Tippett Studio is an American

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

company specializing in

computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...

(CGI) for films and television commercials. The studio has created visual effects and animations on over fifty feature films and commercials, garnering an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, four Clio Awards and two

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

. The company currently consists of approximately , with offices located in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

History

Tippett Studio was founded in 1984 by

Phil Tippett Phil Tippett (born September 27, 1951) is an American movie director and Oscar and Emmy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation. Over his career, ...

and Jules Roman, Phil's wife and the president of the company. The studio began as a

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animation company (by means of its particular stop motion animation variant, the so-called go motion animation technique). It also designed and built live action

props A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

for films, such as ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...

'', ''

RoboCop 2 ''RoboCop 2'' is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Irvin Kershner and written by Frank Miller and Walon Green. It stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Belinda Bauer, Tom Noonan and Gabriel Damon. It is the seq ...

'', ''

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' is a 1989 American comic science fiction film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, and Krist ...

'' and ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

''. In 1991, the studio shifted its focus to computer-generated imagery to work on ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

'', (released in 1993, with

Industrial Light and Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...

) by developing the Digital Input Device (DID). The DID was a new effects technology which placed computer-linked sensors into the moving joints of

three-dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the informal ...

, articulated character models. This system earned

Craig Hayes Craig Hayes (also known as Craig Davies) is a visual effects artist. He was nominated at the 73rd Academy Awards for his work on the film ''Hollow Man''. He shared his nomination with Scott E. Anderson, Stan Parks and Scott Stokdyk. During the ...

a Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Award and the work on ''Jurassic Park'' earned the studio an Oscar. Creature animation work for ''

Coneheads The Coneheads are a fictional family of extraterrestrials with bald conical heads, created for a series of recurring sketches on ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL). They first appeared on the January 15, 1977 episode hosted by Ralph Nader (episode 3 ...

'' (also released in 1993) was the last go motion puppet project done by this company. The studio also worked on

Blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

commercials featuring Ray and Carl, a guinea pig and rabbit at a pet store window from 2002 to 2007 during the Super Bowl.

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

's 1997 film ''

Starship Troopers ''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of F ...

'' became at the time Tippett Studio's biggest project, with over 500 effects shots, for which the company received another Academy Award nomination. Phil Tippett co-directed the large-scale battle sequences with Verhoeven. The studio doubled in size to digitally animate and composite hundreds of creature shots for the film. Early in 2000, the studio re-teamed with Paul Verhoeven on ''

Hollow Man Hollow may refer to: Natural phenomena *Hollow, a low, wooded area, such as a copse *Hollow (landform), a small vee-shaped, riverine type of valley *Tree hollow, a void in a branch or trunk, which may provide habitat for animals Places * Sleepy ...

''.

co-supervised the creation of the invisible Sebastian whose outline becomes visible in steam, rain, water and even blood. The outstanding visual effects were recognized with another Academy Award nomination.

Motion picture filmography

* 1984 ''

Prehistoric Beast ''Prehistoric Beast'' is a ten-minute-long experimental animated film conceived, supervised and directed by Phil Tippett in 1984. This sequence is the first film produced by the Tippett Studio, founded by Tippett. Made with the go motion animati ...

'' * 1984 '' Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure'' * 1985 '' Dinosaur!'' * 1985 '' Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'' * 1986 ''

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in ''Adventure into F ...

'' (alongside Industrial Light & Magic) * 1986 ''

The Golden Child ''The Golden Child'' is a 1986 American dark fantasy martial arts action comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie. The film stars Eddie Murphy as Chandler Jarrell, a Los Angeles social worker who is informed that he is " The Chosen One", and is ...

'' * 1987 ''

'' * 1988 ''

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

'' (alongside Industrial Light & Magic) * 1989 ''

Ghostbusters II ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis ...

'' (alongside Industrial Light & Magic) * 1989 ''

'' * 1990 ''

'' * 1993 ''

'' (alongside

Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...

) * 1993 ''

RoboCop 3 ''RoboCop 3'' is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Fred Dekker and written by Dekker and Frank Miller. It is the sequel to the 1990 film ''RoboCop 2'' and the third entry in the ''RoboCop'' franchise. It stars Robert Bur ...

'' * 1995 '' Three Wishes'' * 1996 ''

Dragonheart ''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Pete P ...

'' * 1996 '' Tremors 2: Aftershocks'' * 1997 ''

'' * 1998 ''

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

'' * 1998 ''

Practical Magic ''Practical Magic'' is a 1998 American fantasy romantic drama film based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Alice Hoffman. The film was directed by Griffin Dunne and stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Aidan ...

