Simon J. Smith

Simon James Smith is an English animator, director, visual effects artist and occasional voice actor best known for his work at DreamWorks Animation. Smith came to PDI/DreamWorks in 1997 as head of layout for the company's feature film division. A CG animation veteran with nearly 25 years of experience, Smith supervised the layout department on PDI/DreamWorks' first animated feature Antz, serving as the head of layout in Shrek. He then directed the Universal Studios Theatre experience Shrek 4-D, followed by the short Far Far Away Idol. His first feature film as a director was in 2007, with Bee Movie . He then directed another DVD short, Megamind: The Button of Doom, before co-helming, with Eric Darnell, the comedy/spy action spin-off from the Madagascar series, Penguins of Madagascar.
==Career==
Smith began his career in London, where he worked at SVC Television, the editing and effects house Framestore and post house VTR, where he established his own 3D department. Immediately prior to joining PDI/DreamWorks, Smith served at The Mill as the CG supervisor on commercial projects for Nike, Honda, Volvo and VW Polo. He was a pioneer in the field of pre-visualization, and used that skill set to create PDI's layout department, which became an integral part of PDI's filmmaking process. Smith was also instrumental in helping to set up CG layout department for Aardman Animation for the production of Chicken Run. Known for his work on the award-winning pop video Go West for the Pet Shop Boys, Smith also received the first ever Gold Leaf Award for his 3D directorial work on the commercial West Lites.
==Film credits==
===Directing===
Year	Title 	Notes
2003	Shrek 4-D 	
2004	Far Far Away Idol 	
2007	Bee Movie 	also voice of Truck driver/Chet
2011	Megamind: The Button of Doom	
2014	Penguins of Madagascar 	
===Visual Effects & Animation===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1998	Antz 	Layout Supervisor	
1998	The Prince of Egypt 	Layout Artist 	Uncredited
2000	The Road to El Dorado 	Layout Artist 	Uncredited
2000	Chicken Run 	Special Thanks 	
2001	Shrek 	Head of Layout 	also voice of Blind Mouse
2002	Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron	Layout Artist 	Uncredited
2003	Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas	Layout Artist 	Uncredited
2004	Shrek 2 	Layout Consultant	
2004	Shark Tale 	Layout Artist 	Uncredited
2005	Madagascar 	Layout Artist 	Uncredited
2006	Over the Hedge 	Layout Artist 	Uncredited
2008	Kung Fu Panda 	Layout Artist 	Uncredited
2008	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa 	Layout Artist 	Uncredited
2011	Kung Fu Panda 2 	Layout Artist 	Uncredited
Category:English male voice actors
Category:English animators
Category:English cinematographers
Category:English film directors
Category:British animated film directors
Category:Visual effects artists
Category:Visual effects supervisors
Category:Living people
Category:DreamWorks Animation people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)