Full Sail Stories

The Na’vi tribe recently returned to the big screen for Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third installment in the Avatar franchise. Audiences flocked to theaters in a big way to experience the film’s ongoing saga and exceptional special effects – so far, the movie has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. Full Sail was well-represented in the credits of the blockbuster flick, with more than 20 grads from programs like Film, Computer Animation, and Recording Arts contributing to the movie’s creation.

The Avatar movies are known for their advanced special effects, and a number of Full Sail grads worked on the impressive visuals for Fire and Ash. Dan Neufeldt helped create the movie’s stunning digital environments as a Virtual Production Architect, while John D. Hernandez worked as a Senior Visual Effects Coordinator, Alexander Unruh and Devin Fairbairn pitched in as Digital Artists, and Nicolaus Taylor contributed as a Visual Effects Artist.

Full Sail grads also worked in areas beyond special effects. Grad Jake Cenac made an impact in his role as an On-Set Technical Director, while grads Maria Astorga and Shayla Mitchell helped out as Production Assistants. Veronica Smith helped make sure everything looked just right as a Stage Layout Coordinator, while grads Patrick Christensen and Nathan Hopkins worked in post-production as an ADR Mixer and Post Visualization Supervisor, respectively.

Additional graduates helped bring Avatar: Fire and Ash to life by working as Lab Artists, Sequence Artists, Camera Operators, and more.