ILM’s team isn’t known among the average moviegoer because it operates behind the scenes. Their job is to create innovative and believable visual effects that grab the attention of viewers and leave them speechless and mesmerized. Their business is creating magic!
How Did ILM Start?
Industrial Light and Magic was founded on May 26, 1975, by American film producer and director, George Lucas. It’s a subdivision of the film production company Lucasfilm and was created to help Lucas with the visual effects necessary for the production of Star Wars.
In its early days, the company mastered the use of traditional visual effects techniques, including matte painting, blue-screen photography, and miniature and model construction. Then it started innovating and creating new methods and technologies by using computer graphics and digital imaging.
In 2012, ILM was acquired by The Walt Disney Company as part of its purchase of Lucasfilm. Its headquarters are located in San Francisco and its staff counts approximately 1,000 employees.
Movies ILM Has Worked On
It’s safe to say that Industrial Light and Magic has changed filmmaking forever. Creating new techniques such as StageCraft has allowed production companies to make movies from a studio, rather than traveling to different locations and waiting for the right shot. Their work has expanded the horizons of the cinematic industry and has provided the tools for the creation of new magical worlds.
Since its establishment, ILM has worked on countless movies and franchises such as Indiana Jones, Star Trek, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, The Terminator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and of course, Star Wars.
There isn’t any doubt that without ILM, filmmaking would’ve been very different from what it is today.