Los Angeles, Calif. - Mark Stetson, Academy Award-winning creative director for the Feature Films VFX division at Zoic Studios, will receive the Visual Effects Society Founders Award on Thursday, October 20, at the VES Annual Membership Meeting 2011.
Stetson joined the Zoic Feature Films team in 2010 and, as a former VES Board member, has participated on and chaired several VES committees.
"It's an honor to be recognized by my peers at VES with the Founders Award," says Stetson. "Throughout my career I've strived to push the boundaries and expectations for visual effects. It is a pleasure to receive recognition for something that is not only a career for me, but also a passion."
With an accomplished career spanning over three decades in the visual effects industry, Stetson got his start with model work for films including Star Trek: The Motion Picture,
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - The Special Edition, and
Escape from New York. From there, he supervised miniature effects for numerous high-profile productions including Blade Runner,
Ghostbusters,
Die Hard,
Total Recall,
Batman Returns, and
Edward Scissorhands,
True Lies, and
Waterworld, among others.
In 1997, Stetson was recognized with a BAFTA Award for his debut role as overall visual effects supervisor for The Fifth Element. He also received an Academy Award and his second BAFTA Award for his contribution to
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings as part of his work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He received his third Academy Award nomination and BAFTA Award nomination for
Superman Returns.
Since joining the team at Zoic Studios, Stetson has lent his talent to various feature film projects including Red Riding Hood,
30 Minutes or Less,
Premium Rush,
The Wettest County in the World, and
The Grey.