Raised in Napa, California. Graduated from the University of
California, San Diego in 1989 with a BA in Visual Arts.
After graduating from UCSD, Erik worked as a clerk in the Story
Department at Universal Studios, moving up to assistant Story Editor,
and then worked as an assistant to executive Cary Granat. From that
position, Erik moved on to work with producer Raffaella DeLaurentiis,
working on many feature films and TV pilots. In 2000, he decided to
change course, moving from script development to post production.
Training on many small independent films, Jessen learned what was
necessary to work professionally as an editor, and worked toward that
goal. In 2002, DeLaurentiis offered Jessen an editorial assistant
position on the film Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow. There, his
responsibilities grew as the scope of the film ballooned from a small
independent art film, to major summer blockbuster.
After the release of Sky Captain, Jessen was brought along by director
Kerry Conran to edit a presentation reel of artwork and animation tests
for Paramount created by a small team from the World of Tomorrow
production, for the feature film John Carter of Mars.
Currently has one wife, 2 daughters, 2 cats, 1 dog, and a
mortgage.