While taking a breather from Hollywood, visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull re-located to the Berkshires in 1987 — ultimately begetting a cluster of visual effects companies in the area.
The cluster has seen several core companies depart since the mid-1990s. Now, Trumbull, who remains in the Berkshires, hopes to inspire a new wave of visual effects firms to migrate to the area. His plan to accomplish this? Produce a sci-fi film entirely in Western Massachusetts.
“I’m hearing from a lot of friends that are eager to come back and get going again,” said Trumbull, whose visual effects credits include “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
“I would expect there could be some real growth over the next couple of years,” Trumbull said.
Along with Trumbull’s operation in Southfield, several top-tier visual effects companies still work in the Berkshires, including Sandbox F/X in Pittsfield (“Lord of the Rings,” “Chronicles of Narnia”) and Synthespian Studios in Williamstown (“X-Men,” “Fantastic Four”).
The Berkshires have long boasted a culture of creativity and arts, and visual effects professionals say they’ve found the area to be an ideal location for their work. High quality of life and proximity to cultural attractions and to nature are among the major advantages. “A lot of these big visual effects entities are in large cities with all kinds of traffic issues and big, urban environments. That’s not the case here,” said John Nugent, who founded Sandbox F/X and whose credits include the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
“You can go hike on a mountain anytime and think about how to solve a technical problem,” said Diane Pearlman, executive director of the Berkshire Film and Media Commission.
Technological advances also now make the distance from Hollywood or New York less of an issue for visual-effects companies, Trumbull said. “It’s becoming more credible to be here,” he said.
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