With respect..

This week saw the passing of a true hero of mine, the Special Make-Up and Effects Master Stan Winston. It's the first time I've been compelled to write about a personal issue in my blog but I cannot emphasize enough the impact Stan's work has had on my love for both special effects and movie making in general.

Where Stan was different in his work was the fact that he created characters not just monsters or effects. All his designs were driven by what was best for the film, not just to create a striking design for the sake of it. Stan's body of work includes some of the most iconic film characters of the past 30 years : Terminator, Predator, Edward Scissorhands, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Iron man...the list could go on and on.

So for two thirds of my life Stan's work has inspired and amazed me and his passing leaves a great void in the film community. In a world where more and more films turn to computer generated imagery, Stan bridged the gap by always choosing the right combination of computer and physical effects to help best tell the story, something more of the film world would be best served to observe.

Stan Winston, an inspiration, a legend!

Daniel