An Interview with Josh Saeta

Read an interview with my old colleague and friend, Josh Saeta, over at VFXTalk.com. Josh is a lead compositor at Rhythm & Hues, and talks about his experiences on "Night at the Museum" and "Superman Returns."

Josh and I go way back - we both started our effects careers at Banned From The Ranch together. He is an extraordinary talent who is genuinely self-taught, an attribute I greatly respect. It was such a blast working with him at BFTR, Flat Earth and Pixel Magic.

Josh, Glenn Cannon and I spent three months on the set of "American Pie" together, and that time we spent together sticks in my head as one of the greatest movie experiences of my career. We laughed so hard and long on that show. We had a blast.

The movie was extremely low-budget ($12 million, but we made it for $11 million), and the stages were in the middle of Van Nuys during a heatwave. Our un-air-conditioned stages were sweltering. (Look carefully at all the actors in "American Pie," especially Jason Biggs. That sweat ain't makeup.) So we had to have fun, to make it bearable. Of course, watching Shannon Elizabeth get naked, take after take after take, certainly took the edge off.

Fun fact about working on "American Pie": I developed a cist on my buttbone from sitting cross-legged for hours on end on plywood stage floors. I would huddle underneath the desk where Jason Biggs was performing his scenes, and between takes, I would rise up and reset his prop computer. Then, I would descend back underneath the desk. For weeks afterwards, I couldn't sit in a regular chair without experiencing butt pain. True story.

Read Josh's interview.
Read what we (Banned From The Ranch) did on "American Pie"