'' * 1999 ''

Bicentennial Man ''The Bicentennial Man'' is a Novella, novelette in the Robot series (Asimov), ''Robot'' series by American writer Isaac Asimov. According to the foreword in ''Robot Visions'', Asimov was approached to write a story, along with a number of other ...

'' * 1999 ''

Komodo Komodo may refer to: Computers * Komodo Edit, a free text editor for dynamic programming languages * Komodo IDE an integrated development environment (IDE) for dynamic programming languages * Komodo (chess), a chess engine People * Komodo ...

'' * 1999 ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totaling ...

'' * 1999 '' The Haunting'' * 1999 ''

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...

'' * 2000 ''

Mission to Mars ''Mission to Mars'' is a 2000 American science fiction adventure film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Jim Thomas, John Thomas, and Graham Yost, and suggested by Disney's Mission to Mars (attraction), theme park attraction of the same nam ...

'' * 2001 ''

Cats & Dogs ''Cats & Dogs'' is a 2001 spy-comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman and written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. It stars Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, with the voices of (among others) Tobey Maguire, Alec Baldwin, ...

'' * 2001 ''

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

'' * 2001 ''

The One The ONE is a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is built on the site of the former Tung Ying Building at 100 Nathan Road. It was developed by Chinese Estates Holdings and opened in 2010. Owner Joseph Lau Luen-hung g ...

'' * 2002 ''

Blade II ''Blade II'' is a 2002 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Blade, directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by David S. Goyer. A sequel to ''Blade'' (1998), it is the second installment in the ''Blade'' franchise, fol ...

'' * 2002 ''

Men in Black II ''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro. It is the second film in the original trilogy and a sequel to ''M ...

'' (alongside

) * 2002 '' The Ring'' * 2002 ''

The Santa Clause 2 ''The Santa Clause 2'' is a 2002 American Christmas comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck in his directorial debut. It is a sequel to ''The Santa Clause'' (1994) and the second installment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise. All of the principal ...

'' * 2003 ''

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a comic book series (inspired by the 1960 British film ''The League of Gentlemen'') co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The series spans four volum ...

'' * 2003 ''

The Matrix Revolutions ''The Matrix Revolutions'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the third installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, released six months following ''The Matrix Reloaded''. The film stars ...

'' * 2004 ''

Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...

'' * 2004 ''

Hellboy Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers ...

'' * 2004 '' Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation'' * 2004 ''

The Stepford Wives ''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife and young mother who suspects that something in Stepford's environment is changing the wives fr ...

'' * 2005 ''

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

'' * 2005 ''

Son of the Mask ''Son of the Mask'' is a 2005 superhero comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman. A stand-alone sequel to '' The Mask'' (1994), it is the second installment in ''The Mask'' franchise, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by D ...

'' * 2005 '' The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D'' * 2006 ''

Charlotte's Web ''Charlotte's Web'' is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams; it was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his ...

'' * 2006 '' Santa Clause 3'' * 2006 '' The Shaggy Dog'' * 2007 '' Enchanted'' * 2007 ''

The Golden Compass ''Northern Lights'' (titled ''The Golden Compass'' in North America and some other countries) is a young-adult fantasy novel by Philip Pullman, published in 1995 by Scholastic UK. Set in a parallel universe, it follows the journey of Lyra Be ...

'' * 2008 ''

Cloverfield ''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 American found footage monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams, and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel and Odette Yustman ...

'' * 2008 ''

The Spiderwick Chronicles ''The Spiderwick Chronicles'' is a series of children's fantasy books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. They chronicle the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into the Spid ...

'' (alongside

) * 2008 ''

Beverly Hills Chihuahua ''Beverly Hills Chihuahua'' is a 2008 American comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures, the first in the ''Beverly Hills Chihuahua'' series. It is directed by Raja Gosnell and was released on October 3, 2008. The films stars Piper Perabo, Ja ...

'' * 2008 '' Bedtime Stories'' * 2009 ''

Drag Me to Hell ''Drag Me to Hell'' is a 2009 American supernatural horror film directed and co-written by Sam Raimi. It stars Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, and Adriana Barraza. The plot, written with his older brother Ivan, ...

'' * 2009 '' The Twilight Saga: New Moon'' * 2010 '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' * 2010 '' The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' * 2011 ''

Immortals Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

'' * 2011 ''

Piranha 3D ''Piranha 3D'' is a 2010 American 3D horror comedy film that serves as a loose remake of the comedy horror film ''Piranha'' (1978) and an entry in the ''Piranha'' film series. Directed by Alexandre Aja and written by Pete Goldfinger and Josh St ...

