Tim Webber is a Welsh
visual effects supervisor
In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director or producers through the use of visual effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the pr ...
and is chief creative officer at visual effects studio
Framestore
Framestore is a British visual effects and computer animation studio based on Chancery Lane in London, England. The company was founded in 1986. Framestore specializes in visual effects for film and prestige TV, advertising, rides, and immers ...
. He is known for his work on ''
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...
'' (2005), ''
The Dark Knight
''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and the second inst ...
'' (2008), ''
Children of Men
''Children of Men'' is a 2006 dystopian action thriller film directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuarón. The screenplay, based on P. D. James' 1992 novel '' The Children of Men'', was credited to five writers, with Clive Owen making uncredite ...
'' (2006), and ''
Gravity
In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...
'' (2013), for which he received an
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best achievement in visual effects. It has been handed to four members of the team directly responsible for creatin ...
at the
86th Academy Awards
The 86th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2013 in film, films of 2013 and took place on March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5: ...
.
Education
Webber was educated at
St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...
, graduating in Physics in 1987.
Career
In 1988, Webber joined the British
visual effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as 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 fo ...
company
Framestore
Framestore is a British visual effects and computer animation studio based on Chancery Lane in London, England. The company was founded in 1986. Framestore specializes in visual effects for film and prestige TV, advertising, rides, and immers ...
, based near
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...
in London. He led the company's push into Digital Film and Television, developing Framestore’s virtual camera and motion rig systems. He has been the
visual effects supervisor
In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director or producers through the use of visual effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the pr ...
in some of the most technically and artistically challenging projects, including,
Christopher Nolan
Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...
's ''
The Dark Knight
''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and the second inst ...
'' (2008),
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
's ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
'' (2009), and
Louis Leterrier
Louis Leterrier (; born 17 June 1973) is a French film and television director. Best known for his work in action films, he directed the first two '' Transporter'' films (2002–2005), '' The Incredible Hulk'' (2008), '' Clash of the Titans'' (2 ...
's ''
Clash of the Titans'' (2010). He was Warner Brothers’ VFX supervisor on
Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( ; ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. List of awards and nominations received by Alfonso Cuarón, His accolades include four Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and seven BAFTA Awards.
Cuarón made h ...
's space epic, ''
Gravity
In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...
'' (2013), with the techniques involved in the film realized by Webber and the Framestore team, taking three years to complete.
David Heyman
David Jonathan Heyman (born 26 July 1961) is a British film producer and the founder of Heyday Films. Heyman is best known as the producer of all eight installments of the ''Harry Potter'' film series, which are based on a series of popular ...
, co-producer of ''Gravity'', hired Webber to oversee the film's visual effects work.
For his work on ''Gravity'', he won both the
BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects
The BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects is a film award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) at the annual British Academy Film Awards. This award recognises achievement in the crafts of special effects a ...
at the
67th British Academy Film Awards
The 67th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 16 February 2014 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2013 in film, 2013. The nominations were announced on 8 J ...
, and an
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best achievement in visual effects. It has been handed to four members of the team directly responsible for creatin ...
at the
86th Academy Awards
The 86th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2013 in film, films of 2013 and took place on March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5: ...
.
In 2014, Webber was awarded the
Royal Photographic Society
The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...
Progress medal and Honorary Fellowship, which is awarded in recognition of any invention, research, publication or other contribution which has resulted in an important advance in the scientific or technological development of photography or imaging in the widest sense.
In 2023, Webber released his directorial and writing debut, in the form of sci-fi short film ''FLITE''. Starring
Alba Baptista, ''FLITE'' is set in a semi-submerged London of 2053 and brought some of the techniques first explored on the film Gravity into the present day. Using state of the art virtual production techniques, ''FLITE'' also tested FUSE -
Framestore
Framestore is a British visual effects and computer animation studio based on Chancery Lane in London, England. The company was founded in 1986. Framestore specializes in visual effects for film and prestige TV, advertising, rides, and immers ...
Unreal Shot Engine - which puts
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc. is an American Video game developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...
Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter video game '' Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of ...
, and all the benefits of real-time, at the heart of a VFX pipeline.
''FLITE'' has won several awards including Best Genre at
HollyShorts Film Festival
The HollyShorts Film Festival is an annual Academy Awards-qualifying independent short film festival located in Hollywood, California.
History
Founded in 2005, the yearly festival programmes feature an eclectic mixture of short films of various ge ...
2023, Best Animation at The Soho London Independent Film Festival 2024 and Best Post Production and Best Score at
Ignite Film Festival 2023. ''FLITE'' is available to watch on YouTube.
Selected filmography
* ''
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...
'' (2005)
* ''
The Dark Knight
''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and the second inst ...
'' (2008)
* ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
'' (2009)
* ''
Children of Men
''Children of Men'' is a 2006 dystopian action thriller film directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuarón. The screenplay, based on P. D. James' 1992 novel '' The Children of Men'', was credited to five writers, with Clive Owen making uncredite ...
'' (2006)
* ''
Gravity
In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...
'' (2013)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Tim
British special effects people
Living people
Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners
Best Visual Effects BAFTA Award winners
Welsh film people
Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford
Year of birth missing (living people)
Primetime Emmy Award winners