Like most of his peers, hard core Nor-Easter, Patrick Murphy, is not entirely comfortable with shameless self-promotion. Unlike his peers, however, his story begins with memories of being one of the few in his generation that did not play Star Wars as a child. Rather, he played the making of Star Wars.
Ignited by a passion to create film effects, Patrick spent most of his childhood behind and in front of the lens of his friends PXL2000 camera and in the glare of a computer monitor. Childish pursuits were later sacrificed when Murphy was ‘advised’ to pursue higher education in more established and feasible fields of study; ultimately obtaining a B.S. in Child Psychology and Social Development.
Three credits short of graduation and in desperate need of an elective, Murphy signed up for Film 101. Before Patrick had graduated he landed his first job as an artist for a leading systems manufacturer in the post production industry. In 1996, after joining Quantel, Inc., Patrick quickly ascended to Lead Artist. His responsibilities included training Quantel customers on a variety of platforms and assisting in the creation and implementation of the company’s marketing campaigns as well as product demos and show reels.
After 6 months serving as a systems integration specialist for Quantel’s flagship digital news hub at CNN, Atlanta, he jumped at the opportunity to lead Quantel’s US Feature Film Effects team in Los Angeles, as Senior Artist and Product Specialist.
Eighteen countries and two and half years later, Patrick left Quantel to freelance as an EditBox, Henry, and Domino artist for such companies as Digital Magic, 4Media Company, Encore, POP, 525 Post Production, Rainmaker Digital Pictures (L.A. Office), Zoic, Entity FX, and Red Engine.
Additionally, Patrick collaborated with Saul Bass’ protégé, Arnold Schwartzman, in the design and production of the 69th, 70th, 71st and 72nd Academy Awards promotional posters and theatrically released trailer.
It was during this time that Patrick had the opportunity to greatly influence creative direction as Visual Effects Supervisor on Vagrant Records’ Saves the Day, "At Your Funeral," music video. MTV dubbed it ,” the anthem of the underground - a nuanced pop gem “ earning itself heavy rotation. Murphy subsequently reprised his roles with Alkaline Trio’s, "Stupid Kid."
In Late 1998, Patrick joined Pixel Magic as a staff artist where he contributed effects work on such features as Final Destination, Red Planet, Driven, Spiderman (1 & 2), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. During his tenure at Pixel Magic, Patrick was part of the effects crew that received two Visual Effect Society nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Compositing for a Motion Picture.
Upon leaving Pixel Magic in April of 2004, Patrick partnered up and purchased what was formerly Unchartered Territory to start Red Engine Productions, LLC. Red Engine quickly attracted clients from leading commercial and productions houses such as Seventy Six and Sunny, Base Productions, Discovery Channel, Chicago Bulls, and the Wachowski Brothers. Recently, Red Engine and Director David Lynch completed an immersive exhibition piece of architectural pre-viz and CG animation for Cartier, at the Art Basel in Miami. Red Engine Productions, Inc. is now primarily the brainchild of John Chalfant and is currently enjoying its fifth year in operation.
Recently, while acting as the Managing Director, VFX Producer, and VFX Supervisor at LLP Digital, Inc., Patrick co-designed and led a dynamic internal entrepreneurial project (“Envy”) aimed at alleviating waste within production workflows by creating pipeline policies, procedures, and toolsets that would empower artists, alleviate redundancy, and streamline resource allocation and communication.
“Envy” enabled 10 artists to complete an average of 2.8 shots per production day and deliver 2,199 completed shots over a twenty three month period at an average cost of $833.70 per shot!
The project proved that the development and implementation of appropriate toolsets and policies to automate workflows , results in increased productivity and reduced staffing overhead.
Although forever in love with “being in the chair”, Patrick continues to seek new opportunities that will enable him to further nurture his natural talents and skills in the areas of Visual Effects Production Management.
