Background
Pepe was born in Rome, but moved to Genoa in his childhood years.
Pepe was born in Rome, but moved to Genoa in his childhood years.
His interest for Computer Graphics emerged early on, during his high school years, where he mastered rendering techniques on the Amiga platform. After a few stints with local studios, Pepe eventually moved to Switzerland in 2001 and joined Amila Entertainment, where he focused on the creation of computer-generated animations for various commercials. In 2006 Pepe moved back to Genoa and started a collaboration with Art Five Animation Studio, which led to the successful development of the Ceres Beer 2006 television spot series, which was aired on all the major Italian television networks.
This experience marked the turning point of Pepe"s career.
From Australia, Pepe moved to London in early 2007, to join CFC Framestore, as Rigging Technical Director. In the summer of 2008, Pepe joined DreamWorks Animation and moved to Los Angeles, where he currently lives and works.
He has worked on Shrek Forever After, Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom, Puss in Boots, Rise of the Guardians and Turbo thereafter.
In August 2006 Pepe moved to Australia and joined Animal Logic, as Lighting Technical Director for Warner Brothers"s animated movie Happy Feet, which later won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. In this role Pepe"s first project was New Lincolnshire Cinema"s movie The Golden Compass, which later won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. After The Golden Compass, he worked on The Dark Knight - which was nominated for 8 Academy Awards and eventually won two - and The Tale of Despereaux.