Heidi Costello
Cinematic Storytelling Through Motion

Performance,
frame by
frame.

Cinematic Director Cinematic Animator Senior Animator

I'm Heidi Costello. I craft believable performance and emotional beats for AAA games and interactive media, from motion-capture cleanup and hand-keyed facial animation in full cinematics, interactive scenes, and narrative sequences to directing in-game cutscenes, teaser/trailers, and business development projects. I lead teams, set the bar for quality, and help bring characters and stories to life.

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01  Selected Work
02:14

Marvel's Avengers · In-Game Cinematics

Mocap sequences · hand-keyed facial performance
🔒 Under NDA

Vignette Lead · FPS (Perfect Dark)

Sequence direction · team of 10 · Unreal 5.2 · content under NDA
01:32

Murdered: Soul Suspect · NPC & Cinematics

Motion capture · MotionBuilder · Unreal · Maya
02:03

Paradise Bay · Stylized Game Animation

Keyframe animation · rigging · low-poly characters
00:55

Teaser Trailers & Pitch Cinematics

Directed content · business development
00:21

Creature Animation · Locomotion Study

Animation Mentor intensive · body mechanics
00:48

Previsualization · Shot Blocking Study

Previs · camera & layout · shot composition
02  Professional

Software

Maya Unreal Engine 5 Unreal Sequencer Unity MotionBuilder SGX (Speech Graphics) Xsens Adobe After Effects Adobe Premiere Adobe Photoshop Perforce ShotGrid Proprietary Engines

Craft & Discipline

Cinematics Animation Cutscenes Interactive Scenes Narrative / Storytelling Sequences Keyframe Animation Motion Capture & Cleanup Facial Animation Facial Capture Acting Previs & Layout Camera Animation Cinematography Staging Rigging

Leadership

Cinematic Direction Team Leadership Mentoring Vendor & Outsource Management Hiring & Onboarding Documentation & Pipeline Change Management Public Speaking
03  Experience
2024-2025

Perfect Day Games

Cinematic Director

Directed teaser trailers, animated content for client pitches, and visually compelling interactive in-game experiences. Drove the creative vision across ideation, look development, storyboard, layout, and animation, partnering with cross-discipline leads on business-development initiatives.

Shipped: Eighth Era: Battle Hero Quest
🏆 NYX Game Awards 2025 — Mobile Game: Best Innovation (Grand Winner), one of four NYX titles won by Eighth Era.
Maya · Unity · Perforce · Adobe Suite
2020-2024

Crystal Dynamics

Senior Cinematic Animator II · Vignette Lead

Animated motion-capture sequences and hand-keyed facial performances for AAA in-game cutscenes and interactive scenes, applying strong body mechanics and animation principles to every shot. Led a vignette team of 10 to deliver high-quality narrative sequences on schedule, mentoring animators and upholding consistent performance and quality standards across the project.

Shipped: Marvel's Avengers
Maya · Unreal 5.2 · Sequencer · Facial Capture · Perforce
2019-2020

Big Fish Games

Senior Animator

Brought personality to 2D and 3D characters across mobile titles, adding life and appeal to game environments and supporting the animation pipeline on unannounced projects.

Maya · Unity · Spine · Perforce
2017-2019

Activision / Blizzard / King

Lead Artist · Senior Animator · Rigger

Led the internal art team and external vendors from concept to final in-game assets on Paradise Bay. Trained animators, interviewed new hires, authored animation documentation and tools, and managed all animation outsourcing while collaborating on pitch and prototype work.

Shipped: Paradise Bay
Maya · Proprietary Engine · Unity · Perforce
2015-2017

Z2 / King

Animator · Rigger

Developed the animation style for Paradise Bay and trained incoming animators, bringing appeal and personality to stylized characters across the title.

Shipped: Paradise Bay
Maya · Proprietary Engine · Unity · Perforce
2013-2015

Airtight Games

Animator

Worked from motion-capture data to create NPC animation, cutscenes, and in-game cinematics, and performed on the mocap stage to act out scenes firsthand.

Shipped: Murdered: Soul Suspect
Maya · MotionBuilder · Unreal Engine · Xsens · Perforce
2004-2012

Amaze / Griptonite / Foundation 9 · Glu Mobile

Lead Animator · Animator · Rigger

Managed an animation team building mobile content for iOS and Android. Extensive experience animating and rigging characters across PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PC, and PSP, including scripting and animating game cinematics with full camera setup and layout.

Shipped: Super Hero Squad · The Penguins of Madagascar · The Princess and the Frog · Where the Wild Things Are · Shrek the Third · Samurai vs Zombies II
Maya · Unity · Proprietary Engine · Perforce
04  Development
Animation Training

Animation Mentor · 18-Month Program

Body mechanics, advanced body mechanics, acting, polishing & portfolio.

Previs Training

Previsualization Basics for Animators

Animation Mentor workshop with Nicole Herr.

Animation Training

Creature Animation: Locomotion

Animation Mentor intensive with Alvise Avati.

Animation Training

EPIC Summer Intensive

Animation Collaborative masterclass with Mical Makarewicz.

Animation Training

Lighting Workshop

Animation Mentor workshop with Ben Fischler.

Leadership Training

Influencing & Persuading with Impact

Leadership workshop with Ingrid Weiss.

Leadership Training

Emotional Intelligence

Leadership workshop with Ingrid Weiss.

Leadership Training

Public Speaking

Confessions of a Public Speaker with Scott Berkun; presentation and delivery skills.

Leadership & Management

Dealing with Change

Leadership & management workshop with Ingrid Weiss.

05  About Me
Heidi Costello

I'm happiest surrounded by people who push me to be a better animator, leader, and professional every day, as we build something we're all proud of.

Across two decades I've grown from animating and rigging characters on handheld and console titles to leading cinematic teams and directing animated content end to end. Whether I'm hand-keying a subtle facial beat, cleaning mocap into a believable performance, or blocking a layout sequence or camera move for a teaser, my desire has always been to make the audience feel something.

With a growth mindset and an unwavering passion for infusing characters and stories with life and charm, I want to continue contributing to rich narrative worlds, bringing unforgettable characters to life that leave a lasting impression.

Let's Work Together
06  Contact

Let's bring
your story
to life.

Open to senior animation, cinematic animation, previs/layout animation, animation lead and cinematic director roles. I'd love to hear about what you're building!

Emailhc.crossingproductions@gmail.com Phone+1 425 503 5109 LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/heidicostello
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