Tim McGovern

Visual Effects Supervisor / Creative Director

Tim began his career, at the inception of digital / computer visual effects, in the otherwise analog VFX industry, doing award-winning, groundbreaking work in VFX and Computer animation.  In addition to winning an Academy Award in 1990 for Digital Visual Effects for the movie, Total Recall, Tim garnered 5 Clios, a Hugo, and a Mobius award.  In 1992, at the creative and technical helm of Sony Picture Imageworks, he grew the company from 8 to 250 employees.  A testament to Tim’s eye for talent is that among the employees he has hired in his career, 4 went on to win their own Visual Effects Academy Awards.
His career began at ABC, where he was recognized for his work in animation and on-air graphic design. He joined the legendary Robert Abel & Associates ( RA&A ) to work with computer-controlled cameras and computer-generated imagery and within six months, was working to create a fifty-five second CG sequence for Walt Disney’s Tron.  During this time, Tim won five Clios, one for a ground-breaking TV commercial called Brilliance aka Sexy Robot. It aired during the Super Bowl in 1985. Sexy Robot was the first time human motion had ever been applied to a computer generated character for television or motion pictures and it created a sensation with the Super Bowl TV audience. Other groundbreaking award winning work done while at RA&A - NBC Sunday Night at the Movies, Benson & Hedge Dreams, Benson & Hedges Power and Hawaiian Punch Chain Reaction.

In 1987, Tim joined MetroLight Studios as a founding member and Head of Production, where he worked with directors James Cameron, David Lynch and Paul Verhoeven.

In 1989, Tim directed the computer animated Skeleton Sequence for Total Recall. This work featured fluid and realistic motion of nine humans and one dog. His work won the 1990 Academy Award For Visual Effects. Tim was the first Visual Effects Supervisor with a CG or digital background to receive an Academy Award.

In 1992, Tim became a founding member, S.V.P. of Creative and Technical Affairs, and Senior Visual Effects supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks.  He grew the company from eight employees to over two hundred and fifty, contributing to over fifty successful feature films, including Speed, Wolf, In The Line Of Fire, James and the Giant Peach and Johnny Mnemonic. Tim personally supervised Last Action Hero, Hideaway, Virtuosity, Money Train and The Ghost And The and Darkness. While at Sony, Tim also contributed heavily to the creative development of several pictures.

Tim's more recent VFX film work includes; First Man, Antman & Wasp, Dunkirk, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Since leaving Sony, Tim has worked as an independent Visual Effects Supervisor and filmmaker. He has shot for films all over the world, and he has been on business trips to India countless times since 2004, Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Antibe, Cannes, Milan, Rome, Montreal, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman. Since 2013, Tim has supervised VFX for Hollywood Films in Mumbai. When Prime Focus (India) purchased DNEG ( UK) 2015 , Tim has Supervised the Mumbai portion of many Hollywood top films at DNEG Mumbai. In 2017  Tim got engaged to his now wife and lives in Mumbai and works at DNEG Mumbai, but is also involved in many global organizations and projects.
In December 2007, Tim was appointed to the Steering Committee for the visual effects branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Tim has been an elected member of the Board of Directors for the Visual Effects Society (VES – 4000+ members worldwide) for sixteen of the last twenty years. In January 2007, Tim served as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the VES. He was a founding co-chair of the VES Awards Committee 2001-2006. He also produced and presented onstage the Fourth Annual VES Awards Show, which was televised in April 2006. In 2010 he was appointed founding Chair of the VES Committee for Outreach to Developing Regions. In 2015 Tim was asked to include Outreach to Animation and Games to the list of Committee missions. Tim was asked to join the Animated Feature Branch Nominating Committee for the Academy In November 2012 & 2016. Additionally, 2002-2017, he served as a member of the Advisory Board to the President of the San Francisco Academy of Art University and has been a founding Member of the ASC, ADG & VES Virtual Production Committee.

Tim joined his long time collaborator, George Merkert, to form Whisper Pictures, a development and production company focused on Animated Family Films. Tim is the Chief Creative Officer and wrote the screenplay for company’s first motion picture and has four other stories in development.

Tim has given more than sixty talks in the US, Japan, Korea, Europe, Middle East and India on visual effects and animation topics. He has also served as an expert witness in legal proceedings regarding visual effects patent issues, as well as for a feature film copyright issue.

Remote Locations for principle / vfx shooting: Rwanda, Jerusalem, Belfast, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Prague, Vancouver, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Badplaas, South Africa, Mexico City,

BA - University of Illinois - Chicago, 1978
Double Major in Graphic Design & Photography, Minor in Art History.
Doctorate of Humane Letters (honorary Ph. D.) - AAU San Francisco.

Academy of Motion Picture Art & Science - Member, VFX Exec Committee, A2020 Diversity Committee.

Role with the VES

VES Member #0078 - 1997-present

Board Member - 2000-2022 ( with off years only by Terming Out ) termed out for 2023

VES Vice Chair and VES Executive Committee - 2007

VES Awards Committee - Founding Co-Chair 2001-2006 with Kim Lavery and Chair Jeff Okun - as founding members we setup all aspects of the awards categories, process and show.

VES Outreach Committee ( founding chair 2010 - present,  work with VES members in VES Regions ( non-Sections ) to become VES Sections - especially with Washington State, Georgia, France, Germany, India and helped  over the top - Montreal & Toronto.) Also work with all VES Sections to organize and fund their recruiting events.

Honorary / Consulting Member of the  Membership Committee 2015-present