S04E05: Mike Lasker — Visualizing Imagination

Mike Lasker always knew that he wanted to make things no one had ever seen before. Curious about early VFX and inspired by Jurassic Park, The Abyss and Terminator, Mike found himself at Syracuse University, studying computer graphics. He eventually landed in New York City, working on everything from medical animation and architectural previsualization to commercials before deciding that he wanted to make movies. The need to expand his horizons eventually led him to LA and a job at Sony Pictures Imageworks, where Mike has spent 16 years honing his skills, and doing what he always wanted to do: make things no one has ever seen before. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Mike about how his early days in New York prepared him for his move to Sony, working his way up the studio ranks, and how his passion for wowing audiences keeps him motivated. Episode Links Mike Lasker Sony Pictures Imageworks Facebook Twitter Instagram Host: Marina Antunes Produced by: Michael Edlund ©2022 Spark CG Society · All Rights Reserved. Thank you to our sponsors! TERABYTE: Creative BC. MEGABYTE: AMPD Technologies · Animal Logic · Capilano University · Netflix. KILOBYTE: Atomic Cartoons · Bardel Entertainment Inc. · BRON Studios · DNEG · Mainframe Studios · Sony Pictures Imageworks · WildBrain Studios. BYTE: AMD · Animasia Animation · Centre for Digital Media · CMPA BC · DigiBC · Foundry · Ghost VFX · NGX Interactive · NOX VFX · Scanline VFX · The Little Dev Shop · Unreal Engine · Versatile Media · Wacom Store Canada. PARTNERS: ACM SIGGRAPH. ORGANIZERS: Spark CG Society · Vancouver ACM SIGGRAPH.