VFX Pioneer Douglas Trumbull: 5 Memorable Moments From ‘Close Encounters’ to ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’

variety.com:

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorVisionary visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, who died Monday, contributed his groundbreaking inventions and techniques to classics including “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and “Blade Runner.”Among his many honors were three visual effects Oscar nominations (“Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and “Blade Runner”); the Academy’s Scientific and Engineering Award for creating the Showscan Camera System; and the Visual Effects Society’s Georges Méliès Award, honoring those who have made significant, pioneering contributions to the effects business, in 2012.A generation of visual effects artists and filmmakers were influenced by his work, including Weta FX senior VFX supervisor Joe Letteri, who said, “Doug stands out as an iconic figure in visual effects, one of the early pioneers who blended a deep knowledge of cinematography and mechanics to develop techniques that we still use today.

An early evangelist of high frame rate processes, Doug’s vision for where we can take cinema is just now coming to fruition.” Here’s a look at a five iconic moments Trumbull helped create.Trumbull was Oscar nominated for visual effects for Spielberg’s “Close Encounters,” and one of his significant contributions was the motion control photography used in the scenes featuring the alien’s massive mother ship.

He had a budget of over $3 million to create the groundbreaking alien effects.One of Trumbull’s notable achievements was building the Enterprise for the first “Star Trek” feature film.

Trumbull has spoken about the challenges that came with the mammoth task, with his team working around the clock for up to seven.