American optical and visual special effects artist
Frank Van der Veer
Born (1921-06-02 ) June 2, 1921Died January 7, 1982(1982-01-07) (aged 60) Occupation Visual effects artist Years active 1950–1982 Spouse Velma "Val" Van der Veer (March 9, 1930 – Oct. 20, 2009) Children 3
[1]
Frank Willard Van der Veer (June 2, 1921 – January 7, 1982) was an American
optical and
visual
special effects artist who won (and shared) a
Special Achievement Academy Award at the
49th Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for the film
King Kong
[2] (1976). His career spanned over three decades from the 1950s until his death in the early 1980s, having participated in the Hollywood special effects industry with such other films as
The Towering Inferno
[3] (1974),
Killer Bees (1974),
Logan's Run (1976),
Star Wars (1977),
1941 (1979),
Flash Gordon (1980),
Clash of the Titans (1981) and
Conan the Barbarian (1982).
Frank Van der Veer was the son of the American
cinematographer
Willard Van der Veer (1894–1963).
Biography
Frank Van der Veer was a veteran of
World War II . After the war he began his career in the 1950s working for the
Warner Brothers and
20th Century Fox special effects departments. Then, a few years later, on August 13, 1963,
[4] he founded Van Der Veer Photo Effects with partner Bill Dorney, after having apprenticed with
Bill Abbott from 1950 to 1957 in the 20th Century Fox studios.
[5] In 1977, he won a
Special Achievement Academy Award for
King Kong (1976). This award was shared with
Carlo Rambaldi and
Glen Robinson .
[6] Frank's father,
Willard Van der Veer , had also won an Oscar, 47 years before. That was on November 5, 1930, at the
3rd Academy Awards , for
Best Cinematography for the film
With Byrd at the South Pole
[7] with
Joseph T. Rucker .
[8]
In the time he ran his company, Van der Veer worked both for the television and film industries. For the television medium, he contributed in the effects of the
original Star Trek series (1966) and, in 1978, he was nominated for an Emmy for his work on
The Return of Captain Nemo .
Van Der Veer Photo Effects worked on lightsabres for the movie
Star Wars (1977).
[9]
Frank Van der Veer died on January 7, 1982. He was buried at the
Forest Lawn Memorial Park ,
Glendale ,
Los Angeles County ,
California . His company, Van Der Veer Photo Effects, survived him for 15 years more until it was dissolved on October 4, 1997.
[10]
Selected filmography
Credited as Frank Van der Veer
Killer Bees (1974, TV movie, special optical effects)
Logan's Run (1976, additional visuals)
King Kong (1976, supervisor of photographic effects)
Orca (1977, photographic effects supervisor)
The Manitou (1978, photographic optical effects supervisor)
Hurricane (1979, supervisor of photographic effects)
1941 (1979, blue screen consultant)
Flash Gordon (1980, supervisor: special photographic effects)
Clash of the Titans (1981, special opticals)
Conan the Barbarian (1982, special visual effects)
Credited as Van der Veer Photo Effects
Van Der Veer Photo Effects selected filmography (after Van Der Veer died)
Tron (1982, additional animation compositing camera)
Return of the Jedi (1983, additional optical effects)
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983, additional optical effects, segment 4, uncredited)
The Man Who Wasn't There (1983, opticals)
The Bounty (1984, opticals, credited as "Frank Van der Veer Labs")
Conan the Destroyer (1984, titles and opticals)
The Last Starfighter (1984, optical effects)
Red Sonja (1985, titles and opticals)
Raw Deal (1986, titles and opticals)
Blue Velvet (1986, titles and opticals)
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987, opticals)
Russkies (1987, titles and opticals)
After Midnight (1989, additional optical effects)
Catchfire (1990, titles and opticals)
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990, optical effects)
The Dark Backward (1991, montage opticals)
Love Crimes (1992, titles and opticals, credited as "Van der Veer Visual Effects")
References
External links
1963–1980
Emil Kosa Jr. –
Cleopatra (1963)
Peter Ellenshaw ,
Eustace Lycett , and
Hamilton Luske –
Mary Poppins (1964)
John Stears –
Thunderball (1965)
Art Cruickshank –
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
L. B. Abbott –
Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Stanley Kubrick –
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Robie Robertson –
Marooned (1969)
A. D. Flowers and
L. B. Abbott –
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Alan Maley ,
Eustace Lycett , and
Danny Lee –
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
L. B. Abbott and
A. D. Flowers –
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Frank Brendel ,
Glen Robinson , and
Albert Whitlock –
Earthquake (1974)
Albert Whitlock and
Glen Robinson –
The Hindenburg (1975)
Carlo Rambaldi ,
Glen Robinson , and
Frank Van der Veer –
King Kong (1976)
John Stears ,
John Dykstra ,
Richard Edlund ,
Grant McCune , and
Robert Blalack –
