Paul J. Franklin is an English

visual effects supervisor In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director or producers through the use of visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process ...

who has worked with visual effects since the 1990s. Franklin won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and the

BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects for each year. This award is for special effects and visual effects and recognises achievement in both of these crafts. The British Academy of Film and Tele ...

for ''

Inception ''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infi ...

'' (2010), and won a second Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for '' Interstellar'' (2014). He shared the wins with

Andrew Lockley Andrew Lockley (born 5 May 1971) is a British visual effects supervisor most known for working on most of Christopher Nolan's films. He won at the 83rd Academy Awards for the film ''Inception'' in the category of Best Visual Effects. His win ...

, Peter Bebb, and

Chris Corbould Christopher Charles Corbould, (; born 1958) is a British special effects coordinator best known for his work on major blockbuster films and the action scenes on 15 ''James Bond'' films since The Spy Who Loved Me. He has also worked extensivel ...

. Franklin has also been nominated for an Academy Award for ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan Nolan, Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and t ...

'' (2008). He was nominated for BAFTA Awards for ''Batman Begins'', ''The Dark Knight'' (2008), and ''

The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...

'' (2012).

Background

Franklin was born in

Cheshire, England Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county town ...

. He was educated at

Sandbach School Sandbach School is a free school in Sandbach, Cheshire, north-west England. It was established in 1677 by local philanthropists, including Richard Lea, who donated the land for the school, and Francis Welles, who helped to fund the schoolhouse. I ...

in Cheshire from 1977 to 1984. He attended the South Cheshire College (Crewe), part of the former

Mid Cheshire College Mid Cheshire College was a further education college based in Hartford and Winsford, Cheshire. The college merged with Warrington Collegiate in 2017 to form Warrington and Vale Royal College. It had approximately 9,000 students at the time of ...

in Northwich, for a year, and then gained a place at the

Ruskin School of Art The Ruskin School of Art, known as the Ruskin, is an art school at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later became ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, where he was a member of St John's College, to study

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

. At Oxford he had his first experience of filmmaking, frequently collaborating with director

Ben Hopkins Ben Hopkins (born 1969) is a British film director, screenwriter and novelist. His film ''Simon Magus'' entered the 49th Berlin International Film Festival competition in 1999. His 2008 film, '' The Market: A Tale of Trade'' ( tr, Pazar: Bir T ...

, and began to experiment with the emerging new medium of computer animation. He graduated in 1989. He worked two jobs as a videotape editor and then began a career in computer graphics and animation at Psygnosis (now

Studio Liverpool Psygnosis Limited (known as SCE Studio Liverpool or simply Studio Liverpool from 1999) was a British video game developer and publisher headquartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool. Founded in 1984 by Ian Hetherington, Jonathan Ell ...

) in the early 1990s. After several years at the Moving Picture Company in London he and a group of colleagues founded the visual effects company Double Negative in 1998 with financing from

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (formerly known as PolyGram Films and PolyGram Pictures or simply PFE) was a British film studio founded in 1979 which became a European competitor to Hollywood, but was eventually sold to Seagram Company Ltd. in ...

. He headed the 3D effects for Double Negative's first film '' Pitch Black'' (2000). Franklin was an undergraduate external examiner at

Bournemouth University Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s. The univer ...

for 4 or 5 years and also gave visiting practitioner lectures at BU's Media School. In 2012, Franklin received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from Bournemouth.

Filmography

Franklin has been visual effects supervisor for the following films: *''

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

'' (2001) *''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, ...

'' (2005) *'' Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' (2007) *''

'' (2008) *''

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores t ...

'' (2009) *''

'' (2010) *''

'' (2012) *'' Interstellar'' (2014) *''

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

'' (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Paul J. Living people People from Cheshire Alumni of the Ruskin School of Art People educated at Sandbach School Visual effects supervisors Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners Best Visual Effects BAFTA Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)