Dennis Muren - Visual Effects Supervisor

08/28/23 • 14 min

Dennis Muren is the Senior Visual Effects Supervisor and Creative Director of Industrial Light & Magic. A recipient of nine Oscars for Best Achievement in Visual Effects and a Technical Achievement Academy Award®, Muren is actively involved in the evolution of the company, as well as the design and development of new techniques and equipment. In June 1999, Muren became the first visual effects artist to be honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In February 2007, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Visual Effects Society.

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Scott Ross - Digital Media Executive

Scott Ross (born November 20, 1951) is an American digital media executive with a career spanning three decades. In the 1980s he led George Lucas' companies and in 1993 he founded, along with James Cameron and Stan Winston, Digital Domain, Inc.,

In the 1980s Ross was general manager of Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) and under his leadership, ILM won five Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Innerspace, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Abyss, Death Becomes Her). The company re-organized in 1991 and Ross was named senior vice president of the LucasArts Entertainment Company, which comprised Skywalker Sound, LucasArts Commercial Productions, LucasArts Attractions, EditDroid/SoundDroid and ILM.

Under Ross' direction, from 1993 to 2006, Digital Domain garnered two Academy Awards and three nominations, receiving its first Oscar in 1997 for the ground-breaking visual effects in Titanic. That was followed by a second Oscar for What Dreams May Come. Digital Domain received additional nominations for True Lies, Apollo 13 and I, Robot and won three Scientific and Technical Academy Awards for its proprietary software.

Today, Dr. Ross sits on several boards, consults with international companies and lectures on Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and was one of the early adopters of Mixed Reality technologies. Dr. Ross was an early advisor to Magic Leap (an AR hardware and software startup that eventually raised over $2B), is a board member to Eyellusion (one of the world's leading hologram company which brings back deceased rock stars) and was a founding partner, along with Brett Leonard, the director of LAWNMOWER MAN in VR production company, Virtuosity. Dr. Ross has presented keynote speeches addressing new technologies such as AR/VR to SIGGRAPH in Shenzhen, BOAO in Hong Kong as well as to the Beijing Film Academy.

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Ray Harryhausen - Animator & Special Effects Creator

Ray Harryhausen is a special effects pioneer and began his career in the 1940’s. His stop motion animation technique known as “dynamation” influenced generations of visual effects artists and filmmakers around the world.

In 1949, his work on Mighty Joe Young and his mentor Willis O’Brian captivated audiences and inspired future filmmakers. In the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, Ray continued to produce films featuring his legendary stop motion work. His notable films include 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, One Million Years BC, and Clash of the Titans.

In November 2016 the British Film Institute compiled a list of those present-day filmmakers who claim to have been inspired by Harryhausen - They include Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Joe Dante, Tim Burton, James Cameron, and Guillermo del Toro.