SCAD Announces New Chair of Visual Effects Dept.

The Savannah College of Art and Design School of Film and Digital Media has appointed Stuart Robertson the new chair of its visual effects program for the college's Savannah and Atlanta locations. As chair, Robertson will provide academic leadership and be instrumental in creating new curriculum, as well as serve as a resource for faculty and students.

Robertson won the Academy Award for Achievement in Visual Effects for his work on the film WHAT DREAMS MAY COME and was nominated for an award by the Visual Effects Society for his work on Stephen King's ROSE RED in 2002. Some of Robertson's other motion picture credits include Woody Allen's ZELIG (1983), THE ABYSS (1989), BACK THE FUTURE PART II (1989), GHOST (1990), THE LAST ACTION HERO (1993), THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS (1996), THE PATRIOT (2000), and SCARY MOVIE 3 (2003).

Most recently, Robertson was associate professor and resident filmmaker at the College of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Before that, he was an independent visual effects supervisor in Los Angeles, where some of his clients included Columbia Pictures, Paramount, New Line Cinema, MGM, ABC Television, Miramax Films and Centropolis FX.

Robertson received a Master of Fine Arts degree in film from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Illinois. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, serving on the executive committee in 2005-06, and currently serves on the executive board of the Visual Effects Society.

SCAD is the only university in North America to specifically offer degrees in visual effects. Students learn the craft of visual effects as a combination of technology and art through a unique combination of programming and technical instruction. Students work individually and collaboratively within a framework of cooperative activity that reflects the real-world experience of film production using high-end, industry-standard digital tools.