The Mission Signs Joey Brattesani as Lead Flame Artist/VFX Supervisor

Venice-based effects house The Mission has hired Joey Brattesani as lead Flame artist/VFX supervisor. The 20-year industry vet has done work at many of the top VFX houses. Prior to joining The Mission, he worked as a freelancer for 14 years at such top shops as Method, A52, Rhythm & Hues Studios, MPC and Asylum.

His work as a Flame artist has earned him two Emmy nominations for best visual effects for Young Indiana Jones and a VES award for outstanding matte painting work for his work on Smallville. For the 2010 Super Bowl, Brattesani worked on the award-winning “Born of Fire” for Chrysler as well as Kia “Sock Monkey” and Priceline “Evil Twin.”

“Not only is Joey an incredibly talented visual effects artist, but he also collaborates extremely well with our clients, which is essential when executing top notch work on tight deadlines,” said The Mission EP Michael Pardee.

“I feel confident about the business model that The Mission has in place,” said Brattesani. “I think it’s smart in this environment to surround yourself with a very talented core group of artists that allows us to provide personalized service. Michael is honest and straightforward and has done just that.”

The addition of Brattesani’s grading and finishing expertise allows The Mission to accommodate increasingly tighter schedules and complete all postproduction tasks after editorial, as needed.

Bay Area native Brattesani graduated from the Academy of Art College in 1989 with a degree in Advertising and Illustration. Following graduation, he worked on staff in San Francisco at One Pass, Editel, Western Images, Lucas Film and Radium. In 1998, he left San Francisco for sunnier skies and began working freelance in Los Angeles. There he worked with top shops for such notable brands as Apple, Burger King, Microsoft, Dominos, Nike, Taco Bell and Nintendo. His feature credits include Transformers (graphics and EFX), National Treasure 2 (EFX and matte paintings), Pirates of the Caribbean 1 & 2 (EFX), Hairspray (opening titles and end credits), Dogtown (matte paintings and EFX) and Spiderman 2 (EFX). Additionally, Brattesani has done episodic and series work for Smallville and Band of Brothers.