Star Wars (1977)
Les Bowie ,
Colin Chilvers ,
Denys Coop ,
Roy Field ,
Derek Meddings , and
Zoran Perisic –
Superman (1978)
H. R. Giger ,
Carlo Rambaldi ,
Brian Johnson ,
Nick Allder , and
Dennis Ayling –
Alien (1979)
Brian Johnson ,
Richard Edlund ,
Dennis Muren , and
Bruce Nicholson –
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1981–2000
Richard Edlund ,
Kit West ,
Bruce Nicholson , and
Joe Johnston –
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Carlo Rambaldi ,
Dennis Muren , and
Kenneth F. Smith –
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Richard Edlund ,
Dennis Muren ,
Ken Ralston , and
Phil Tippett –
Return of the Jedi (1983)
Dennis Muren ,
Michael J. McAlister ,
Lorne Peterson , and
George Gibbs –
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Ken Ralston ,
Ralph McQuarrie ,
Scott Farrar , and
David Berry –
Cocoon (1985)
Robert Skotak ,
Stan Winston ,
John Richardson , and
Suzanne M. Benson –
Aliens (1986)
Dennis Muren ,
Bill George ,
Harley Jessup , and
Kenneth F. Smith -
Innerspace (1987)
Ken Ralston ,
Richard Williams ,
Edward Jones , and
George Gibbs –
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
John Bruno ,
Dennis Muren ,
Hoyt Yeatman , and
Dennis Skotak –
The Abyss (1989)
Eric Brevig ,
Rob Bottin ,
Tim McGovern , and
Alex Funke –
Total Recall (1990)
Dennis Muren ,
Stan Winston ,
Gene Warren Jr. , and
Robert Skotak –
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Ken Ralston ,
Doug Chiang ,
Douglas Smythe , and
Tom Woodruff Jr. –
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Dennis Muren ,
Stan Winston ,
Phil Tippett , and
Michael Lantieri –
Jurassic Park (1993)
Ken Ralston ,
George Murphy ,
Stephen Rosenbaum , and
Allen Hall –
Forrest Gump (1994)
Scott E. Anderson ,
Charles Gibson ,
Neal Scanlan , and
John Cox –
Babe (1995)
Volker Engel ,
Douglas Smith ,
Clay Pinney , and
Joe Viskocil –
Independence Day (1996)
Robert Legato ,
Mark Lasoff ,
Thomas L. Fisher , and
Michael Kanfer –
Titanic (1997)
Joel Hynek ,
Nicholas Brooks ,
Stuart Robertson , and
Kevin Mack –
What Dreams May Come (1998)
John Gaeta ,
Janek Sirrs ,
Steve Courtley , and
Jon Thum –
The Matrix (1999)
John Nelson ,
Neil Corbould ,
Tim Burke , and
Rob Harvey –
Gladiator (2000)
2001–2020
Jim Rygiel ,
Randall William Cook ,
Richard Taylor , and
Mark Stetson –
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Jim Rygiel ,
Joe Letteri ,
Randall William Cook , and
Alex Funke –
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Jim Rygiel ,
Joe Letteri ,
Randall William Cook , and
Alex Funke –
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
John Dykstra ,
Scott Stokdyk ,
Anthony LaMolinara , and
John Frazier –
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Joe Letteri ,
Brian Van't Hul ,
Christian Rivers , and
Richard Taylor –
King Kong (2005)
John Knoll ,
Hal Hickel ,
Charles Gibson , and
Allen Hall –
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Michael L. Fink ,
Bill Westenhofer ,
Ben Morris , and
Trevor Wood –
The Golden Compass (2007)
Eric Barba ,
Steve Preeg ,
Burt Dalton , and
Craig Barron –
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Joe Letteri ,
Stephen Rosenbaum ,
Richard Baneham , and
Andrew R. Jones –
Avatar (2009)
Paul Franklin ,
Chris Corbould ,
Andrew Lockley , and
Peter Bebb –
Inception (2010)
Robert Legato ,
Joss Williams ,
Ben Grossmann , and
Alex Henning –
Hugo (2011)
Bill Westenhofer ,
Guillaume Rocheron ,
Erik-Jan de Boer , and
Donald R. Elliott –
Life of Pi (2012)
Tim Webber ,
Chris Lawrence ,
Dave Shirk , and
Neil Corbould –
Gravity (2013)
Paul Franklin ,
Andrew Lockley ,
Ian Hunter , and
Scott R. Fisher –
Interstellar (2014)
Mark Williams Ardington ,
Sara Bennett ,
Paul Norris , and
Andrew Whitehurst –
Ex Machina (2015)
Robert Legato ,
Adam Valdez ,
Andrew R. Jones , and
Dan Lemmon –
The Jungle Book (2016)
John Nelson ,
Gerd Nefzer ,
Paul Lambert , and
Richard R. Hoover –
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Paul Lambert ,
Ian Hunter ,
Tristan Myles , and
J. D. Schwalm –
First Man (2018)
Guillaume Rocheron ,
Greg Butler , and
Dominic Tuohy –
1917 (2019)
Andrew Jackson ,
David Lee ,
Andrew Lockley , and
Scott R. Fisher –
Tenet (2020)
2021–present
L. B. Abbott ,
A. D. Flowers (1972)
Frank Brendel ,
Glen Robinson ,
Albert Whitlock (1974)
Peter Berkos /
Albert Whitlock ,
Glen Robinson (1975)
Carlo Rambaldi ,
Glen Robinson ,
Frank Van der Veer /
L. B. Abbott ,
Glen Robinson ,
Matthew Yuricich (1976)
Ben Burtt /
Frank Warner (1977)
Les Bowie ,
Colin Chilvers ,
Denys Coop ,
Roy Field ,
Derek Meddings ,
Zoran Perisic (1978)
Alan Splet (1979)
Brian Johnson ,
Richard Edlund ,
Dennis Muren ,
Bruce Nicholson (1980)
Ben Burtt ,
Richard L. Anderson (1981)
Richard Edlund ,
Dennis Muren ,
Ken Ralston ,
Phil Tippett (1983)
Kay Rose (1984)
Stephen Hunter Flick ,
John Pospisil (1987)
Richard Williams (1988)
Eric Brevig ,
Rob Bottin ,
Tim McGovern ,
Alex Funke (1990)
John Lasseter (1995)
Alejandro González Iñárritu (2017)