Long before working in Visual FX, Shaun was a Martial Arts Instructor/ Stunt Man in his home town of Los Angeles California, teaching an ancient Korean art known as Hwa Rang Do. In 2001 Shaun left the Dojang where he lived with his Master, and began teaching himself Computer Science with a specific interest in expressing natural and unnatural phenomena. After a few years he began working on smaller projects with museums and advertising agencies as an FX Technical Director.

In 2008 Shaun landed his dream job at Weta Digital in Wellington New Zealand working on James Cameron’s Avatar. He worked in the Layout Department dressing sets, building 3D environments, and writing tools. Towards the end of the film he worked with shots and FX depts. simulating/rendering smoke and fire FX for the ground battle sequences including the Direhorse on fire shot.

Shaun continues to work as a Technical Director at Weta, where his responsibilities range from developing, implementing and supporting workflows, to troubleshooting and debugging.

Some of Shaun’s credits include:
The Hobbit: Part 1
X-Men: First Class
Rise of the Apes
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Gulliver's Travels
Predators
The A-Team
Avatar

“I’m really passionate about Visual FX and Python, having the opportunity to share what I have learned is a great honor.” Shaun Friedberg