- Active: '90s-2000s
- Major Genres: Science Fiction, Drama
- Career Highlights: Gladiator, Anaconda, City of Angels
- First Major Screen Credit: Stay Tuned (1992)
Biography
With a keen eye for visual effects design and details, John Nelson has been involved with some of the more visually memorable films of the 1990s, consistently creating convincing digital imagery ranging from the subtle to the surreal. A 1976 graduate of the University of Michigan, Nelson began his cinematic career with a series of short films. After successfully touring film festivals and gaining recognition for his films, Nelson moved to California in 1979. Quickly finding work as a cameraman and a technical director, Nelson soon gravitated toward more effects-oriented work, eventually joining Industrial Light and Magic in the late '90s as a visual effects supervisor. Serving as computer graphics animator on such effects-heavy films as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Nelson moved on to successful work as visual effects designer and supervisor on such demanding projects as 1995's Johnny Mnemonic and Anaconda (1997). Nelson's dedication and meticulous attention to detail eventually paid off, leading him to his first Oscar for his extensive work on Ridley Scott's Gladiator.~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
