martin mcbain

Recommendations written by colleagues with whom I have worked over the course of my career. These can also be viewed via my LinkedIn profile http://uk.linkedin.com/in/martinmcbain/

“Martin directed me on both ‘Goldeneye’ and ‘007 Legends’ (Activision, Eurocom). I cannot recommend this man highly enough. Martin, has an expert understanding of both video games, and the video games industry. He plays games, and he knows what works and what doesn’t. He also, has a wonderful visual sense, and will always have envisioned the scenes, and camera movements, long in advance of shooting, something which is essential when shooting not only a ‘James Bond’ video game, but shooting it with motion capture, which basically comes down to using your imagination. I didn’t witness much of his animation process, but the results were always polished and classy. On a character note, he is an absolute pleasure to work with and to be directed by, always inviting outside ideas. Martin, never fails to share his enthusiasm for his work, and I absolutely loved working with him, and would do again in a second. Highly, highly recommended.”

Oliver Hollis – Actor, Performance Capture Artist and Writer at Saber

“Lead Animator, Director, camera operator, choreographer, compositor… Martin’s knowledge and enthusiasm for his job are first class. He is a guy that you know will get the job done no matter what obstacles are put in his path. I always looked forward to him coming in and describing his latest mocap session where he would give a dramatic, and very inspiring, account of what he’d just captured!

Often going above and beyond the call for the team, Martin always led by example, earning the respect of myself and many of his colleagues in the process. With his excellent attitude he would be a superb addition to any cinematics department and I wholeheartedly recommend him.”

Phillip Hackney – Animation Manager

“I worked with Martin on a number of projects at Eurocom over an eleven year period. He’s extremely hard working, focussed, personable but most of all, a hugely talented animator whose often been called upon to make the impossible possible. I’d recommend Martin without reserve, he’s one of the good guys in the industry who can really make a difference to a project both in terms of quality and getting it out of the door.”

Rob Matthews – Senior Producer at Jagex

“Martin is a very talented individual in his field of game cinematics.  He has a huge amount of knowledge, expertise and the fine attention to detail you need to deliver scenes to the high level that is required for modern AAA tiles.

He excels at directing actors during mocap shoots.  When he takes control of a set, there’s always a friendly, but extremely productive and professional atmosphere.  He has the ability to win even difficult people over in a friendly way to do their best work for him.

In the day to day management of the cutscene production, he has a very pragmatic and logical approach, while also being open to ideas from all sides.  I can’t remember a single time I did not feel he made the best choice given our set of constraints or limitations.

He’s always tried to make things better or push things to the next level, but without making un-necessary obstructions to the progress of the overall project.  He is NOT one of those people who just simply needs to stamp down their own authority for no other reason but just to justify their position.  He’s one of those who’s pivotal in making things happen for the good of the project.

It was a pleasure working under him, and I really respected his abilities and management style.”

Wilhelm Ogterop – Lead Animator at Travelers Tales Fusion

“Over the years I’ve worked with Martin closely, he has a great sense of humour and is very personable. Even under a lot of pressure during major milestones he remains calm and is always willing to help and give objective views. He is a strong leader of his team; he produces high quality work for our games, leading his team to follow suit with the quality which he has set. Martin will always meet the deadlines set with a high standard of work, he’ll distribute to the relevant departments ready for implementation. A highly recommended team member.

Peter Hopkins – Design Manager at Rare Ltd

“A great person and a great professional. Absolutely a pleasure to work with. Martin is clear, focused, solution oriented and quality driven. He is constantly meeting tight deadlines, and since he has a great sense of humor, it just makes the work environment so much more pleasant.
Working with Martin is just the right choice to do if you are looking for quality in your product and a positive vibe at the studio.”

Carlos Villarreal Kwasek – UI Artist at GHOST an EA Studio

“Having worked with Martin on numerous projects at Eurocom, I was always impressed with his understanding of gameplay and how cinematics should compliment and integrate with the action. This level of consideration paid dividends on Dead Space: Extraction where gameplay and cinematics were heavily reliant on each other. Overall, Martin left you feeling confident that the animations you were going to get would be spot on. As such, I can enthusiastically recommend Martin with zero hesitation.”

Neil Casini – Director at Light Pillar Software Ltd

“I worked with Martin on a number of projects over the years at Eurocom. He was a great animator, who produced and managed the cutscenes at Eurocom to an exceptionally high standard.

I really enjoyed working with Martin and I would not hesitate to recommend him.”

James Walters – Senior Environment Artist at Rare