and it takes years to move up . . . There are a billion little companies that
desperately need people who want to learn and are willing to sleep on
the floor or whatever it takes for their opportunity."
Professional Profile: Al Magliochetti,
Visual Effects Supervisor and Owner, Eye Candy
"I was always interested in movies," says Al Magliochetti. "I have been
making my own films since the age of ten." The small-town Connecticut
native was captivated by classic monster movies from a young age. "I
didn't find them scary, I found them fascinating: when I saw the invisible
man unwrap these bandages and there was no head underneath, or when
I saw this man standing in the light of a full moon and then turn into a
wolf--these images to a child of 7 or 8 years old were completely fascinat-
ing. I wanted to know how those effects were done."
At the time, not much was written about how effects were created, but
Magliochetti searched for answers. Along the way he learned more and
more about film, developed a passion for it, and decided to make his own
movies. He soon discovered that effects were a way to make his movies
stand out.
After high school, Magliochetti attended film school at Columbia
College in Chicago. Midway through his studies he decided to take a
year off from filmmaking. "I had to decide whether it was something I
wanted to pursue as a profession or if it was just a hobby. I was still
locked into the small-town Connecticut mentality and didn't know for
sure if it was something I could do. Hollywood seemed so far away and
unapproachable; it was kind of intimidating."
During the year break from film school, Magliochetti attended a state
college, taking general education classes and discovering that he missed
filmmaking. With much of his general course work behind him, he was
able to concentrate on film for the remainder of his college education,
enrolling at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. "At the time, it
was the number four film school in the country. They used teachers from
NYU, the number three film school in the country."
While other Bridgeport film students made several short films,
Magliochetti opted for another approach, channeling all his resources into
one film with numerous visual effects. "It was eight minutes long and
there were 128 shots in it. Of the 128 shots, 65 of them had some form of
visual effect. The most complicated one had 43 layers of film." The film
earned a Student Academy Award nomination.
After graduating from Bridgeport, Magliochetti began to look for a
job. Living about an hour and a half outside of New York City, he spent
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