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Bluescreen Developer Arthur Widmer Dies at 92

Arthur Widmer, who developed some of the most widely used visual effects technology in films, including the bluescreen, and earned an Academy Award last year for lifetime achievement, died of cancer on May 28. He was 92.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave Widmer the award for his work in developing Ultra Violet and bluescreen effects processes.

Working for Warner Bros. in the 1950s, Widmer developed the Ultra Violet Traveling Matte process, an early version of what would become known as bluescreen, in which two different images shot at different times and places could be combined into one.

Widmer left Warner Bros. in 1964 to design and build the optical department for Universal Studios, where he continued the development of bluescreen and other visual effects until his retirement in 1979.

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Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.

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