Tim Landry

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Tim Landry
Biographical information
Born	September 3, 1955, Sierra Vista, Arizona, USA
Alias	Preston Timothy Landry
Career
Occupation	Visual Effects Artist Imagineer
Companies	The Walt Disney Company
Official website	https://www.timlandry.com

"Well, if they ask me what I do I usually say I'm a digital janitor. Some other people have refrerred to visual effects people as the rodeo clowns of the entertainment business. In that we protect other disciplines. We're sort of the caboose on the movie train. In that we fix things that other people mess up, and we're the last chance to get it right before it goes into the theaters or on the air."

―Tim Landry

Preston Timothy Landry, or Tim Landry, is a filmmaker and visual effects artist. He had a long career making magic, starting with his education at USC Film School, and those skills have served him well in a wide range of mediums. Tim Landry also served as a board member for the prestigious Visual Effects Society for many years, and had collected numerous awards ranging from the CLIO to the Emmy to multiple THEA awards for theme park work.

Tim Landry worked as a visual effects supervisor in commercials, television, and feature films, and finally many years as an employee at Walt Disney Imagineering, contributing to some of the most spectacular and complex attractions enjoyed by millions worldwide. His film credits include George of the Jungle, The Sixth Sense, Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He also contributed to such classic theme park attractions as The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, The Hall of Presidents, and Soaring: Fantastic Flight. His work as a Disney Imagineer can be seen in all the Disney Parks worldwide as well as the Disney Cruise Ships and Disney+. Beyond the specific projects, Tim Landry documented his experiences and challenges as well as the ups and downs of being an artist in his film, Shoveling Pixie Dust: a Memoir, released in 2021.

Among his work, Tim Landry had worked on the 2003 film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He also contributed new effects to the classic Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom in 2006. Landry later helped create and install the 2012 interactive attraction The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and was heavily involved in developing effects the 2016 attraction Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure at Shanghai Disney Resort.

Biography

Life and career

Preston Timothy Landry was born in the army hospital in Ft. Huachuca Arizona. His goal in life was to be a filmmaker and Hollywood director, wanting to move the hearts of audiences to laughter and tears, as well as somehow make a difference in people's lives. Following his education at the University of Southern California's vaunted film school, Tim Landry worked as a visual effects supervisor at Dream Quest Images, which was later purchased by The Walt Disney Company in 1996, subsequently renamed "The Secret Lab" in 1999, and ultimately closed down in 2001.

Early in his career, Tim Landry worked as cel painter on the short comedy Gravity (1976). He also received awards and acclaim for his innovative and ground-breaking student films Chapter 21 and Cabbages and Kings or the Dancing Princess. Although he was credited as animator on the 1980s music documentary series Soul Train, Landry did pretty much nothing on the project, although his boss introduced me to a hung over Don Cornelius. He then worked as a visual effects artist on projects such as the science fiction thriller Freejack (1992) and the science fiction comedy Coneheads (1993).

After being given the title of visual/digital effects supervisor in January 1993, Tim Landry contributed to the creation of television series such as The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (1993), Earth 2 (1994-1995), JAG (1995-1996), Invasion (2005-2006), and Prison Break (2005) as well as to the Alien Nation television movies Millennium (1996), The Enemy Within (1996), and The Udara Legacy (1997). Landry also contributed in doing only one shot for Star Trek: The Next Generation series, which ran from 1987–1994. In 1996, Tim Landry made his first trip to London while escorting his daughter upon her high school graduation, taking at least one photo of him wearing a hat from the JAG, a TV series he was doing VFX on at the time.

Film work includes the comic adaptation The Crow (1994, with Dariusz Wolski), the comedy Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995), the television movie Moses (1995, with Anton Lesser), Disney's comedy Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997), the comedies George of the Jungle (1997) and My Favorite Martian (1999), the comic adaptation Inspector Gadget (1999, with Brian George), the thriller The Sixth Sense (1999), the action comedy Shanghai Noon (2000), the family adventure Snow Dogs (2002), the action comedy Bulletproof Monk (2003, with Chow Yun-fat), the thriller Out of Time (2003), the fantasy film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004, with Omid Djalili), and the family movie Charlotte's Web (2006, with Dominic Scott Kay).

