Francesco Panzieri


Francesco Panzieri is an Italian-American visual effects artist and supervisor. He has worked on the films of J.J. Abrams, Quentin Tarantino, Anthony & Joe Russo and Antoine Fuqua, among others. He is a member of the Visual Effects Society, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Italian Visual Effects Association.

Education

Panzieri was born in Pescara, Italy. He developed an interest in film-making and special effects from an early age. In 2008, Panzieri earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Film Science from the International Academy of Image Arts in L'Aquila, Italy, which was founded in 1992 by Academy Award recipient for Best Achievement in Cinematography Vittorio Storaro and Gabriele Lucci. Focused on deepening his VFX knowledge in the United States of America, he then enrolled himself in the one-year 3D-animation & visual effects conservatory program at the New York Film Academy in New York City, NY.

Career

Flash Film Works

In 2009, Panzieri was hired to work at the visual effects boutique Flash Film Works in Hollywood, California; under the guidance of the studio's owner, William Mesa, Panzieri started his career as Rotoscope / Paint artist on the live-action web series The Blood Factory, a gory episodic created by screenwriter John Albo and actor/director Danny DeVito. His second assignment was on the 2010 feature film Clash of the Titans, a remake of the original 1981 version.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

In 2015, Panzieri was called to join the in-house visual effects team at J.J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot Productions, to work on the feature film. The film and became, unadjusted for inflation, the highest-grossing installment in the franchise, the highest-grossing film in North America, the highest-grossing film of 2015, and the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time, with a worldwide gross of over $2 billion and a net profit of over $780 million. The film also received five Academy Award nominations at the 88th Academy Awards, including Best Visual Effects and garnered four nominations at the 69th British Academy Film Awards including one win for Best Special Visual Effects.

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)

In 2017, Panzieri was called to join the in-house visual effects team at Marvel Studios, to work on the feature film. Afterwards, he joined the compositing department at Digital Domain to work on the feature film.
In 2018, Panzieri extended his work collaboration with Digital Domain on the feature film. The film received praise for the emotional weight of the story, as well as the visual effects and action sequences. It was the fifth film and the first superhero film to gross over $2 billion worldwide, breaking numerous and becoming the highest-grossing film of 2018, as well as the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time and in the United States and Canada. The film received Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for achievements in visual effects.
In 2019, Panzieri was hired at Luma Pictures to work on the feature film. The film grossed over globally and became Sony Pictures' highest-grossing film worldwide.

Filmography