Saks created, administered, and taught Cinematic Arts, Animation& VFX curriculum at CCAD, OSU, and UCLA. He was a Visiting Artist at Nanyang Technological Institute (Singapore). Saks participated in educator summits with DreamWorks, Pixar, Disney, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Electronic Arts. He presented papers, was a papers juror, served on and moderated panels at international conferences, including “Kingstoon” Animation Conference – University of the West Indies, Siggraph, NCGA, SMPTE, OIAF, KAFI, AIA, and SAS. At CCAD, he mounted symposia, including “Motion and Emotion: Animation as the Convergence of Art and Science” and “Women in Animation: An International Symposium”.
Saks is a Veteran Media Producer, founder of Clara Vista Productions, the Ohio Non-Profit – Heart of Innovation Project, and co-founder of resQ dawgs. He was a pioneer in the development and use of digital technologies in motion picture production. Saks worked on major theatrical releases, including Star Trek: The Movie, Time After Time, and Resurrection, as well as his own independent projects.
Prior to CCAD, Saks worked as a Department Manager at Universal Studios, at Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, Robert Abel & Associates, Pacific Title & Art Studio, Rede Globo Television (Rio de Janeiro), Cranston-Csuri Productions, Toronto-based Omnibus Computer Graphics, Stephen Bosustow Productions, and Filmation. His work has been exhibited and broadcast worldwide, receiving numerous awards: an American Broadcast Design Gold Award, six Clio Finalists, Ann Arbor Film Festival’s CINEMA II prize, and three Cinema in Industry Gold Awards. He was a longtime member of the Visual Effects Society(VES).
Originally from Los Angeles, Saks is a longtime resident of Columbus, Ohio.