After over 15 years working as a Disney Imagineer, Tim Landry retired from his work and moved to Stallion Springs with his wife, Mauriene. Having a lot more time on his hands due the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Landry took the time afforded by the quarantines to meticulously restore his 1970 Cabbages and Kings or the Dancing Princess, a film that still resonated with Landry. Although Tim Landry's career may not have turned out as he planned when he began his education at the USC's film school, it was rich with rewards and challenges. Commercial work supported his family in the early days and then an unexpected opportunity resulted in him lending his visual arts expertise to help create visitor experiences at Disney theme parks throughout the world at Walt Disney Imagineering.

Tim Landry was able to create Shoveling Pixie Dust: a Memoir, a film which documented his life, beginning with his marriage in his hometown of Colorado Springs, followed by his return to Los Angeles for his third year at film school, and recounted his overall career. Beyond the specific projects, Landry would speak of his personal experiences and challenges, such as facing health issues like chronic lymphocytic leukemia, all while maintaining his faith in God. Shoveling Pixie Dust premiered in 2021 to positive reactions of audiences at film festivals.

Walt Disney Imagineering

During the time working at "The Secret Lab" under Disney, Tim Landry became acquainted with Walt Disney Imagineering, which was trying to finish Disney's California Adventure Park. He was assigned to create effects for a couple of media projects for the park, including the Bakery Tour and Golden Dreams. Landry also worked on CinéMagique, a loving tribute to the movies which combined live actors, theatrical effects, and film effects that ran for over forty six thousand performances at Disneyland Paris. CinéMagique became a career favorite project for director Jerry Rees, producer Tom Fitzgerald, and Landry himself serving as visual effects supervisor. After The Secret Lab was closed down in February 2002, Tim Landry found himself in freelance again.

In 2005, Tim Landry returned to Walt Disney Imagineering for full-time employment at Disney Parks, after initially being called in for converting the Submarine Voyage attraction at Disneyland into Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Taking the job, Landry moved toward a career that provided opportunities to learn, have fun, and make a difference while strengthening other families and bringing more joy to the world. Tim Landry broke ground in technologies that he would use for the next 15 years: projection effects, using projected video and strange ways to accomplish real world illusions, which he said was "an exhilarating and challenging new frontier." He also considered the people he got to work with at Imagineering as "often smarter, kinder, and less full of ego than their equivalents in the film business," which Landry believed he could be comfortable. By this point, Tim Landry would have became friends with Chris Biggs, who did the opening titles for a sizzle reel for Imagineering, which featured a number of brilliant people as well as depicted shows Landry was involved in.

In Disneyland, Tim Landry got to work with a group of Imagineers in a laboratory sandbox to develop new projection effects that expanded their tool set. Some of these new techniques were applied to Snow White's Adventures, Alice in Wonderland, Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Trader Sam's Tiki Bar. Landry also had the opportunity to contribute new effects to classics such as The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the 2011 updated version of Star Tours. In EPCOT's Spaceship Earth, Tim Landry led a team to create a time portal depicting a group of cavemen, even directing the live actors who were playing the cavemen. Landry also got to work with legendary animator Eric Goldberg in adding Donald Duck to EPCOT's Mexico pavilion, as well as contribute frosty effects to Frozen Ever After of the Norway pavilion. In Disney's Hollywood Studios, Landry did the Journey into Narnia: Creating The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian.

For the Disney Dream, Tim Landry helped redesign some of the spaces in the ship, including children's play areas as well as the entryway and wall layouts of the Animator's Palette restaurant. Landry also created the opening and closing sequences for the Undersea Magic show as well as Animation Magic, another Jerry Rees special which became a big hit with guests. Despite being given a diagnosis and treatments to chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Landry worked on the Mystic Manor, an attraction for an expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland. Although his supervisor recommended that he not travel because of his health, Landry contributed to five total attractions in the Shanghai Disney Resort, including Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, which was an immediate success.

