Steve Williams (animator)
Steve Williams | |
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Born | 1963 (age 60–61) Visual effects artist |
Years active | 1988–present |
Parent |
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Relatives | Harland Williams (brother)[1] |
Steven "Spaz" Williams (born 1963)[2] is a Canadian special effects artist, animator, and film and commercials director.
Biography
Williams studied animation at Sheridan College, graduating in 1984.[3] During the summers he would work at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Computer Laboratory, learning more about computer animation. After graduation, he went on to work at Alias Research (currently a part of Autodesk) in Toronto. He acted as the company's spokesperson, leading to a job at Industrial Light & Magic in 1988.[4] ILM had purchased Silicon Graphics computers to create the computer-generated effects in The Abyss, and said workstations used Alias modeling software. Along with animators Mark A.Z. Dippé, Scott E. Anderson and Jay Riddle, Williams helped develop a photorealistic alien pseudopod made out of seawater, which later earned the film an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.[5] Continuing at ILM, Williams worked in two more breakthrough moments of CG effects that earned the company more Oscars: the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), a liquid metal robot that evolved from the work done in The Abyss;[6] and the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park (1993), one of which was the Tyrannosaurus which Williams personally built.[7]
As the chief computer graphics animator of
As of 2012, Williams continues directing commercials.[4]
In 2022, a feature-length documentary on the life of Williams, Jurassic Punk (also known as Spaz), debuted at the
Selected filmography
- The Abyss (1989)
- The Hunt for Red October (1990)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- The Mask (1994)
- Jumanji (1995)
- Eraser (1996)
- Spawn (1997)
- The Wild (2006)
References
- ^ Sumi, Glenn (April 17, 2008). "Q&A: Harland Williams". NOW Magazine. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-262-01909-5.
- ^ Steve "Spaz" Williams, Sheridan College
- ^ a b Craig Barr (October 15, 2012) CG Evolution/Film Revolution: A Q+A with Steve "Spaz" Williams. autodesk.com
- ISBN 978-0-262-01909-5.
- ^ Richard Corliss (June 24, 2001) They Put The ILM In Film. Time
- ^ Kirsten Acuna (July 11, 2014) How 4 Minutes Of CGI Dinosaurs In ‘Jurassic Park’ Took A Year To Make. businessinsider.com
- ^ "The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
- ^ Edward Guthmann (July 27, 1997) The `Spaz' Who Spawned His Own Style / Computer animator Steve Williams doesn't look or think like a typical designer. San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Joe Strike (April 14, 2006) Disney Goes 'Wild'. awn.com
- ^ Kreative Kontent Repping Steve 'Spaz' Williams. lbbonline.com. 2013
- Austin Chronicle.
- ^ JURASSIC PUNK - Sitges
External links
- Steve Williams at IMDb
- Steve Williams on Vimeo