Greg Butler (visual effects supervisor)

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}

{{Short description|American visual effects supervisor}}

Gregory S. Butler (born August 18, 1971, Suffield, Connecticut) is an Academy Award-winning American visual effects supervisor. He graduated from Suffield High School in 1989 and afterwards entered Hampshire College. Despite his initial plans to study history, a work-study job with the audiovisual equipment in the library made him interested in film production.{{cite web |url=http://sites.hampshire.edu/family/?p=3297 |title=Alumni Profile: Gregory Butler 89F |access-date=February 11, 2020 |work=Hampshire College}}{{Dead link|date=October 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} Butler graduated in 1993 with a major in film, television and theater design.{{cite news |url=https://www.ourherald.com/articles/son-of-local-man-works-on-new-lord-of-the-rings-films/ |title=Son of Local Man Works On New 'Lord of the Rings' Films |date=December 13, 2001 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |newspaper=The White River Valley Herald |location=Randolph, Vermont |first=Martha |last=Slater}} Afterwards he moved to California to work for Industrial Light and Magic for 9 months, where after intern work he managed to become an assistant in the effects department, starting with assistant credits in The Mask and Forrest Gump. Following a job at Rocket Science Games until the company's bankruptcy in 1996, Butler went to Tippett Studio and did effects work in Starship Troopers and My Favorite Martian, rising up to a technical director job, and Cinesite for Practical Magic. While reluctant at the requirement of moving to New Zealand, Butler was convinced by his writer-actor brother to jump at the opportunity of working for Weta Digital in The Lord of the Rings.{{cite news |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2002-01-21-0201210179-story.html |title=His Lucky Movie Career |date=January 21, 2002 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |first=Deborah |last=Hornblow |newspaper=Hartford Courant}} Among his achievements was working on the creation of Gollum.{{cite news |url=https://www.courant.com/chi-031212dpgollum-story.html |title=He gave life to Gollum |first=Lizabeth |last=Hall |date=December 11, 2013 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |newspaper=Hartford Courant |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006102828/https://www.courant.com/chi-031212dpgollum-story.html |archive-date=October 6, 2016}} for which he was awarded a Visual Effects Society Award.{{Cite magazine |first1=Jazz |last1=Tangcay |first2=Wilson |last2=Chapman |first3=Shalini |last3=Dore |first4=Carson |last4=Burton |date=June 23, 2022 |title=DNEG Hires Eric Brevig and Greg Butler as Visual Effects Supervisors – Film News in Brief |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/film-news-in-brief-june-20-1235299046/ |access-date=June 25, 2022 |magazine=Variety |language=en-US}}

Butler also worked as a computer graphics supervisor on I, Robot before an invitation to work as an effects supervisor for the Moving Picture Company, in London.{{cite news |url=http://www.creativebloq.com/audiovisual/greg-butler-51411624 |title=Masters of CG: MPC's Greg Butler on getting VFX right |first=Tom |last=May |date=May 12, 2014 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |work=Creative Bloq |publisher=Future Publishing Limited}} He later moved to MPC's, Vancouver office.{{cite news |url=http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/suffield_native_greg_butler_in.html |title=Suffield native Greg Butler in running for Academy Award for 'Harry Potter' visual effects |newspaper=The Republican |location=Springfield, Massachusetts |date=March 25, 2012 |access-date=March 25, 2019 |first=Kathryn |last=Roy |publisher=Advance Local Media LLC}} On January 24, 2012, he won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Oscar for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

He became a member of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2012.{{Cite web |first1=Julie |last1=Makinen |date=June 29, 2012 |title=Motion picture academy invites 176 new members |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-jun-29-la-et-mn-motion-picture-academy-invites-176-new-members-20120629-story.html |access-date=June 25, 2022 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

In 2020, he received his second BAFTA win and Academy Award nomination, and first win, for Best Visual Effects, for the 2019 film, 1917, at the 92nd Academy Awards.{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2020/02/1917-wins-oscar-best-visual-effects-1202855177/ |title=James Corden And Rebel Wilson Present '1917' With Oscar For Best Visual Effects In Full 'Cats' Attire |first=Dino-Ray |last=Ramos |date=February 9, 2020 |access-date=February 11, 2020 |website=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC.}}

After leaving MPC, he spent time working for Method Studios, where he worked as a VFX supervisor on feature, episodic, and advertising projects, including The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for Amazon.{{Cite web |first=Dan |last=Sarto |title=DNEG Adds Oscar-Winning Talent to VFX Team |url=https://www.awn.com/news/dneg-adds-oscar-winning-talent-vfx-team |access-date=June 25, 2022 |date=June 23, 2022 |website=Animation World Network |language=en}}{{cite magazine |first=Jazz |last=Tangcay |url=https://variety.com/2022/artisans/news/lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-visual-effects-breakdown-studios-artists-10000-shots-1235354513/ |title='Rings of Power' Used 20 VFX Studios, Nearly 10,000 VFX Shots to Revive Middle-earth (EXCLUSIVE) |magazine=Variety |date=September 1, 2022}}

In June 2022 he began working for VFX and animation studio DNEG.