In Disneyland Paris, Tim Landry helped add effects in a budget-challenged upgrade to Peter Pan's Flight, add the climactic scene to Big Thunder Mountain, and contribute to a long overdue upgrade to the Paris version of the Haunted Mansion called Phantom Manor. In Tokyo Disneyland, Tim Landry was assigned to Tokyo DisneySea's Nemo & Friends SeaRider, his fifth worldwide Finding Nemo-based attraction, and the Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast, where he contributed media bits all through the attraction. Because Tim Landry's disease started to catch up with him in October 2018, he had to get approval from his doctor to travel and continue work on Soaring: Fantastic Flight at Tokyo DisneySea. Landry was heavily involved in the introductory pre-show and supervised the creation, animation, and compositing of a computer-generated falcon into the scene, which worked out so well the falcon was put on the big screen in the ride's main show as well. Additional hints that Tim Landry was involved in the project included the name "Timoteo Leandro" and another appearance in a portrait elsewhere in the attraction.

Of the reactions to Soaring: Fantastic Flight, Tim Landry was most pleasantly surprised by the vast majority of guest reactions on social media online that said they were "moved to tears" by the attraction. At one point Landry got to personally stand anonymously in the attraction and observe the look of wonder on guests' faces, hear their gasps, and hear their spontaneous applause. Landry believed it didn't matter that guests had no clue who he was because he'd made a difference in people's lives that would continue with new guests every day for years to come, something Imagineers strive for.

Peter Pan

"Frustrating as that was, however, I was still having fun. I was still an Imagineer. I would push the magic wherever I could push the magic. I would take the small projects and make them look big. In Paris's Disneyland park, we added six new effects in a whirlwind four-day installation to their budget-challenged Peter Pan upgrade. Despite that, of the three Peter Pan attractions I've been involved in around the globe, this one came out the best, in my opinion."

―Tim Landry

Tim Landry was involved in three Peter Pan attractions in all the Disney Parks around the globe. In Disneyland Paris, Tim Landry helped add six new effects in a four-day installation to their budget-challenged upgrade to Peter Pan's Flight, which in Landry's opinion, came out as the best version of the three Peter Pan attractions he'd been involved in. Landry did the "C'mon everybody. Here we go!" animation which replaced a cutout, the Thames water, animation on Big Ben, the Second Star to the Right effect, all the water and waterfalls in Neverland, water with Tiger Lily, and the ride's finale waterfalls.

The Haunted Mansion

"Finally, I was involved in a long, long overdue upgrade to Paris's version of the Haunted Mansion called Phantom Manor. My assignments were adding stormy skies to several scenes and animating new changing portraits for the entry hall. Curiously, thanks to artist Greg Pro, one of the paintings in the hallway features a cowboy who bears a strong resemblance to yours truly. So now I'm one of the 999 happy haunts that inhabit Phantom Manor."

―Tim Landry

In Disneyland, Tim Landry had the opportunity to contribute new effects to classics such as The Haunted Mansion. Along with the other attractions in Disneyland Paris, Landry was involved in a long overdue upgrade to the Paris version of the Haunted Mansion called Phantom Manor. He was involved in assignments like adding stormy skies to several scenes and animating new changing portraits for the entry hall. One of the paintings in the hallway, created by artist Greg Pro, featured a cowboy who bore a strong resemblance to Tim Landry, making him one of the 999 happy haunts that inhabit Phantom Manor.

Another one of Landry's big projects was the Mystic Manor, an attraction for an expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland that referenced the Haunted Mansion. Under the leadership of Joe Lanzisero, in collaboration again with Jerry Rees, they set ambitious standards for the E-ticket attraction, laser effects, lots of mechanical and projection magic, and a finale that utilized 20 projectors and blew out a whole wall of a gallery using concepts Landry helped design. The very first image guests see as they enter the attraction depicts a fictitious 1916 opening day for the mansion, and since he was doing the artwork, Landry added himself and his wife Maureen in the crowd along with a young Walt Disney and his brother Roy.

