Filmmaker
Chad Atkinson
Chad Atkinson is a veteran Special Effects Artist from Los Angeles who has over 28 years of experience in the film and television industry. Chad's early career started when he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids Michigan. He then moved to Pennsylvania to study Industrial Design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh where he cut his teeth in special effects make up under the tutelage of veteran artist Jerry Gergely.
Upon moving to sunny Los Angeles, Chad was employed by Amalgamated Dynamics Inc. co-owned by Oscar winning artists Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. He worked as a mould maker and fabricator on major films such as STARSHIP TROOPERS, ALIEN RESURRECTION, MY FAVOURITE MARTIAN and X-FILES THE MOVIE.
After working with Oscar winning makeup artist Mathew Mungle on films such as DEEP BLUE SEA, I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and BOWFINGER, he took his talents to the internationally renowned KNB EFX GROUP INC. Under the helm of Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger, Chad worked on a series of Oscar and Emmy award winning films such as CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE and DUNE.
Since moving to Australia in 2009, Chad has formed and cooperated several special effects studios and has landed key roles heading the prosthetics department for both KILLER ELITE, PATRICK and LOVE AND MONSTERS, as well as freelance work on THE LOVED ONES and the Oscar nominated film THE HOBBIT. Chad hosts workshops and short courses from his Queensland studio where students learn special effects from him.
With experience working on over 100 films and television shows it was only ever going to be a matter of time before he received recognition for his special effects makeup skills and in 2010, 14 years after he began in the industry, Chad won an EMMY award for his work on the HBO mini-series THE PACIFIC.
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