'' * 2011 ''

Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

'' * 2011 '' Season of the Witch'' * 2011 ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

'' * 2011 '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1'' * 2012 ''

Hemingway & Gellhorn ''Hemingway & Gellhorn'' is a 2012 television film directed by Philip Kaufman about the lives of journalist Martha Gellhorn and her husband, writer Ernest Hemingway. The film premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and aired on HBO on May 28, ...

'' * 2012 ''

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

'' * 2012 '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2'' * 2013 ''

After Earth ''After Earth'' is a 2013 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who co-wrote it with Gary Whitta. The film was loosely based on an original story idea by Will Smith about a father-and-son trip in the wilderness be ...

'' * 2013 ''

Horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

'' * 2014 ''

A Million Ways to Die in the West ''A Million Ways to Die in the West'' is a 2014 American Western dark comedy film directed by Seth MacFarlane and written by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild. The film features an ensemble cast including MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Am ...

'' * 2014 '' Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey'' * 2014 '' Transformers: Age of Extinction'' * 2014 '' Deliver Us from Evil'' * 2014 ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' * 2014 '' The Crossing'' * 2014 ''

The Pyramid A pyramid is a structure with triangular lateral surfaces converging to an apex. Pyramid may also refer to: Anatomy and medicine * Petrous part of the temporal bone, the pyramid * Pyramid (brainstem), the anterior part of medulla oblongata Ga ...

'' * 2014 ''

The Remaining ''The Remaining'' is a 2014 American apocalyptic horror film directed by Casey La Scala, who co-wrote the script with Chris Dowling. The film had a limited theatrical release on September 5, 2014, and centers upon a group of friends that are forc ...

'' * 2015 ''

Jurassic World ''Jurassic World'' is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Derek Connolly from a story by Jaffa and Silver. It is the first installment in the ...

'' * 2015 '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' The Force Awakens - Tippett Studio Holochess Stop-Motion Reel
/ref> * 2016 ''

Gods of Egypt Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural fo ...

'' * 2016 ''

League of Gods ''League of Gods'' () is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese fantasy film directed by Koan Hui, co-produced by Charles Heung and Wilson Yip, based on the 16th-century novel ''Investiture of the Gods'' by Xu Zhonglin and starring an ensemble cast of Jet Li, ...

'' * 2017 - present ''

The Orville ''The Orville'' is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Seth MacFarlane, who also stars as series protagonist Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union's line of exploratory space vessels in the 25th century ...

'' (TV series) * 2018 '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' * 2018 ''Mad God: Part 3'' (animation short) * 2019 '' Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (alongside

) * 2019 ''

Crazy Alien ''Crazy Alien'' () is a 2019 Chinese science-fiction comedy film directed by Ning Hao and written by Sun Xiaohang, Wu Nan, Dong Runnian, Liu Xiaodan and Pan Yiran. The film stars Huang Bo and Shen Teng in the lead roles. It was released in China ...

'' * 2021 ''

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' is an American television miniseries created by Malcolm Spellman for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Sam Wilson / Falcon and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier. ...

'' * 2021 ''

Mad God ''Mad God'' is a 2021 stop-motion adult animated experimental horror film written, produced, and directed by Phil Tippett. Completed in 2021, the film was produced over a period of thirty years. It was released on streaming service Shudder o ...

'' * 2022

Black Adam Black Adam, real name Teth/Theo-Adam, is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, and first appeared in the debut issue of Fawcett Comics' '' The Marvel Family'' comic ...

Awards and nominations

Film

* 2000: ''

'' – Academy Award nomination - Best Visual Effects * 1997: ''

'' – Academy Award nomination – Best Visual Effects * 1995: ''

'' – Academy Award nomination – Best Visual Effects * 1993: ''

'' – Academy Award – Best Visual Effects * 1988: ''

'' – Academy Award nomination – Best Visual Effects * 1985: '' Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'' –

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

– Outstanding Special Visual Effects * 1985: '' Dinosaur!'' –

– Outstanding Special Visual Effects

Commercials

* 2002: Blockbuster Video, Carl & Ray: Kung Fu – Clio Award, Gold – Computer Animation * 2002: Blockbuster Video, Carl & Ray: Gotta Dance – Clio Award, Bronze – Computer Animation * 2002: Blockbuster Video, Carl & Ray: Prima Donna – Clio Award, Bronze – Computer Animation * 2002: Blockbuster Video, Carl & Ray: Kung Fu – Clio Award, Bronze – Visual Effects

References

External links

Tippett Studio
{{Animation industry in the United States American animation studios Visual effects companies Companies based in Berkeley, California Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners American companies established in 1984 1984 establishments in California