John Knoll
John Knoll | |
|---|---|
 Knoll in 2007 | |
| Born | October 6, 1962 Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States |
| Education | USC School of Cinematic Arts |
| Occupation | Visual effects supervisor, chief creative officer (CCO) |
John Knoll (born October 6, 1962) is an American visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer (CCO) at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).[1] One of the original creators of Adobe Photoshop (along with his brother, Thomas Knoll), he has also worked as visual effects supervisor on the Star Wars prequels and the 1997 special editions of the original trilogy. He also served as ILM's visual effects supervisor for Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: First Contact, as well as the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Along with Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall, Knoll and the trio's work on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest earned them the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.[2]
Knoll has been praised by directors James Cameron, Gore Verbinski, Guillermo del Toro, and Brad Bird. Del Toro, who worked with Knoll for the first time on Pacific Rim, stated "He basically has the heart of a kid and the mind of a scientist, and that's a great combination."[3]
Knoll is also the inventor of Knoll Light Factory, a lens flare generating software inspired by his work at Industrial Light and Magic.[4] He was the Computer Graphics Project Designer on The Abyss, an achievement which earned ILM its tenth Oscar, and worked on two Star Trek episodes: Star Trek: The Next Generation's pilot episode ("Encounter at Farpoint") and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Explorers".
Knoll had a cameo appearance in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as a fighter pilot,[5] helped pitch the story of Rogue One, a feature film set in the Star Wars series, for which he also worked as writer and executive producer.[6]
At the 2019 Oscars, John and his brother Thomas were awarded a Scientific and Engineering Award for the original architecture, design and development of Photoshop.[7]
Feature films[]
| Year | Title | Other notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Jungle Cruise | visual effects supervisor |
| 2019 | 6 Underground | additional visual effects supervisor |
| 2019-present | The Mandalorian | additional visual effects supervisor |
| 2018 | Aquaman | production and technical support |
| 2018 | The Other Side Of The Wind | visual effects supervisor |
| 2018 | Ready Player One | visual effects production |
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | visual effects supervisor, executive producer, story |
| 2013 | Pacific Rim | visual effects supervisor |
| 2011 | Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol | visual effects supervisor |
| 2011 | Hugo | visual effects supervisor |
| 2011 | Rango | visual effects supervisor |
| 2011 | Super 8 | digital artist |
| 2009 | Avatar | visual effects supervisor |
| 2009 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | digital artist |
| 2009 | Confessions of a Shopaholic | visual effects supervisor |
| 2008 | Speed Racer | visual effects supervisor |
| 2007 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | visual effects supervisor |
| 2006 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | visual effects supervisor |
| 2005 | Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | visual effects supervisor |
| 2003 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | visual effects supervisor |
| 2002 | Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones | visual effects supervisor |
| 2000 | Mission to Mars | visual effects supervisor |
| 1999 | Deep Blue Sea | visual effects supervisor |
| 1999 | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | visual effects supervisor, onscreen cameo |
| 1996 | Star Trek: First Contact | visual effects supervisor |
| 1996 | Mission: Impossible | visual effects supervisor |
| 1994 | Star Trek Generations | visual effects supervisor |
| 1994 | Baby's Day Out | visual effects supervisor |
| 1991 | Hudson Hawk | visual effects supervisor |
| 1991 | Hook | visual effects supervisor |
| 1990 | The Hunt for Red October | visual effects supervisor |
| 1990 | Spaced Invaders | visual effects supervisor |
| 1989 | The Abyss | CG supervisor |
| 1988 | Willow | motion control camera operator |
| 1987 | Innerspace | motion control camera operator |
| 1987 | Empire of the Sun | motion control camera operator |
| 1987 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | motion control camera operator |
| 1986 | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | motion control camera operator |
| 1986 | Captain EO | motion control camera operator |
Books[]
- John Knoll, J. W. Rinzler: Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days with CDROM; Book about the Making of the Star Wars Saga; ISBN 0-8109-5936-4
References[]
- ^ Cohen, David (May 23, 2013). "Industrial Light & Magic Ups John Knoll to Chief Creative Officer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
- ^ 79th Academy Awards#Awards
- ^ Cohen, David (May 28, 2013). "John Knoll Hailed By Helmers Bird, Verbinski, del Toro and Cameron". Variety. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- ^ "Red Giant - Products - Knoll Light Factory 3.0 - More Info". Red Giant Software. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013.
- ^ Barry, Nathan (February 10, 2012). "Some Good Things About The Phantom Menace". Wired Magazine.
- ^ Frei, Vincent (9 January, 2017). "ROGUE ONE – A STAR WARS STORY: John Knoll – Overall VFX Supervisor & Chief Creative Officer – Industrial Light & Magic". Art of VFX.
- ^ "Scientific & Technical Awards | 2019". Oscars. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. February 9, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
External links[]
- John Knoll at IMDb
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- 1962 births
- Living people
- Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners
- Best Visual Effects BAFTA Award winners
- Computer graphics professionals
- Visual effects supervisors
- Special effects people
- Industrial Light & Magic people
- Artists from Ann Arbor, Michigan
- USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni