DEREN
NEY
Director, Writer, Editor and Animator for Grammy-winning artists.
VFX artist
at OTOY leveraging tomorrow's tools with traditional filmmaking craft to tell stories without
limits.
A Leap Forward in Virtual Filmmaking
A 2026 sensation in the VFX world, Star Wars: Beggar's Canyon redefined what was possible in virtual filmmaking. See the first in the series that shook the industry.
Watch Beggar's Canyon
Five parts and counting — an original series set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Portfolio
Music videos and animation.
The Short Version.
Deren cut his teeth as a touring musician before moving into directing and editing music videos for Grammy-nominated artists — Tom Petty, Grace Potter, Widespread Panic, Amanda Shires, Marcus King, and others — building a practical-effects and post toolkit on budgets that left no room for waste.
That craft has expanded to include innovating in the field of virtual filmmaking. Star Wars: Beggar's Canyon, built on a fan-film budget, became a 2026 sensation in the VFX world — proof the instincts scale to any tool.
In development on original feature film projects.
VFX artist at OTOY using tomorrow's tools and old-school craft to make stories to last forever.