Richard Edlund, A.S.C. (born December 6, 1940) is a multi-Academy Award-winning US special effects cinematographer.
Edlund was born in
Fargo, North DakotaFargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
. After first joining the Navy, he developed an interest in
experimental filmExperimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
and attended the
USC School of Cinematic ArtsThe USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...
in the late 60s. On the strength of a couple of short films he was picked by
John DykstraJohn Charles Dykstra, A.S.C. is an Academy Award-winning special effects supervisor and pioneer in the development of the use of computers in filmmaking.-Education and early career:...
to work as first cameraman at the embryonic Industrial Light & Magic on the production of the first of the
Star WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
films for which he shared an Academy Award.
Edlund continued to work with Dykstra on
Battlestar Galactica"Saga of a Star World" is the pilot for the American science fiction television series of Battlestar Galactica which was produced in 1978 by Glen A. Larson...
but was invited back by
George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
to work on
The Empire Strikes Back. Edlund's considerable technical challenge on this film was to optically
compositeCompositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously called "chroma key", "blue screen", "green screen" and other names. Today,...
miniatures against a white back ground resulting in a second academy award. Edlund also did distinguished work for Lucas and ILM on
Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
and
PoltergeistThe Poltergeist movies are a trilogy of American horror films distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the 1980s. The films revolve around the members of the Freeling family, who are stalked and terrorized by a group of ancient ghosts that are attracted to the youngest daughter, Carol Anne. The...
.
Following the completion of the original
Star Wars films with
Return of the Jedi, Edlund set up his own effects company,
Boss FilmsBoss Film Studios is a visual effects company, founded by visual effects veteran Richard Edlund after his departure from Industrial Light and Magic, producing visual effects for over thirty films from 1983 to 1997...
, whose credits include
GhostbustersGhostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
.
Aside from film-work, Edlund also developed and manufactured the
PignosePignose-Gorilla, commonly known as Pignose, is a manufacturer of portable, battery-powered guitar amplifiers, as well as other musical-gear such as A.C.-powered practice amps and guitars.-Legendary 7-100:...
portable-style guitar amplifier (co-designed by Wayne Kimball).
External links