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MillimeterLOS ANGELES - Laurel Klick, a visual effects supervisor at Cinesite Hollywood, won an Emmy award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or Special for her work on "Frank Herbert's Dune (Part 1)," which aired a few months ago on the Sci-Fi Channel. The award was given to Klick at the 2001 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, a separate event that preceded the now-postponed main Emmy Awards event.
The visual effects team that worked on the film includes Ernest Farino, Tim McHugh, Klick and Frank H. Isaacs (visual effects supervisors); Elaine Essex Thompson (visual effects coordinator); James Healy and Gregory Nicotero (lead special effects supervisors); Anthony Alderson (CGI supervisor); and Chris Zapara (lead CGI animator).
"Receiving an Emmy from your peers is a huge validation of your work," says Klick. "There are not a lot of women in visual effects, and to have something concrete to show for my work will hopefully encourage other women to pursue a career that's technical, but equally creative, in nature."
"Frank Herbert's Dune" is the second film iteration of the classic science fiction novel. In 1984, David Lynch directed a feature film version. In this latest rendition, Klick was responsible for the space sequences, "water of life" visions, the arrival of the navigator and "folding space" - which was basically a cone textured with a cloud pattern and star field that turned in on itself. The work included entire 3D environments and multi-layered compositing.
"The challenge we faced was in designing the abstract ideas that are crucial elements of the story," says Klick. "We had a lot of freedom to come up with a design for folding space, the navigator's arrival and the water of life scenes. We designed the shots in the computer and rendered motion tests with different looks and effects for Ernie Farino and (director) John Harrison (director) to review."
Klick joined Cinesite in December 2000 and is currently working on Lakeshore Entertainment's "Mothman Prophecies," slated for a February 2002 release. That film stars Richard Gere and Laura Linney. Klick is supervising the creation of a CG bridge with a complete 3D environment. Klick and her team will also bring to fruition the manifestations and presence of the Mothman in the film.
Prior to joining Cinesite, Klick was a visual effects supervisor at Netter Digital Entertainment, where she worked on "Dune." She began her career by cleaning film on "Stars Wars" at ILM. She then did optical work and digital artistry and supervision at R. Greenberg & Assoc., Manhattan Transfer, ILM, and Available Light Ltd. Her credits include "Terminator," "Memoirs of an Invisible Man," "Last Action Hero," "Braveheart," "Dead Presidents," "Mortal Kombat," and "My Favorite Martian."
Klick is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Visual Effects Society, and a member of the International Cinematographers Guild. She received an Emmy certificate in 1983 for Outstanding Individual Achievement in special effects for "The Winds of War" (optical camera). She received her bachelor's in art from Fresno State University and has further studied art at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California, and at the University of Uppsala in Sweden.
With facilities in Hollywood and London, Cinesite provides a wide range of visual and physical effects, digital film mastering, digital film restoration, preservation, scanning and recording and DVD services. Cinesite is a Kodak subsidiary and part of the company's Entertainment Imaging division. For more information, visit the Cinesite website at www.cinesite.com