Professor, Communication Arts Professor, Communication Arts
Matt Wallin grew up in the Los Angeles suburbs in the 70’s and 80’s skateboarding and going to the movies. In 1992 he earned his degree in Cinema from San Francisco State University.
That same year, Wallin began his career at George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic where he worked for nearly a decade in the company’s computer graphics division. For over 25 years he has worked around the world at the top visual effects houses; Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital in New Zealand, Tippett Studio in Berkeley, Sony Pictures Imageworks in Los Angeles, Warner Bros. ESC Entertainment in California, Brainstorm Digital in New York, and the Moving Picture Company in Vancouver. His many film credits include; The Mummy, Twister, Star Wars: The Special Editions, Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions, Hellboy, Constantine, King Kong, Watchmen, and Jurassic Park: The Lost World.
Outside of Hollywood, Wallin served as the Visual Effects Supervisor for American artist Matthew Barney‘s five-part Cremaster Cycle and the follow up experimental film, Drawing Restraint 9 staring Icelandic pop star Bjork.
Wallin is the creator and host of the 8111 (Eighty-one Eleven) podcast. Each episode is a conversation with a guest who worked at George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic during its 40+ year history. Guests discuss their journeys and career paths, and how working at ILM changed them. Wallin is also the co-host of FX Guide’s VFX Show podcast listened to by visual effects professionals, fans, and aspiring artists from all over the world.
Today he is the senior full-time faculty in the department of Communication Arts and a tenured full Professor in the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He teaches numerous courses specializing in 3D computer graphics, visual effects, and the creative application of emerging digital technologies.