The Making of Netflix’s “The Sea Beast”

Chris Williams is an Academy Award-winning Director and Writer of animated films. Chris has been drawing since he could hold a pencil, and growing up he was obsessed with visual storytelling.  He wrote comic strips, made stop-motion films, and loved all things movies. He is a graduate of the University of Waterloo's Fine Arts program and Sheridan College's animation program. Upon graduation, he moved to Los Angeles and began his career in animation, which spans iconic films such as the Academy Award  ®-nominated Bolt, Academy Award  ®-nominated Moana, and Big Hero 6 which won the Academy Award ® in 2015, along with many others. The Sea Beast, William's debut on Netflix, will release globally on July 8th.

Matthias Lechner was born in Mannheim, Germany in 1970. He spent his youth in an idyllic south-German setting. In 1990 he moved to Hamburg to find his place in the awakening German animation industry. Later, he studied classical animation in Dublin, Ireland, and moved as an "animation nomad" to Hamburg, Seoul, Copenhagen, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Los Angeles. For 30 years, he has worked as an Art Director and Production Designer on a number of European and American animated features Like Disney’s Zootopia and Ralph breaks the Internet. At the moment he is a Production Designer for Netflix Animation. He lives with my wife, daughter, and cat in Ventura, CA.

Zach A. Parrish currently works as an Animation Director at Netflix Animation; the role he served on The Sea Beast. Before joining NAS, Parrish worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios for 10+ years where he worked as an animator (Tangled, Zootopia, Moana, Raya, and the Last Dragon), Animation Supervisor (Wreck-It Ralph), Head of Animation (Big Hero 6) and directed two short films (Us Again and Puddles). He is passionate about all things animation, filmmaking, and storytelling in general.

Parrish was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana where he graduated from Bishop Dwenger High School. After graduation, he attended the Savannah College of Art and Design and got his BFA in Animation.

Joshua Beveridge is an animation supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, most recently completing work on the upcoming animated feature The Sea Beast for Netflix.

Beveridge joined Imageworks in 2005 and his credits include the Academy Award®-winning SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, STORKS, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, I AM LEGEND, SURF’S UP, OPEN SEASON, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, and ARTHUR CHRISTMAS.

Beveridge attended the Ringling College of Art & Design and graduated with a degree in Animation.

He received a Visual Effects Society Award for his contribution to SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE and a nomination for I AM LEGEND. He is a member of ASIFA.