John C. Gaeta (born 1965) is a designer and inventor best known for his work on the ''Matrix'' film trilogy, where he advanced methods and formats known as Bullet Time.

Career

John Gaeta was born in New York City and grew up in Shoreham, Long Island; he entered

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

to study film, and acquired a BFA degree with honors in 1989. He was introduced to the industry as a staff production assistant for the ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' film unit, as well as doing camera and lighting work for a variety of media types and makers. Some of these early work experiences included holography with Jason Sapan, stop-motion animation with Peter Wallach, motion control with Bran Ferren,

nature documentary A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on video taken in their natural habitat but also often including footage of t ...

, filming birdlife for ''

National Geographic Explorer ''National Geographic Explorer'' (or simply ''Explorer'') is an American documentary television series that originally premiered on Nickelodeon on April 7, 1985, after having been produced as a less costly and intensive alternative to PBS's ' ...

'', timelapse and experimental photography in Namibia, Africa on Miramax's first feature, Dust Devil. After co-supervising development for 3-D paint effect stylizations and LIDAR laser scanning(Reality Capture) for ''What Dreams May Come'' (1998 Visual Effects Oscar winner), Gaeta began his first solo effects supervision project for

The Wachowskis Lana Wachowski (born June 21, 1965, formerly known as Larry Wachowski) and Lilly Wachowski (born December 29, 1967, formerly known as Andy Wachowski) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans ...

' science fiction film, ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

''. In 2000, Gaeta won Best Visual Effects at the

73rd Academy Awards The 73rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 2000 in film and took place on March 25, 2001, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST ...

for his work on ''The Matrix'', alongside

Janek Sirrs Janek is a given name. Janek is a family name. * Ivan Janek (born 1986), Slovak football player * Jolanta Janek (born 1963), Polish diplomat * Kyle Janek, M.D. (born 1958), former Republican member of the Texas Senate * Shane Janek a.k.a. Cou ...

, Steve Courtley and Jon Thum. The same year, Gaeta was brought on as the senior visual effects supervisor to complete the ''Matrix'' trilogy including ''

The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to '' The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Lau ...

'' and '' The Matrix Revolutions''. This pair of films were created in parallel and featured over 2000 visual effects shots. Many photographed and post processed at a custom built complex called ESC, located at the Alameda Naval Base near San Francisco. Overall conceptual design as well as research and development was initiated for the final two installments in January 2000. There were a wide range of effects content from large-scale man vs. machine-type battles, to

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

-styled hyper-real moments. The centerpiece innovations and new methodologies presented through the Matrix universe was the creation of "Virtual Cinematography" and "Virtual Effects," phrases coined by Gaeta in 1999 and 2000.'The Matrix' Revealed
An Interview with John Gaeta" ( VFXPro, March 9, 2004)

Awards

* 2000 Academy Award for Visual Effects, for ''The Matrix'' * 2000 BAFTA Awards for Best Achievement in Special Effects, for ''

'' **Above two shared with Steve Courtley,

, Jon Thum * 2000 MTV Movie Award, Best Action * 2003 Visual Effects Society Award for Best Single Visual Effect of the Year in Any Medium, for ''The Matrix Reloaded'' ( trailer "Top Crash"), shared with Dan Glass, Adrian De Wet, Greg Juby * 2003 Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects Photography in a Motion Picture for ''The Matrix Reloaded'' ( U-cap facial photography), shared with Kim Libreri, George Borshukov, Paul Ryan *

Hollywood Film Festival The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in Los Angeles, California, USA. History The Hollywood Film Festival was established in 1997 by author and producer Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington.P ...

: Hollywood Visual Effects Award, 200

https://web.archive.org/web/20050404015959/http://www.hollywoodawards.com/gaeta/index.html] * Nominated, 2003 Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture for ''The Matrix Revolutions'', shared with Kim Libreri, George Murphy (visual effects), George Murphy,

Craig Hayes Craig Hayes (also known as Craig Davies) is a visual effects artist. He was nominated at the 73rd Academy Awards for his work on the film ''Hollow Man''. He shared his nomination with Scott E. Anderson, Stan Parks and Scott Stokdyk. During the ...

* 2014 Palo Alto International Film Festival, Muybridge Award for Innovation

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaeta, John 1965 births People from Suffolk County, New York Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners Best Visual Effects BAFTA Award winners Living people Special effects people Visual effects supervisors New York University alumni People from New York City