Bruce Nicholson (VES AMPAS) is among the most important visual effects supervisors of American cinema. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Nicholson has won two Academy Awards for The Empire Strikes Back (1980), directed by Irvin Kershner, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), directed by Steven Spielberg, and also nominated for Poltergeist (1982), directed by Tobe Hooper. He worked also in film such as Star Wars (1977), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), The Never Ending Story (1984), Explorers (1985), Batteries Not Included (1987), Ghost (1990), Armageddon (1998), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003). Nicholson has taught Visual Effects at Academy of Art University and is married to the Set Decorator Gretchen Scharfenberg.
What were your studies?
I was a liberal arts student and started making films in my junior year in college. After graduating, I continued taking film classes at UCLA and Sherwood Oaks Film School.
What sparked your interest in Special Effects?
My interest in visual effects was sparked by seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey. It opened up a whole new area of filmmaking to me that I didn’t realize existed in cinema. As I initially explored the logistics of visual effects, I found that it was a good fit for my skillset and interests.
In your youth, which movie impressed you most?
2001 as I mentioned, also the movie Blow-up by Antonioni. This film was more pictorial based storytelling that opened my eyes to other possibilities in cinema. I also liked seeing student film presentations at UCLA, and animated shorts at film festivals.
How did you get into the film industry?
After realizing that I wasn’t going to take the film industry by storm, I started working at a film lab in L.A. After that, I operated an animation camera for around 6 months and then managed to get a job at an optical house, Ray Mercer & Co. There I acquired all the basic skills needed for a career in visual effects.
Optical-Printer. Bruce Nicholson working on The Empire Strikes Back (1980), directed by Irvin Kershner
What was your first film ever of your career?
My first film was Star Wars (1977). Prior to that, I had worked on movie trailers, commercials, and TV shows. Star Wars changed everything for me.
You worked on the first legendary Star Wars trilogy: Star Wars (1977), directed by George Lucas, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), directed by Irvin Kershner, and Return of the Jedi (1983), directed by Richard Marquand. Can you give us some examples of your contribution to these works?
I did optical line-up on Star Wars IV, a VFX camera assistant of sorts. On The Empire Strikes Back, I was the Optical Compositing Supervisor, a big and scary jump into the visual effects maelstrom. Fortunately, it worked out, and I resumed that responsibility on Return of the Jedi in a more confident frame of mind. We had some seemingly impossible shots on Empire. One in the snow battle sequence where Luke dives out of the way of the walker's foot that is about to crush him. There were 3 layers of miniature and live-action that nobody was quite sure how to put together. After trying different approaches, I finally hit on something that worked, and I never told anybody how we did it.
With Steven Spielberg you have worked on Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Always (1989). How did you work for Steven Spielberg?
I worked as Optical Camera Assistant on Close Encounters for Douglas Trumbull, and then as Optical Compositing Supervisor on Raiders and Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom at ILM, and as Visual Effects Supervisor on Always. Spielberg was great to work for. He understood visual effects and knew how to use them as storytelling tools. What more can you ask for?
In Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Italian magician of special effects Carlo Rambaldi designed the extraterrestrials: what can you tell us about him? Have you collaborated together?
I didn’t collaborate with Carlo Rambaldi but stood in awe of his contributions. The extraterrestrials he created were amazing and still hold up today.
In this movie François Truffaut starring Claude Lacombe, a French government scientist in charge of UFO-related activities in the United States. Did you know him?
No, but I wish I did. One of cinema’s greatest filmmakers.
On the set of Always, directed by Steven Spielberg (1989)
With the film Poltergeist ‒ a 1982 American supernatural horror film directed by Tobe Hooper ‒ you got an Oscar nomination. Is it truth or legend about the use of real skeletons on the set instead of the plastic or rubber ones that today are usually used?
On Poltergeist, real skeletons were covered with fabricated rotting flesh consisting of foam rubber and strips of fabric. These skeletons were also rigged for movement with fishline and could be manipulated like marionettes. The skeletons, incidentally, were purchased from India, the only place in the world willing to perform such a transaction. Fabricator Craig Reardon chose real skeletons because there was such a time crunch from production.
You worked on The Never Ending Story a 1984 fantasy film co-written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. In the movie the special effects were not computerized: all the fantastic creatures, therefore, had to be built from small clay models. What was your contribution to the making of this film?
The Never Ending Story, co-written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen (1984)
I was Compositing Supervisor on this film, which was shot mainly in Munich. There were many fantastical creatures, all of which were animatronic puppets. My job was to seamlessly composite and blend all of this into a believable and awe-inspiring whole.
