In the 80's and 90's, when CGI was in its infancy, many Hollywood movies had to rely on practical visual effects. This sadly diminishing trade has given fans many prolific visionaries such as John Chambers (Planet of the Apes), Rob Bottin (The Thing), Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London), Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead) and Gregory Nicotero (The Walking Dead), but the crowned king of the industry will forever belong to the late and magnificent Stan Winston. Winston led a team of highly creative sculptors, modelers, and artists who together created timeless effects for movies such Predator, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Jurassic Park and much more. Following Winston's passing in 2008 his main effects studio became Legacy Effects, ran by long time protege John Rosengrant, but back in 1988 two of Winston's most talented creature creators, Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. took what they had learned and formed their own creature shop; Amalgamated Dynamics.
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Also known as Studio ADI, Gillis' and Woodruff's effects company first saw widespread success following the release of 1992's Alien 3. As well as creating the practical effects for the subsequent three movies that would feature the iconic 'Alien' (Resurrection, AVP, and AVPR), ADI has also created effects for movies such Mortal Kombat, Starship Troopers, Spider-Man, X-Men: First Class and The Thing (2011), among many others. As well as creating 'proof-of-concept' effects based on the concept art for Neill Blomkamp's ill fated Alien movie, ADI has also created practical effects for the forthcoming IT, as well as Shane Black's The Predator and Legendary Pictures' monster sequel Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Studio ADI's future as one of Hollywoods leading visual effects companies looks set to continue despite the growing advances and dependence on CGI. Now fans of Gillis and Woodruff's work can get updates and news directly from ADI courtesy of their new e-mail newsletter, for more information check out the new video promoting the subscription below. To receive your newslettter simply sign up for it over at their official website at StudioADI.us.
