WITH more than 40 years’ experience in the film industry, American technical director Brian Samuels has contributed a lot to the amazing visual effects of a large number of mega productions.

His credits include “Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” “King Kong,” “I, Robot,” “The Lord of the Rings” series, “Star Trek: Insurrection,” “Air Force One” and “Desperate Measures.”

Samuels is heading to China for the first time to exchange ideas on film visual effects with local professionals. He will give lectures to the students of East China Normal University and Shanghai Normal University from November 24 to 28. He will also be invited to present a film technology-themed training camp for students of Beijing Film Academy.

Samuels has worked on everything from “Battlestar Galactica” to “X-Files” and moved to New Zealand in 2000 for “The Lord of the Rings.”

After almost a decade at Weta Digital as a senior technical director, he eventually found his way to Media Design School, where students can benefit from his extraordinary experience in the industry.

Samuels is a self-taught professional who has worked his way through the major CG milestones in history.

He was attracted to the special effects industry in the early 1970s when laser shows were a new phenomenon. He taught himself how to build them, use them and film them, skills that got him a job at the California Production Company.

He then did a short stint at Universal Studios building circuitry for “BattleStar Galactica” weapons before discovering the world of CG after a friend, who was working on the original “Tron” movie, let him sit in on animation sessions.

Samuels’ first real movie was “Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth” (1992) in which he used CG to rip the skin off a woman. He also worked on “Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest” (1992) which was the first film to use digital ink and paint.

The highlight of his career was working at Boss Film Studios which was founded by Richard Edlund after his departure from Industrial Light and Magic. Edlund had worked on “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and the original “Star Wars” trilogy at ILM.

The artist recently talked with Shanghai Daily about the rapid development of film technology and what the future may hold for special effects.

Q: When did your affinity with film technology start? With more than 40 years’ experience in the film industry, what keeps you moving on?

A: You could say that I was born into the Hollywood entertainment industry. I grew up in a desert suburb of Los Angeles called Sepulveda, close to the cities of North Hollywood and Burbank and in the middle of the US entertainment industry. I have always had a love for the art and the technology behind the art. The challenge of creating compelling images that make it possible to tell wonderful stories is still very exciting to me. While my primary occupation is passing on my knowledge to others, I am still inspired to develop new techniques and technologies for creating beauty.

Q: What do you think of development of cinema over recent decades? What achievements in the history of film technology are remarkable in your eyes?

A: As far as film-making is concerned, we have many new technologies available that could revolutionize storytelling, but I don’t think that we have mastered them yet. Looking at 3D and “virtual immersive” environments, we have barely scratched the surface.

With technical achievements, there are too many to count. In less than 100 years we have gone from simple silent movies to virtual reality. In the last 20 years we have seen the digital revolution make amazing film-making and VFX technologies available to everyone affordably.

When I started in CG, a workstation’s price was over US$80,000. The software cost around US$25,000. Now a child can install free software on an affordable laptop and make high quality movies/animation with their friends.

Q: You have worked as technical director for a lot of acclaimed blockbuster movies. Is it a difficult and time-consuming work as a technical director? What is usually the most challenging part of your work?

A: My role as a senior technical director was primarily that of a designer and problem solver. I would become involved in a shot, or a sequence of shots, when problems occurred (some process was not working, or the shots were behind schedule) and would make the problem “go away.”

Another scenario would be a small sequence of complex shots that one “generalist” TD could deliver alone instead of assigning a team of artists.

The role is difficult but rewarding. Every day brings new challenges and interesting problems. Sometimes, you would work on one shot for months, only to have it cut from the film.

Q: What is your opinion of the role special effects plays in a successful movie? Is it important to have the right balance between special effects and story?

A: It is a question of taste. Many people are happy to watch tidal waves and explosions for two hours. I believe that the purpose of a shot in a film is to move the plot forward as effectively as possible. If visual effects can enhance a plot point they are appropriate; if not they are a waste of money.

I prefer “seamless” visual effects that do not pull the viewer out of the reality we have immersed them in.

Q: What do you expect to be the future development of film technology? What kind of amazing changes can be made to cinema?

A: That’s the interesting thing. The most important breakthroughs will be unexpected. We can anticipate technologies like “real” virtual reality, production stages with “LED” walls to project environments instead of using “green screens,” etc.

But there is no way to predict what trends and technologies will appear in the future. Who knows? It could be anything... Abandoning sensory input? Direct neural input?

Q: China is now the world’s second-largest film market. Chinese films are also performing well at the box office. But we still lag behind Hollywood in many aspects. What is Hollywood’s secret of success?

A: Hollywood has been producing films for about 105 years. They have had time to develop infrastructure, distribution and financial systems to keep it all going. Looking at the long view, China is just getting started, and the world is changing. Hollywood’s control of media distribution has been broken with the advent of “on-line” and “on-demand” distribution. It is a whole new situation where a small studio can produce a film and have global distribution.

Q: Shanghai is developing a base for film post-production. More and more young people will be engaged in the work of special effects. What’s your advice to these new-comers?

A: I would advise those aspiring to enter the CG/VFX production business to get the best education possible. There are two sides to this education.

The technical side requires not only learning to use the current most popular software, but to gain an understanding of the underlying mathematics, programming languages and technologies.

The “virtual” traditional side requires drawing, photography, sculpting and design skills.

It is also essential to develop an understanding of traditional film-making roles. You will probably start at an entry level at some VFX facility of a production company. Learn everything you can from the people around you, and develop your skills in your area of interest. If possible avoid “burn out;” know your physical limits and don’t go beyond them.