Oh, hi. I didn’t see you come in.

Hello, I’m Greg Reynard. I’ve been doing motion graphics professionally since 1999. I mostly do Cinema 4D and After Effects, but also whatever else is required. I’m really good at animating, and pretty good at design, and (possibly my most useful asset) really great at problem solving. I also enjoy brainstorming concepts, and helping my coworkers with technical glitches.

I love the job of being a motion graphics generalist, and I feel exceptionally lucky that it has proved to be a sustainable career. In fact, it is third on my list of dream jobs, number one being “rock star” number two being “cartoon voice actor”. I’ve managed to briefly scratch the surface of dream jobs one and two (see below), but motion graphics has always been my go to gig.

Nearly every motion job comes with new challenges and new things to learn (or often re-learn). New render engines, character animation systems, physics simulations, particle systems, camera tracking, whatever it takes. When the parameters of a project are laid out, a great deal of the fun is figuring out WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW TO DO THIS? For example, for the opening title sequence of Charlie’s Angels II: Full Throttle, I taught myself how to simulate fire in Maya (which was never my primary 3D application) in a couple days. The work got done, and everyone was happy.

I’ve worked on small, scrappy teams where we punched way above our weight class. I’ve worked directly for ad agencies and directors. I’ve worked for boutique motion graphics studios who were hired by big movie studios to make titles for major motion pictures. I animated CG microorganisms that had to be directly approved by Steven Spielberg for use in a Tom Cruise summer blockbuster. I’ve worked on network branding packages. I’ve worked on commercials. I worked with an artist at NYU Abu Dhabi to create a virtual gallery with fantastical sculptures, all viewed online as panoramic 360 views. I’ve been trusted to do remote work for one of the biggest, most secret-sensitive companies on the planet staring BEFORE the pandemic normalized such arrangements. I’ve been flown out to Cupertino or Culver City for extra sensitive projects. My educational background was in molecular biology / developmental immunology, which honed my empirical approach to making things work. I’ve sharpened my motion design skills via years spent working with some of the best creative directors, art directors, and motion designers on the planet. My work philosophy is “figure out the quickest and most flexible way to get it done, then make it awesome. Make the clients happy while making the producer’s life less stressful.” It’s all been a great ride so far, and I can’t wait to work on the next awesomeness.

“But what have you worked on, Greg? And who have you worked with?” I hear you wondering. Here are some highlights:

STUDIOS AND NOTABLE PROJECTS

Imaginary Forces
Daredevil (2003), Charlie’s Angels II: Full Throttle (2003), The Haunted Mansion (2003) main titles

Picture Mill
War of the Worlds (2005) main title and end title, Mission Impossible III (2006) main title, The Big Bang Theory opening title (2007), Nacho Libre (2006)Custom Nickelodeon Films Logo animation

Exopolis
Nicktoons Brand Launch(2005), Sprint NFL commercial, CNet segment titles, iPhone model prep/correction, Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism commercial

Kaleidoscope
Van Helsing (2004) End title sequence

PIC Agency
The Illusionist (2006), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Kingdom (2007) The Final Destination 4 (2009) main titles

Hornet Animation
Any Given Sunday(1999) on screen sports graphics, Ready To Rumble (2000), Dracula 2000 (2000), main title sequences

Ant Farm
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) teaser trailer, YouTube Live event in San Francisco opening sequence0

Antenna Creative
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019) end title sequence

Midnight Sherpa
Ten Cent / We Summit video wall for event in Beijing (no, I didn’t get to go), Dolby Explainers for Atmos and Dolby Vision, Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics on-ice projected animation, League of Legends commercial

Grand Jeté
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) graphics

The Directors Bureau
Lifesavers Wint-o-Green full CG commercial, directed by Roman Coppola, Comcast Ch1 Bob the Builder promotion

Stardust
General Motors spring sale commercial

Nylon
The Daily Show “Newscraper”, ABC News 2008 Election “Pinball” (Commercial Emmy Nominated)

Roger
Nickelodeon Rebrand, Quaker Oats commercial end tag

Buck
NBA Xmas, Bernzomatic Gooseneck Lighter

Royale
Jet Blue commercial, G4 branding interstitials.

Troika
Oxygen Network network package, Fox Sports interstitials.

Stun Creative
Hulu and Turner Networks annual Upfront event, held in The Theater at MSG (the 5,600 seat theater inside Madison Square Garden, and yes, I did get to go and make changes up until the actual event). OWN (Oprah’s Network) branding package and network tool kit. Explored Network branding packages for The History Channel, and the Discovery Channel.

Apple
Created videos promoting apps and games for Apple Arcade, the App Store. Created motion for Apple Music Playlists and selected album art. Worked on Vision Pro stuff I still can’t talk about.

NYU Abu Dhabi
Custom virtual sculptures and display space for the exhibition not in, of, along, or relating to a line (2021) with the artists Jumairy and Maryam Al Hamra

LIFE STORY IN BULLET POINTS

  • Born and raised in Buffalo, NY

  • Studied molecular biology and biochemistry as an undergrad at SUNY Buffalo. (BS 1989, summa cum laude)

  • Moved to Southern California for grad school at Caltech studying developmental immunology (MS 1994).

  • Realized I wasn’t cut out to be a research professor, took a job as a lab tech in a cell cycle biology lab (1994 - 1998).

  • While still in grad school, joined a comedy metal band in Hollywood called Green Jellö (later called Green Jellÿ) with friends from Buffalo from 1990 - 1992. We signed with a major label (Zoo/BMG), got a gold record for the Cereal Killer album, then I got kicked out for asking about money.

  • The idea that “digital art may be something to do for a living” entered my head while working with our record label’s art director in Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark to create the packaging for our videos and CDs. This idea came to the front when I realized I didn’t care for the lab tech life either.

  • Quit lab tech job, taught myself computer graphics (Infini D [remember that one?]Cinema 4D, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator etc.)

  • Worked on spec commercials for Art Center Film Department friends, some of which won AICP Student Awards (1998).

  • Got my first staff animation job at Hornet Animation in 1999.

  • Left Hornet and started freelancing in 2002. Worked with awesome people, did lots of fun projects (see above). Worked on boring stuff too, but even boring motion graphics work is way better than a real job.

  • Moved back to Buffalo, NY in October 2019 and have since been working almost exclusively remote.