When thinking of the last era of practical visual effects that precededthe CGI revolution in Hollywood, no name is more ubiquitous in that development thanRichard Edlund, A.S.C. (American Society of Cinematographers). He was a founding member of the famous company Industrial Light & Magic along withStar Warshoncho George Lucas.
Early in his SFX career, Edlund won an Oscar for both Lucas' original space opera andRaiders of the Lost Ark.Edlund’s credentials in the world of practical and early-CGI movie effects andthe development of cinematography technologyare unmatched. He’s had a hand in many of the most-famous action film franchises of the ’70s-’90s, includingGhostbusters,Die Hard, Poltergeist,Star TrekandAlien.
Along with his colleague Stan Winston, Edlund created the modern visual blueprint for the greatest era of action films, from the motion-controlled miniature sets made in monumental sizes in the 1970s, to helping engineer CGI at a suddenly-enormous scale for ’90s blockbusters.
In between, Edlund founded his own VFX studio, Boss Films, which curated state-of-the-art visual effects forBig Trouble in Little China,The Hunt for Red OctoberandCliffhanger. Nearly every film Edlund worked on was a box-office success, even romances likeGhostand knockoff franchises likeSpeciesfared well under his watch, thanks to the cutting-edge look of his films.
Where It All Started
The story of how Edlund became the on-set MacGyverthat could bring the dreams of Steven Spielbergand George Lucas to life starts with a Navy background, which saw Edlund, after boot camp, joining the Naval Photo School in Pensacola, Florida, where he could access every state-of-the-art camera available to the armed forces.
After the Navy, Edlund Began His Early Camera Innovations
That led to an undergraduate degree at USC Film, when Edlund impressed VFX pioneer Joseph Westheimer enough that he hired him for shows likeStar Trek. There, Edlund innovated a roto-scoped camera effect for the transporters used by Captain Kirk and his crew, carving out a niche for in-camera effects that would become his early calling card.
UnlikeStan Winston, whose focus was on the design and creature effectsside of VFX, Edlund leaned more towards the development of camera technology. Edlund expanded the use of miniature set builds, usually being the titular Visual Effects Supervisor despite contributing heavily to the camera moves that would make up the set pieces of films likeThe Empire Strikes BackandRaiders of the Lost Ark.
A Renaissance Man Who Wore Many Hats on Set
Edlund was essentially the main second unit director during his time at Industrial Light and Magic, helping George Lucas adapt Stanley Kubrick’s miniature spacecraft approach for2001: A Space Odysseywith updated ’70s camera technology. In doing so, Edlund became a godfather of world-building and innovated the enormous scale necessitated by the scripts of these now-broadly-expansive action and sci-fi franchises.
Edlund needed nothing more than a storyboard from a director like Steven Spielberg to engineer ways of heightening film realism with new cameras and computer technologies.
Related:Why Stan Winston is a Pioneer of Modern Special Effects
Edlund’s mainarme de guerrewas his development of motion control techniques, a process that uses programmedcamera moves that can be manipulated in post-productionto the guidelines of the director and editor.
For theStar Warsfilms, that also meant innovating detailed miniatures, such as that of the Death Star and theMillennium Falcon, helping to create a fast-paced and realistic rhythm to the dogfights — and helping the Rebel resistance and the audience “stay on target.”
Raiders of the Lost Ark Presaged CGI Development
While it was visually innovative for its day, the effects technology ofRaiders of the Lost Arkhasn’t aged particularly well. During this period, Edlund was beginning to understand the limitations of rear projection and other outdated VFX apparatus. That laid the groundwork for his increasing incorporation of computer technology when he founded his own VFX studio, as it allowed him the creative space to fund and develop new avenues for green screening and motion graphics.
Edlund’s adeptness with electronics and engineering crossed over into other mediums throughout his career. The multi-faceted inventor had begun to adopt a hippie look and ideology by the late ’60s, not-coincidentally creating the first portable practice amplifier, the Pignose, during this period. Only a few years later, his robot and battery technology innovations enabled the invention of many a freely-moving droid, as well (see: R2-D2).
Edlund’s Other Innovations
At its essence, scale was the name of the game in the late-’70s VFX world — and the greatest example of necessity being the mother of scale-based invention in Edlund’s career was the opening shot forStar Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Recalling the technological leap, Edlund stated:
George Lucas had a fantasy of building a fantastic miniature on the stage wall. I explained how big the Star Destroyer model could be — we only had a 42-foot track for our motion-control camera — and I’d been thinking about this shot a lot. I knew if the audience didn’t buy this shot, the picture would be in trouble. I told George I had an idea and asked him to let me try a test.
The result was a shot that put2001to shame with its detail and the realism of the Star Destroyer’s movement and advanced frame-rate.
By the mid-’80s, Edlund would found his own VFX studio,Boss Films, creating visuals forGhostbusters, Die Hard, True Lies, Waterworld, Air Force OneandStarship Troopersover the next 15 years.
The booming VFX market in Hollywood and the new development of CGI required that Boss Films adapt to the increasing use of computer technology. At the time, storing and rendering computer animation was a costly and time-consuming procedure that required Edlund to work hand-in-hand with IBM on software innovation.
Related:13 New Technologies That Permanently Changed Movies
Technological Innovations Came From Unexpected Films
One of Edlund’s proudest moments during the 15-year run of Boss Films was, ironically, the Michael Keaton comedyMultiplicity. The film required having multiple Michael Keatons act in the same frame, which required a new approach to green screening and blocking the scenes using doubles. Edlund,speaking toAmerican Cinematographerstated:
That was one of my very favorite movies that I worked on. The shots came out perfect. Michael Keaton was so on top of it, and we were working with great stand-ins using motion-controlled laser-positioned video so that Michael’s eye line was dead-nuts, and his timing was perfect.
Edlund Has Turned His Attention to Conserving VFX and Camera History
Edlund is now an elder statesman of the film industry, as the Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and residing on the board of directors of the American Society of Cinematographers. While Stan Winston and Rick Baker garner most of the credit for the VFX innovations of the last quarter of the 20th Century because of their iconic creatures and robotics, Edlund may be that period’s greatest innovator.
An Important Legacy
Edlund could be argued as more instrumental to the technological developments and photography that provided the very fabric of action filmmaking than any single person. For his efforts, Edlund has won four Oscars for Best Visual Effects, two Special Achievement Awards and a Medal of Commendation. He continues to work out of his Los Angeles studio, which doubles as a museum of some of the greatest cameras and miniatures ever invented — many by him.
To learn more, check out this interview with Richard Edlund on YouTube:
