JAMM Announces New Animation Supervisor Steward Burris

Santa Monica-based creative visual effects studio JAMM has hired animation veteran and longtime collaborator Steward Burris as Animation Supervisor.  

Steward has been working with JAMM in a freelance capacity since their inception four years ago, and this position makes the partnership official. Steward has been animating and supervising on feature films, television, commercials, games, and VR since graduating Vancouver Film School over two decades ago. His repertoire is extensive and varied, having worked on everything from The X-Files and Breaking Bad to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Harry Potter and the famous dancing KIA hamsters.

Steward specializes in character performance and photo-real creature work, bringing his subjects to life with a meticulous attention to detail. This talent is on full display in the recent Universal Parks and Resorts “Grow Bolder” spot, wherein Steward and VFX Supervisor Andy Boyd led the JAMM team to seamlessly integrate CG into live action and further enhance the in-camera elements with additional atmosphere and texture. Recreating King Kong and Transformers sequences was a top favorite among the CG team, which Steward calls a “highlight” of his career. Other examples of Steward’s skill for injecting warmth and personality into animated creations can be seen in the KIA Hamster spots, and in the awkward interactions between robots and humans in the Kohler “Never Too Next” commercial.

With a long and successful history of collaborating with the JAMM partners, Steward is eagerly looking toward the future. “Everyone working at JAMM is highly skilled, I know my work will be matched or exceeded by other people’s contributions which pushes me to elevate my craft even further. Working at JAMM is going to help me grow, which is what any artist wants.”

“There’s often a belief that to handle a giant CG character job, you need a massive team,” Steward says, explaining how JAMM defies industry assumptions. “JAMM has shown time and again you can achieve this with a small but highly skilled crew. If you give the best tools to the most talented people, you’ll get fantastic results - in half the time.”

Asher Edwards, JAMM Executive Producer, is thrilled for Steward to join them in an official capacity. “Working with Stew in the past has always been an incredible experience, it’s a privilege to have someone with his talent and skillset heading up our animation department.”