Frank Willard Van der Veer (June 2, 1921 – January 7, 1982) was an American

optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

and

visual The visual system is the physiological basis of visual perception (the ability to detect and process light). The system detects, transduces and interprets information concerning light within the visible range to construct an image and buil ...

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

s artist who won (and shared) a Special Achievement Academy Award at the

49th Academy Awards The 49th Academy Awards were presented Monday, March 28, 1977, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, hosted by Richard Pryor, Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda, and Warren Beatty. Both '' Network'' and '' All the President's Men' ...

for Best Visual Effects for the film ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

'' (1976). His career spanned over three decades from the 1950s until his death in the early 1980s, having participated in the Hollywood special effects industry with such other films as ''

The Towering Inferno ''The Towering Inferno'' is a 1974 American disaster film directed by John Guillermin and produced by Irwin Allen, featuring an ensemble cast led by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. It was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from the novels '' The ...

'' (1974), '' Killer Bees'' (1974), '' Logan's Run'' (1976), ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' (1977), ''

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

'' (1979), ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...

'' (1980), '' Clash of the Titans'' (1981) and ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...

'' (1982). Frank Van der Veer was the son of the American

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

Willard Van der Veer (1894–1963).

Biography

Frank Van der Veer was a veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, where he served as a combat photographer in Europe, the Philippines, and Japan. After the war he began his career in the 1950s working for the

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

and

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

special effects departments. Then, a few years later, on August 13, 1963, he founded Van Der Veer Photo Effects with partner Bill Dorney, after having apprenticed with Bill Abbott from 1950 to 1957 in the 20th Century Fox studios. In 1977, he won a Special Achievement Academy Award for ''

'' (1976). This award was shared with Carlo Rambaldi and Glen Robinson. Frank's father, Willard Van der Veer, had also won an Oscar, 47 years before. That was on November 5, 1930, at the 3rd Academy Awards, for Best Cinematography for the film '' With Byrd at the South Pole'' with Joseph T. Rucker. In the time he ran his company, Van der Veer worked both for the television and film industries. For the television medium, he contributed in the effects of the original ''Star Trek'' series (1966) and, in 1978, he was nominated for an Emmy for his work on '' The Return of Captain Nemo''. Van Der Veer Photo Effects worked on lightsabres for the movie ''

'' (1977)''.'' Frank Van der Veer died on January 7, 1982. He was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale,

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. His company, Van Der Veer Photo Effects, survived him for 15 years more until it was dissolved on October 4, 1997.''Wysk B2B Data Hub'': Van Der Veer Photo Effects' profile
(archived link)

Selected filmography

Credited as Frank Van der Veer

* '' Killer Bees'' (1974, TV movie, special optical effects) * '' Logan's Run'' (1976, additional visuals) * ''

'' (1976, supervisor of photographic effects) * ''

Orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

'' (1977, photographic effects supervisor) * '' The Manitou'' (1978, photographic optical effects supervisor) * ''

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

'' (1979, supervisor of photographic effects) * ''

'' (1979, blue screen consultant) * ''

'' (1980, supervisor: special photographic effects) * '' Clash of the Titans'' (1981, special opticals) * ''

'' (1982, special visual effects)

Credited as Van der Veer Photo Effects

* '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' (in end credits) * ''

'' (1977, additional optical effects – miniature and optical effects unit) * ''

The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...

'' (1980, additional optical effects)

Van Der Veer Photo Effects selected filmography (after Van Der Veer died)

* ''

Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...

'' (1982, additional animation compositing camera) * ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...

'' (1983, additional optical effects) * '' Twilight Zone: The Movie'' (1983, additional optical effects, segment 4, uncredited) * '' The Man Who Wasn't There'' (1983, opticals) * '' The Bounty'' (1984, opticals, credited as "Frank Van der Veer Labs") * ''

Conan the Destroyer ''Conan the Destroyer'' is a 1984 American epic sword-and-sorcery film directed by Richard Fleischer from a screenplay by Stanley Mann and a story by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway. Based on the character Conan the Barbarian created by Robert ...

'' (1984, titles and opticals) * '' The Last Starfighter'' (1984, optical effects) * ''

Red Sonja Red Sonja is a sword-and-sorcery character created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, partially inspired by Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino. A warrior from the Hyborian Age of Ear ...

'' (1985, titles and opticals) * '' Raw Deal'' (1986, titles and opticals) * '' Blue Velvet'' (1986, titles and opticals) * '' Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'' (1987, opticals) * '' Russkies'' (1987, titles and opticals) * '' After Midnight'' (1989, additional optical effects) * '' Catchfire'' (1990, titles and opticals) * '' Tales from the Darkside: The Movie'' (1990, optical effects) * '' The Dark Backward'' (1991, montage opticals) * '' Love Crimes'' (1992, titles and opticals, credited as "Van der Veer Visual Effects")

References

External links

*
Van Der Veer Photo Effects
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van der Veer, Frank 1921 births 1982 deaths American film people American special effects people Visual effects supervisors Special Achievement Academy Award winners Artists from New York City American military personnel of World War II Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)