Walt Disney Feature Animation Hoyt
Yeatman will be a featured alumni guest at the UCLA School
of Theater, Film and Television fall orientation.
By Emilia Hwang
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Hoyt Yeatman is no stranger to sleepless nights dreaming of
extraterrestrials. While working towards his degree at the UCLA
School of Theater, Film and Television, he joined the effects crew
of the 1977 film “Close Encounters of the Third
Kind.”
“They needed someone to baby-sit cameras from seven in the
evening to seven in the morning, so instead of sleeping, I went
there,” said Yeatman, who will be the featured alumni guest
at the School of Theater, Film and Television’s fall
orientation on Sept. 26.
Since his all-nighters interning as a production assistant,
Yeatman has contributed to the conception, design, supervision and
production of special effects for more than 100 motion picture,
television, and commercial projects.
Before becoming the senior visual effects supervisor at The
Secret Lab, the digital production studio of Walt Disney Feature
Animation, Yeatman studied motion pictures and television in the
day while interning at night.
He said he was fortunate to have the opportunity to work on
“Close Encounters,” as the hands-on experience he
gained came at a stage in his life when his interests were
gravitating toward visual effects.
 RODERICK ROXAS/Daily Bruin “I had a little 10 watt
light bulb and this little ancient machine which was a predecessor
to motion control (made up of) poggle switches and
thumbwheels,” Yeatman said.
With primitive visual effects devices, Yeatman helped to create
spectacular shots of the alien mothership descending over the moon
base.
“I didn’t know what I was doing at the time,”
he said. “(I) had an exposure sheet and sat there for 12
hours flipping switches in the dark and the smoke.”
According to Yeatman, movies like “Close Encounters”
and “Star Wars” (1977) really marked the beginning of
the big rage for visual effects.
“There had been stuff previous to that, but for the most
part that was when things started to explode,” he said.
In 1979, Yeatman would go on to cofound the visual effects
company that would become The Secret Lab in a two-and-a-half car
garage. And a decade later, he would win the Oscar for Best
Achievement in Visual Effects for his work on the 1989 film
“The Abyss.”
“We’re extremely proud of Hoyt Yeatman, his work,
and his career,” said William McDonald, vice chair for
production in the department of film and television at the UCLA
School of Theater, Film and Television. “He’s a very
good example of the type of student we bring into the program and
type of student who graduates from the program.”
According to McDonald, Yeatman is a graduate who is trained in
and understands the craft of filmmaking, while also being an artist
who has stories to tell.
“Each frame of the work he does contributes to the greater
good of the story, of the film that he’s working on,”
McDonald said. “And not all effects people can do
that.”
Working on films like “Armageddon,” “The
Rock” and most recently, “Mission to Mars,”
Yeatman demonstrates a creative and innovative approach to visual
effects.
“What you do (as a visual effects supervisor) is help
orchestrate, like a conductor of an orchestra,” Yeatman said.
“You help come up with the ideas and you help decide which
ways we’re going to go by listening to the different experts
in the field. Then you are responsible for getting the shot
completed and working with the director and the editors, and,
creatively, making sure it works as well as technically.”
According to McDonald, Yeatman’s work on “Mission to
Mars” is a good example of his ability to blend technology
and artistry in visual effects. In the film, not only is the
transit to the planet Mars believable, but so is the planet
itself.
“Hoyt Yeatman is the unique combination of artist and
innovator,” McDonald said. “The work he has done over
the years have been cutting edge both creatively as well as
technologically.”
For Yeatman, interning in the film industry during college
afforded him priceless experience that acted as a springboard for
the rest of his career.
“It’s still an apprenticeship system,” he
said. “In other words, you can get very good classes, but
once you get through the academic aspect of what you’re
learning it’s really hands-on.”
McDonald said that he stresses the importance of interning to
students in his program. Graduates must have some kind of a
marketable skill, as well as an awareness of the filmmaking
industries.
“There are many types of filmmaking industries out
there,” McDonald said. “Internships are a key stepping
stone to understanding what the options are that are out
there.”
Yeatman, however, recalls an experience that he does not
consider a fulfilling internship. In a hands-off situation, he
found himself sitting behind a monitor producing paper-punch tapes
that would go down to the computer.
Nevertheless, Yeatman said that the right internship can provide
invaluable experience to a student.
“You begin at a certain level working with a company or
individuals that can teach you something.” he said.
“And the best way to learn is by learning from people who you
admire and people that do good work.”
Speaking to new and returning students at the UCLA School of
Theater, Film and Television, Yeatman plans to give an overview of
the past and future of visual effects.
According to Yeatman, the technology for visual effects is
exponentially climbing forward.
“It’s moving fast and becoming cheaper and faster
for all of us,” Yeatman said. “It’s going to be
amazing in the next five to ten years the things that we’re
able to do. It’s really driven by imagination.”