John Knoll

Born: 1962-10-06

John Knoll (born October 6, 1962) is an American visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer (CCO) at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). One of the original creators of Adobe Photoshop (along with his brother, Thomas Knoll), he has also worked as a visual effects supervisor on the Star Wars prequels and the 1997 special editions of the original trilogy. He also served as ILM's visual effects supervisor for Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: First Contact, as well as the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Along with Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall, Knoll and the trio's work on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest earned them the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Knoll has been praised by directors James Cameron, Gore Verbinski, Guillermo del Toro, and Brad Bird. Del Toro, who worked with Knoll for the first time on Pacific Rim, stated, "He basically has the heart of a kid and the mind of a scientist, and that's a great combination." Knoll is also the inventor of Knoll Light Factory, a lens flare-generating software inspired by his work at Industrial Light and Magic. He was the Computer Graphics Project Designer on The Abyss, an achievement that earned ILM its tenth Oscar, and worked on two Star Trek episodes: Star Trek: The Next Generation's pilot episode ("Encounter at Farpoint") and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Explorers." Knoll had a cameo appearance in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as a fighter pilot and helped pitch the story of Rogue One, a feature film set in the Star Wars series, for which he also worked as a writer and executive producer. John Knoll reflected on his work with George Lucas on the Star Wars prequel trilogy: "I still feel like I owe George a lot to have been given that opportunity. On those three films, I feel like I got a whole career’s worth of experience packed into eight years. George never constrained his thinking to what he knew for sure the tools were capable of; his attitude was, “Yeah, well, I’m writing what I want to see, so you guys will figure it out.” I loved that he would constantly throw those challenges out with the confidence [that] you guys would figure it out. That was great." In 2016, John Knoll and his brother Thomas were inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum. At the 2019 Oscars, John and his brother Thomas were awarded a Scientific and Engineering Award for the original architecture, design, and development of Photoshop. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Knoll, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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as Passenger on Train in Tunnel (uncredited)
Released: 1996-05-22

When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry...

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as Fire Ship Pilot (uncredited)
Released: 2005-05-17

The evil Darth Sidious enacts his final plan for unlimited power -- and the heroic Jedi Anakin...

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as Lt. Rya Kirsch - Bravo 4 / Flag Bearer (uncredited)
Released: 1999-05-19

Anakin Skywalker, a young slave strong with the Force, is discovered on Tatooine. Meanwhile, the...

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Side by Side

as Self
Released: 2012-08-19

Since the invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film....

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Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible

as Self
Released: 2010-11-12

Leslie Iwerks' documentary takes audiences behind the scenes at ILM with in depth interviews...

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Star Wars: Within a Minute - The Making of Episode III

as Self
Released: 2005-11-01

This documentary offers a glimpse into all the people, departments, and work that went into...

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An Epic At Sea: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

as Self
Released: 2003-12-02

Behind the scenes documentary of the making of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black...

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From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic

as Self
Released: 1999-06-15

The incredible evolution of George Lucas' special effects dream factory, including an inside...

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From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in 'Episode II'

as Self
Released: 2002-11-12

For Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), there were to be many more visual...

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The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'

as Self
Released: 2017-04-04

The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'.

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A Final Cut for Orson: 40 Years in the Making

as Self - Visual Effects Supervisor
Released: 2018-09-01

A glimpse behind the scenes into the complicated process of recovering and completing Orson...

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The Digital Artistry of Pacific Rim

as Self
Released: 2013-10-15

Set the large tasks of putting life into the 2D artistic renderings Gillaume created. See how...

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No Feat But What We Make: 'Terminator 2' and the Rise of Digital Effects

as uncredited
Released: 2003-06-03

A look at the digital effects in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

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Star Wars : La Révolution Visuelle

as uncredited
Released: 2020-05-04

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State of the Art: The Pre-Visualization of 'Episode II'

as Self
Released: 2002-11-12

Documentary breaking down the planning of the film's set pieces particularly the aerial car...

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Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian

as Self
First aired: 2020-05-04

Executive producer Jon Favreau invites the cast and crew of The Mandalorian to share an...

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Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian

as Self - ILM Visual Effects Supervisor
First aired: 2020-05-04

Executive producer Jon Favreau invites the cast and crew of The Mandalorian to share an...

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