JON ALEXANDER - Compositing Supervisor

Team Deakins

James Ellis Deakins

Tv & Film, Filmlighting, Deakins, Movies, Filmmaking, Production, Film, Cinematography, Film Interviews

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 7 May 2025

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 140 - Jon Alexander - Compositing Supervisor

In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with compositing supervisor and visual effects artist Jon Alexander (DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, THE PHANTOM MENACE). Jon was witness to a number of milestones in the history of visual effects, and throughout the episode, Jon shares numerous stories from his long career at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), granting us insight into a time he likens to as the Italian Renaissance. From optical printers to artificial intelligence, Jon shares his experiences working with the many pieces of technology responsible for manipulating images, and he reveals the level of focus he and his colleagues at ILM shared when it came to problem-solving (even during an earthquake!). In addition to his work in film, Jon has also worked on projects for The Sphere in Las Vegas, and he shares what he believes to be the distinctive traits of and the possible uses for the new technology. Jon also reveals what he saw as a groundbreaking advancement in visual effects while working on HOWARD THE DUCK, and we compare past and present VFX techniques. Plus, we break down how optical visual effects are actually made.

This episode is sponsored by Profoto & Aputure

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi and welcome to Season 2 of the Team Deacons podcast,
0:07.0	a collection of informal conversations between Roger and James Deacons and a guest.
0:13.0	We never know where the conversation will take us, so listen in and see where it goes.
0:19.0	This episode is sponsored by Prophoto. listen in and see where it goes.
0:24.6	This episode is sponsored by Prophoto.
0:30.5	Prophoto, the light shaping company, renowned for its high-end lighting equipment used by the world's best photographers and brands, has now expanded into the world of cinematography
0:36.5	with uncompromising speed of use and limitless creativity.
0:41.9	The L-1600D is a high output with no ballast LED light.
0:47.7	Its dual mount makes it compatible with 50-plus pro-photo modifiers
0:52.5	and hundreds of Bowen's mount modifiers, making it a breakthrough
0:57.6	product for cinematographers and gaffers seeking speed and efficiency on set with the highest
1:04.3	degree of creative light-shaping possibilities. This episode is sponsored by Aperture, a premier manufacturer of LED lighting with the industry's greatest
1:18.0	variety of fixtures for your complete lighting needs.
1:22.6	Aperture recently announced the new storm family of lights.
1:26.8	With LED white light quality that matches
1:29.3	natural daylight and classic tungsten bulbs, plus extreme low-end dimming while maintaining
1:35.3	color quality. Discover more about the new storm lights and the complete Aperture lighting
1:41.3	ecosystem at Aperture.com.
1:47.5	Today we're speaking with a visual effects artist who has seen a lot of changes in this field.
1:53.8	Starting with the early optical effects to the CGI today, his credits are many and include
1:59.4	The Abyss, The Avengers, Age of Ultron, and Deadpool and Wolverine.
2:04.6	We're pleased to welcome John Alexander. John, thank you for doing this.
	...

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