Biography

With a deep respect for the creation of creature effects throughout the history of film, Jason Smith has established himself as a highly creative and technically skilled Visual Effects Supervisor. While earning his computer science degree, he delved into traditional sculpture and prosthetic makeup effects and produced practical creature makeup effects for university productions. Smith joined ILM in 2001 as a technical assistant, and by 2003, he had advanced to the position of Creature Technical Director.

One of Smith's most significant contributions is the creation of Block Party, ILM's proprietary creature rigging system that automates the time-consuming process of character rigging. In 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honoured him with a Technical Achievement Award for his role in Block Party's original design and creation. Smith is also the inventor of ILM's Dynamic Rigging process, which was used for the robot transformations in Transformers and the complex mechanical animations of Iron Man's suit.

Throughout his career, Smith has effectively led and collaborated with teams, working on groundbreaking visual effects in notable projects such as Transformers, The Avengers, and The Revenant and Bumblebee. In 2012, he served as ILM's Associate Visual Effects Supervisor on Marvel's blockbuster The Avengers, which grossed over one billion dollars worldwide and earned him a Visual Effects Society Award nomination for his character work on The Hulk. His role as ILM Visual Effects Supervisor on The Revenant brought him a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photorealistic Feature and an Academy Award Nomination for Best Visual Effects. Most recently, as Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Smith played a significant role in the visual design of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series for Amazon. The critically acclaimed visuals won 4 VES Awards for outstanding VFX and garnered a Primetime Emmy Nomination. As of late 2023, he is working on Season 2, in post production in the UK.

He is a graduate of Brigham Young University's Computer Science Program, with a minor in Visual Arts. He completed his MFA in Illustration at The Hartford Art School in 2019.