Richard Baneham (born ) is an Irish

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

and

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 ...

supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position and role that is primarily based on authority over la ...

, who has worked on several film series, including ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, the ''Chronicles of Narnia'' films and the ''Avatar'' franchise. Amongst other awards, Baneham has received a

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 ...

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 ...

in 2009, both for his work on ''

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 ...

'', and a further Academy Award in 2023, for visual effects on '' Avatar: The Way of Water''.

Early and personal life

Baneham is from Tallaght in Dublin and went to secondary school in

Old Bawn Oldbawn (or Old Bawn, ) is a small suburban area now within Tallaght on Dublin's southside. Formerly a small village in its own right, it is situated between Sean Walsh Park and the River Dodder. A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Ir ...

before training in Ballyfermot Art College. In the 1990s, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career with his then girlfriend (and now wife) Ashling.

Career

Upon moving to Los Angeles in the 1990s, Baneham worked as an animator on several films including ''

The Iron Giant ''The Iron Giant'' is a 1999 American animated science fiction film directed by Brad Bird and produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation. It is loosely based on the 1968 novel '' The Iron Man'' by Ted Hughes (which was published in the United ...

'' and as animation supervisor on ''

Cats & Dogs ''Cats & Dogs'' is a 2001 American 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 Tobey Maguire, Alec Baldwin, Sean ...

''. He also worked with Rhythm and Hues on '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', and as animation supervisor (overseeing the animation of the character of Gollum) on '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' and '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. His work also featured in the 2009 movie ''

''. For his work on Avatar, Richie, along with

Joe Letteri Joseph Bruce Letteri (born 1957) is a senior visual effects artist, winner of five Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards and four VES awards. He is the current Senior Visual Effects Supervisor of the Academy Award-winning Wētā FX having joined ...

Stephen Rosenbaum Stephen Rosenbaum is an American visual effects artist and supervisor, and has worked on numerous movie, tv and music productions, including six that have won Academy Awards. He has been nominated three times for an Academy Award and two times fo ...

and Andrew R. Jones, won the

at the

82nd Academy Awards The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2009 and took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. ...

and the visual effects category at the 2010

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

s. Baneham reportedly signed up to work on the planned Avatar sequels, and in an interview on ''

The Tommy Tiernan Show ''The Tommy Tiernan Show'' is an Republic of Ireland, Irish chat show presented by Tommy Tiernan. It was first broadcast on RTÉ One on 5 January 2017. The first two series aired on Thursday evenings, with the third series moving to a Saturday e ...

'' which aired on 12 January 2017, Baneham confirmed that he was in pre-production on Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5. At the

16th Visual Effects Society Awards 16th Visual Effects Society Awards February 13, 2018 ---- Best Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture: '' War for the Planet of the Apes'' ---- Best Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode: ''Game of Thrones'' – Beyond the W ...

in February 2018, a team of visual effects artists, including Baneham, was recognised for its work on '' Avatar: Flight of Passage'' - an attraction at

Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division, it is the largest theme park in the worl ...

. In 2019, he was credited for visual effects work on '' Alita: Battle Angel''. In 2023, together with Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett, he won the

at the

95th Academy Awards The 95th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonl ...

for his work on '' Avatar: The Way of Water''.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (animator) * ''

'' (animator) * '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (main animator) * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (main animator) * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (main animator) * ''

'' (animation producer) * '' Alita: Battle Angel'' (visual effects supervisor) * '' Avatar: The Way of Water'' (visual effects supervisor, producer)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baneham, Richard 1970 births People in the computer animation industry Irish animators Living people Visual effects supervisors Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners Best Visual Effects BAFTA Award winners People from Tallaght Artists from County Dublin