Bill Villarreal

Bill Villarreal - PROFESSIONAL BIO
Throughout the course of my career, I have sought to use technology to enhance the filmmaking process while maintaining the integrity of the motion picture image. I began my career in visual effects while working at Digital Productions – one of the very first companies to lead the way in using computer graphics in motion pictures. While there, I worked on developing software and custom hardware which was used on numerous film and television visual effects projects.

Most recently, I’ve been working at Dolby Laboratories, bringing high dynamic range production into mainstream filmmaking for both cinema and home entertainment.  This exciting new technology will have direct impact on motion picture and visual effects production. At Dolby I have had the opportunity to establish a small post-production environment which is used to re-master motion pictures in Dolby Vision for Over the Top (OTT) online distribution to consumers who own high dynamic range (HDR) televisions. My team is also responsible for overseeing the mastering of first run motion pictures on our Dolby Cinema high dynamic range projector installed at The Vine Theater in Hollywood.

Prior to Dolby I worked at Sony Pictures Imageworks as Vice President of Technology. There I was involved in the day-to-day technical operations of this award winning visual effects and animation studio. Managing software development and overseeing technology for the Systems R&D Group enabled me to have a hand in establishing future technological directions for the effects studio.

Before moving to Imageworks, I was a founding member of DreamWorks Feature Animation.  I helped to lay the technical foundation bringing digital technology into the filmmaking process for traditionally animated movies like The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado and Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron. While there I led the development of a process which provided more accurate color reproduction of digital images onto film; that same knowledge has served as backbone for ongoing work in visual effects.

My work at DreamWorks was preceded by my tenure at Pacific Title and Art Studio which became an early adopter of digital technology for motion picture effects and post-production utilizing custom built film scanners, film recorders and custom software for effects production. I worked with Pacific Title and Art Studio management to establish Pacific Title Digital Studio as a digital visual effects production facility in the early ‘90s.  Besides facility operations, my responsibilities extended to digital effects supervision where I worked on various feature effects in Schindler’s List, The Shadow, Outbreak, Die Hard III: With a Vengeance, and Beverly Hills Cop 2 and others.

My job at Pacific Title was the result of my work at The Post Group where I was a key member of the team who designed and developed The Gemini Process, a high quality video-to-film transfer system which enabled filmmakers to use high-end, real-time television effects tools on select film visual effects projects. The Gemini Process was a joint venture between Pacific Title and The Post Group.

I am currently a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scientific and Technical Awards Committee’s Digital Apparatus Subcommittee (DATS) and had previously served on the Scientific and Technical Awards Main Committee for 6 years. I also served 17 years on the AMPAS Sci Tech Digital Imaging Technology Subcommittee (DITS). I am currently a member of the Board of Directors at the VES, I am also a member of AMPAS, SMPTE and ASIFA.

The Shadow, 1994, Digital Film Facility Supervisor, Pacific Title Digital
Die Hard with a Vengeance, 1995, Digital Effects Supervisor, Pacific Title Digital
Outbreak, 1995, Digital Effects Supervisor, Pacific Title Digital
The Prince of Egypt, 1998, Head of Technology, Dreamworks Feature Animation
The Road to El Dorado, 2000, Head of Systems, Dreamworks Feature Animation
Hollowman, 2000, Senior Staff, Sony Pictures Imageworks
What Lies Beneath, 2000, VP of Technical Operations, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Cast Away, 2000, VP of Technical Operations, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 2001, Senior Staff, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Spider-Man, 2002, Senior Staff, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Stuart Little 2, 2002, Senior Staff, Sony Pictures Imageworks
I Spy, 2002, Senior Staff, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Men In Black II, 2002, Senior Staff, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Open Season, 2006,
Spider-Man 3, 2007
Surfs Up, 2007, Senior Systems and R&D Supervisor
Beowulf, 2007, Senior Systems and R&D Supervisor
Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey, 2016, Dolby Vision Production Supervisor