You worked then in the successful movie Ghost (1990) directed by Jerry Zucker: what do you remember about this experience?
I was VFX Supervisor on this film, and the effects were very challenging. This was right before digital technology took hold, and we had to create the Ghost pass through fx with traditional methods. Optical Supervisor Stuart Robertson told me that he couldn’t accommodate all the layers I thought were needed, but somehow found a way that worked great. This made Jerry Zucker very happy because he was starting to doubt that we could realize what he had in mind. The film was a surprise hit; a Paramount executive told me that the studio didn’t have high expectations for the movie. What does that tell you?
Working on Ghost, directed by Jerry Zucker (1990)
With John Carpenter you worked on Starman (1984), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), In the Mouth of Madness (1995) and Village of the Damned (1995). What can you tell me about these films?
I enjoyed working with John; he gave me more freedom to interpret what VFX he had in mind. Of course, many of the fx had horrific intentions, and it was interesting to see how he constructed his films. Memoirs of an Invisible Man was a film that featured breakthrough digital effects that allowed us to create all the various iterations of invisibility that John came up with. We were using pretty primitive software by today’s standards, but that allowed us to achieve something not possible with traditional methods.
The Matrix is an American movies series created by writers-directors the Wachowskis, starring Keanu Reeves: you worked on The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and on The Matrix Revolutions (2003). What can you tell me about these two episodes?
I worked as Digital Compositor on these films at ESC Studios, and it was an enormous challenge. A huge amount of really difficult shots in a relatively short period of time. The Wachowskis were wonderful; they came to our parties and supported us however they could. The VFX group there were renegade types providing many breakthroughs with software capabilities and shot creation. The Wachowskis created a world that now seems like a metaphor for contemporary times.
Visual effects in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), written and directed by the Wachowski
Is there a sequence in your career that you remember with greater pleasure?
I think the Bike Chase sequence on Return of the Jedi stands out. I supervised the compositing of these complex shots, and they still look great today. I worked on some Ironman III shots at Digital Domain, where he lands and tumbles through the snow in the first part of the film. Similar shooting methods to the Bike Chase were used to create these background plates, with a Steadicam operator walking through the snow and shooting at very low frame rates. What goes around comes around!
How was your experience at Industrial Light & Magic founded by George Lucas?
I had a great run at ILM. I worked and became friends with many talented and dedicated vfx artists and I got to work on some great shows. At a certain point in my time there, I felt the company became overmanaged and more corporate in its approach.
You also worked at Tippett Studio: differences with Lucas’s factory?
Tippett Studios was really an antidote to ILM. It was a smaller employee-oriented studio, with a minimum of management and no corporate oversight.
The optical crew for Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, directed by Richard Marquand (1983)
What do you like most about your profession?
I liked working in VFX because it was a good fit for me. It just felt right when I started doing it.
Have you become friends with any cinematographers or directors over the years?
I’m good friends with the cinematographer Hiro Narita and have stayed in contact with Matthew Robbins, who directed Batteries Not Included that I worked on.
With your colleagues, who are you, friends, with?
There’s a group of us who try to get together for lunch every week: Dennis Muren, Dave Berry, Ray Gilberti and Bruce Walters. But I also stay in touch with other former colleagues via email or Facebook, or the occasional get together.
On the set of Batteries Not Included, directed by Matthew Robbins (1987)
About the Italian cinematography: which cinematographers, past and present, do you most admire?
Vittorio Storaro, Giuseppe Rotunno, Dante Spinotti.
In 2013 ‒ the last year of your career ‒ were released in cinemas Elysium directed by Neil Blomkamp, starring Matt Damon and Ironman 3 directed by Shane Black starring Robert Downey Jr. What was your last movie?
Actually, it was Iron Man 3, which I consider a better picture.
What will the new special visual effects be in the future?
First, let me say that VFX has exploded onto the movie screen. What I mean is that so much is possible that moviemakers are unconstrained in terms of VFX. This is not necessarily a good thing if the storytelling falls by the wayside, and I think it often does. On the other hand, if you can imagine it, it can be done.
Bruce Nicholson on the set of Explorers, directed by Joe Dante (1985)
Which one of your favourite movies?
Of the ones I worked on: Star Wars IV, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Batteries Not Included, Ghost, Field of Dreams, Spiderman 3, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
You won two Academy Awards at the beginning of your career: what did they mean to you?
It was a thrill and an honour. To reach that level of recognition… wow!
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