Presentation by Scott Ross and Scott Squires live at the NAB SuperMeet, April 9, 2013
This is an important presentation – for those who don’t know, the VFX industry is in crisis with many facilities either struggling to make a living or going bankrupt. This is a world-wide industry problem, highlighted by the movie, Life of Pi, which brought in a tremendous profit, yet the VFX company which made the movie possible is now out of business.
The State of the VFX Industry is not just about the VFX Industry. It is about us all. Scott Ross and Scott Squires speak about the Past, Present and Future of the VFX Industry and potential solutions to the myriad of problems facing us all.
About Scott Ross
As one of the most notable pioneers in digital media and entertainment, Scott Ross’ career has been stellar.
He founded, along with Hollywood luminaries James Cameron and Stan Winston, Digital Domain, one of the largest digital production studios in the motion picture and advertising industries. Under Ross’ direction, Digital Domain garnered multiple Academy Award nominations, receiving its first Oscar for the ground breaking visual effects in TITANIC. That success was followed by a second Oscar for WHAT DREAMS MAY COME and a third for THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Digital Domain received additional nominations for TRUE LIES, APOLLO 13 and I, ROBOT and has won four Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Awards for its proprietary software. For well over a decade Ross oversaw the company that created imagery for movies such as TITANIC, THE FIFTH ELEMENT, APOLLO 13, FIGHT CLUB, TRUE LIES, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU, X-MEN, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, I, ROBOT and many, many others. Ross has worked with the who’s who of film directors such as Cameron, Bay, Fincher, Howard, Scorsese, Coppola, The Coen Brothers, Spielberg, Kurosawa, Jackson, Salles and generally, has nice things to say about them.
In 2006 as Digital Domain’s CEO and Chairman, he successfully sold Digital Domain to director Michael Bay and a group of private equity investors.
About Scott Squires
Scott Squires has a full range of experience working with both traditional and cutting edge digital techniques to create photo real visual effects. His career began with the development of the Cloud Tank Effect for CLOSE ENCOUNTERTS OF THE THRID KIND. His creative and technical problem solving combined with his knowledge and experience has allowed him to achieve the artistic vision of his directors. Squires received Oscar nominations for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for THE MASK, DRAGONHEART and STAR WARS: EPISODE ONE – THE PHANTOM MENACE. He also received a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his pioneering work in the area of Film Input Scanning.
Squires co-founded Dream Quest Images where he was a Visual Effects Supervisor, as well as the company’s president for six years. Dream Quest was a leading visual effects facility from 1979-2001 before it was purchased by Disney Studios.
After running Dream Quest, Squires was recruited by ILM where he worked as a visual effects supervisor and commercial director for twenty years.
