Animation Reel

Kirk's Story

Kirk Cadrette has been a cinematic storyteller for over 20 years.  He has contributed to hundreds of films, commercials, themed attractions and immersive experiences.  Kirk has held positions as Animation Director, VFX Supervisor,  Animation Supervisor, CG Supervisor, Character Animator, Lighting Technical Director, Effects Artist and Previsualization Artist.  

Kirk earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in film production at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.  After graduation, Kirk moved to Los Angeles to work on Mel Gibson’s Academy Award-winning film “Braveheart”.  Within the next few years, Kirk worked on the Academy Award-winning films“ Independence Day”,  “Titanic” and “What Dreams May Come”.

Fast forward to 2010.  Hundreds of film and commercial projects later, Kirk moved back to Florida to work at Digital Domain as a senior character animator on the animated feature film “The Legend of Tembo”.  Under the guidance of former Disney director and animator Aaron Blaise, Kirk honed his skills as a character animator and storyteller.

After Digital Domain’s Florida Studio was shut down.  Kirk went to New Orleans, to work for VFX legend Richard Edlund at Dumonde VFX, on "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes".  Next, Kirk spent four years as Visual Effects Supervisor and Animation Director at Falcon’s Creative Group in Orlando.  This brought him full circle to the city where his film and storytelling journey began.  Kirk directed teams of artists in the creation of award-winning animated films for stereoscopic theme park rides, 360-degree dome films, and immersive experiences.

Kirk has also passed on his knowledge, by teaching the new breed of animators and visual effects artists.  Kirk was an instructor at The Gnomon School in Hollywood for over 15 years.  He also traveled to Singapore to help design the visual effects and animation curriculums for Nanyang University. 

Kirk’s work has been recognized by The Academy of Motion Pictures, The Visual Effects Society, The Alamo Film Festival, and The American Pixel Academy.

Specialties:

Animation Direction - VFX Supervision - CG Supervision - Character Animation - LightingTechnical Direction

Camera Direction (live, 3D and 360 degree) - Layout - Previsualization - Visualization - Rigging - Look Development - Editing - Compositing