Pirates of the Caribbean

"I had the opportunity to contribute new effects to classics such as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. I got to work with a group of Imagineers in a laboratory sandbox, to develop new projection effects that expanded our tool set. [...] Over in Disney's Hollywood Studios, we created and installed an interactive Jack Sparrow attraction with a special appearance from a Johnny Depp hologram."

―Tim Landry

Tim Landry is one of the few individuals that has worked on both the rides and the movies based on Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. He contributed to working on about three dozen fix-it visual effects shots for the first film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, released in 2003, credited as a Visual Effects Supervisor from Burt Ward's Boy Wonder Visual Effects, Inc. Due to the unexpected success of the first film, the original Pirates attractions at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom Park were updated in 2006, which gave Tim Landry and a group of Imagineers the opportunity to contribute new effects on the classic attraction. One was a mist waterfall effect in Dead Man's Cove with a "head shot" saying three lines strung out on a looping piece of media featuring Bill Nighy as Davy Jones in the 2006 update, which was later replaced temporarily by Ian McShane as Blackbeard in 2011. Tim Landry was there for the Blackbeard shoot, which was shot at the Jim Henson Company Lot on the last day of shooting for the 2011 film The Muppets and they repurposed part of the film crew they were already paying for to grab the Blackbeard bits. However, it is unknown if Landry did that compilation or not, though regardless it was certainly his Davy Jones files that comprised the basis for the Blackbeard effect.

In Disney's Hollywood Studios, Tim Landry helped create and install The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow, an interactive walk-in attraction featuring a special appearance from a hologram of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. As the VFX lead, Landry created and supervised most of the special effects, animation design and production. He developed the wide stormy clouds animated sky element that runs throughout the attraction, which was later repurposed in other attractions such as Beauty and the Beast in Tokyo. Mermaids were done by Johnathan Banta and Van Ling based on animatic supplied by Landry, who was there for the mermaid shoot. The Flying Dutchman was the actual asset from ILM but was animated by a VFX studio in Burbank, though Landry did most of the compositing and additional explosion animation. The skeleton crew was motion captured in-house at Imagineering under Landry's supervision and cleaned up and rendered by Mike Arana, who also animated the Talking Skull. Despite being a pepper's ghost reflection, the Johnny Depp figure actually casted a shadow on the scenery behind him, a gag Landry figured out how to do by simply pulling his blue screen matte and projecting it separately on a different area, which worked great toward a convincing illusion. Landry even wrote one of the jokes that Depp delivered, "Come back in eight minutes and we'll do it all over again eh?" According to Tim Landry, the limited throughput of the 2012 attraction forced its premature closure in November 2014.

Of the large and ambitious attractions at Shanghai Disneyland, Tim Landry was heavily involved in Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, a huge and completely new version of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, having developed several of the spectacular effects. However, Landry's work was overshadowed by the large dome projections of ships provided by ILM. Landry was responsible for the stockade heads effect, an animated backdrop to the sunken ships graveyard, some sky animation, the transformation of Jack Sparrow from a skeleton, and the gold to seaweed effects at the end.

Pirates of the Caribbean work

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - BW Visual Effects Supervisor
• Pirates of the Caribbean - Visual Effects Supervisor
• The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow - Visual Effects Supervisor
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure - Visual Effects Supervisor

Gallery

Trivia

• Tim Landry is one of the few individuals that had worked on both Disney Parks attractions and the film franchise based on Pirates of the Caribbean.

External links

• TimLandry.com – official site
• Artist and Imagineer Tim Landry
• Tim Landry's "Shoveling Pixie Dust: a Memoir" - YouTube
• Tim Landry at the Internet Movie Database
• Tim Landry - British Film Institute
• Tim Landry at LinkedIn.com
• Tim Landry on Memory Alpha
• 158. Imagineer Tim Landry on Creating Effects for Movies and Theme Parks - Tomorrow Society