Douglas Trumbull: 1942-2022
February 2002 brought the passing of a legend pioneering Visual effects artist Douglas Trumbull, best known for his work on numerous other films, including “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Blade Runner,” and “The Tree of Life.”, has died at the age of 79. His death was announced on Facebook by his daughter Amy Trumbull, in which she said the “absolute genius and a wizard” died on Monday after “a major two-year battle with cancer, a brain tumor, and a stroke”.
Trumbull was born in Los Angeles, California in 1942. He developed an early interest in film and special effects and pursued this passion by studying at the University of California, Los Angeles. After completing his education, Trumbull worked as a special effects assistant on several films, including “Planet of the Apes” and “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Trumbull’s breakthrough came in 1972 when he directed and produced the science fiction film “Silent Running.” The film featured innovative special effects and a compelling story and was a critical and commercial success. Trumbull’s reputation as a special effects expert grew, and he went on to work on numerous other films, including “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Blade Runner,” and “The Tree of Life.”
In addition to his work as a director and special effects artist, Trumbull has also made significant contributions to the film industry as a technological innovator. He developed the “Showscan” process, a high-frame-rate film format that allowed for more immersive and realistic special effects. He has also been involved in the development of 3D and virtual reality technology for the film.
He received three Visual effects Oscar nominations (for 1977’s Close Encounters, 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture and 1982’s Blade Runner) in a six-year gap
Trumbull’s work has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” He has also received numerous other awards for his work in film and special effects, including a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Trumbull was twice honored by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). Most recently, he received the Progress Medal in recognition of his numerous contributions to photographic processes and technologies in visual effects (VFX) and HFR cinematography.
1981 Trumbull directed the special effects for the Ridley Scott film Blade Runner but did not complete the project. Doug Trumbull’s first innovation in the field of HFR was his Showscan process of the late 1970s and early 1980s. By utilizing 70mm film at 60 fps, Showscan produced images that were, according to the late Roger Ebert, “so incredibly high in quality that the screen seemed to be a transparent window revealing an actual image.” he developed a high-frame-rate 3D process called MAGI. It utilized a pair of 4K cameras, each running at 60 fps.
Avatar: The Way of Water is the latest film to utilize Doug Trumbull’s first innovation in the field of HFR
Trumbull was twice honored by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). Most recently, he received the Progress Medal in recognition of his numerous contributions to photographic processes and technologies in visual effects (VFX) and HFR cinematography. He was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010 and also received the Gordon E. Sawyer Award in February 2012, an honorary Academy Award given to an “individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry”.
Douglas Trumbull is a highly respected and influential figure in the film industry, known for his innovative special effects and contributions to technological advancements in film. His work has had a lasting impact on how films are made, and he continues to inspire future generations of filmmakers and special effects artists.
