Michael "Ffish" Hemschoot (born 1972, Aurora, Colorado) is a director, animator and has held a variety of roles as a visual effects artist in major Hollywood films. Since 1996, Hemschoot has worked on films such as Mars Attacks!, What Dreams May Come, The Matrix, Hollow Man, Black Hawk Down, Minority Report and National Treasure.
He was lead animator on the films Bless the Child and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, which was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 76th Academy Awards. Currently, he is CEO at the animation studio he founded, Worker Studio, and is also a partner in the live action production company, Travelin' Productions.
Early life and education Hemschoot was raised in Parker, Colorado, but moved to California, where he attended California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in the early 1990s and graduated from their Character Animation program in 1995.
Career Teaching and early films He has worked with visual effects companies such as Warner Digital Studios, Creative Visual Effects, Inc., Manex Visual Effects and Asylum Visual Effects. After his relocation to Colorado, Hemschoot was an adjunct professor of animation at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.
He started his career in film in 1996 when he was "2D roto artist" for Warner Digital Studios on Mars Attacks!. He then was an animator in a number of late 1990s films. In the 1997 film Batman & Robin, he was the digital compositor. He had the same role in the 1998 film What Dreams May Come. In 1999, he was also a character animator on The Matrix through Manex Visual Effects.
Among other roles in the early 2000s, he was a CG artist for the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down. After serving as lead animator for the 2003 film Master and Commander, in 2004, he was an animator for National Treasure. He was the lead animator for the feature film Sky High in 2005.
Recent productions As producing, directing and writing partners, Hemschoot and actor Sean Bridgers formed the live-action production company called Travelin Productions, as well as an animation and visual effects company, Worker Studio. They soon completed two short films together: A Night at the Zoo in 2008, starring W. Earl Brown and Bridgers, then The Birthday Present in 2012, starring Joey Lauren Adams. He first collaborated as a director with director Sean Bridgers on the short film A Night in the Zoo, which was nominated for Best Short at the Little Rock Film Festival, where it premiered in 2009. He and Bridgers co-directed the 2012 short film The Birthday Present, which screened at the Little Rock Film Festival, Oxford Film Festival, and others.
For the 2012 film The ABCs of Death, he served as visual effects supervisor for the "E" segment. Sean Bridgers and Hemschoot also developed a live action feature film that is a dark western set during the Civil War in the South, titled Arkansas Traveler. Cast attached to the project included Garret Dillahunt and Angela Bettis. With Hemschoot both co-producing and co-directing, it was published as a webseries on June 19, 2017.
In 2017, he directed and edited the three minute short animation Camping à la Bergman. As of 2018, he and Bridgers were co-directing and producing the narrative documentary around the life of World War II hero and photo-recon pilot John H. Ross, John Ross: American, with Travelin' Productions and Worker Studio developing. He also edited the project, which is an animated documentary.
Artistic influences In an interview with Oxford American, Hemschoot stated that his film sensibility was formed by the works of Hal Ashby, John Sayles, Sam Peckinpah, George Roy Hill, and Walter Hill, and his later influences include Alfonso Cuarón, Lars von Trier, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Walter Salles.
For a 2014 article, Hemschoot selected five animated performances that influenced him creatively: Bill Tytla's "Chernabog" from Fantasia and Stromboli from Pinocchio, Milt Kahl's "Shere Khan" from The Jungle Book, Glen Keane's "Professor Ratigan" from The Great Mouse Detective and John Lounsbery's "Tony" from Lady and the Tramp.
Filmography Year Film Director Credit Notes1996Mars Attacks! Tim Burton2D roto artist at Warner Bros. 1997Batman & Robin Joel Schumacherdigital compositor1998What Dreams May Come Vincent Warddigital compositorThe film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects1999Baby Geniuses Bob Clarkdigital compositor1999The Matrix The Wachowskischaracter animatorat Manex Visual Effects, Film Won Academy Award for Best Visual Effects2000Hollow Man Paul Verhoevendigital compositorFilm was nominated for Academy Award for Best Visual Effects2000Bless the Child Chuck Russelllead animator2000Cast Away Robert Zemeckisbonsai compositor2001Black Hawk Down Ridley ScottCG artist2002Minority Report Steven SpielbergCG artist at Asylum Visual Effects Film nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects2002Stuart Little 2 Rob Minkoffcloth dynamicsFilm won Visual Effects Society's Best Character Animation in an Animated Feature 2002The Master of Disguise Perry Andelin BlakeCG artist2002Phone Booth Joel SchumacherCG artist at Asylum Visual Effects 2002The Ring Gore VerbinskiAnimator at Asylum Visual Effects2002Catch Me If You Can Steven SpielbergCG artist at Asylum Visual Effects2003Levity Ed SolomonAnimator at Asylum Visual Effects2003Down with Love Peyton ReedAnimator at Asylum Visual Effects2003Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle McGAnimator at Asylum Visual Effects2003Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Peter WeirLead Animator Film nominated for Academy Award for Best Visual Effects 2004National Treasure Jon TurteltaubAnimator at Asylum Visual Effects2005Sky High Mike MitchellLead Animator at Asylum Visual Effects2008A Night at the Zoo (Short) Michael HemschootSean BridgersProducer, directorCo-producer, Co-Director with Sean Bridgers2012The Birthday Present (Short) Michael HemschootSean BridgersCo-Director, Digital Effects, EditorCo-Director with Sean Bridgers2012The ABCs of Death VariousVisual effects with Worker StudioFor segment "E" directed by Angela Bettis2017Camping à la Bergman (Short) Michael HemschootDirector with Worker Studio Short Film inspired by Ingmar Bergman2017Arkansas Traveler Michael HemschootSean BridgersCo-Director, Editor, Visual EffectsCo-Director with Sean Bridgers
See also John H. Ross Sean Bridgers Barry Kooser Worker Studio
References
External links
Print interview with Hemschoot in Denver Business Journal John Ross: American – KEZW radio interview