1. Michael Backauskas, Visual Effects Editor
Michael Backauskas is a visual effects editor, for clients Fox, Universal and Warner
Bros., and vendors Rhythm & Hues, Digital Domain and ILM. He has worked as an
editor, visual effects supervisor, visual effects producer, visual effects coordinator and
optical line-up. He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual
Achievement in Special Visual Effects for The Next Generation finale episode All Good
Things (1994) and the Voyager pilot episode Caretaker (1995). Michael is a member of
the Editors Guild and the Visual Effects Society.
Michael thrives on solving problems, learning new skills, and being creative. He has a
strong work ethic and values productivity resulting from working smarter, not harder. He
finds every project brings something new to learn and he enjoys mentoring new people.
Michael began his career in 1976 at pioneer visual effects innovator, Robert Abel &
Assoc, promoted quickly to commercial editorial supervisor. Throughout the 80s he
collaborated with Douglas Trumbull and Richard Yuricich, as vfx editor on Star Trek: the
Motion Picture (1979), Blade Runner (1982) and Brainstorm (1983). Between features,
Michael gained experience as an assistant editor at Filmways/Orion on TV movies and
episodic series, including the first season of Cagney & Lacey (1981). He returned to
Trumbull as editor of the initial four productions of the Showscan Film Corp, projected in
70mm at 60 frames per second. In 1984 Michael joined Richard Edlund at Boss Film
Studios, as vfx editor on Poltergeist II: the Other Side and optical line-up for Big Trouble
in Little China. Optical work continued at Industrial Light & Magic on Who Framed
Roger Rabbit (1988), and Dream Quest for The Abyss (1989). In 1990 Michael cut Back
to the Future, the Ride in Omnimax for Trumbull and Universal theme parks, taking the
historic first 15-perf opticals to completion through Imagica Tokyo. At the Chandler
Group, Michael was vfx editor and optical line-up on two 3D projects: Freddy's Dead:
The Final Nightmare (1991) in anaglyphic 3D and Muppet*vision 3-D (1991) in
polarized 3D for Disneyworld. As digital compositing technology began to supplant
optical printing, Michael embraced the change to digital over the next four years (1992-
1995) as vfx coordinator on Lois & Clark: the New Adventures of Superman, and three
Star Trek series: Deep Space Nine, the Next Generation and Voyager. Michael acted as
vfx supervisor for two TNG episodes, Genesis and Firstborn. In 1996 Michael served as
Digital 3D producer at Warner Digital Studio on the special venue production Marvin the
Martian in the 3rd
Dimension, animated at multiple facilities, presenting myriad technical
compatibility challenges. Michael came to Digital Domain on Avid as vfx editor for
Titanic (1997), followed by Babe: Pig in the City (1998) for Rhythm & Hues, then Fox
for the stop-motion Monkeybone (2000) and Warner Bros. for Looney Tunes: Back in
Action (2003) and Catwoman (2004). Michael returned to Rhythm & Hues for a nine year
stretch as vfx editor on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Night at the
Museum (2006), The Golden Compass (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
(2011) and R.I.P.D. (2013).
After the bankruptcy of Rhythm and Hues, Michael served at boutique facility Digital
Sandbox on Muhammad, Messenger of God (2015). Taking advantage of Trade
Adjustment Assistance, he spent three months refining his Avid skills at Video
Symphony, followed by ten months of old-school 70mm film conform post production
for Quentin Tarantino on The Hateful Eight (2015).