New York

Growing up outside of Boston, Sarah’s interest in film was sparked directing elaborate horror films in her basement with a cast of her friends and neighbors. Realizing all this fun could actually become a career, she attended Emerson College to cultivate her interest in film. After finding her feet as a PA, Sarah entered the world of VFX just as the NYC industry took off. Sarah’s VFX producing credits include True Detective, Manhunt: Unabomber, Wu-Tang: An American Saga and Ray Donovan. Sarah is excited to be a part of the Crafty Apes team and continue their incredible work in film and television. In her precious spare time, you can find Sarah trying out new recipes, headed to the movies with friends, or running as far as she can.

 

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Mary Ida Bonadio has been in the Commercial Ad business since graduation from “The School of The Art Institute of Chicago with a MFA, and Moore College of Art with a BFA.” What Art School has taught her is to be an independent thinker. The ability to communicate and understand conceptual ideas.”

• She has raced formula one cars, flown small planes, shoots sporting clays and loves deep sea diving.
• Is a gourmet cook
• Is currently dabbling in watercolors
• Went to the scratch academy
• Just recent bough a puppy, who controls her every move

 

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Leslie’s dreams of being an artist began when she was three years old, drawing on the walls and furniture of her childhood home in New York City. In time, her artistic pursuits led her to the School of Visual Arts, where she majored in computer art before landing in the professional world of VFX.

Now a 13 year veteran of the industry, Leslie has worked on films and TV shows as both a distinguished supervisor and producer, with credits including all seasons of Star Trek Discovery, Manifest Season 3, The Nighthouse, Marvel’s Runaways, Deadpool 2, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and more. Leslie’s tireless work ethic, fine attention to detail, and commitment to her clients and colleagues has been instrumental in the growth of the talent and culture of Crafty Apes NY and to the NY VFX industry in general. In addition to all her efforts at Crafty, she is also the (two time) current chair of the NY VES board. However, she still makes time for her artistic passions, including illustration, painting, and photography, along with spoiling her two adorable pet rats.

 

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Blake grew up wanting to work in the film industry, but it seemed too lofty a goal for someone in Southern Indiana. After spending a year in business school and finding it dissatisfying, however, he moved to Florida to study computer animation. Shortly after graduating, Blake met his future wife Brooke, moved to Atlanta, and began working with Crafty Apes as a junior compositor. When the company expanded, Blake and his wife moved to NYC where he is now a VFX supervisor. As a hobbyist, he enjoys playing guitar and programming. As a sinner saved by grace, he and his wife pursue knowing and worshiping Christ and gathering with their local church in Manhattan throughout the week.

 

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A Connecticut native, Erin earned her degree in New Media Production before moving to NYC to pursue a career in post production. After spending a couple of years as a PA, she landed a position as a VFX Coordinator and soon struck out on her own as a freelancer. As VFX Coordinator, Erin worked on titles such as Gemini Man and The Plot Against America. Erin is excited to join the Crafty Apes team as VFX Producer. In her free time, Erin enjoys playing softball and spending time with her nieces.

 

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Although a transplanted New Yorker, Charles’ creative roots can be traced back to his native Texas where his love of cinema and music thrived in Austin’s creative community while studying Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas. His career path has included working in Mexico City, New York, Berlin and Los Angeles. He has produced VFX for a wide-range of projects, including features, episodics and commercials. When not at work, he spends his time enjoying New York’s endless cultural offerings with his wife Amanda — and traveling every chance he gets.

 

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Jeff’s love of cinema drew him to the magic of effects work from an early age. Often with the family camcorder in hand, he was constantly attempting to recreate famous visual effects scenes on his own.

With that enthusiasm for creating effects only becoming stronger over time, he began his career in compositing in 2011. Jeff’s VFX portfolio has collected numerous major commercial campaigns for clients such as Chase, Samsung, Playstation, Coca-Cola, BMW and Mercedes. Hailing from one of NY’s most premier commercials companies, Jeff was promoted to Flame/Nuke Lead where he helped to spearhead exemplary work for Geico, Aflac and Budweiser (among many others).

In 2016, Jeff decided to finally transition from the commercial industry and pursue his dreams working in long form projects for film and television. After working on Ang Lee’s technical feat Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Jeff’s artistic passion and keen eye for detail situated him as an integral piece of the compositing teams behind American Made, Mudbound, Maniac, Starz’ Power and The Queen’s Gambit before joining the Crafty team in 2020. Here he has supervised a colorful collection of projects such as Netflix’s Things Heard and Seen, The Many Saints of Newark, Monsterland and Manifest.

Jeff works out of Crafty Apes’ New York City office, and currently lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their two trouble-making cats in Brooklyn.

 

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There was a moment back in 2013 when Geoff got a big appreciative hug from Guillermo Del Toro at the cast and crew screening for Pacific Rim. The opportunity to meet, work with, and be recognized for contributions by a personal hero; that was when he knew he had made the right career choice.

Since that time his career has brought him from Oakland, to L.A., to Vancouver, and now NYC, where Geoff has worked on blockbuster feature films (Batman v Superman, Furious 7, Midway, Pacific Rim), award winning episodic television (Game of Thrones, The 100, Once Upon a Time, Snowpiercer), music videos for renowned artists (Dr. Dre, Eminem, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga), and commercials for massive brands, including a few for the Super Bowl (Soda Stream, Fiat/Revolve, Gatorade, NASCAR, and Beats by Dre).

In his off-work hours you’ll find Geoff hanging with his dog, exploring the metaverse in VR, or teaching classes in compositing and VFX.

 

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