Visual Effects
Craig Barron
Born 1961-04-06 · Berkeley, California, USA
Craig Barron (born April 6, 1961) is an American visual effects artist and creative director at Magnopus. This media company produces visual development and virtual production services for motion pictures, television, museums and multimedia platforms. Working at Industrial Light & Magic, Barron contributed to the visual effects of such films as The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. At his VFX studio, Matte World Digital, he produced visual effects on Zodiac, Alice in Wonderland and Hugo. Over the course of his VFX career, Barron contributed to the visual effects of more than 100 films. He is an Emmy Award recipient for By Dawn's Early Light, and he received an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects on Batman Returns. In 2009, he won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Barron is a film historian, museum exhibit curator, and educator focusing on the history of visual effects in classic films before and after the digital age. He hosts presentations and lectures on the visual effects of Hollywood's studio age. He produces short documentaries that reveal the formerly secret history of how visual effects pioneers created seamless visuals using matte paintings, miniatures and optical effects. Description above from the Wikipedia article Craig Barron, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acting credits
6.8The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
8.0For over a half century, Ray Harryhausen has amazed and inspired countless filmmakers and fans around the world with his breathtaking motion picture effects and stop-motion animation. Presented here for the first time ever is the authorized collection of his earliest work, along with hours of supplemental features.
Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection
2005
8.0The astonishing story of the genesis, production, worldwide success, and legacy of King Kong (1933), directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, a landmark of cinema, one of the most influential motion pictures in history.
RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”
2008
7.0A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button
2009
Documentary about the technical achievements of the 1940 film classic The Thief of Bagdad.
Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad
2008
In this 2010 program, Craig Barron and Ben Burtt, leading experts in the fields of visual and sound effects, respectively, discuss the techniques used and choices made by Charlie Chaplin and his crew on MODERN TIMES.
A Bucket of Water and a Glass Matte
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10.0Actor Martin Sheen narrates this newly produced, feature-length high definition documentary, touching on the film's timelessness and legacy before diving into the story of its development, production and release.
The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
2013
NRAn engaging behind-the-scenes documentary short detailing the production of Warner Bros.' Cold War aviation drama Chain Lightning (1950). Produced for Warner Archive, the featurette explores how Hollywood captured the dawn of supersonic flight.
Jet Jockeys in Love: The Making of CHAIN LIGHTNING ('50)
2021
NRIn this short documentary produced for the Criterion Collection, Oscar-winning visual-effects expert Craig Barron and film writer John Bengtson, author of Silent Visions, discuss the unique stunts, locations, and effects seen in Harold Lloyd's comedy masterpiece Safety Last! (1923).
Safety Last!: Locations and Effects
2013
NRCraig Barron discusses photographic technique in the film The Gold Rush.
A Time of Innovation: Visual Effects in the Gold Rush
2012
NRIn this 2013 interview, visual effects expert Craig Barron looks at the creation of some of FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT’s thrilling set pieces.
Visual Effects in Foreign Correspondent
2014
