About Us

Our Mission

Our mission is to create a community that fosters collaboration and education in the vfx, games and animation fields. We believe that by bringing together likeminded individuals that are dedicated to representation and inclusion, we can help drive the industry forward and ensure its continued growth and success for all industry professionals and for all cultures.

The VFX Club - Code of Ethics

The VFX Club upholds a code of ethics to ensure ethical conduct and maintain high standards within our community. This code fosters a culture of integrity, professionalism, and respect, promoting a positive and inclusive environment that nurtures trust, upholds accountability, and promotes the well-being of our staff and the industry as a whole.

Respect and Inclusivity:

  1. We value and respect diversity regardless of  race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or any other characteristic.
  2. We foster a safe and inclusive environment where all feel comfortable expressing their ideas, opinions, and concerns.

Professionalism:

  1. We uphold the highest standards of professionalism in all our activities, interactions, and representations of The VFX Club.
  2. We promote ethical behavior and discourage any form of discrimination, harassment, or bullying within the organization.

Integrity and Transparency:

  1. We act honestly, ethically, and transparently in all our activities, including financial matters, decision-making processes, and communication.
  2. We are committed to providing accurate and reliable information to our supporters and the public.

Educational Excellence:

  1. We strive for excellence in all our educational initiatives, ensuring that the content we provide is up-to-date, accurate, and relevant to the visual effects, games, and animation industries.
  2. We continuously seek opportunities to enhance the learning experience by collaborating with industry professionals, organizing workshops, and promoting networking opportunities.

Collaboration and Community:

  1. We actively engage and collaborate with other organizations, educational institutions, professionals, and industry leaders to foster a strong and supportive community within the visual effects, games, and animation industries.
  2. We encourage our team to contribute to the community by sharing their knowledge, skills, and experiences with others.

Intellectual Property and Copyright:

  1. We respect intellectual property rights and copyright laws, and we encourage others to do the same.
  2. We do not tolerate plagiarism or the unauthorized use of copyrighted materials in any of our activities or initiatives.

 Confidentiality and Privacy:

  1. We respect the privacy and confidentiality of our team and partners, ensuring that any personal or sensitive information is handled with the utmost care and in compliance with relevant privacy laws and regulations. 

Continuous Improvement:

  1. We continuously evaluate and improve our programs, initiatives, and organizational practices to ensure they align with the evolving needs and expectations the industries we serve.
  2. We welcome feedback and suggestions from our industry and partners to help us grow and better fulfill our mission.

Our Team

Marcella Brown - CEO/Founder/Board Member

Marcella Brown is a Senior Effects Technical Director at Industrial Light and Magic, originally from Columbus, OH. She served in the US Army for over 5 ½ years as an ammunition specialist and is an Iraq War veteran. After retiring from the military, Marcella pursued her passion for art and received her bachelor’s degree in game art and design in 2013, before completing her certificate in visual effects from Gnomon School of Visual Effects in 2017. Her credits include Elemental, Avatar the Way of Water, Encanto and Godzilla vs Kong to name a few prior to her work at ILM. She has contributed her skills at Walt Disney Animation Studios, WētāFX, Pixar Animation, ScanlineVFX and MPC Film. In 2019, Marcella founded The VFX Club and is the host of its podcast, “The VFX Club Podcast”.

More about Marcella

Santhosh Koneru - CFO & Mentor

Santhosh Koneru is a 3D Modeler/Texture and LookDev artist with a 3D Generalist background. With over 8 years of experience in the VFX industry, he has worked on creating game cinematics for titles such as Call of duty-Modern Warfare, Lawbreakers, League of Legends, various commercial advertising projects, and multiple music videos for the digital influencer Miquela. His film and tv credits include WestWorld, The Boys, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Shazam 2 and The Batman. 

 Santhosh is really excited to share his knowledge that he acquired over the years in 3D texturing and how to plan an efficient workflow for an industry-standard production pipeline. In addition to being one of our instructors, Santhosh is also the Chief Financial Officer at The VFX Club, and helps us manage our fundraising efforts to ensure that we are providing the best possible resources for the youth we are supporting.

More about Santhosh

Robert Turner -Board Member & Assistant Principal

Robert Turner is a native of Chicago and graduated in 2018 from Concordia University with a Master’s in Educational Leadership. As an experienced Principal, Assistant Principal, Department Chair, and Lead Teacher with over 20 years of combined experience in the education sector, Robert is enthusiastic and prepared to contribute his extensive knowledge, experience, and skills to the VFX Club. He is currently serving as Assistant Principal at St. Thomas the Apostle School located in Hyde Park Chicago.

 

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Maxine Schnepf - General Manager

Maxine Schnepf is a Polish/Canadian VFX professional with over 10 years of experience working in the Visual Effects industry for film, television and advertising. Her time spent working across all levels of production management, from being a Production Coordinator, Resources Manager, and VFX Producer has allowed her to gain information and knowledge about the post-production pipeline that she is now able to share with the next generation of creative professionals. In addition to being the sole VFX Producer on local Canadian series such as Frontier, Spinning Out, and Caught, Maxine has also worked alongside larger teams of artists on major motion pictures like Ready Player One, Bladerunner: 2049, and Spiderman: Homecoming. You can find her full list of credits on IMDb. Maxine lives in Toronto with her basset hound, and often mentors young artists about career options and tips on how to get into the industry.

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DeJuan McCoy - Mentor

DeJuan McCoy is a lighting and compositing artist with a 3D generalist background. DeJuan has worked on such films as Disney’s Dumbo (live action), Fox’s Dark Phoenix, Warner Brother’s Scoob! and many more. He has also worked at many studios like MPC Film, WildBrain, Mainframe Studios, Reel FX and many others. With over 8 years of experience working in the visual effects and feature animation industry, he’s looking forward to sharing his knowledge and best practices with the next generation of VFX artists, and help jump-start them in the right direction by sharing both his technical knowledge and creative experience as one of The VFX Club instructors.

More about DeJuan
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