privilege of creating across diverse canvases -- from Batman's smartphone interface to holographic displays for the US Navy to Super Bowl LV's augmented-reality graphics.
Dreaming up worlds
Many moons ago, I started a project for my daughter depicting her as the Greek goddess of Earth. She was fascinated with mythology and I wanted to empower her.
As I started learning more about Greek mythology, I was captivated by all the powerful imagery. Over time, the project evolved into REBIRTH of GAEA --interweaving the worldview of the Ancient Greeks with personal thoughts on religion, the parent-child relationship + cosmic consciousness.
Directing creative
With many projects, I do everything involved to create the visual -- motion design, particles, compositing, etc. With other projects, I focus more on the concept and less on the visual's final execution.
For Super Bowl LV, I was the creative director for the augmented-reality graphics. The theme was "Sea, Sand, Siege" and as luck would have it, the stadium in Tampa Bay was home to a permanent, full-scale pirate ship.
And so Super Bowl LV begins with augmented-reality cannons firing from the real-world pirate ship. Scalding hot cannonballs hit the ground and explode outward into embers coalescing into a man made of sand and light. Swirling embers fuse sand into steel, providing a unifying visual metaphor of transformation.
Expansive VFX Career
My career in visual effects continually pushes me in new directions.
My demo reel is a compilation of much of my work--feature films, commercials, music videos and broadcast design.
The WORK section of my website is a comprehensive collection of projects organized by discipline (compositing, motion design, particles, etc).
Visualizing concepts
The projects I enjoy most tend to require diving deep into complex concepts and distilling them into visuals.
One of my favorite explorations was highlighting parts of the Golden Record for a project for TENCENT.
The Golden Record contains sounds and images showcasing the diversity of life on our planet, as well as graphics that indicate the Earth's location within the galaxy. It was launched in 1977 as part of the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The hope is that one day, it will be intercepted by an extraterrestrial civilization.
I decided to approach this from the perspective of this distant civilization (showing them scanning and deciphering the record, extrapolating our location in the galaxy etc) in a way that seems both other-worldly and familiar.
Personal Explorations
Personal projects allow for creative freedom and exploration.
From visualizing my brain as tentacles of energy affected by Bob Marley to creating a landscape of rock swirls with hidden messages to using particle systems to convey shifting perspectives.
I owe my career to my personal projects -- many tools + techniques I've used professionally I learned first through them.
Aligning with spirit
I feel most aligned when creating art that fosters spiritual growth.
SOULSCAPES is a series of short films exploring the journey of the human soul as it shifts toward awakening and higher consciousness. SYMPHONY of the SOUL is a site-specific breathwork experience I'm co-creating with Vivian Rosenthal, who provides a powerful therapeutic modality for self-discovery, healing, and inner peace. REBIRTH of GAEA explores a range of spiritual ideas, both modern and ancient.
Amplifying with AI
Central to any visual are the techniques available to best express the concept.
Until age 19, colored pencils had been my preferred tool. Transitioning from analog to digital tools allowed me to focus less on the process and more on the underlying intention. It was much easier to take a photo and manipulate it than to draw something from scratch.
In a similar way, AI allows me to shift my focus even further toward the concept.
GAIA is a series of AI-generated imagery inspired by REBIRTH of GAEA. For SYMPHONY of the SOUL I used AI to transform a metallic logo animation from a previous personal project into ever-expanding flowers. Many more coming...
+01 201 707 9630
jessenewman@mac.com
© Jesse Michael Newman