POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Winter Haven High School teacher Joe Phoebus has more than 30 film credits in visual effects, but he traded in the lucrative career to teach.

  • Some of his works include "The Boxtrolls," "Wonder Woman" and "Star Trek Beyond"
  • Joe Phoebus said the long hours in movies got to be too much
  • He now enjoys giving something back to future visual effects wizards

"It was a lot of work. I really enjoyed it," Phoebus recalled about his near two-decade experience working in the film industry from Los Angeles to Montreal.

The Bradenton native and Manatee High School graduate began working in the film industry in the early 2000s, after attending graduate school in 1999 at Mississippi State University.

"My favorite movies were 'The Boxtrolls,' 'Blade Runner 2049' and 'Narnia,'" said Phoebus, also mentioning his work on the movie, "Godzilla."

One of the directors in "The Boxtrolls" appreciated Phoebus' work so much he mentioned Phoebus' name in the commentary on the DVD.

Several of the films Phoebus worked on, such as "Life of Pi", won an Oscar for "Best Achievement in Visual Effects."

Phoebus said the key to making it to Hollywood is internships, living in Los Angeles, a demo reel and making connections.

He said senior effects technical directors can make into the six figures.

"It's a brilliant, wonderful experience, however, it takes up a lot of your personal time. You work many weekend and you work long hours. 10, 12, 14 sometimes 16 hour days," Phoebus said.

Those are just some of the reasons he decided to take a break and teach the next generation of animators.

Students like Morgan Dilorenzo are taking his class.

"On the first day I came in and I started talking to him and he said that he had actually worked on "Godzilla," the newest Godzilla movie. And I watched it this summer and to have a teacher who actually worked on it I thought was really cool," said Dilorenzo.

Phoebus is teaching students how to use software such as Blender and Houdini, equipping them with the basics for a career behind the scenes in film.

"It's exciting and I can't wait to get further along this year and teach the students … what I know," Phoebus said.