VFX Pros Tell All: Ellen Poon2021-01-29T15:13:02-08:00

ELLEN POON

Visual Effects Supervisor, Visual Effects Producer

Ellen Poon is a world-renowned expert in visual effects and animation, with a career spanning more than 30 years, and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Executive Committee. She has collaborated with numerous acclaimed directors, including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Woody Allen, Christopher Nolan and Jennifer Lee.

Ellen is a founding member of MPC’s Computer Graphics department and helped develop many of the technologies used for the studio’s state-of-the-art commercial and television productions. She later joined Industrial Light and Magic, and during her 11-year tenure, was the first woman to be made Visual Effects Supervisor. Her realization of the miracles in The Green Mile, creatures in Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace and the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, are just some of her many on-screen accomplishments.

Ellen developed a passion for Chinese film projects and worked with director Zhang Yimou on period Chinese film Hero, which set the standard for this genre of Asian films and garnered her the award for Best Visual Effects at the Hong Kong Film Awards.  She served as Visual Effects Producer on Monster Hunt, the highest grossing film of all time in China in 2015, which earned her a second VFX award at the Hong Kong Film Awards – and went on to work as Visual Effects Supervisor and Producer on the box office record-breaking sequel Monster Hunt 2.  Ellen’s love for animation brought her back to Disney as a lighting and compositing artist.  Her work on Frozen and Zootopia (both Academy Award winners for Best Animation) and on Moana, Wreck-It Ralph 2 and the forthcoming Raya and the Last Dragon, demonstrate her versatility and love of hand-on creative work.