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 raised in Shoreham,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He pursued film studies at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

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, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

, earning a

BFA degree A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard Undergraduate education, undergraduate Academic degree, degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Ba ...

with honors in 1989. He was introduced to the industry as a staff production assistant for the ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' 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 television documentary, series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures. Nature documentaries usually concentrate on video taken in the subject's nat ...

, 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 A dust devil (also known regionally as a dirt devil) is a strong, well-formed, and relatively short-lived whirlwind. Its size ranges from small (18 in/half a metre wide and a few yards/metres tall) to large (more than 30 ft/10 m ...

. After co-supervising development for 3-D paint effect stylizations and LIDAR laser scanning (Reality Capture) for the film ''What Dreams May Come'', which won the 1998

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 ...

, Gaeta began his first solo effects supervision project for

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

' science fiction film, ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

''. In 2000, Gaeta won Best Visual Effects at the 73rd Academy Awards for his work on ''The Matrix'', alongside Janek Sirrs, 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 the sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, L ...

'' and '' The Matrix Revolutions''. These films were created in parallel and featured over 2000 visual effects shots. Many were 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. The centerpiece innovations and new methodologies presented through the Matrix universe were the creation of "Virtual Cinematography" and "Virtual Effects," phrases coined by Gaeta in 1999 and 2000. In 2022, Gaeta took the role of Chief Creative Officer at Inworld AI, a company that powers the memories, behavior, and dialogue of AI NPCs and characters.

Awards

* 2000

Academy Award for 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 ...

, for ''The Matrix'' * 2000

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 ...

Awards for Best Achievement in Special Effects, for ''

'' **Above two shared with Steve Courtley, Janek Sirrs, 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: 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 * 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 American visual effects artists Visual effects supervisors New York University alumni Designers from New York City