The history of visual effects stretches back to the very beginning of cinema. Tricks and illusions to convey scale, fantastical locations, magical creatures and more have been employed to bring classic stories to life, and VFX Voice sit down with a number of notable effects companies – including ILMVFX – to discuss the evolution of visual effects into what it is today. Rob Bredow (Senior Vice President, Creative Innovation, Lucasfilm & Chief Creative Officer, ILM) is one of those interviewed and he discusses the changes happening right now and the films that influenced him.
The visual effects industry is going through a substantial period of change right now. It’s useful to look back at the last time we had that much transition happening, which was, if I can be dramatic, back to the age of the dinosaurs. Jurassic Park (1993) was significant in its use of CG to bring living, breathing characters to the screen, and it changed everything about the way visual effects were created. Just prior to Jurassic Park, major advances were made in the application of computer graphics on Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Over the next several years, most VFX transitioned from models and optical effects to digital. I’m fortunate to get to work with many people today at Industrial Light & Magic, who made that transition from the model era to the digital era, and see how their skills and experience continue to advance the industry today, contributing to some of the latest developments we are seeing today.
The movie that had the biggest impact on me personally was Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980). There were many moments that stood out to me, but none more than the opening scene of the AT-AT walkers attacking the rebel base on Hoth. One of the most memorable images from that film is a BTS photograph of Phil Tippett popping up through a trap door in the miniature Hoth set to pose the AT-AT for the next frame – which taught me then that there were real artists who got to make these films.
