New York

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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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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Born and raised in NYC, John’s original aspiration was to play professional basketball for the New York Knicks. Once he realized the limitations of being well under 6 feet tall, John transitioned to his passion of TV and film production. His introduction to the industry was as a Construction Set PA for the NBC series “Kidnapped,” which enabled a path into the Production office. Providing countless adventures, some of the most memorable experiences were between working on set with the Coen Brothers and an all star cast on “Burn After Reading,” to being flown (Business Class) to Paris with “Julie & Julia’s” France Unit. John continued as a Production Coordinator for close to a decade, but it was on the set of USA Networks’ “Royal Pains” where he established a life-long relationship with Luke DiTommaso, who was the VFX Supervisor during the show’s 8 season run. John later joined Luke and Andrew Bly as a Bid Producer and eventually Head of Production for their company, Molecule VFX until 2020. After spending two seasons as the Post Supervisor for the Paramount+ series “Evil“, John reunited with Andrew and Luke as a Senior Producer for Crafty Apes’ NY office, where he continues his career in VFX.

John spends his free time taking his 5-year-old on as many city adventures as possible, searching for the best NYC slice (which he currently holds Prince Street’s margarita slice as #1), and he still roots hard for the New York Knicks.

 

 

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