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Uppercut promotes John Geehreng to Partner
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Uppercut recognise his role in building the company’s VFX division into an artist driven department built for the evolving demands of today’s creative production landscape.
Uppercut has promoted VFX Supervisor John Geehreng to Partner, recognising his role in building the company’s VFX division into an artist driven department built for the evolving demands of today’s creative production landscape.
Since joining Uppercut, Geehreng has helped shape both the studio’s creative output and technical infrastructure, leading projects that blend high end visual effects craft with emerging AI driven workflows. Under his leadership, Uppercut’s VFX department has expanded across commercial, automotive, beauty, and entertainment work while continuing to prioritize speed, collaboration, and hands-on artistry.
“When I first joined Uppercut, Micah told me, ‘This is your department. Run it how you want,’” said Geehreng. “That trust changed everything for me. It gave me the freedom to build a VFX team and pipeline designed around collaboration, adaptability, and great work.”
Geehreng’s promotion reflects Uppercut’s continued investment in scalable creative leadership as the company expands its capabilities across editorial, VFX, AI integration, and finishing. Alongside overseeing the VFX department, Geehreng has also led the development of Uppercut’s internal VFX pipeline and helped guide the company’s growing use of AI assisted workflows. “AI is changing the tools, but not the need for taste, creativity, and human instinct,” Geehreng added. “The future belongs to people who can adapt without losing the craft.”
Uppercut founder Micah Scarpelli said the promotion reflects both John’s leadership and the company’s long term vision for VFX. “John helped build a VFX department that feels completely aligned with who Uppercut is: collaborative, versatile, and deeply craft focused,” said Scarpelli. “He understands both the creative and technical sides of this business at a very high level, and he’s been instrumental in helping position Uppercut for where post production is headed next.”
Known for its artist first culture, Uppercut has increasingly expanded its VFX capabilities through a smaller, highly adaptable team structure designed to move fluidly between traditional compositing, Flame workflows, and AI assisted solutions.
“What makes Uppercut different is the cultivation of talent,” said Geehreng. “People here rise because of talent, attitude, and work ethic. There’s a real culture of mentorship and collaboration, and I think that’s why people genuinely want to be here.”
As Partner, Geehreng will continue overseeing VFX while helping lead Uppercut’s continued growth across emerging technologies, pipeline development, and integrated creative workflows.
