Richard Baneham (born ) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple 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 gam ...

and

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated 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 foota ...

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 that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...

, 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 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 ...

and an

Academy Award for Best Visual Effects The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects. History of the award The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized the technical contributions of special effects ...

in 2009, both for his work on ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

'', 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 Iri ...

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 produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation and directed by Brad Bird in his directorial debut. It is based on the 1968 novel '' The Iron Man'' by Ted Hughes (which was publish ...

'' and as animation supervisor on ''

Cats & Dogs ''Cats & Dogs'' is a 2001 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 (among others) Tobey Maguire, Alec Bal ...

''. He also worked with

Rhythm and Hues Rhythm & Hues Studios was an American visual effects and animation company, that received the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1995 for ''Babe'', in 2008 for ''The Golden Compass'', and in 2013 for '' Life of Pi''. It also received four ...

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,

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 Andrew R. Jones is a visual effects artist most known for being part of the Oscar-winning team that did the visuals to ''Avatar'' and ''The Jungle Book''. Jones directed a segment of ''The Animatrix'', "The Final Flight of the Osiris". Oscars Bo ...

, 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 BAFTAs. 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 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 evening slot. The prem ...

'' 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 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 the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the l ...

. 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), will honor films released in 2022, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 12, 2023. Comed ...

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 Computer animation people Irish animators Living people Visual effects supervisors Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners Best Visual Effects BAFTA Award winners