Ruel Smith joins Stept Studios as head of visual effects & animation

Smith was instrumental in bringing Stept’s recent campaign for Riot Games’ League of Legends World Championships to life as co-director and VFX supervisor. The ambitious film promoted the 2020 esports competition, with more than 95% of the project completed in CG and done with everyone physically distancing and working from home.

Smith’s latest work is a powerful animation campaign for Best Buy featuring the stories of six teens from marginalized communities who have big dreams for their futures. Responding to the question: what do you want to achieve on the highest level?, each story is rendered in a different animation style, reflecting the diversity of their visions, unique individually but collectively functioning as a vivid and inspiring whole. Says Smith, “I’ve been in their shoes. Growing up in Jamaica and wanting to dream big but not having the access or circumstance to the tools I needed to make that future possible. So being a part of this project was especially meaningful to me.”

“Ruel consistently blows me away,” says Nick Martini, Founder/CEO of Stept Studios. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have him in this position, with his attitude and know-how both being some of the best in the business.”

Says Smith about joining Stept, “I’m ready to jump in with the great team at Stept in this new capacity. Over this past year, I’ve had a great time creating exceptional story worlds with them. The sky’s the limit when everyone is so dedicated and talented. It’s my honor to lead the VFX and animation department and continue making impactful work.”