Christopher Townsend

{{Short description|Visual effects supervisor}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

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| name = Christopher Townsend

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| occupation = visual effects supervisor

| yearsactive = 1995–present

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Christopher Townsend is a visual effects supervisor. He has worked in the visual effects industry for nearly 30 years. For over a decade, he was an artist and supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic, and in 2007 became a freelance visual effects supervisor.{{Cite web |title=Chris Townsend {{!}} Alumni {{!}} Coventry University |url=https://www.coventry.ac.uk/the-university/alumni/our-alumni/alumni-profiles/chris-townsend/ |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=www.coventry.ac.uk |language=en-GB}} He worked on Journey to the Center of the Earth, the first ever stereoscopic motion picture shot and released digitally, The Wolverine, Ninja Assassin, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Captain America: The First Avenger. He was nominated for a BAFTA and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on Iron Man 3,{{Cite web |title=2014 Film Special Visual Effects {{!}} BAFTA Awards |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/2014/film/special-visual-effects |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=awards.bafta.org}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/86th-winners.html |title=The 86th Academy Awards (2013) Nominees and Winners |accessdate=August 30, 2014 |work=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |publisher=AMPAS |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141001025332/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/86th-winners.html |archivedate=October 1, 2014 }} oversaw nearly 3000 shots on Avengers: Age of Ultron and was the overall supervisor for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, for which he received his second nomination for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. He was the overall Production VFX Supervisor on Captain Marvel, and following that, for his work on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, was once again nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. For his first foray into television and streaming, in 2024 he was nominated for an Emmy,{{Cite web |title=Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie - 2024|url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2024/outstanding-special-visual-effects |website=emmys.com |access-date=2024-08-08}} for his overall VFX Supervising on the second season of the Disney+ show Loki.

In 2015 he was given an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree by his alma mater, Coventry University.{{Cite web |title=Coventry student turned Hollywood visual effects guru to receive honorary award |url=https://www.coventry.ac.uk/primary-news/coventry-student-turned-hollywood-visual-effects-guru-to-receive-honorary-award/ |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=www.coventry.ac.uk |language=en-GB}}