By Mackenzie Payne '18
An Emmy is one of the highest honors someone who works in television can receive. Bradley graduate Chris Faczek ‘08 has just received that honor for his work on American Horror Story.
“It was really a surprise,” said Faczek. “Usually the statues go to the few people who get their names on the ballot, but team members are also recognized for their contributions to that award and are given certificates.”
Faczek has been a staff member at FuseFX for two years, where he works as a compositor for television shows. He takes all of the visual effects and puts them together into the final version of shots.
“Compositors are normally the last person to touch a shot before it goes out of the office, so we have a lot of input on what the final piece looks like,” said Faczek.
Faczek received his award for his work on “Edward Moondrake, Part 2,” of the FuseFX show American Horror Story.
This particular episode of American Horror Story used computer generated effects to create a creepy, yet tragic, clown named Twisty and a set of conjoined twins, both were complex and difficult pieces of visual effects. These effects contributed not only to the visual aesthetic of the show, but they contributed to the storyline as well.
Faczek said those shots of the twins and Twisty the Clown are “a really good example of how large a role the VFX can play in the show.”
After graduating from Bradley in 2008 with a degree in Multimedia, Faczek moved to Los Angeles, where he made his way into composition work.
“I found that doing comp work had a large amount of creativity and problem solving, and I enjoyed the day-to-day of it,” said Faczek.
Doing compositing work has resulted in work for shows such as American Horror Story, Scream Queens, Agents of Shield, and an impressive compilation of others.
“Every show has different needs, and we work with the producers and show runners to make sure that the work we do fits the tone of the episode, or the story being told,” said Faczek. “Our work on AHS has always been more grounded in reality, and the producers and show runners do a good job of giving some logic to everything, and trying to make it fit together with the narrative, and the world the show is in.”
His role changes from show to show, and the immense difference between the shows has given Faczek an intriguing set of experiences and an Emmy!
“The best part is probably getting to come in every day and be challenged to find creative solutions to new problems,” said Faczek. “There is no shortage of new shows and new work, so every day is a bit different; it’s a constant learning experience. It’s very fulfilling to work with so many talented artists, as a team, to create stuff that you are amazed by at the end of the day.”
