The-Artery Continues to Grow, Welcoming Eight New Tech and Production Pros

Sep. 29, 2022

On the heels of the recent additions of ECD/Head of 2D Animation Elad Offer and VFX Supervisor Yuval Levy, multi-award-winning creative company The-Artery is now welcoming a diversely talented group of artists and production staff to further expand their involvement in the tech sphere. Michael McCarthy, Danielle Shimshoni, Jared Biunno, Abbey Kurtz, Madeline Mack, Samantha Diaz, Leanne Maurer and Maia Rosenbaum are bringing unique backgrounds, perspectives and skills to bolster The-Artery’s rapidly expanding reach into tech while deepening their roots in the creative VFX realm.

Michael McCarthy joins the team as Senior VFX Producer. McCarthy is an enterprising and motivated VFX Producer with extensive experience in a wide variety of media formats. He has produced broadcast commercials, interactive long format, short format, motion graphics, VR video content, social media and more. He has expertise in managing a wide range of budgets and teams and has a strong skill set in pipeline development and execution.

Additionally, The-Artery has brought on young, award-winning TD and film director Madeline Mack. Mack originally joined The-Artery as an Executive Assistant but quickly proved her worth and versatility tackling the role of Resource Manager for the creative company’s ever-expanding production needs. She has since come to direct a TV series pilot with The-Artery, implementing her experience from working with director Dan Minahan on several projects. 

The-Artery is also gaining a new Production Manager in Danielle Shimshoni. Danielle brings extensive experience working in the entertainment industry as a Production Coordinator at Impartial Partners and as a former member of The Lincoln Project. She even worked as an actor for several years, giving her insight into production from all angles. This Israeli creative now uses her diverse background to support The-Artery in all VFX and live-action production initiatives inside the studio. 

Jared Biunno has also recently joined the team as a VFX coordinator. Although the newest member of the team, Jared is no stranger to The-Artery, as he has collaborated with the creative company on several occasions throughout his time at PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch. Jared brings experience in managing large workflows while producing stellar content, having led PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch’s content studio and in-house creative agency, respectively. 

Abbey Kurtz has also joined the team, using her technical background from Pratt to excel as a Junior Nuke/CG artist. Samantha Diaz, also a Pratt graduate, is also being welcomed to The-Artery as a Junior Compositor, where she currently uses her eye for detail to QC all film assets. Her technical skills do not stop there, however, as she is currently training as a Flame Artist. 

Finally, The-Artery is also welcoming intern Maia Rosenbaum from Boston College as a VFX Assistant, where she is quickly gaining experience in the field. Last but certainly not least, Leanne Maurer has also joined The-Artery team as the Community Manager. When not attending to the daily needs of the office, she lends her talents as a storyboard artist from SVA. Both individuals have also been involved in the management of The-Artery’s text-to-speech generated, animated virtual talent, SYNTHia.

The-Artery’s continued growth and evolution as a creative and tech leader is clearly illustrated through their internal expansion of Unreal, animation and CG teams. Their success could not be possible without the specialties of each new team member, including Abbey’s background in Fine Arts education dating back to high school. This carefully curated balance of tech and creative-based staff reinforces The-Artery’s one of a kind versatility.

This expansion of young artists is a turning point for the creative company, ushering in a fresh mindset armed with knowledge of the latest tech advances.

The-Artery MD/Executive Producer Deborah is thrilled to welcome the new faces to the studio, said:

"They’re a young group of hardworking, exceptional people, and we’re very glad to be the ones to help them continue to learn and grow in the industry. We simply have an amazing group of talented artists and producers who are doing a phenomenal job."