Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
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Abby Henning

Los Angeles,CA

Summary

Virtual Production Technical Director with extensive experience operating Unreal Engine in live, on-set environments for LED volume productions including The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew. Proven ability to troubleshoot complex technical systems under high-pressure, failure-intolerant conditions. Strong background in motion capture, real-time rendering, and cross-department collaboration. Familiar with LiDAR workflows, photogrammetry pipelines, and emerging real-time reconstruction techniques such as Gaussian splatting.

Overview

7
7
years of professional experience

Work History

Virtual Production Technical Director II

Industrial Light & Magic
Los Angeles, CA
01.2023 - Current
  • Operate Unreal Engine in live on-set environments for LED volume productions, supporting real-time rendering during active shoots
  • Perform immediate scene adjustments (lighting, layout, optimization) in response to director and DP feedback
  • Troubleshoot critical issues across rendering, camera tracking, networking, and hardware systems under tight production timelines
  • Manage content pipelines and version control using Perforce across multiple concurrent productions
  • Collaborate directly with Virtual Production Supervisors, DPs, camera teams, and engineers to maintain stage reliability
  • Support integration of motion capture and scanned assets into real-time environments

Selected Projects:

  • The Mandalorian (Upcoming Film)
  • Grown-ish Season 6
  • Bvlgari “Roma 1884: Eternally Reborn”

Virtual Production Technical Director I

Industrial Light & Magic
Los Angeles, CA
05.2022 - 01.2023
  • Supported operation of Unreal Engine-driven virtual production stages and LED wall systems
  • Integrated motion capture and camera tracking data into real-time environments
  • Troubleshot on-set issues in high-pressure, failure-intolerant production environments
  • Assisted in optimizing environments for stable real-time playback
  • Trained and mentored team members in Unreal Engine workflows and Perforce usage

Selected Projects:

  • Ahsoka
  • Skeleton Crew
  • GMC Sierra “Outside In” (2023)

Junior Mocap Technical Director

Industrial Light & Magic
San Francisco, CA
09.2021 - 05.2022
  • Operated and maintained motion capture systems (Vicon / Shogun) for production environments
  • Managed capture sessions and ensured high-quality data acquisition
  • Calibrated hardware systems and supported troubleshooting during shoots
  • Assisted in integrating motion capture data into Unreal Engine pipelines
  • Collaborated with capture teams and engineers to improve workflow efficiency

Selected Project:

  • The Mandalorian Season 3

Advanced Creative Technology Intern

DreamWorks Animation
Glendale, CA
06.2019 - 08.2019
  • Supported motion capture shoots and virtual camera workflows
  • Processed and optimized assets for real-time experiences
  • Trained in Blade and Shogun systems
  • Assisted with layout and capture pipeline tasks
  • Document daily troubleshooting procedures for motion capture and virtual production systems.
  • Assist in the management of asset libraries and version control protocols.

Education

Bachelor of Science - Visualization

Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
05-2020

Skills

  • Unreal Engine (on-set operation, debugging, optimization)
  • LED Volume / ICVFX workflows
  • NDisplay / multi-machine rendering
  • Vicon (Shogun Live, Shogun Post, Evoke)
  • Captury
  • VCAM workflows
  • 3D Capture & Scanning (Familiar)
  • LiDAR data workflows and point cloud handling
  • Photogrammetry pipelines (eg, RealityCapture)(Familiar)
  • Gaussian Splatting (real-time reconstruction awareness)
  • Python (basic scripting)

Timeline

Virtual Production Technical Director II

Industrial Light & Magic
01.2023 - Current

Virtual Production Technical Director I

Industrial Light & Magic
05.2022 - 01.2023

Junior Mocap Technical Director

Industrial Light & Magic
09.2021 - 05.2022

Advanced Creative Technology Intern

DreamWorks Animation
06.2019 - 08.2019

Bachelor of Science - Visualization

Texas A&M University