- "No matter how technologically advanced moviemaking instruments have become, they remain tools. And as tools, they will always need artists to wield them, and their creative visions to lead the way. To us, there is no greater example of such an artist than John Knoll. Whatever the problem we throw at him, he'll never fail to come up with a solution that not only meets the technical requirements or limitations of the project, but also makes sense within the overall storytelling. Hand the impossible to John, and he'll crack it."
- ―Rick McCallum
John Knoll is Chief Creative Officer/Senior Visual Effects Supervisor of Industrial Light & Magic, having been promoted to that position on May 23, 2013, after serving as the company's visual effects supervisor since 1991.[source?] He joined ILM in 1986.[2]
Knoll is an Academy Award winner, and has been nominated five times overall for his work on visual effects. In addition to his extensive visual-effects work on the prequels, Knoll created the opening crawls for all three films on his personal computer.[3]
He made cameo appearances as Rya Kirsch in Episode I and as Tannon Praji and the Coruscant firefighter pilot in Episode III.
His first book, Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days, was released on October 1, 2005.
He also worked with George Lucas on the 1988 film Willow, on which he served as ILM's animation camera operator.
In 2016, Knoll announced that the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is based on an unproduced script that he wrote for the Star Wars live-action TV show. He is also one of the members of the Intellectual Property Development Group.[4] Knoll worked in creating The Mandalorian, making a motion control rig used to film shots of the Razor Crest.[2]
Besides his film work, he co-created the digital image-processing program Adobe Photoshop.
Sources[]
- "Inside ILM: Creating the Magic of Willow" — The Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine 4
- Episode I Update: John Knoll on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- John Knoll's Tour of the Saga on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Setting the Star Wars Stage: John Knoll's 365 Days on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic Names John Knoll Chief Creative Officer on StarWars.com (backup link)
- "Star Wars Prequels Unseen!, Part 1" — Star Wars Insider 148
- Star Wars in 100 Scenes
- Rogue One is the First Star Wars Stand-Alone Film, Rian Johnson to Write and Direct Star Wars: Episode VIII on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Rogue One Details Revealed at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim on StarWars.com (backup link)
- "Launch Pad" — Star Wars Insider 160
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - The Official Mission Debrief
- The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
- "Launchpad" — Star Wars Insider 200
- Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – The Official Collector's Edition
- Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian: Making of the Season 2 Finale
- The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I–III, 1999–2005
- GARETH EDWARDS LOOKS BACK ON DIRECTING ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY on Industrial Light & Magic' official website (backup link)
- Disney Gallery: The Book of Boba Fett
- Star Wars Celebration LIVE! - DAY 2 on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones 20th Anniversary Celebration | Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022 on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- SWCA 2022: 8 Things We Learned from the Star Wars: Attack of the Clones 20th Anniversary Panel on StarWars.com (backup link)
- "Pushing Boundaries" — Star Wars Insider 217
- "Speaking Volumes" — Star Wars Insider 218
- How the ILM Model Shop Brought Ahsoka's T-6 Jedi Shuttle to Life on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Celebrates 25 Years with Return to Theaters on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ At First Glance on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Speaking Volumes" — Star Wars Insider 218
- ↑ Episode III: How It Begins on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi