Tippett Studio is an American

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as 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 fo ...

and

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

company specializing in

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images and art with the aid of computers. Computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, digital art, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. ...

(CG) for films and television commercials. The studio has created visual effects and animations on over fifty feature films and commercials, garnering an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

, four Clio Awards and two

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

. The company currently consists of approximately , with offices located in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

History

Tippett Studio was founded in 1984 by Phil Tippett and Jules Roman, Phil's wife and the president of the company. The studio began as a

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

animation company (by means of its particular stop motion animation variant, the so-called go motion animation technique). It also designed and built live action props for films, such as ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...

'', '' RoboCop 2'', '' RoboCop 3'', '' Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' and ''

Ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

''. In 1991, the studio shifted its focus to computer-generated imagery to work on ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

'', (released in 1993, with Industrial Light and Magic) by developing the Digital Input Device (DID). The DID was a new effects technology which placed computer-linked sensors into the moving joints of

three-dimensional In geometry, a three-dimensional space (3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a mathematical space in which three values (''coordinates'') are required to determine the position (geometry), position of a point (geometry), poi ...

, articulated character models. This system earned Craig Hayes a Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Award and the work on ''Jurassic Park'' earned the studio an Oscar. Creature animation work for '' Coneheads'' (also released in 1993) was the last go motion puppet project done by this company. The studio also worked on Blockbuster commercials featuring Ray and Carl, a guinea pig and rabbit at a pet store window from 2002 to 2007 during the Super Bowl. Paul Verhoeven's 1997 film '' Starship Troopers'' became at the time Tippett Studio's biggest project, with over 500 effects shots, for which the company received another Academy Award nomination. Phil Tippett co-directed the large-scale battle sequences with Verhoeven. The studio doubled in size to digitally animate and composite hundreds of creature shots for the film. Early in 2000, the studio re-teamed with Paul Verhoeven on '' Hollow Man''. Craig Hayes co-supervised the creation of the invisible Sebastian whose outline becomes visible in steam, rain, water and even blood. The outstanding visual effects were recognized with another Academy Award nomination. In March 2024, Tippett Studio was acquired by Indian-based studio PhantomFX. On May 1, 2024, Tippett Studio filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

Motion picture filmography

* 1984 '' Prehistoric Beast'' * 1984 '' Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure'' * 1985 '' Dinosaur!'' * 1985 '' Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'' * 1986 '' Howard the Duck'' (alongside Industrial Light & Magic) * 1986 '' The Golden Child'' * 1987 ''

'' * 1988 ''

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

'' (alongside Industrial Light & Magic) * 1989 ''

Ghostbusters II ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson ...

'' (alongside Industrial Light & Magic) * 1989 '' Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' * 1990 '' RoboCop 2'' * 1993 '' Coneheads'' * 1993 ''

'' (alongside

Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American Film, motion picture visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion digital studio founded by George Lucas on May 26, 1975. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lu ...

) * 1993 '' RoboCop 3'' * 1995 '' Three Wishes'' * 1996 ''

Dragonheart ''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue, based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, ...

'' * 1996 '' Tremors 2: Aftershocks'' * 1997 '' Starship Troopers'' * 1998 '' Armageddon'' * 1998 '' Practical Magic'' * 1999 '' Bicentennial Man'' * 1999 '' Komodo'' * 1999 '' My Favorite Martian'' * 1999 '' The Haunting'' * 1999 ''

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

'' * 2000 '' Hollow Man'' * 2000 '' Mission to Mars'' * 2001 '' Cats & Dogs'' * 2001 ''

Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

'' * 2001 '' The One'' * 2002 '' Blade II'' * 2002 ''

Men in Black II ''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film based on the Marvel Comics series of a similar name based on the conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment in ass ...

'' (alongside

) * 2002 '' The Ring'' * 2002 '' The Santa Clause 2'' * 2003 '' The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' * 2003 '' The Matrix Revolutions'' * 2004 ''

Catwoman Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman' ...

'' * 2004 '' Hellboy'' * 2004 '' Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation'' * 2004 '' The Stepford Wives'' * 2005 '' Constantine'' * 2005 '' Son of the Mask'' * 2005 '' The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D'' * 2006 ''

Charlotte's Web ''Charlotte's Web'' is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams. It was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. It tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his frie ...

'' * 2006 '' Santa Clause 3'' * 2006 '' The Shaggy Dog'' * 2007 '' Enchanted'' * 2007 '' The Golden Compass'' * 2008 '' Cloverfield'' * 2008 ''

The Spiderwick Chronicles ''The Spiderwick Chronicles'' is a series of children's fantasy books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. They chronicle the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into the Spider ...

'' (alongside

) * 2008 '' Beverly Hills Chihuahua'' * 2008 '' Bedtime Stories'' * 2009 '' Drag Me to Hell'' * 2009 '' The Twilight Saga: New Moon'' * 2010 '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' * 2010 '' The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' * 2010 ''

Piranha 3D ''Piranha 3D'' is a 2010 American 3D horror comedy film that serves as a remake of the comedy horror film '' Piranha'' (1978) and an entry in the ''Piranha'' film series. Directed by Alexandre Aja and written by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Sto ...

'' * 2011 '' Immortals'' * 2011 ''

Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

'' * 2011 '' Season of the Witch'' * 2011 '' The Smurfs'' * 2011 '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1'' * 2012 '' Hemingway & Gellhorn'' * 2012 '' Ted'' * 2012 '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2'' * 2013 ''

After Earth ''After Earth'' is a 2013 American science fiction apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic action film, action-adventure film co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who co-wrote the script with Gary Whitta. The film w ...

'' * 2013 '' Horns'' * 2014 '' A Million Ways to Die in the West'' * 2014 '' Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey'' * 2014 '' Transformers: Age of Extinction'' * 2014 '' Deliver Us from Evil'' * 2014 ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

'' * 2014 '' The Crossing'' * 2014 '' The Pyramid'' * 2014 '' The Remaining'' * 2015 '' Jurassic World'' * 2015 '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens''The Force Awakens - Tippett Studio Holochess Stop-Motion Reel
/ref> * 2016 '' Gods of Egypt'' * 2016 '' League of Gods'' * 2017 - 2022 '' The Orville'' (TV series) * 2018 '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' * 2019 '' Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (alongside

) * 2019 '' Crazy Alien'' * 2021 '' The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' * 2021 '' Mad God'' * 2022 '' Black Adam'' * TBA '' Sentinel''

Awards and nominations

Film

* 2000: '' Hollow Man'' – Academy Award nomination - Best Visual Effects * 1997: '' Starship Troopers'' – Academy Award nomination – Best Visual Effects * 1996: ''

'' – Academy Award nomination – Best Visual Effects * 1993: ''

'' – Academy Award – Best Visual Effects * 1988: ''

'' – Academy Award nomination – Best Visual Effects * 1985: '' Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'' –

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

– Outstanding Special Visual Effects * 1985: '' Dinosaur!'' –

– Outstanding Special Visual Effects

Commercials

* 2002: Blockbuster Video, Carl & Ray: Kung Fu – Clio Award, Gold – Computer Animation * 2002: Blockbuster Video, Carl & Ray: Gotta Dance – Clio Award, Bronze – Computer Animation * 2002: Blockbuster Video, Carl & Ray: Prima Donna – Clio Award, Bronze – Computer Animation * 2002: Blockbuster Video, Carl & Ray: Kung Fu – Clio Award, Bronze – Visual Effects

References

External links

Tippett Studio
{{Animation industry in the United States American animation studios Visual effects companies Companies based in Berkeley, California Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners American companies established in 1984 1984 establishments in California