From Rotherham to Hollywood for talented Richard

Richard Bluff (39) won the Hollywood Visual Effects Award for his work on Doctor Strange and picked up the prestigious award at a ceremony in the US hosted by presenter James Corden.

Marvel’s Doctor Strange stars Benedict Cumberbatch and critics have said Richard, alongside visual effects supervisor, Stephane Ceretti, created action sequences “unlike anything audiences have seen” and “expanded the idea of what’s possible in the Marvel cinematic universe”.

The former Oakwood Comprehensive and Thomas Rotherham College student said the win was an “unexpected bonus” and a nice ending to the two-year project.

“Any situation where an independent body recognises the contribution you’ve made to a movie is an incredible honour,” said Richard.

“Doctor Strange was such a fun project to work on that all I hoped for in the end was that we’d helped make a good movie.”

The father-of-two said working on the film was the highlight of his career because it was the first time he had headed up visual effects on a major motion picture - and was the culmination of 20 years’ hard work.

His parents, Steven (68) and Francis (65) said they were so proud of Richard, who left their Moorgate home for LA in 2000 when he was 22.

Admin assistant Francis said they both loved the film - but the most exciting part was always waiting for the credits to roll to see their son’s name.

Richard has also received another top honour this year after being chosen to be an Academy Award member and will help to decide Oscar nominees.

He said: “To be part of the academy that’s responsible for the advancement of film making and protecting the rich history of cinema will be a lifetime honour. 

“I’m now having to watch as many movies as I can between now and February so I can make an informed vote.” 

The Advertiser last caught up with Richard in 2005 when he had landed his dream job at Star Wars director and producer George Lucas’ effects studio, Industrial Lights and Magic (ILM) and worked on the special effects for Revenge of the Sith.

Since then he’s climbed through the ranks to become the visual effects supervisor at ILM and has overseen work on Above and Beyond, Lucy, Marvel’s Agent Carter and The Big Short.

A standout job for him over the past few years was being part of the location photography team on Transformers where he was tasked with collecting images to help craft shots. 

Richard said: “This took me around the world from the Pyramids at Giza in Egypt, to landing on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - which required being caught by the tow rope and catapulted off again - to Al Capone’s speak easy in Chicago.” 

Richard taught himself about film software while he was a student completing an engineering degree at Wolverhampton University and was inspired by Indiana Jones and Ghostbusters films as a youngster.

His next project takes him from films to theme parks as he will be creating visuals for two new attractions at Star Wars Land in Disneyland, California.

Here's more from our interview with Richard.

Q. Any tips for pupils over here who are looking to get into special effects?

Richard Bluff: “Don’t specialise too soon and understand that English, math and science along with art and computer studies all contribute to being a successful artist in the film industry.

“The most successful artists I know can do a little of everything and experience leadership roles at small companies before joining the bottom rung of the ladder at a bigger company.

“A nice person who is good at their job will excel more than a horrible person who’s exceptional at theirs.

“Everyone remembers the journey and the people they worked with more than the finished product.”    

Q. Can you give us an overview of your role day-to-day on Dr Strange.

“I was on Dr Strange for about 20 months from pre-production right through to post-production finishing four weeks prior to the movie hitting the movie theatres. 

“The first six months were spent in office at ILM in San Francisco reading the script, researching the visuals the film-makers wanted and planning the shot execution. 

“Once filming started I was sent to New York to head up a small team shooting background plates and collecting scan data and photographic reference of the city. 

“The highlight of this trip was standing on the lip of the new Four World Trade Centre operating one of our movie cameras shooting various falling plates. 

“As production continued I started visiting the stages in London to oversee the sequences we would be responsible for in post. 

“It was during these trips I had the opportunity to meet with the cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, I’m happy to report they were all wonderfully nice down to earth people. “Over the 12-month period of shooting the movie and post production I spent a total of 18-weeks away from home with six trips to London, five trips to New York and four trips to our offices in Vancouver, Canada.” 

Q. Why was your work on Dr Strange so highly acclaimed? Do you see it as your best work yet?

Richard Bluff: “I can’t honestly say why the work resonated with so many people. 

“I try all the time to remember back almost two years ago when I saw the concepts for the first time. 

“At the time I had the same reaction as I hear from people now but when you work on something every day so intensely for two years it’s hard to be objective. 

“I’m incredibly proud of the work we did and it’s certainly the highlight of my career so far and for that I can only thank the entire team I worked with at ILM and Marvel.” 

Q. Any other career highlights that stick in your mind?

“Avatar was an amazing project to work on as it presented me with the opportunity to work directly with James Cameron and John Knoll. 

“James Cameron stands out as one of the finest film makers of his generation and was responsible for some of my favourite movies growing up. 

“John Knoll remains a legendary figure in the visual effects industry and ILM through what he’s achieved throughout his career. 

“Knoll, has not only has he won an Academy Award for his work on the Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest movie but many years earlier he was responsible for creating Photoshop.

“To work on Avatar with these two leading figures was a privilege and I learnt a great deal about what you needed to do, and who you needed to be, in order to be successful.”